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Photo # NH 80-G-266626:  USS Utah capsizing during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, 7 December 1941

Online Library of Selected Images:
-- EVENTS -- World War II in the Pacific --

Pearl Harbor Raid, 7 December 1941 --
Attacks off the West Side of Ford Island

In addition to strategically vital "Battleship Row", the Japanese thought two other areas were important enough to warrant attention from the initial Pearl Harbor attack wave's torpedo planes. These were the long 1010 Dock at the Navy Yard, and the fixed moorings on the western side of Ford Island, both of which might hold battleships or aircraft carriers. On the morning of 7 December 1941, the latter location was occupied by the seaplane tender Tangier, the old target and training ship Utah and the light cruisers Raleigh and Detroit. Six aerial torpedoes were launched against these ships, of which three hit, sinking one vessel and nearly sinking another.

The thirty-year-old Utah, which had been converted from an obsolete battleship ten years earlier, received two torpedoes, completely overwhelming her very limited ability to absorb underwater damage. She capsized to port in about ten minutes, coming to rest with her bottom in the air. As Utah's crew were abandoning ship and swimming through the oily water to Ford Island, they were the target of machine-gun attacks by Japanese planes. Although ten trapped Sailors were later cut free from her upturned hull, about sixty were lost with their ship. Utah was partially turned upright in 1943-44 but was not further salvaged. Her remains are now the site of a small memorial.

USS Raleigh was hit by one torpedo and a bomb. Of an old and not very sturdy design, she barely avoided capsizing, but her crew, assisted by a salvage barge and a tug, kept her upright and afloat. Major repairs returned Raleigh to the active fleet in a a little over a half-year.

Also damaged west of Ford Island was the seaplane tender Curtiss, hit by a crashing enemy dive bomber, plus one bomb and fragments of another during the second wave attack. Curtiss was also unsuccessfully attacked by a Japanese midget submarine, which fired a torpedo at the seaplane tender and was then promptly sunk by the destroyer Monaghan.

This page features views of the 7 December 1941 Japanese attack on ships moored on the western side of Pearl Harbor's Ford Island.

For further views of ships moored to the west of Ford Island during or soon after the the Japanese attack, see:

  • USS Curtiss during the Pearl Harbor Attack.

    For pictures and information on a USS Utah crewman who was cited for heroism during the Pearl Harbor attack, see:

  • Chief Watertender Peter Tomich, USN.

    For additional pictorial coverage of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, see:

  • The Pearl Harbor Raid, 7 December 1941 -- Overview and Special Image Selection.


    If you want higher resolution reproductions than the Online Library's digital images, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions."

    Click on the small photograph to prompt a larger view of the same image.

    Photo #: NH 50933

    Pearl Harbor Raid, December 1941


    Photograph of the western side of Ford Island and ships in moorings offshore, taken from a Japanese Navy plane during the attack.
    Ships are (from left to right):
    USS Detroit (CL-8);
    USS Raleigh (CL-7), listing to port after being hit by one torpedo;
    USS Utah (AG-16), capsized after being hit by two torpedoes; and
    USS Tangier (AV-8),
    Japanese writing in the lower left states that the photograph's reproduction was authorized by the Navy Ministry.

    U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph.

    Online Image: 101KB; 740 x 540 pixels

     
    Photo #: 80-G-266626

    USS Utah (AG-16)


    Capsizing off Ford Island, during the attack on Pearl Harbor, 7 December 1941, after being torpedoed by Japanese aircraft .
    Photographed from USS Tangier (AV-8), which was moored astern of Utah.
    Note colors half-raised over fantail, boats nearby, and sheds covering Utah's after guns.

    Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.

    Online Image: 83KB; 740 x 605 pixels

    Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system.

     
    Photo #: NH 97401

    Pearl Harbor Attack, 7 December 1941


    USS Utah (AG-16) lies with her bottom up at Berth F-11, after she was torpedoed by Japanese planes and capsized on 7 December 1941.
    In the right background is USS Raleigh (CL-7), also hit by a Japanese torpedo, which is being assisted in staying afloat by a barge and a tug tied up along her port side.

    Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval History and Heritage Command.

    Online Image: 65KB; 740 x 505 pixels

     
    Photo #: NH 50856

    Pearl Harbor Raid, December 1941


    USS Utah (AG-16) capsized at her berth off the western side of Ford Island, after she was torpedoed by Japanese carrier planes on 7 December 1941.
    USS Raleigh (CL-7), which was also hit by a Japanese torpedo, is in the center background, with a barge and tug alongside.
    The hospital ship Solace (AH-5) is in the far right distance.
    Note docking keels on Utah's hull bottom.

    Collection of Vice Admiral Homer N. Wallin.

    U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph.

    Online Image: 73KB; 740 x 615 pixels

     
    Photo #: NH 50857

    Pearl Harbor Raid, December 1941


    Capsized hull of USS Utah (AG-16) off the western side of Ford Island on 12 December 1941, five days after she was sunk by Japanese aerial torpedoes during the Pearl Harbor Attack. View looks toward Ford Island, with Utah's bow at left.
    USS Tangier (AV-8) is in the right background.

    Collection of Vice Admiral Homer N. Wallin.

    U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph.

    Online Image: 70KB; 740 x 610 pixels

     
    Photo #: NH 64498

    Pearl Harbor Attack, 7 December 1941


    Bow view of the capsized USS Utah (AG-16), as seen from the stern of USS Raleigh (CL-7) on 12 December 1941.
    Utah had been torpedoed and sunk during the Japanese attack five days earlier.

    U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph.

    Online Image: 93KB; 740 x 620 pixels

     
    Photo #: 80-G-19938

    Pearl Harbor Attack, 7 December 1941


    USS Raleigh (CL-7) is kept afloat by a barge lashed alongside, after she was damaged by a Japanese torpedo and a bomb, 7 December 1941. The barge has salvage pontoons YSP-14 and YSP-13 on board.
    The capsized hull of USS Utah (AG-16) is visible astern of Raleigh.

    Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.

    Online Image: 70KB; 740 x 605 pixels

    Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system.

     
    Photo #: 80-G-32448

    Pearl Harbor Attack, 7 December 1941


    USS Raleigh (CL-7) being kept afloat by a salvage barge moored to her port side, after she had been torpedoed and damaged by a bomb during the Japanese raid.

    Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.

    Online Image: 97KB; 600 x 765 pixels

    Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system.

     
    Photo #: NH 96658

    USS Tangier (AV-8)


    Japanese bomb explodes some twenty feet off the starboard side of the ship, forward of the bridge, during the Pearl Harbor air raid, 7 December 1941.

    The original photograph was in the CinCPac report of the Pearl harbor Attack, 15 February 1942, Volume 3, in 1990.

    Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval History and Heritage Command.

    Online Image: 73KB; 740 x 610 pixels

     
    Photo #: NH 96659

    USS Tangier (AV-8)


    Damage to glass windows on the ship's bridge, caused by a Japanese bomb that exploded off the starboard side during the Pearl Harbor air raid, 7 December 1941.

    The original photograph was in the CinCPac report of the Pearl harbor Attack, 15 February 1942, Volume 3, in 1990.

    Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval History and Heritage Command.

    Online Image: 84KB; 585 x 765 pixels

     


    For further views of ships moored to the west of Ford Island during or soon after the the Japanese attack, see:

  • USS Curtiss during the Pearl Harbor Attack.

    For pictures and information on a USS Utah crewman who was cited for heroism during the Pearl Harbor attack, see:

  • Chief Watertender Peter Tomich, USN.

    For additional pictorial coverage of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, see:

  • The Pearl Harbor Raid, 7 December 1941 -- Overview and Special Image Selection.


    NOTES:

  • To the best of our knowledge, the pictures referenced here are all in the Public Domain, and can therefore be freely downloaded and used for any purpose.

  • Some images linked from this page may bear obsolete credit lines citing the organization name: "Naval Historical Center". Effective 1 December 2008 the name should be cited as: "Naval History and Heritage Command".


    If you want higher resolution reproductions than the Online Library's digital images, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions."


    Return to Naval History and Heritage Command home page.

    Page made 28 October 2000
    Coding updated 17 April 2009