What happened
The positioning of Japanese ships
In preparation for the attack, six Japanese aircraft carriers (carrying over 400 Japanese aircraft) left northern Japan and headed for a position that was north of Hawaii. The majority of these planes that were transported were intended for the two attack waves, and a few (around fifty) were to be used as a defensive precaution. Some of the planes sent on the actual attack mission were to return and they too would become part of this defence force.
Reconnaissance
Shortly before the attack, two planes left from the aircraft carriers which were positioned many kilometers north of Hawaii, and headed towards the American naval base on a reconnaissance mission. The objective of the two planes was to scout over Oahu and identify the fleet's status/position, before reporting back to the aircraft carriers.
Two waves
There was a total of about 408 Japanese planes intended for the assult. Of these, there were two waves which departed from the carriers separately. The first wave consisted of three groups, and a total of 189 planes. The first group contained 90 planes, of which 50 were Nakijima B5N bombers, and the other 40 B5N's were using a different type of bomb.This group had the objective of targeting battleships and aircraft carriers (the Japanese didn't know there were no American aircraft carriers present). The second group, with Ford Island and Wheeler Field as their targets, consisted of fifty four Aichi D3A dive bombers. The last group of the first wave was targeting any American aircraft on Ford Island by strafing (attacking ground with machine guns while low-flying ), as well as trying to damage Hickam Field and Wheeler Field. This last group contained 45 Zero fighters. The second wave had 171 planes in total, which although is slightly smaller than the first wave, it still was made up of three groups. The first group was tasked with continuing to destroy as many stationary aircraft as possible. They targeted planes on Kaneohe, Ford Island, Barbers point and Hickam field. This group had fifty four B5N's. The second group had eighty-one D3A's and were to attack any aircraft carriers and cruisers. The last group of the second wave consisted of thirty six A6M's and had the same objective as the first group of the second wave.