Attack On Pearl Harbor

On 7 December 1941, Japan staged a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, decimating the US Pacific Fleet. This three-part documentary, shown on consecutive nights, gives a detailed account of the raids, with the opening edition revealing the background to the events. Japanese pilots were trained on a replica of Pearl Harbor and went to great lengths to keep the mission a secret. This included using decoy radio operators and not dumping their rubbish at sea in case it was seen by an enemy submarine. However, there were missed opportunities that could have helped the Americans avert the disaster. Some of the survivors of that day share their stories. They include a 103-year-old Japanese torpedo bomber and an American sailor who was on the USS Arizona when it was hit by a bomb that ignited its ammunition magazine, killing 1,177 men.

Tuesday-thursday, Channel 5, 9pm