When did the U.S. launch a counterattack after Pearl Harbor?

Answer 1

The US joined WW2 after Pearl Harbor. They joined the war in Europe and the war against Japan - and also the war against Italy which was a bit of a joke. The Japanese had invaded many islands in the far east especially in the Philipines each of which needed to be liberated at the cost of many lives as the Japanese saw surrender as dishonour. Guadalcanal, Iwo Jima are examples (I've seen the John Wayne films). In an attempt to stop the Japanese continuing their fighting, the USA dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima on Aug 6th 1945 and on Nagasaki (the Japanese didn't surrender after Hiroshima) on August 9th. Japan sensibly surrendered on Aug 15th 1945. These two strikes on the heartland of Japan could be viewed as the counter attack for Parl Harbor.

Answer 2

US Army Air Corps airplanes engaged Japanese Naval airplanes in aerial combat (dog-fights). The Army Air Corps had a base that was not attacked and they were able to get two P-40 fighters in the air.

Answer 3

No. A few Japanese aircraft were shot down, but this can hardly be termed a counter-attack, which would have had to involve at least an attack on the Japanese fleet.