Somehow, six AAF planes did get airborne about half an hour after the attack began. During the furious bombing, Army pilots flew 25 sorties against the Japanese, and claimed 10 shot down. Into the middle of the furore flew a dozen B-17s from the 38th and 88th Reconnaissance Squadrons, on their way from Hamilton Field, CA, to the Philippines. They had no ammunition aboard; their guns were stowed and covered with a protective finish; their armor had been detached and moved forward to balance the aircraft. In a remarkable collective demonstration of airmanship, the bombers evaded the Japanese fighters as well as American anti-aircraft fire, and landed wherever they could find a place, including on a 1,200-ft (365-m) runway at Haleiwa and on a golf course. One was hit badly enough to be written off, and three others were badly damaged.

About two hours after the attack ended, the first reconnaissance aircraft took off from Oahu to find the carriers. It was a useless mission; Yamamoto's fleet was long gone, headed back after an extremely successful surprise attack.

In the Philippines, word of the Pearl Harbor debacle had alerted the air commanders, but they delayed any possible effective counterstrike against Japanese positions within range. They did send their aircraft into the air on patrols. Their B-17 units then were ordered to strike the Japanese on Formosa, and they came back to Clark Field, near Manila, to refuel and rearm. They were on the ground when a flight of Japanese bombers flew over and devastated Clark Field and the B-17s. Other strikes against American air installations were the same. A few fighters got off the ground and downed some Japanese bombers, but the battle was one-sided. When the attackers left after two days of intermittent bombing and strafing, they had achieved effective air superiority over the area for the Japanese forces. A dozen B-17s were left operational, along with 22 Curtiss P-40s and eight Seversky P-35s.

It was the auspicious start of a Japanese sweep of the Far East that lasted only about six months.