--- title: Newsreel: The Attack on Pearl Harbor | TIME description: This 1942 newsreel shows the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii and the S.S. Normandie fire at a New York City pier. (From the Prelinger Archive, Libary of Congress) canonical: https://time.com/video/WMw4HQhe/ og:title: Newsreel: The Attack on Pearl Harbor og:description: This 1942 newsreel shows the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii and the S.S. Normandie fire at a New York City pier. (From the Prelinger Archive, Libary of Congress) og:url: https://time.com/video/WMw4HQhe/ og:image: https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/WMw4HQhe/poster.jpg?width=720 og:type: video.other twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Newsreel: The Attack on Pearl Harbor twitter:description: This 1942 newsreel shows the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii and the S.S. Normandie fire at a New York City pier. 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They are at time.com/newsletters and are separate from a paid subscription. ## Video: Newsreel: The Attack on Pearl Harbor [Watch (HLS stream): Newsreel: The Attack on Pearl Harbor](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/WMw4HQhe.m3u8) (9:35)  _Published 2011-12-06. This 1942 newsreel shows the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii and the S.S. Normandie fire at a New York City pier. (From the Prelinger Archive, Libary of Congress)_ --- Jul 27, 2023 3:20 PM UTC --- ## More From This Series [All Videos](https://time.com/video/) [What to Know About the Opening Ceremony for the 2018 Winter Olympics](/video/1jERJuXH/) ### What to Know About the Opening Ceremony for the 2018 Winter Olympics [Why Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe Should be Person of the Year](/video/66ti4Ya3/) ### Why Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe Should be Person of the Year [How the Opening Ceremonies Got the Crowd to Join the Show](/video/lMBR8KI2/) ### How the Opening Ceremonies Got the Crowd to Join the Show --- ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] Your commentator is Joel Bryant. [ MUSIC ] Here is the motion picture record released by the United States Navy , of the havoc rout by the Japs' sneak sky and sea raid on Pearl Harbour, America's mid- Pacific naval bastion. On December 7th, 1941, Japan like it's infamous Axis partners, struck first and declared war afterwards. Costly to our navy was the loss of war vessels, airplanes, and equipment. But more costly to Japan, was the effectiveness of its foul attack, in immediately unifying America, in its determination to fight and win the war thrust upon it, and to win the peace that will follow. The Japs copied their German masters at striking hard at airfields. Hiccum Field, Northwest of Honolulu and the [ INAUDIBLE ] island naval plane base were the first objectives of Japan's treachery. Scores of planes were bruised and battered by the Japs' aeriel bombs. Many of these were demolished beyond repair. Direct hits were scored on hangers and these were badly shattered. Equipment and airplane supplies were reduced to smoldering ruins. Here at the Naval air station is grim and positive evidence of Jap treachery. Here falls blows were struck while Jap diplomats were talking peace in Washington. America lost three destroyers. Here are seen the United States destroyers Downs and Shore as they rest on the bottom of Pearl Harbour. With decks awash as the Jap bombers make direct hits on their decks. The first to feel the sting of Japanese steel are the USS Oklahoma and Utah. The latter a 33 year old target ship. Accurate hits by the enemy bombers make short work of these two naval bulwarks. Now with their keels practically out of water, they lie helpless wrecks and a sad reminder of cowardly strategy. To make possible a surprise attack within Pearl Harbor, the Japs built two man submarines to enable them to fire sneak blows within waters that are narrow and tortuous. Several of these surprise weapons were blown from the water by direct hits of all naval gunners. Others were beat and captured. While sky and seafire was still raging, salvage crews inspected on naval craft to estimate what navy saved. Before the din of bursting bombs had been silenced, preparations were under way to salvage these two warships. At low tide, the huge propeller of the Oklahoma, stilled by the enemy was high above water. It is believed that the small two- man Jap submarines carrying [ UNKNOWN ] torpedo tubes were responsible for these two losses to our Pacific fleet. Here is the actual bombing of the mighty USS Arizona by Jap planes. [ MUSIC ] These pictures were made by a fearless camera man who thought nothing of his personal safety to make possible this record for all posterity. A single lucky hit was responsible for the disaster that befell the Arizona, when a Jap bomb falling directly through one of the battleship's bottles exploded in the engine room. And set ablaze tons of fuel oil. Dense black smoke billowed to the sky as the massive control tower began to keel over. The Arizonas courageous crew stuck to its guns until the very end. Here was displayed heroism that will live forever in the glorious annals and traditions of the American navy. The once mighty Arizona now rests on Pearl Harbour's muddy bottom. A pitiful relic of its former self. A grim monument to the treachery of Japan. The once mighty Dread North Armor Plate is twisted and torn but the great battleship's control tower still stands, a defiant beacon that in days to come will cast its shadow upon Nepon's very shores. At Pearl Harbour at Pickens Field in the bomb popped streets of Honolulu, ever is written history. History with a tragic, treachorous pen. History that 130 million Americans will never forget. And the days to come, the Japs too will remember Pearl Harbour. Here is the tragic, unforgettable page in the annals of America. Here, the cunning deceit of the Japs will never be forgotten. Here, they hoped to score a knockout, before the war began. The Arizona's gun crews, battered and broken, fired to the last. Their guns pointed skyward, from whence the enemy appeared. The Japs sneak blow cost hundreds of military and civilian lives. The treacherous attack cost our Pacific fleet two battleships outright, another capsized, the loss of three destroyers and a mine layer. While bombs were still bursting and flames still pouring from our shattered naval craft, a life United States cruiser valiantly moves out to join the fleet and avenge Pearl Harbour. June 3rd, 1935, the Normandy $ 60 million luxury liner comes to America on its maiden crossing of the Atlantic. An event that occasioned a marine demonstration that will live in history. Whistles blew and sirens shrieked a mighty welcome to the new queen of the seas. The famed skyline of America's greatest city formed a fitting background for America's greeting to one of the most stately ships that ever crossed the Atlantic. Six years later shortly after the United States entered the war the Normandy was seized and placed under naval guard. Hundreds of civilian workers we're put aboard the Normandy renamed the USS [ UNKNOWN ] to strip the vessel of its costly furnishings and to prepare it for war duty as the United States transport. February 9th, 1942, the Normandy afire, a fatal tragedy to the big luxury liner and to America. As the flames rapidly spread to devastating fury, workers madly scramble to safety while fire boats and fire engines pour tons of water into the stricken vessel. All fire doors, vertical and horizontal were. Closed to protect the ship's vitals from the planes. But this was all in vane. Dense clouds of thick acrid smoke, billowed far out over Manahattan, casting a mucky paul over mid- town and downtown New York. While the blaze was at it's height, hundreds of doctors, nurses and first aid workers were rushed to the scene to remove the wounded and administer first aid to scores over come in their efforts to stem the fury of the spreading flames. Millions stood in awe when the Normady first reached America on it's triumphant maiden voyage. Again, millions line the New York and New Jersey shores to sadly observe the passing of the doomed and ill fated ship. Rear Admiral Adolphus Andrews, coming down to the third naval district ordered all hands a shore to save the lives of those who were heroically battling to keep the huge liner upright. Hour after hour, tons of water were pumped into the Normandy. Causing a bad lisp to port. As strong horses snapped and tugs drove to push the giant vessel close to the wharf. Then during the night, the Normandy met its final doom. When with a resounding crunch of ice and a belch of smoke, the 83000 ton vessel dipped to flame scarred superstructure into the surface of the Hudson River. Hundreds were injured when America lost it's biggest naval artillery. Millions of dollars of damage has been done. And thousands of man hours of labour have been nullified. [ MUSIC ] Accident or Sabotage, the world may never know. But, the fate of the luxury line in Normandy [ UNKNOWN ] the USS Lafayette is one of major catastrophies of our day. [ MUSIC ] ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Newsreel: The Attack on Pearl Harbor","description":"This 1942 newsreel shows the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii and the S.S. Normandie fire at a New York City pier. (From the Prelinger Archive, Libary of Congress)","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/WMw4HQhe/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2011-12-06T22:37:39.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/WMw4HQhe.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/video/WMw4HQhe/","duration":"PT9M35S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/video/WMw4HQhe/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}} ```