Raleigh was moored at berth F-12, on the east side of the north channel at Pearl Harbor, when the Japanese made their surprise attack. In the first attack wave a torpedo passed ahead and a second hit Raleigh portside amidships. The cruiser took such a list to port that it appeared she might capsize. As she fought to survive, jettisoning topside weight, her gunners helped to destroy five enemy planes. Her valiant men won her from the enemy and the sea in a struggle which almost miraculously, left her with only a few wounded.
