12/01 Mon. Patrol Wing 9 is commissioned at Quonset Point, R. I.
12/02 Tue. United States merchant ship DUNBOYNE receives first Naval
Armed Guard crew.
12/03 Wed. United States merchant vessel SAGADAHOC is sunk by torpedo in
South Atlantic.
12/05 Fri. Japan assures the United States that her troop movements in
French Indochina are only precautionary.
12/07 Sun. Japanese carrier-based horizontal bombers, dive bombers,
torpedo bombers, and fighters totaling 360 aircraft from
naval Striking Force (Vice Adm. c. Nagumo) heavily attack
ships of the United States Pacific Fleet and military
installations at Pearl harbor and other places on Oahu, T. H.
Four battleships, 1 minelayer, and 1 target ship are sunk; 4
battleships, 3 cruisers, 3 destroyers, 1 seaplane tender, and
1 repair ship are damaged. Navy Yard and Naval Base, Pearl
Harbor; Naval Air Station, Ford Island; Naval Patrol Plane
Station, Kaneohe; Marine Corps airfield, Ewa; Army airfields
Hickam, Wheeler, and Bellows are damaged; 188 Naval and Army
aircraft are destroyed.
Killed or missing:
Navy............2,004
Marine Corps......108
Army..............222
Wounded:
Navy..............912
Marine Corps.......75
Army..............360
[Personnel casualty statistics for the Pearl Harbor attack
have been revised several times after evaluation of new data.
The figures presented here were compiled in 1955 from
official sources.] Japanese lose 5 midget submarines, 28
aircraft, and fewer than 100men.
Midway Island is bombarded by two Japanese destroyers.
President orders mobilization.
Japanese declaration of war reaches Washington, D. C.
United States naval vessels sunk by air attack, Pearl
Harbor:
[All ships sunk, except ARIZONA, OKLAHOMA, and UTAH, were
raised, repaired, and subsequently returned to service.]
Battleship OKLAHOMA (BB-37).
Battleship ARIZONA (BB-39).
Battleship CALIFORNIA (BB-44).
Battleship WEST VIRGINA (BB-48).
Minelayer OGALA (CM-4).
Target ship UTAH (AG-16).
United States naval vessels damaged, Pearl Harbor:
Battleship NEVADA (BB-36).
Battleship PENNSYLVANIA (BB-38).
Battleship TENNESSEE (BB-43).
Battleship MARYLAND (BB-46).
Light cruiser RALEIGH (CL-7).
Light cruiser HONOLULU (CL-48).
Light cruiser HELENA (CL-50).
Destroyer CASSIN (DD-372).
Destroyer SHAW (DD-373).
Destroyer DOWNES (DD-375).
Seaplane tender CURTISS (AV-4).
Repair ship VESTAL (AR-4).
Japanese naval vessels lost, Pearl Harbor attack:
5 midget submarines.
12/08 Mon. United States declares war on Japan.
Striking Force, Asiatic Fleet (Rear Adm. W. A. Glassford)
departs Iloilo, P. I., for Makassar Strait, Netherlands East
Indies.
River gunboat WAKE (PR-3), surrenders to Japanese at Shanghai
after attempt to scuttle fails. [WAKE is the only United
States ship to surrender during the war.]
Potomac River Naval Command with headquarters at Washington,
D. C., and Severn River Naval Command with headquarters at
Annapolis, Md., are established.
S.S. PRESIDENT HARRISON, en route to evacuate Marines from
Chingwangtao, China, runs aground at Sha Wai Shan, China, and
is captured by the Japanese.
Japanese aircraft in widely scattered operations bomb Guam,
Wake, Hong Kong, Singapore, and the Philippine Islands.
Extensive damage is inflicted on United States Army aircraft
at Clark Field, Luzon, P. I.
Japanese forces land on Batan Island, north of Luzon, P. I.,
and on east coast of Malay Peninsula.
Japan interns United States Marines and nationals at Shanghai
and Tientsin, China.
United States naval vessel sunk:
Minesweeper PENGUIN (AM-33), by horizontal bomber, Guam,
Marianas Islands.
12/09 Tue. Japanese occupy Bangkok, Thailand.
Japanese land on Tarawa and Makin, Gilbert Islands.
China declares war on Japan, Germany, and Italy.
12/10 Wed. Cavite Navy Yard, P. I., is heavily damaged by enemy air
attack.
Guam surrenders to Japanese landing force.
Japanese land on Camiguin Island and at Gonzaga and Aparri,
Luzon, P. I.
British battleship PRINCE OF WALES and battlecruiser REPULSE
are sunk by Japanese naval air attack near Kuantan, Malaya.
United States naval vessels damaged at Cavite, P. I.:
Destroyer PEARY (DD-226), by horizontal bomber.
Submarine SEADRAGON (SS-194), by horizontal bomber.
Submarine SEALION (SS-195), by horizontal bomber.
Minesweeper BITTERN (AM-36), by horizontal bomber.
Japanese naval vessels sunk:
Submarine I-170, by carrier-based aircraft, Hawaiian
Islands area,
23 d. 45' N., 155 d. 35' W.
Minesweeper No. 10, by Army aircraft, Philippine Islands
area,
17 d. 32' N., 120 d. 22' E.
Minesweeper No. 19, damaged by Army aircraft and grounded
by own forces (total loss), Philippine Islands area,
18 d. 22, N., 121 d. 38'. E.
12/11 Thu. Germany and Italy declare war on the United States.
United States declare war on Germany and Italy.
Marines on Wake Island repulse Japanese landing attempt and
sink two enemy destroyers.
Japanese make landings at Legaspi, Luzon, P. I.
Japanese naval vessels sunk at Wake Island:
Destroyer HAYATE, by Marine shore batteries.
Destroyer KISARAGI, by Marine aircraft.
12/12 Fri. Naval Air Transport Service (NATS) is established.
12/13 Sat. Japanese planes attack Subic Bay area and airfield in
Philippine Islands.
12/14 Sun. Wake Island Relief Expedition (Read Adm. F. J. Fletcher)
leaves Pearl Harbor, Oahu, T. H.
12/15 Mon. Patrol Wing 10 departs Philippine Islands for Netherlands
East Indies.
Kahului, Maui, T. H., is shelled by Japanese submarine.
United States naval vessels sunk:
PT-33, damaged by grounding and sunk by United States
forces, Philippine Islands area,
13 d. 46' N., 120 d. 40' E.
12/16 Tue. Johnston Island is shelled by Japanese submarine.
12/17 Wed. Rear Adm. C. W. Nimitz is ordered to relieve Adm. H. E.
Kimmel as Commander in Chief Pacific Fleet, with rank of
Admiral; Vice Adm. W. S. Pye becomes acting Commander in
Chief Pacific Fleet, pending arrival of Admiral Nimitz.
Japanese land at Miri, Sarawak, Borneo.
12/18 Thu. State Department announces that Rear Adm. F. J. Horne and
French High Commissioner at Martinique, French West Indies,
Admiral Robert, have reached an agreement neutralizing French
Caribbean possessions.
Congress passes First War Powers Act.
Japanese naval vessel sunk:
Destroyer SHINONOME, by mine, Miri, Borneo.
12/20 Sat. Adm. E. J. King is designated Commander in Chief United
States Fleet with headquarters in the Navy Department,
Washington, D. C.
Japanese troops land at Davao, Mindanao, P. I.
12/21 Sun. Naval local defense forces in Philippine Islands (Rear Adm.
F. W. Rockwell) move headquarters to Corregidor.
12/22 Mon. American troops (Brig. Gen. J. F. Barnes) arrive at Brisbane,
Australia.
President and British Prime Minister open discussions in
Washington leading to establishment of Combined Chiefs of
Staff.
Japanese make landings in Lingayen Gulf area, P. I.
Japanese naval vessels destroyed:
Patrol boats Nos. 32 and 33 (old destroyers) deliberately
run ashore, destroyed by Marine gunfire, Wake Island.
12/23 Tue. Wake Island, which had been subjected to prolonged enemy
bombing, surrenders to Japanese invasion force. United
States Relief Expedition is recalled while still 425 miles
from Wake.
United States-British War Council composed of the President,
British Prime Minister, and naval, military, and civilian
advisers meets for the first time.
Palmyra Island is shelled by Japanese submarine.
Japanese make landings at Kuching, Sarawak, Borneo.
12/24 Wed. Japanese land at Lamon Bay, Luzon, P. I.
12/25 Thu. Adm. T. C. Hart turns over all remaining naval forces in the
Philippine Islands to Rear Adm. F. W. Rockwell; Admiral Hart
departs in submarine for Java to establish new headquarters
of Asiatic Fleet.
British surrender Hong Kong.
Japanese land at Jolo, P. I.
United States naval vessels sunk:
Submarine SEALION (SS-195), damaged 10 December 1941,
Cavite, P. I., is sunk by United States forces.
12/26 Fri. Manila, P. I., is declared an open city but enemy bombing
continues.
12/29 Mon. Corregidor, P. I., is bombed for first time by Japanese
aircraft.
United States naval vessels damaged:
Submarine tender CANOPUS (AS-9), by horizontal bomber,
Philippine Islands area,
14 d. 25' N., 120 d. 20' e.
12/30 Tue. Adm. E. J. King assumes duties as Commander in Chief United
States Fleet. (See 20 December 1941.)
12/31 Wed. Adm. C. W. Nimitz assumes command of Pacific Fleet.
Japanese submarines shell Kauai, Maui, and Hawaii, T. H.