The film accurately depicts the two waves of Japanese aircraft (183 planes in the first wave, 167 in the second). The use of modified shallow-water torpedoes (Type 91) is shown correctly. The movie correctly shows that the Japanese pilots specifically targeted the battleships—the USS Arizona, USS Oklahoma, USS West Virginia, and USS California.
The movie shows the first wave of Japanese planes arriving at 7:55 AM on a Sunday morning. That is verified. It also shows the second wave arriving approximately 45 minutes later. Verified. The film correctly shows the Japanese pilots focusing on "Battleship Row" and the airfields (Hickam, Wheeler, and Bellows) to prevent an American counter-attack. movie pearl harbor verified
The film hints at intelligence failures but simplifies them. In reality, U.S. codebreakers had broken Japanese diplomatic codes and knew an attack was imminent somewhere, but they did not specifically identify Pearl Harbor. The film does not fully explain this complexity. The film accurately depicts the two waves of