It started off like an ordinary morning in Hawaii.

Across the US territory, locals and navy personnel started waking up and getting on with their day.

Just before 8am, an unusual sound came from the sky.

Within hours, the island was left in ruins, battleships were damaged or sunk, and 2403 people were dead.

On this day in 1941, during the middle of World War II, the Japanese army carried out a surprise military strike on Pearl Harbour, a US naval base near Honolulu, Hawaii.

No one saw it coming.

Up until that point, the US had not been involved in the war, which began in Europe in 1939 when Germany invaded Poland.

Japan’s attack, using fighter aircraft, level and dive bombers and torpedo bombers, was intended to prevent the Americans from entering World War II.

Germany’s ally did not want the US interfering and getting in the way of its ambitions to take over British and Dutch territories in south-east Asia.

The lack of any formal warning by Japan – especially while peace negotiations were apparently ongoing – totally blindsided the US.

During the attack, the Japanese destroyed 188 US aircraft and sunk four battleships, three cruisers, three destroyers and several other warships.

But their plan to keep the US out of the war dramatically backfired.

The next day, the US officially declared war on Japan and began sending troops to Europe.

President Franklin D Roosevelt proclaimed December 7, 1941 a “date that will live in infamy”.

On the popular holiday island, the pain of Pearl Habour remains to this day.