Harrison's Heroes · Pearl Harbor VR Experience · Map 1 of 2
The Pacific Theater
A schematic overview — where the morning of December 7, 1941 fits on the map of the world
Pearl HarborReference point- - - carrier task force route
Schematic map for classroom orientation — shapes and positions are simplified, not to scale. Notice the distance: the attacking fleet crossed nearly 4,000 miles of open ocean, maintaining radio silence, before launching its aircraft about 230 miles north of Oʻahu.
Harrison's Heroes · Pearl Harbor VR Experience · Map 2 of 2
Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941
A schematic layout of the harbor and airfields at the moment of the attack
U.S. ships (selected)Highlighted in the VR experience- - - attack approaches
Schematic layout for classroom orientation — simplified and not to scale. Aircraft at Wheeler and Hickam were parked in tight rows as a guard against ground sabotage, which made them concentrated targets from the air. Use this map during Phase 1 to locate Battleship Row, Ford Island, and the airfields before students enter the experience.
Harrison's Heroes · Pearl Harbor VR Experience · Timeline
December 7, 1941 — The Morning, Hour by Hour
All times local (Hawaii). The attack itself lasted roughly one hour and fifty minutes.
~6:10 a.m.About 230 miles north of Oʻahu, Japanese carriers begin launching the first attack wave — 183 aircraft.
~6:40 a.m.The destroyer USS Ward attacks a midget submarine at the harbor entrance — the first American shots of the Pacific war, reported up the chain but not acted upon in time.
~7:02 a.m.A radar station at Opana Point detects a large flight of aircraft approaching from the north; it is mistaken for an expected flight of American B-17s.
7:55 a.m.The first wave strikes. Torpedo planes hit Battleship Row while dive bombers and fighters strike Wheeler, Hickam, Ford Island, and Kaneohe nearly simultaneously.
~8:06 a.m.USS Arizona explodes after a bomb detonates her forward magazine; she sinks in about nine minutes with the greatest loss of life of any ship that morning. USS Oklahoma, struck by torpedoes, capsizes.
~8:54 a.m.The second wave — about 170 aircraft — attacks through heavy anti-aircraft fire, striking the Navy Yard, drydocks, and the already-burning airfields. USS Nevada, attempting to reach the sea, is deliberately grounded to avoid blocking the channel.
~9:45 a.m.The attack ends. More than 2,400 Americans are dead, including 68 civilians; 21 ships are sunk or damaged; most aircraft on the island are destroyed or damaged on the ground.
Dec. 8President Franklin D. Roosevelt addresses Congress — "a date which will live in infamy" — and the United States declares war on Japan.
AfterSalvage crews and shipyard workers begin one of history's great recovery efforts: of the battleships sunk or damaged, all but the Arizona and Oklahoma eventually return to service.
Times for individual events are approximate and drawn from official Navy and National Park Service accounts; sources vary by a few minutes. Students use this timeline in Phase 1 and may return to it during discussion.