Ship Photo of the Day

[Griz882]

Since we are approaching Pearl Harbor Day I am reminded that in 2002 an exploration team discovered the submarine sunk by the USS Ward on the morning of December 7, 1941. Intact, the sub lies in 1100 feet of water just a few miles from where Ward’s captain reported their brief encounter had taken place. A single four-inch diameter hole in the hull, just below the conning tower, marks the first shot fired in the Pacific War.

It is one of two still at the bottom of the sea. Both mini submarines are considered both historic sites and war graves. Since 2002, NOAA, the National Park Service and the University of Hawaii have mounted several expeditions to the two mini submarine wrecks, most notably in 2005. The results of the various expeditions, as well as the history and technology of the mini submarines can be read about in the book, The Lost Submarines of Pearl Harbor. The two boars are also protected by the Sunken Military Craft Act administered by the U.S. Navy’s Naval History and Heritage Command. Here is a phot of the sub sunk by the Ward, the first U.S. shot of WWII.

 

[Randy Daytona]

USS Aylwin DD-355, a Farragut class destroyer, was one of the few ships to get underway during the attack on Pearl Harbor. At 50% manning, there were only 4 officers aboard - all ensigns. At 08:29, Commander, Destroyer Battle Forces ordered all available ships to sea and senior officer aboard. Ensign Stanley Caplan complied. The ship noticed the senior officers in a launch 1,000 yards behind but Aylwin had her orders and headed to sea for 36 hours, returning in a few days to pick up the captain.



On a completely separate note, I noticed USNI has an article on what the 2nd wave of attacks missed. What I am still looking for is a hypothetical engagement: instead of a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, what would have happened if the 2 fleets met on the open seas. Considering the Japanese skill, training, tactics and Long Lance torpedoes, could they have duplicated their 1905 victory at the Battle of Tsushima?

 

[Randy Daytona]

A couple of ships were in the news for Dec 4, 1941.

USS Enterprise (CV-6) was delivering Marine fighters to Wake Island.



USS Arizona (BB-39) as part of Battleship Division 1 with USS Nevada (BB-36) and USS Oklahoma (BB-37) was conducting night gunnery exercises.


Before modernization with the birdcage masts.



After modernization. I believe this was the photo used for part of the Army-Navy football game program.

And for reference on the Eastern Front, German Army Group Centre dug in around Moscow as temperatures dropped to -31 deg F.

 

[HAL Pilot]

USS Constitution - Old Ironsides

 

[HAL Pilot]

USS Casin Young DD-793

 

[Griz882]

I used to work, as a Park Ranger, on the Cassin Young one of favorite duty stations off Bunker Hill.

 

[HAL Pilot]

I used to work, as a Park Ranger, on the Cassin Young one of favorite duty stations off Bunker Hill.

Only topside is open…f’ing stupid COVID restrictions. Would have loved to go below decks.

 

[Randy Daytona]

As mentioned previously USS Enterprise had left Pearl Harbor a few days earlier to deliver Marine fighters to Wake Island. In Dec 5th, Task Group 12 centered on USS Lexington CV-2 was ordered to leave Pearl and deliver 18 Marine Vindicator dive bombers of VMSB-241 to Midway.

On 7 Dec and only 500 miles from Midway, Lady Lex got the order to suspend the delivery and immediately start hunting for the Japanese fleet. With 18 Marine dive bombers plus 65 aircraft assigned to the ship (including 17 Brewster Buffalo fighters)….

With the Marine aircraft aboard, Lexington's flight deck was very congested and he decided to reverse the phase of the ship's electric propulsion motors and steam full speed astern in order to launch a new CAP and then swap back to resume forward motion to recover his current CAP. This unorthodox action allowed him to maintain a continuous CAP and recover his aircraft without the lengthy delay caused by moving the aircraft on the flight deck from the bow to the stern and back to make space available for launch and recovery operations.

USS Lexington, fortunately, never found the Japanese fleet and returned to Pearl Harbor on Dec 11th.


Lexington in 1931


Aerial view of Lexington on 14 October 1941


Vindicator dive bomber - the only surviving example today is at the Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola.


F-2A Brewster Buffalo fighter

 

[Randy Daytona]

Probably be too busy tomorrow so will do this now: taking a look at the composition of the Pacific Fleet on the eve of Pearl Harbor.

The main striking force was Battleships, Battle Force made of:

Battleship Division 1: (14” main guns)

• USS Pennsylvania (BB-38)
• USS Arizona (BB-39)
• USS Nevada (BB-36)

Battleship Division 2: (14” main guns)

• USS Tennessee (BB-43)
• USS California (BB-44)
• USS Oklahoma (BB-37)

Battleship Division 3: (16” main guns)

• USS Colorado (BB-45) (being refitted on the West Coast)
• USS Maryland (BB-46)
• USS West Virginia (BB-48)

Carrier Division 1:

• USS Lexington (CV-2)
• USS Saratoga (CV-3)

Carrier Division 2:
- USS Enterprise (CV-6)

Also a total of 5 Cruiser Divisions and 2 Destroyer Flotillas

On Dec 6, the Japanese strike force was making a high speed run to be in launch position for the attack on the 7th; meanwhile 30 Japanese submarines had ringed Hawaii with I-74 having USS Lexington in its sights but not cleared to fire.


I-68


I-65


I-75

 

[Randy Daytona]

To expound upon the size of the US fleet - and the task facing the Japanese Navy, in the Atlantic were the 14” battleships:
USS New Mexico (BB-40)
USS Mississippi (BB-41)
USS Idaho (BB-42)

Older battleships suitable for shore bombardment/ convoy escort of:
USS New York (BB-34)
USS Texas (BB-35)
USS Arkansas (BB-33) (12” main armament)

Carriers:
USS Ranger (CV-4)
USS Yorktown (CV-5)
USS Wasp (CV-7)
USS Hornet (CV-8)

And if that wasn’t difficult enough, by Pearl Harbor, the fast, 16” main gunned battleships were already launched and nearing commissioning
USS North Carolina (BB-55)
USS Washington (BB-56)
USS South Dakota (BB-57)
USS Indiana (BB-58)
USS Massachusetts (BB-59)
USS Alabama (BB-60)* (actually launched in Feb 1942)

4 Iowa class had already been laid down with 2 more Iowas, 5 Montanas, 6 Alaska large cruisers (cough, battlecruisers) and 11 Essex class carriers authorized.

 

[Randy Daytona]

The only ship of the Japanese strike force to survive the war was the Fubuki class destroyer IJN Ushio. A remarkable ship, she served at Coral Sea, Midway, as part of the Tokyo Express and at Surigao Strait.

Japanese destroyer Ushio (1930) - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

On a separate note, was going back through Gordon W Prange’s “At Dawn We Slept”. The Japanese Navy really did some innovative work to increase the range of their strike force for the voyage to include finding room for extra fuel tanks and working to improve at sea refueling.


Ushio underway on 4 August 1936.

 

[Randy Daytona]

Before the Mighty Mo saved us from an alien invasion, there was HMS Thunderchild protecting us from Martians. From HG Welles “War of the Worlds”…. (the narration is by the actor Richard Burton)

Drachinifel did a video on the ship trying to figure out exactly what it would look like.

 

[Randy Daytona]

Catching up on the December 1941 timeline are the very important events of 10 December.

The Royal Navy sent Task Force Z composed of 4 destroyers, the battleship HMS Prince of Wales (the most modern and powerful battleship of any combatant in the Pacific at this time) and the older battlecruiser HMS Repulse to attack a Japanese troop convoy headed for Malaya. The aircraft carrier HMS Indomitable was scheduled to accompany the group but had run aground previously and was unavailable.

The end result was the destruction of the British heavy units by a special unit of Japanese land based torpedo bombers (the first battleship at sea to be sunk by carrier aircraft was actually not until 1944)

Lot of “what ifs” in this battle. The British capital ships narrowly missed (5 miles distant but a pitch black night) intercepting their intended troop convoy target - which was only guarded by Japanese heavy cruisers. This was compounded by the heat and humidity affecting both the British radar (needed a week to repair) and degrading the anti-aircraft ammunition. Also, if the Indomitable had accompanied the force as planned, would it have survived? Finally, out of curiosity, would battleships with a better AA armament have survived the attack (specifically the North Carolina and South Dakota classes)?

The loss of Prince of Wales and Repulse, Part 2: the air attack - Navy General Board

Author Matthew Wright continues to examine the loss of Prince of Wales and Repulse in the second part of his multi-part series.

www.navygeneralboard.com

The Real Story of the Destruction of Force Z

Even more than Pearl Harbor, the sinking of the two British battleships served to convince political and naval authorities of the pre-eminence of airpower in the Pacific.

thediplomat.com

Sinking of Prince of Wales and Repulse - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

Memorial at the naval base in Singapore.


Repulse departing from Singapore on 8 December 1941


Indomitable in 1943


Prince of Wales departing Singapore to intercept Japanese transports approaching Malaya, 8 December 1941


Prince of Wales arrives at Singapore, 4 December 1941

 

[Randy Daytona]

Looking back at December 22nd, 1941, the sister ship of the recently sunk HMS Prince of Wales. HMS Duke of York, had brought Prime Minister Churchill across the Atlantic and into Chesapeake Bay for the First Washington Conference. Although many might initially dismiss the 5 King George V battleships due to their lighter main armament of 14” cannons, the ships were very heavily armored.

The video at the bottom is a comparison of the King George V to the Iowa class.


HMS Duke of York in March 1942, while escorting Convoy PQ 12

HMS Duke of Yorkship's bell

 

[jmcquate]

HMS Duke of York, had brought Prime Minister Churchill across the Atlantic and into Chesapeake Bay for the First Washington Conference.

Interesting tale about the First Washington Conference. The use of Blair House for lodging of visiting foreign heads of state instead of the White House began after the conference because of Churchill sleeping naked and being a sleepwalker.................or so the story goes.