US 'fired first shot' at Pearl Harbor

By Rupert Cornwell in Washington

30 August 2002

An accidental discovery on the seabed could provide proof that an American sailor, not a Japanese pilot, fired the first shot in the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941 that launched the Pacific War.

American marine researchers have discovered what almost certainly is the two-man Japanese midget submarine that was sunk by the destroyer USS Ward shortly before hundreds of Japanese aircraft devastated the US Pacific fleet as it lay at anchor, sinking or damaging 21 American warships, and killing almost 2,400 people.

The 78ft submarine was found a few miles from Pearl Harbor itself during a test dive by the Hawaii Undersea Research Laboratory. Eyewitness accounts have long spoken of a submarine skirmish before the aerial onslaught.

The sunken mini-sub has a bullet hole in its conning tower, and both torpedoes are intact. The remains of the two crewmen are believed to be still inside. "It's the shot that started World War II between the Americans and the Japanese," said John Wiltshire, director of Hawaii Undersea Research.

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