Pearl Harbor

Pearl Harbor, natural landlocked harbor on Oahu island, Hawaii. Of great strategic importance, it is best known as the target of the Japanese surprise bombing of the U.S. Pacific fleet on Dec. 7, 1941. Damaged or sunk were 19 ships; 188 planes were destroyed on the ground at Wheeler Field. The raid caused more than 2,200 casualties with negligible losses to the Japanese and brought the United States into World War II. Today it is a national historic landmark.

See also: Hawaii; World War II.