<P> On the morning of 7 December 1941 , under the command of LCDR William W. Outerbridge , Ward was conducting a precautionary patrol off the entrance to Pearl Harbor when she was informed at 03 : 57 by visual signals from the coastal minesweeper Condor of a periscope sighting , whereupon Ward began searching for the contact . At about 06 : 37 , she sighted a periscope apparently tailing the cargo ship Antares whereupon she attacked the target . The target sunk was a Japanese Ko - hyoteki - class , two - man midget submarine , thus Ward fired the first American shots of World War II a few hours before Japanese carrier aircraft formally opened the conflict with their attack on the Pacific Fleet inside the harbor . The submarine was attempting to enter the harbor by following Antares through the antisubmarine nets at the harbor entrance . By entering territorial waters while submerged , the submarine was not entitled to `` innocent passage '' protections . Ward fired several rounds from its main guns , hitting the conning tower of the submarine , and also dropped several depth charges during the attack . </P>
<P> On the morning of 7 December 1941 , under the command of LCDR William W. Outerbridge , Ward was conducting a precautionary patrol off the entrance to Pearl Harbor when she was informed at 03 : 57 by visual signals from the coastal minesweeper Condor of a periscope sighting , whereupon Ward began searching for the contact . At about 06 : 37 , she sighted a periscope apparently tailing the cargo ship Antares whereupon she attacked the target . The target sunk was a Japanese Ko - hyoteki - class , two - man midget submarine , thus Ward fired the first American shots of World War II a few hours before Japanese carrier aircraft formally opened the conflict with their attack on the Pacific Fleet inside the harbor . The submarine was attempting to enter the harbor by following Antares through the antisubmarine nets at the harbor entrance . By entering territorial waters while submerged , the submarine was not entitled to `` innocent passage '' protections . Ward fired several rounds from its main guns , hitting the conning tower of the submarine , and also dropped several depth charges during the attack . </P>
what did the crew of the uss ward see near the entrance to pearl harbor
what did the crew of the uss ward see near the entrance to pearl harbor
a Japanese Ko - hyoteki - class , two - man midget submarine
a Japanese Ko - hyoteki - class , two - man midget submarine