The USS Panay, with 55 men aboard, was sent to rescue any Americans left after the battle of Nanking between China and Japan. On Dec. 12, Japanese planes appeared suddenly and bombed the American vessel. The Japanese government claimed the attack was an accident. The newsreels show the ship had American flags all over the ship and the Japanese planes attacking with the crew on deck firing back with machine guns.
Chat with our AI personalities
Japan attacked and occupied Manchuria in 1931. Japan launched a full scale attack on China in 1937.
The Japanese sank a U.S. Gunboat, in The USS Panay Incident. The Japanese attacked the American gunboat Panay while it was anchored in the Yangtze River outside Nanking (now spelled Nanjing), China. The attack occurred 12 December 1937.
It depends on where you lived. In China, 1937. In most of Europe, 1939 or 1940. In USA, 1941. World War 2 began in 1939 when Nazi Germany attacked Poland.
Although the Japanese were the first to start the war in Asia on July 7, 1937 with their invasion of China, historians generally agree that September 1, 1939 was the start of the Second World War when Germany attacked Poland.
"Officially"- Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, 7 December 1941."Unofficially"- The USS Panay incident: 12 December 1937.The USS Panay was an American gunboat anchored in the Yangtze river outside the Chinese city of Nanking. The Japanese, claiming they did not see the ship's American markings, bombed and sank it, causing 48 US casualties. Even though Japan apologized and payed an indemnity, the incident lead to an upswing of anti-Japanese sentiment in the American public, and contributed to the deterioration of relations between the two nations.