Before Pearl Harbor, There Was the Eerily Similar Attack of the USS Panay

Four years before Pearl Harbor, Japanese bombers targeted a United States Navy gunboat on a quiet Sunday morning in December...Did we mention this was four years before Pearl Harbor?

A Japanese suprise attack on the U.S. Navy conjures up the images of the USS Arizona ablaze in Pearl Harbor. It may shock you to learn that Pearl Harbor was the Japanese’s second surprise attack on the U.S. Navy. The first surprise attack was against the USS Panay.

In the 1930s, United States and China relations were much different than today. Under treaty, the United States ran boats up and down the Yangtze River.

The Yangtze was a significant trading route for American commerce in China. Such vibrant trade routes drew the attention of pirates. Looking to prevent the theft of payloads, American gunboats soon escorted the cargo.

American ships patrolled the Yangtze intimated the pirates. Their presence, for the most part, kept the waterways free. But cargo loads weren’t the only things they were protecting. Oil ships also required escorts.

Neutral Americans Attacked by Warring Japanese

1937 changed the landscape, including on the Yangtze. The Japanese Imperial Army had invaded China. The invasion took the Japanese to the city of Nanking - infamously known as the Rape of Nanking.

Americans in Nanking required evacuation. On patrol on the Yangtze, the USS Panay received word to pick up fleeing journalists and embassy staff.

The Panay’s crew of 55 rounded up the fleeing Americans. With the evacuated aboard, they retured to their duties. Approaching oil tankers required escort and the Panay joined them in their journey upstream.

Upstream from the atrocities in Nanking, the Panay anchored in the river to ride out the turmoil. Civilians still aboard, the Panay waited patiently.

Anchored on the Yangtze on a quiet Sunday afternoon on December 12th, the Panay floated. Along the horizon, seemingly out of nowhere, Japanese planes appeared.

Earlier that day, Japanese air forces had received information that fleeing Chinese were in the area. They believed the Chinese evacuees were aboard boats on the Yangtze.

Unprovoked, three Japanese planes began bombing the American gunboat. Another nine Japanese fighters began strafing the ship’s decks. An American civilan captured the attack on film.

The ship’s captain received a wound to throat. Unable to talk, he wrote out his initial orders in blood. Evacuations of the sinking USS Panay began. Small boats began shuttling crew and civilians to the bank of the Yangtze. From the riverbank, the survivors would watch the ship sink.

Surviving the Surprise Attack

The survivors would be taken aboard nearby American and British ships. A British gunboat who picked up survivors, the HMS Ladybird, noted they too had a run in with the Japanese that day. A shore battery had opened fire on them as they cruised the river.

When the smoke cleared, three men aboard the Panay died and another 27 were injured. Images of the incident quickly circulated around the United States.

It was received with varying levels of shock. Some played on emotions of a flashback to the USS Maine. The Maine’s destruction pulled the U.S. into the Spanish-American War in 1898.

As the U.S. was a neutral country, the aggressive attack seemed too intentional to be an accident. The Japanese government were quick decry the attack as accidental. Crewmen from the Panay adamantly reminded the world that their ship was adorned with American flags.

The Controversy Faded Quietly

Later that month, Japanese and American officials met at the American embassy in Tokyo. The Japanese officials admitted to a single plane mistakenly firing a machine gun at a boat on the Yangtze. This contradicted with the reported ambush of several Japanese fighters planes.

Some believed the Japanese fighters were using the chaos of Nanking to intimidate the United States out of China. Others believe it was a test of American resolve - to see if the United States would retaliate.

In the end, the United States lodged a formal protest with the Japanese. The American embassy received apology letters. The surviving crew of the Panay received compensation. Both from the Japanese.

In retrospect, many historians note the Japanese attack on the Panay were curious. It was Christmastime. Citizens in the U.S. distracted by the holiday kept the story from gaining notable attention.

Also in retrospect, the similarities between the Panay and Pearl Harbor are curious. Both surprising air attacks. Both on quiet Sundays.

History for the Hurried:

May 13, 1846: At the request of President James Polk, Congress declares war on Mexico. The controversial struggle eventually cost the lives of 11,300 U.S. soldiers and resulted in the annexation of lands that became parts of Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, California, Utah and Colorado.

May 14, 1607: The first permanent English settlement in America was established at Jamestown, Virginia.

May 17, 1875: The first Kentucky Derby horse race took place at Churchill Downs in Louisville.