In all the history books students are taught about the Japanese sneak attack on Pearl Harbor and and the generally accepted starting time for the attack is around 7:55 AM on Sunday morning, December 7, 1941.

However I learned while watching a Pearl Harbor anniversary special on the military channel that the attack actually began several hours earlier when 5 midget Japanese submarines attempted to breach the anti-submarine nets across the harbor entrance and launch a torpedo attack to be coordinated with the upcoming air attack.

The USS Destroyer Ward was on patrol just outside the harbor mouth on that fateful Sunday morning and spotted a periscope and conning tower of a submarine in a security zone. The Ward’s captain made the decision to attack very quickly and fired several cannon shots at the sub around 6:30 AM, hitting it and sending it to the bottom.

Here are some great photo of that submarine after it’s recent discovery by the Hawaiian Underwater Research Laboratory. The detail is incredible and you can actually see the shell hole the Ward put in the conning tower which sank the sub.
The Ward is credited with firing the first shot of World War II when it sank the submarine.

Soon after the USS Destroyer Monaghan sighted a second midget sub trying to sneak into the harbor by following an American ship. The Monaghan rammed the sub and sank it too.

A third submarine experienced some mechanical difficulties and actually washed up on the beach and was captured by American forces. One of it’s crew was also captured nearby and became the first Japanese prisoner of war.

Japanese midget submarine

Photo from US Archives.

The fourth submarine was discovered some years later off the coast of Hawaii by US Navy divers. It was recovered and returned to Japan.

The fate of the 5 submarine is still unknown but there is some speculation that it actually penetrated Pearl Harbor and was sunk during the ensuing aerial bombardment by Japanese aircraft.

I found that vignette of Pearl Harbor history very interesting and one of those little know facts you don’t normally hear about.