The first shot was fired by the Americans

The first interesting fact about the attack on Pearl Harbor is that Americans fired the first shot. Nowadays, most people are aware that the Japanese government wanted to attack Pearl Harbor and declare war on the United States. However, a lot of people do not know that when the Japanese started bombing, that wasn't the start of the war.

The USS Ward, a warship, fired the first shot. It was not just the first shot fired that day but also the first official American shot of the War when the Wickes-class destroyer USS Ward targeted and sank a Ko-hyoteki-class midget submarine nearby the harbor entrance on December 7, 1941. The minesweeper Condor noticed the periscope of the Japanese sub above the water, warning the crew of the Ward, who fired on the intruder.