That the USS West Virginia fired the first salvo in the last battleship against battleship action ever.
Refloated in May, 1942, after suffering seven torpedo and two bomb (actually three - a dud 1700 pound bomb was found during salvage operations - see photo below) hits in the attack on Pearl Harbor (swift action by her damage control teams on December 7th kept her from capsizing like the Oklahoma), she returned to action with four of her other Pearl Harbor survivors - Pennsylvania, Maryland, Tennessee, and California.
At 3:53 AM on October 25th, the Wee-Vee opened fire with her sister ships on the IJN battlehsip Yamashiro, badly damaging the it. As that ship retreated, it was struck by a torpedo fired by the destroyer Bennion (named after Mervyn Bennion, the Captain of the West Virginia at Pearl Harbor, who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for saving the Wee-Vee at Pearl Harbor) and sunk. Thus, the revenge was complete. Yamashiro joined the IJN battlehip Fuso (sunk two hours before the action) at the bottom of Surigao Strait.
The West Virginia and her sister ships fired a total of 287 rounds from their main batteries in this last battleship vs. battleship action.
Two pictures - the Wee-Vee in action at Surigao Strait and the dud bomb found during salvage after Pearl Harbor.
Never forget.
Refloated in May, 1942, after suffering seven torpedo and two bomb (actually three - a dud 1700 pound bomb was found during salvage operations - see photo below) hits in the attack on Pearl Harbor (swift action by her damage control teams on December 7th kept her from capsizing like the Oklahoma), she returned to action with four of her other Pearl Harbor survivors - Pennsylvania, Maryland, Tennessee, and California.
At 3:53 AM on October 25th, the Wee-Vee opened fire with her sister ships on the IJN battlehsip Yamashiro, badly damaging the it. As that ship retreated, it was struck by a torpedo fired by the destroyer Bennion (named after Mervyn Bennion, the Captain of the West Virginia at Pearl Harbor, who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for saving the Wee-Vee at Pearl Harbor) and sunk. Thus, the revenge was complete. Yamashiro joined the IJN battlehip Fuso (sunk two hours before the action) at the bottom of Surigao Strait.
The West Virginia and her sister ships fired a total of 287 rounds from their main batteries in this last battleship vs. battleship action.
Two pictures - the Wee-Vee in action at Surigao Strait and the dud bomb found during salvage after Pearl Harbor.
Never forget.
