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The Japanese attacked the American ships with bombs and torpedoes. They had developed very sophisticated torpedoes and they were dropped, at a low altitude by the Japanese Zeros and they sped through the water just below the surface. They detonated when they hit their target. These torpedoes were able to hit many American cruisers and battleships beneath the water line and they sank very quickly even though they were moored in the Harbor. This is also shown very dramatically but also very realistically. The disorganized nature of the American defense is also shown and the lack of air cover for the US fleet is also accurate. However, the planes that were used in the movie were not actually Japanese Zeros. They were adapted RCAF Harvard (T-6 Texan) training and BT-13 Valiant training aircraft and had the distinctive markings of the Japanese air force painted on their wings and tail-wings.<ref> Slackman, Michael. Target: Pearl Harbor. Honolulu: U of Hawaii P, 1990, p. 113</ref>

The movie was able to acquire some planes from the time such as B-17s and the Curtiss P-40 Warhawk. The US P-40 planes shown in the motion picture are in reality only elaborate fiberglass props. The movie does accurately capture the extensive damage and destruction of the attack. The Japanese attack was almost a complete success. However, they failed to sink the US aircraft carriers, for the simple reason, that they were on maneuvers<ref> Collier, Richard. The Road to Pearl Harbor. 1941. New York: Bonanza Books, 1981, p. 112</ref>. This meant that the Japanese did not achieve all their objectives and this is shown very clearly in the movie. In one scene, the Japanese commander of the attack Admiral Yamamoto is informed that the US aircraft carriers had not been moored in Pearl Harbor. He clearly shows his disappointment and he displays a sense of foreboding. The aircraft carriers such as the USS Yorktown were to spearhead the counter-attack against the Japanese in the Pacific.