Pearl Harbor Through the Eyes of a LIFE Photographer

Devastation
Bob Landry, one of the only news photographers near Pearl Harbor on the day Japanese pilots attacked U.S. naval bases in Hawaii, shot a series of photos for LIFE magazine showing the aftermath of the attacks. In this photo, the U.S.S. Arizona sinks into the harbor shortly after the assault. The Japanese offensive surprised the world as well as the press; at the time the planes struck, Landry and a reporter were approximately 100 miles (160 km) off the coast of Pearl Harbor, working on a story about naval exercises in the Pacific.

• Pearl Harbor Attacks: Tragedy at Honolulu