OAHU - PEARL HARBOR

VISITED APRIL 2016

2 million people visit the general Pearl Harbor Attack memorial area each year -HAWAII'S most popular tourist destination. Most visitors make a point of seeing the "ARIZONA" MEMORIAL and a fair few go on to explore the "USS BOWFIN'" and "USS MISSOURI".

USS MISSOURI and THE ARIZONA MEMORIAL.

The above is shot from the "MISSOURI" - the "ARIZONA" MEMORIAL is that white platform immediately in front of the bow (actual distance 330m/360yds). The "USS ARIZONA" itself is of course under the memorial.
Thing is - each is reached by a different route. You catch a SHUTTLE LAUNCH across harbor to reach the ARIZONA MEMORIAL but a BUS SHUTTLE down thru FORD ISLAND to the left, to access the MISSOURI. Details down page.


PEARL HARBOR LOCATION
The Pearl Harbor inlet is actually part of the HONOLULU conurbation (although the political borders of HONOLULU stop a few kms east, just west of the AIRPORT - there is more urban development west of the airport and  Peal Harbor navy base). This conurbation spreads across much of OAHU'S southern coast. Please excuse spelling of HARBOR on map - that's how we ORSTARAYAN dudes do it - just like the BRITS.

PEARL HARBOR is about 9 miles/14km by road from DOWNTOWN HONOLULU - a couple more from the WAIKIKI tourist strip. As can be seen, this is a pretty good natural harbour - a fine base for the US PACIFIC FLEET - except for one feature which cost dear back in '42.
(Maybe you can click-expand image to make features clearer. Maybe not - can you click-expand on a smart 'phone? I wouldn't know - my 'phone doesn't even take pictures.)

BACK IN '42 - THE JAPANESE AIR ATTACK APPROACH

The area to the NNW of PEARL HARBOR is an across island gap between OHAU'S 2 volcano-derived mountain chains - the WAI'ANAE RANGE on the left and the KO'LAU RANGE on the right. Dec 7 1941, the Japanese carriers anchored over the horizon approx central-image and much of the attack aircraft flew down the gap to PEARL. The 8 dreadnaughts moored in BATTLESHIP ROW were lined up nicely with just a slight turn.

The results of this undeclared peacetime attack were devastating - 12 warships including 4 battleships were sunk, many more were severely damaged. 103 aircraft were destroyed. 2335 service people were killed and 1143 injured - with another 103 civilians casualties. Land based naval support services were damaged.

PEARL HARBOR HISTORICAL AREA FEATURES

Modified Google Earth image. 
Arrival at the HISTORICAL VISITORS' CENTER is at the bunch of symbols top left corner (a more detailed map of this area is down page). 
The ticket office is near the RED BUILDING (which actually represents a whole bunch of buildings housing displays, theaters, rest rooms, cafeterias etc) not far from the PARKING AREA. The RED LINE shows the NAVY LAUNCH ROUTE to the ARIZONA MEMORIAL. 
To reach the USS MISSOURI and PACIFIC AVIATION MUSEUM a free bus shuttle goes from a pick-up point just under the F of USS BOWFIN across the bridge and down through FORD ISLAND. 
Note much of FORD island, plus the area south of the north east corner and a lot of places out of the image are part of a huge working naval base.
The BUS STOP SYMBOL in the north east corner is for 2 stops - one each side of the KAMEHHMEHA HWY - many public buses pass by here, see THE BUS website. There is also a bus stop off the HWY near the car park but only buses 20 and 42 come in there. Of course many private tour buses also visit this area.
I forgot to add a linear scale - it is 1200m in a direct line between the MISSOURI and BOWFIN place markers.

THE ARRIVALS AREA

1 - bag storage/WCs.
2 - book/souvenir shop
3 - cafeteria/WCs
4 - display: ROAD TO WAR
5 - display: ATTACK
6 - Memorial Theater 
7 - Navy launch to ARIZONA MONUMENT
8 - cafeteria/bag storage/WCs
9 - shuttle bus to MISSOURI and AVIATION MUSEUM
10 - outdoor BOWFIN museum
11 - indoor BOWFIN museum
12 - tour coach parking.
Symbols and numbers may be clearer if you can click-expand image.
LINEAR SCALE - it's approx 260m/290yds directly between the BOWFIN and 7 place markers.


ARRIVAL TIPS

Every guide to PEARL HARBOR stresses GET THERE EARLY!!! They mention how everyone who hasn't booked a visit in advance plus people who have booked in advance online**, have to line up at the ticket office/info area to get ENTRY tickets to each attraction. So long lines at the ticket office are common.
It pays to book online ahead even though you have to line up - certain attractions have a limited number of tickets per day for issue to UN-BOOKED people at the ticket office  (eg THE ARIZONA MEMORIAL only 13OO) which go on a first come first served basis and are often taken by mid morning - if you arrive un-booked a bit late in peak seasons you may be unlucky. Note that once the UN-BOOKED ticket allocations are gone, staff start working thru the unclaimed BOOKED tickets, issuing them to people in line. So if you have booked in advance don't arrive real late. 

Not having booked anything online, I made sure I was real early - abt 0730 (the place opens 0700) and yet the line at the ticket office was pretty long. To their credit, the navy personnel at the counter were plentiful and efficient and the line moved quickly.

I'll give ANOTHER REASON FOR EARLY ARRIVAL. The day of my visit the navy personnel running the shuttle launches to the ARIZONA MEMORIAL closed them down abt 1100. Apparently the north-east trade winds had got strong enough (they tend to strengthen as the day progresses) to make loading/unloading a bit unstable - not real good for older visitors or movement impaired people. Now online sources suggest this does not happen very often - funny thing is I didn't think my day was particularly blowy - have a look at the opening shot top of page from the bridge of the USS MISSOURI: this is where I first noticed no people at the ARIZONA MEMORIAL whereas it had been packed when I visited 2 hours previously - check the water: no white-caps, it doesn't seem particularly choppy.

**not sure about people coming in on PAID COACH TOURS: got an idea tour operators already have entry tickets to each attraction and these people don't have to line up at the ticket office. Anyway if you are on a coach tour the leader will know the drill.

TICKET AREA LINE

One of the lines in the ticket office area. And this is NOT for ATTRACTION TICKETS but for BAGGAGE STORAGE. Thing is the NAVY won't allow any type of baggage right down to purses/bum packs etc into the base areas - so for a small fee you leave your stuff here. Very efficient.
For some reason I didn't get any crowd shots - had to pinch this one from YELP which has some terrific reviews on the place.


THE ARIZONA MEMORIAL

Visits to the ARIZONA MEMORIAL are free - including a 23 minute pier-side documentary.

NAVY LAUNCH TO THE ARIZONA MEMORIAL

The trip is a relatively short (1100m/1200yds) hop across the harbour's east channel. But there can be some BIG DELAYS before departure. If you have arrived a bit late but still managed to score a ticket you may find the printed time for your transfer is 2+hours later (this is another advantage of booking in advance - apparently  you can specify the time you want to visit the ARIZONA MEMORIAL).
NO WORRIES if you have a delay - there's a bunch of things to do in this area while waiting:
- call in at the adjacent PEARL HARBOUR MEMORIAL THEATER to watch the ticket-inclusive documentary.
- call in at the nearby exhibit buildings "ROAD TO WAR" and "ATTACK", which have a bunch of displays, movies, models and artifacts on the 1940's situation from pre-attack to post attack. 
- the MAIN CAFETERIA is close by if you feel like a meal/snack/drink.
- the grounds in this area are real nice, with plenty of seating and a good outlook over the east channel.

With abt an hour to wait for my launch, I chose the "ROAD TO WAR" and "ATTACK" display pavilions - I found the them so good I ran out of time and had to return after visiting the ARIZONA MEMORIAL. I'd like to show you a pic of the displays but I didn't take any and GOOGLE IMAGES can't come up with one (maybe pix are forbidden - can't remember).

Take note of OCCASIONAL LAUNCH SERVICE CANCELLATION due to high winds as mentioned up-page. If this happens there is still heaps to do and see in various areas but with the ARIZONA MONUMENT being the highlight for many, lotsa visitors would be disappointed.

APPROACHING THE ARIZONA MONUMENT.

The launch shuttle is quick (not much more than 10 minutes). The monument floats above the sunken battleship. Note MISSOURI left of frame. The OKLAHOMA MONUMENT is land based, alongside the MISSOURI - both accessed via the FORD ISLAND shuttle bus from near the BOWFIN.

THEY SURE PACK THEM IN

The monument platform holds abt 200 people and frequent launch shuttles are timed to keep number from exceeding that. National park and Navy personnel (the historical site is administered jointly) keep visitors moving - this makes the average stop-over less than 20 minutes, which is plenty to see what's available - basically an ARIZONA SCHEMATIC (see below); a well-like opening which if the water is clear you can see some of the ship below, 12 big viewing portals to check above water parts of the wreck - the not too distant MISSOURI - the general EAST CHANNEL area; and a big remembrance wall with crew names (see down page).
Note the 2 guys front-right with headphones - these can be rented near the ticket office for $7.50 (1918 price).

SCHEMATIC OF THE ARIZONA MEMORIAL

White areas are above water all tides. The damaged superstructure, the 2 aft gun turrets and the higher forward gun turret (closest the bridge) were removed in the 1940s.
The remaining ship below water contains over 1100 bodies - this is a DESIGNATED MILITARY CEMETERY. Some attack survivors have their ashes scattered in the water after death.
Note damage to bow area, a general lateral bulge/warp in the hull and big hole mid-ship - the ARIZONA sank very quickly after bombs set off a massive explosion in a magazine. 

ARIZONA VISIBILITY ON A GOOD DAY

Underwater visibility is normally not good - wind chop from the almost constant NE TRADES combines with murky conditions from leaking oil to make the ship outline/details a bit hard to see. As was the case my visit. So I dredged up this calm day aerial shot from GOOGLE IMAGES - originally from thejapantimes.
Yellow arrow points at oil slick originating near gun turret mounting closest the observation deck. Authorities monitor oil leaks - say they will act if things get real bad. BTW - check the oil slick in the opening image top of this page - different current is driving it past the MISSOURI'S bow starboard side.
Note the ship in this image is the reverse to the SCHEMATIC one image up - the bow is pointing LEFT, which is actually towards the MISSOURI.

GOOD OL' GOOGLE EARTH!

Well DO'H! Having spent half an hour finding, transferring, texting and linking THE JAPAN TIMES' pic, I realised GOOGLE EARTH'S image of PEARL HARBOUR might have enough definition to blow up and crop the ARIZONA AREA. And hopefully the satellite snapped the image on a calm day. 
Worked a charm. 
Can't see any oil slick in this one but maybe the angle is wrong. Note  forward most gun turret (left of center) is underwater and therefore wasn't salvaged for the war effort like the others.

WALL OF REMEMBRANCE

Most sobering is the wall plaque with the names of the 1107 sailors and marines lost in the attack. Total crew complement was 1177 - the fact only 70 survived gives some idea of how quickly to ship sank after the bomb hits and explosion.

NOT MUCH OF THE ARIZONA TO SEE

As said, visibility was not great on the day. The "well" in the platform floor revealed some sea-weathered beams and panels of unknown importance. The observation windows were a bit better, showing (top) one of the aft gun turret mounts - the guns were taken to protect the west coast from sea attack; (center): part of the mid-ship hull sides; and (bottom): some sort of structural features toward the bow - at first I though these might be the twisted gun barrels of the forward turret, but closer inspection doesn't support this.


THE USS BOWFIN

After the ARIZONA MEMORIAL visit, I spent some time finishing my exploration of the excellent ART OF WAR display pavilion, checked the bookshop/souvenirs and cafeteria and then headed to the BOWIN area - less than 10 mins stroll north. Visits are not free - the entry ticket back at the ticket office costs a good value $12 (1918 price) and includes the excellent land-based outdoor/indoor museum.

The BOWFIN is located in the north of the HISTORICAL AREA not far from the FORD ISLAND BRIDGE.
This is shot from the ARIZONA MEMORIAL SHUTTLE LAUNCH - there is a fair amount of telephoto in it, maybe X3.

USS BOWFIN

The BOWFIN has an interesting history - a genuine WW2 sub (launched exactly 1 year after the PEARL HARBOR ATTACK) with 9 patrols, she was reactivated for the KOREAN WAR and later served as a TRAINING SUB. Finally de-commissioned in 1971, she was later transferred to PEARL, refurbished by volunteers and opened at the present site in early 1981.
I last toured a sub in PORT KEMBLA HARBOUR when I was a kid of 10. Over 60 years later I thought it time to refresh memories.

DECK OF BOWFIN

Long and sleek as you would expect - this is the immediate scene once aboard.

View aft from conning tower. FORD ISLAND BRIDGE to right. MISSOURI yellow arrow, ARIZONA MEMORIAL charcoal arrow - maybe you can click-expand image.
Once aboard there is a designated route for visitors so people aren't banging up against each other - not so important above decks but....

....real important below. Gets a tad crowded. 

BACK ON DECK

ARIZONA MONUMENT and MISSOURI in background. Perspective is about right - I added a bit of telephoto to overcome the natural wide-angel perspective deepening of my elcheapo OLYMPUS.
Note the headsets on visitors - free audio is part of the entry price.

BOWFIN OUTDOOR MUSEUM

I thought the outdoor displays relating to submarine warfare were just as interesting. They seem to have all types of TORPEDOES from pre-WW1 to present day, various sub-launched MISSILES (an early version background-right) plus all sorts of sub-based GUNS for little kids (and me) to climb over. A periscope set-up was good value - the MISSOURI looked RIGHT THERE.
BUILDING at right houses the INDOOR MUSEUM - I didn't make it, being a bit pressed for time. Out of frame to the right is a pretty good cafeteria.
For some reason all my pix from this area have been deleted so I had to pinch this one from Hawaii for Visitors 


THE USS MISSOURI

The MISSOURI for me was a must do. When I was a little kid in the early 1950s, most of my library books featured warships with the BIG M, the last US battleship, featuring big in many. Many years later my son built one of those plastic models of the ship which is still sitting in pride of place in his old bedroom. I never thought I'd get the chance to tour her.
She is very fitting as a WW2 war-museum exhibit because she was part of the US attack fleet on the Japanese home islands in 1945 and it was on her deck that the JAPANESE SURRENDER was signed in Sept 1945.
Still relatively young (launched in 1944), MISSOURI went on to fight in the KOREAN WAR and in OPERATION DESERT STORM. After several more years on the reserve list she was donated to the PEARL HARBOR MEMORIAL MUSEUM, opening in 1999.

This is one impressive ship particularly for the time she was built - 57500 tons displacement fully loaded, 887ft/270m long, 108/33 beam, 29/9 draft and with a crew of 2700. 
She could do 33knots (LADY TEZZA thinks our 21st century built cruise liner of choice is fanging when she breaks 20 knots - but then again, they don't call them CRUISE liners for nothing) and had a range of nearly 15000miles/24000km
Armament is impressive: 9X16 inch guns, 20X5 inch, over 100 anti-aircraft weapons.

The ship looks a bit CHUNKY above - maybe this is partly because of the fore-shortening effect of the frontal 3/4 view: but I reckon if she was loaded with fuel, ammo, stores and a full crew she would sit a lot lower in the water.

GOOGLE EARTH TO THE RESCUE AGAIN

Ain't it marvellous what a photo from outer space can show? This GOOGLE EARTH image brings out the sleekness of MISSOURI better.
Yellow arrow points to the OKLAHOMA MONUMENT. "USS OKLAHOMA" was also sunk during the attack, in approximately the same place the MIGHTY MO occupies now - fortunately more crew escaped with total loss of life 429. "OKLAHOMA" was re-floated in 1943 but was too damaged to re-enter the war.



THE TOUR
Transfer to the tour site is painless: shuttle buses (part of the $27[2018] entry ticket) pick up frequently from behind the BOWFISH cafeteria/indoor museum area and take less than 15 minutes to cross the bridge and wind down thru FORD ISLAND.

CHOICES ONCE ABOARD THE MISSOURI

Once aboard you can pick/combine 3 tours: a cost-extra audio tour with over a hundred stops (45-90 minutes): a 35 minute guided tour: a self guided tour. 
I went with a combination of the last 2 The initial 35 minute guided tour, hosted by a young lady naval reserve volunteer, was excellent - informing me of a host of things I would not have picked up on my own - after that I took off on a self-guided tour, revisiting some places I thought required extra time, checking out some new places not covered.

This area starboard mid-ships was of particular interest - the JAPANESE SURRENDER was signed on this spot. Check out table mid-background......

....the actual SURRENDER DOCUMENTS were on display.

HISTORICAL SHOT OF JAPANESE SURRENDER

 Good ol' GOOGLE IMAGES came up with this one from Owlication.

This area has another interest. Just aft, a KAMIKAZE aircraft hit the hull during the attack on OKINOWA. 

Fortunately it was a glancing blow - not much damage. The aftermath showed a touch of class - the body of the pilot ended up on the deck: crew wanted to hose it overboard but the captain insisted the young pilot had tried to do his job and had him buried at sea with full military honors next day.
All of this stuff with info and photos is on display in the area. I got this pix from Owlication.

THE PEARL HARBOR HISTORICAL AVIATION MUSEUM
This is the final display of the area. Now I'm an aircraft buff, and the museum is 5 minutes on the shuttle bus on from MISSOURI, but I gave it a miss, partly on account I was pressed for time (I had a visit to EWA BEACH to the west on my dance card - which I thought nearby [wasn't] and which turned out whelming in the direction of under) and partly because I'd recently checked the excellent aircraft on display at the MIDWAY naval museum in SAN DIEGO - thought PEARL HARBOR'S might be much of the same. For the record tour cost is $25 (1918).

NOT ALL IS MUCH OF THE SAME....

....MIDWAY sure didn't have any MIGS. I guess these early jet fighters (either 15s or 17s) are in context - KOREA (war 1950-53) is of course a PACIFIC RIM country, as is CHINA (had a bunch of earlier MIGS) and of course EASTERN RUSSIA adjoins the PACIFIC. 
Image from PEARL HARBOR HISTORIC SITES.

In retrospect, it seems like if you have the time, the PACIFIC AVIATION MUSEUM might be well worth the visit. TRIPADVISOR and YELP reviews may help you decide.


OVERVIEW

In conclusion, this image from the ARIZONA MEMORIAL OFFICIAL WEBSITE ties the historical area displays together well. Even though SCALE and PERSPECIVE are out of whack, it gives visitors a good idea of the layout.



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IF YOU SEE MISTAKES OR HAVE EXTRA INFO, PLEASE POST BELOW. BUT IF YOU HAVE A QUESTION, IT WOULD BE BEST TO ASK IT IN THE FORUM SECTION WHICH I CHECK MOST DAYS - WHEREAS I SELDOM REVISIT INDIVIDUAL LOCATION PAGES LIKE THIS ONE




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