On December 7, 1941, with World War II well under way but with the United States only indirectly involved, the Japanese air force attacked the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor, on the Hawaiian island of Oahu. The attack devastated the U.S. Pacific Fleet in less than two hours. More than 2,500 Americans died, five battleships were sunk, three destroyers were wrecked, and several other ships would have to be put out of commission; of the eight battleships in the harbor, not one was deemed seaworthy after the attack. Only three of the Pacific Fleet’s aircraft carriers—those not stationed at Pearl Harbor—escaped the onslaught.