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Photo # 80-G-182880:  Aerial view of the Pearl Harbor Submarine Base and fuel farm, 13 October 1941.

Online Library of Selected Images:
-- EVENTS -- World War II in the Pacific --

Preliminary Events and Activities, 1940-1941 --
Pearl Harbor in 1940-1941 (Part II)


This page features aerial photographs of Pearl Harbor, taken during 1940-1941, showing individual components of the base.

For more aerial views of Pearl Harbor in 1940-1941, showing broader areas, see:

  • Pearl Harbor in 1940-1941.


    If you want higher resolution reproductions than the Online Library's digital images, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions."

    Click on the small photograph to prompt a larger view of the same image.

    Photo #: 80-G-451125

    Pearl Harbor, Oahu, Hawaii


    Aerial view of the Submarine Base, with part of the supply depot beyond and the fuel farm at right, looking north on 13 October 1941.
    Note the fuel tank across the road from the submarine base, painted to resemble a building.
    The building beside the submarine ascent tower (in left center, shaped like an upsidedown "U") housed the U.S. Fleet Headquarters at the time of the Japanese attack on 7 December 1941. Office of Admiral Husband E. Kimmel, the Fleet's Commander in Chief, was in the upper left corner of the building's top floor.
    See Photo # 80-G-451125 (complete caption) for identification of some of the ships present.

    Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.

    Online Image: 144KB; 740 x 605 pixels

    Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system.

     
    Photo #: 80-G-182880

    Pearl Harbor, Oahu, Hawaii


    Aerial view of the Submarine Base (right center) with the fuel farm at left, looking south on 13 October 1941.
    Among the 16 fuel tanks in the lower group and ten tanks in the upper group are two that have been painted to resemble buildings (topmost tank in upper group, and rightmost tank in lower group). Other tanks appear to be painted to look like terrain features.
    Alongside the wharf in right center are USS Niagara (PG-52) with seven or eight PT boats alongside (nearest to camera), and USS Holland (AS-3) with seven submarines alongside. About six more submarines are at the piers at the head of the Submarine Base peninsula.

    Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.

    Online Image: 177KB; 740 x 620 pixels

    Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system.

     
    Photo #: 80-G-189536

    Pearl Harbor, Oahu, Hawaii


    Aerial view of the Submarine Base, with part of the fuel farm in the foreground, looking southwest on 13 October 1941.
    Note the artfully camouflaged fuel tank in center, painted to resemble a building. Also camouflaged as a building is the most distant fuel tank in the upper left.
    The building beside the submarine ascent tower (in right center, shaped like a backwards "C") housed the U.S. Fleet Headquarters at the time of the Japanese attack on 7 December 1941.
    Alongside the wharf in right center are USS Niagara (PG-52) with several PT boats alongside (nearest to camera), and USS Holland (AS-3) with seven submarines alongside. About six more submarines are at the piers at the head of the Submarine Base peninsula. USS Wharton (AP-7) is the large ship at left.

    Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.

    Online Image: 164KB; 740 x 625 pixels

    Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system.

     
    Photo #: 80-G-451131

    Pearl Harbor, Oahu, Hawaii


    Aerial view, looking west, with the supply depot in upper center, 13 October 1941. Part of the Submarine Base is at lower left; the Navy Yard is in the upper left; and Ford Island is in the top right.
    See Photo # 80-G-451131 (complete caption) for identification of some of the ships present.

    Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.

    Online Image: 128KB; 740 x 615 pixels

    Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system.

     
    Photo #: 80-G-411134

    Floating Drydock YFD-2


    Arrives at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on 23 August 1940, after being towed from New Orleans, Louisiana. It is still marked "U.S. Naval Station New Orleans, La".
    USS Osceola (YT-129) is in the right foreground, assisting. One of the other tugs is probably USS Sunnadin (AT-28).
    An unidentified destroyer seaplane tender (AVD) is tied up at the Ford Island fuel dock, in the left center. Visible in the distance, moored on the other side of Ford Island, are (from left to right): USS Yorktown (CV-5), two destroyers, USS Wright (AV-1) and two light cruisers.

    Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.

    Online Image: 103KB; 740 x 605 pixels

    Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system.

     


    For more aerial views of Pearl Harbor in 1940-1941, showing broader areas, see:

  • Pearl Harbor in 1940-1941.


    NOTES:

  • To the best of our knowledge, the pictures referenced here are all in the Public Domain, and can therefore be freely downloaded and used for any purpose.

  • Some images linked from this page may bear obsolete credit lines citing the organization name: "Naval Historical Center". Effective 1 December 2008 the name should be cited as: "Naval History and Heritage Command".


    If you want higher resolution reproductions than the Online Library's digital images, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions."


    Return to Naval History and Heritage Command home page.

    Page made 15 October 2000
    Coding updated 19 April 2009