On December 7, 1941, Japanese fighter planes came by the hundreds and attacked a US naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. The devastating bombardment lasted about 2 hours, during which the Japanese were able to demolish 20 American naval vessels, eight giant US battleships, and a little less than 200 airplanes. Over 2,000 US soldiers and sailors died in the attack and on top of this, about 1,000 were injured/wounded.