What did the attack on Pearl Harbor do to the pacific fleet?

Answer 1

first answer:

The 1941 Japanese attack on the U.S fleet in Pearl Harbor virtually destroyed it.

second correct answer:

The attack caused great damage, however the US Pacific Fleet overall was very much operational after the attack.

Some Background: In May 1940, President Roosevelt (on the advice of Stanley Hornbeck) ordered the Fleet in the Pacific to move from its base in San Diego to Hawaii, later decided to be at Pearl Harbor by June 1940. In May 1941 about 25% of the Pacific Fleet was transferred to the Atlantic Ocean to assist US efforts to support Britain.

On December 7, 1941 (US & Hawaii date/time), these were the general dispositions of the US Navy:

In the Atlantic: 4 Aircraft Carriers, 1 Escort Carrier, 3 old battleships, 3 battleships, 2 fast battleships, 5 heavy cruisers, 8 light cruisers, 31 old destroyers, 49 destroyers, 50+ submarines.

At Pearl Harbor: 8 battleships, 2 heavy cruisers, 6 light cruisers, 4 old destroyers , 25 destroyers, 4 submarines, & 51 other ships.

At Sea in Pacific: 2 aircraft carriers, 10 heavy cruisers, 2 light cruisers, 4 old destroyers, 12 destroyers, 10 submarines & 28 other ships.

At US West Coast: 1 aircraft carrier, 1 battleship, 1 light cruiser, 9 destroyers, 9 submarines, & 5 other ships.

At Philippines, Borneo & en-route to Singapore: 1 heavy cruiser, 2 light cruisers, 13 old destroyers, 29 submarines & 17 other ships.

The ships that were at sea, were primarily involved in operations to reinforce Midway & Wake Islands, escort convoys to/from the Philippines, or were on patrol in waters not far from Hawaii.

As you can see from the above information, that a large part of the US Pacific Fleet was not at Pearl Harbor on the morning that it was attacked. The major exception, and the primary target of the attack, were the 8 battleships. It was these battleships that suffered most of the destruction and damage inflicted on the ships during the attack. At the time, these losses appeared to be quite severe and the American naval leaders, politicians & public were shocked. However in hindsight, these losses were not as devastating to the American war effort as originally thought.

Here is a brief summary of US ship losses & damage to the 8 battleships at Pearl Harbor:

Battleship-USS Arizona, sunk; 1,103 killed

Battleship-USS Oklahoma, sunk; 415 killed

Battleship-USS West Virginia, sunk; 106 killed

Battleship-USS California, sunk; 98 killed

Battleship-USS Nevada, beached; 60 killed

Battleship-USS Pennsylvania, slight damage; 29 killed

Battleship-USS Tennessee, minor damage; 5 killed

Battleship-USS Maryland, some damage; 4 killed

Only the USS Arizona & USS Oklahoma were total losses. The USS West Virginia, USS California, and USS Nevada were all raised/refloated and then repaired & improved on the US west coast in time to fight in the Pacific war.

The USS Pennsylvania, USS Tennessee, and USS Maryland were all repaired on the US west coast and returned to service in less than four months.

There were several reasons that the loss and damage to the battleships was not as devastating to the US fleet as it otherwise could have been.

• Because the attack happened while the ships were in harbor, a vast majority of the crews survived the attack.
• These battleships (all completed 1916-1923) had already lost much of their importance & usefulness in the Pacific, because they were much slower than the fleet aircraft carriers, cruisers and destroyers that made up most of the fleet's task forces. They also required huge amounts of fuel to operate at even cruising speeds.
• There was before the war and immediately after the Pearl Harbor attack, a shortage of US oilers that could be used to refuel ships at sea. The US Navy chose to operate the aircraft carriers & cruisers instead of the battleships.
• The US Navy was already greatly increasing the number of warships available for combat soon.

Besides the ships not at Pearl Harbor, or not damaged at Pearl Harbor, the US Navy was already expanding. Specifically…

Already under construction at shipyards in the US at the time of the Pearl Harbor attack were:

6 fleet aircraft carriers, 4 light aircraft carriers, 1 escort carrier, 8 fast battleships, 4 heavy cruisers, 11 light cruisers, 6 AA light cruisers, 124 destroyers and numerous submarines.

Additionally the following ships were already funded & ordered to be built soon:

2 light aircraft carriers, 4 escort carriers, 2 fast battleships, 6 fast battle cruisers, 4 heavy cruisers, 12 light cruisers, 2 AA light cruisers, 60 destroyers and more submarines.

Answer 2

Twenty-one ships of the U.S. Pacific Fleet were sunk or damaged. Aircraft losses were 188 destroyed and 159 damaged

Answer 3

killed 2,403 Americans and wounded 1,178 more. Also, sunk or damaged 21 ships, including 8 battleships- nearly the whole U.S. Pacific Fleet.

Answer 4

it crippled their fleet