- 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.
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- 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.
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- 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.
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- 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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