The periscope belonged to a Japanese midget submarine, one of five that sneaked into the harbor before the Japanese attack began. The submarines almost gave away the attack, as did radar detecting a group of aircraft heading for Pearl Harbor. The radar was mistaken for a group of B-17s expected from the mainland, and by the time calls were made to investigate the submarine, it was too late. When the Japanese dropped the first bombs, America was caught completely by surprise.

The Japanese targeted the American ships and aircraft, particularly the battleships docked at Battleship Row. A second wave of Japanese bombers continued to rain destruction upon the base. A few sailors managed to man anti-aircraft guns and fire back at the Japanese. Finally, by 0945, the Japanese broke off their attack and returned to their ships. The entire attack lasted less than two hours.