On December 7, 1941, Japanese aircraft sank or severely damaged 19 U.S. Navy vessels at Pearl Harbor, including all eight battleships moored there that morning. Four battleships — USS Arizona, USS Oklahoma, USS California, and USS West Virginia — went to the bottom of the harbor, though only Arizona and Oklahoma were total losses that never returned to active duty. The rest were damaged but eventually repaired and sent back into the Pacific war.
Key takeaways
Battleship Row, along the southeast shore of Ford Island, took the brunt of the attack. All eight battleships stationed there that Sunday morning were hit within the first hour.
So while “four battleships sunk” is the commonly cited figure, only two — Arizona and Oklahoma — were permanent losses. The other six battleships, including two that sank, eventually returned to fight in the Pacific.
Battleships get most of the attention, but the attack damaged or destroyed vessels across several classes. According to the National Park Service, which administers the USS Arizona Memorial, the attack struck a total of 19 ships, including cruisers, destroyers, and support vessels in addition to the eight battleships.
Among the non-battleship losses:
Most of the damaged (non-sunk) ships were repaired at Pearl Harbor’s own shipyard facilities and returned to duty within months, a turnaround that mattered enormously for the Pacific Fleet’s ability to recover.
Readers researching this topic often find slightly different totals — some sources say 19 ships, others say 21 or reference “12 ships sunk or beached.” The discrepancy usually comes down to definitions: whether a source counts only ships sunk outright, includes ships beached to prevent sinking, or folds in vessels damaged but never submerged. The Naval History and Heritage Command catalogs the attack by individual ship action reports, which is why exact phrasing in secondary sources can differ even when the underlying facts match.
For trip planning purposes, the number that matters most to visitors is simpler: two ships, USS Arizona and USS Utah, remain in Pearl Harbor today as sunken war graves, and both are part of what guests see on a harbor tour.
The sunken battleships and the broader attack are the reason Pearl Harbor draws visitors from around the world, and understanding the scale of the losses adds context to standing at the memorial itself. If you want the fuller narrative of how the attack unfolded hour by hour, a detailed account of the events of December 7, 1941 walks through the timeline in sequence.
On a guided tour, visitors typically see:
Because Arizona’s memorial tickets are limited and time-stamped, same-day walk-up access isn’t guaranteed, which is one reason many visitors join an organized tour that includes a reserved ticket window rather than arriving independently.
Group leaders, teachers, and families often ask how long it takes to absorb all of this on-site. Between the Arizona Memorial, the museums, and Battleship Missouri, a full Pearl Harbor visit typically spans several hours rather than a quick stop, especially if Ford Island sites are included. Pearl Harbor Official structures its bus tours from Waikiki around that reality, building in enough time at each stop so the history doesn’t feel rushed.
Q: How many ships were sunk at Pearl Harbor?
Four battleships sank outright — USS Arizona, USS Oklahoma, USS California, and USS West Virginia — and a total of 19 U.S. Navy vessels were sunk, beached, or otherwise damaged during the attack.
Q: Which ships were permanently lost and never returned to service?
Only USS Arizona and USS Oklahoma were total losses. USS California and USS West Virginia were both raised and repaired, and rejoined the Pacific Fleet later in the war.
Q: Why is USS Arizona still in the harbor?
USS Arizona sank so quickly after a magazine explosion that recovery of the hull was never feasible, and it was designated a war grave for the more than 1,000 crew members still aboard; the memorial built above it is now a National Park Service site.
Q: Was USS Utah also sunk at Pearl Harbor?
Yes. USS Utah, then serving as a target and training ship, capsized after torpedo hits and was never raised; it remains near Ford Island as a memorial site with far fewer visitors than the Arizona Memorial.
Q: How many sailors died when the ships were sunk?
More than 2,300 American service members died in the attack overall, with USS Arizona alone accounting for 1,177 of those deaths — roughly half the day’s total fatalities.
