Torpedoes Headed for Formation

Torpedoes Headed for Formation. September 15, 1942. , The Attack , BB55 was part of a task force escorting Marine reinforcements to Guadalcanal when they were attacked. North Carolina was protecting the carrier Hornet . The Wasp task group was about 7-10 miles away. , , The Japanese 1-19 submarine fired six long-range torpedoes at the Wasp . Three struck the target, and the Wasp was sunk that night. , , Three torpedoes raced into the Hornet Task Group. The carrier Hornet turned sharply right. All ships copied her movement. , , "Right full rudder, emergency flank speed," ordered Captain Fort on BB55. Off the port bow a torpedo struck the destroyer O'BRIEN. , BB55 picked up speed, and there was an explosion like a thunderclap! , , The Damage , The torpedo blasted a hole 18 feet high x 32 feet wide in the port side hull well below the the side armor of Turret I. , , One thousand tons of seawater poured in causing the Ship to list 5-1/2 degrees. Counter flooding measures corrected the list within minutes. , , Against incredible odds the torpedo struck at a vulnerable part of the defense system where four compartments, not five, protected the Ship. , , BB55 generally absorbed the damage with no serious effect or marked loss in fighting efficiency. She remained in formation for hours then proceeded to Tongatapu for temporary repairs and to bury her dead. , , In Memoriam , Five men were killed in action on September 15, 1942: , Albert Geary, Seaman 1/c . Ingwald Nelson, Ship Fitter 2/c . Leonard Pone, Gunner’s Mate 3/c . William Skelton, Seaman 2/c . Oscar Stone, Ship Fitter 3/c , , Attack Chronology , Japanese Submarine I-19 torpedoes Wasp, O’Brien and North Carolina September 15, 1942. , Captain Ben W. Glee, USN (Ret) reconstructed the attack from action reports and ship war diaries. , , Chronology , Keyed to numerals on chart , 1. 1444 , Estimated position of 1-19 upon firing six Type 95 torpedoes at Wasp , , 2. 1445 , WASP hit by three torpedoes, three others missed: one astern, two across bow , , 3. Torpedo wake crossed HELENA's stern , , 4. 1448 , Wake of torpedo seen to pass directly under Lansdowne , , 5. 1450 , Wake of torpedo seen to pass under Mustin’s stern , , 6. 1451 , O’Brien turned sharply right to avoid torpedo, hit in port bow by second torpedo , , 7. 1452 , North Carolina hit, apparently by same torpedo that missed Wasp , Lansdowne and Mustin , , 8. Location of LT(jg) Ben W. Blee, Officer of the Deck of Pensacola , , Memories , “I knew that the Wasp was torpedoed so I went to my battle station right away and I was sitting up on top of Sky 2 before we got hit. One of the firecontrolmen was the hairiest guy we ever saw. He was in the shower at the time. He was all soaped up and when we got hit, he took off from the shower and was running up on the port side of the ship. I am looking at him go by on the main deck and all I can see is hair and soap suds. No clothes on. He went into Turret I. That was his battle station. There was a fire in the magazines so they flooded the magazine and they abandoned Turret I. Here he comes, still with no clothes on, but soapsuds, running back down again. I was telling him about it afterwards. He said Well, it wasn't funny. I said, You weren't sitting where I was.” , Harold Smith, Firecontrolman 1/C , , "I was down taking a shower, didn't have a stitch of clothes on, had just gotten out of the shower, and had the towel drying my back. There was a big explosion. I couldn't hear anything, and the next thing I knew I was in the water and oil, and there were two other guys pretty close to me, but I somehow got out. But I'll never forget it, the sight that I saw. I saw the prettiest roses you ever laid your eyes on. I saw my name. At the time I was from Lynchburg, Virginia. And I saw my name in the Lynchburg paper, Walter T. Babcock, and I'm going to tell you like it was, Walter T. Babcock, killed in action. And I don't remember getting from the third deck up to topside. The only thing I know, and I'm telling the truth, I saw my mother and father. One caught one hand and one caught the other and I actually talked to them. , Walter Babcock, Ships Cook 2/C , , "All of a sudden we look our torpedo hit. I didn't know if we had been bombed or what. There was smoke and cordite all around. I was tempted to go aft because the hit was ahead of me. I shrugged off the thought but felt my way gingerly forward because the smoke still obscured my path. I subsequently went up the many ladders to my battle station. I could see our oil slick from there. Worse, I could see the Wasp ablaze with towering clouds of black smoke. Through my binoculars I could see their crew pushing planes overboard so they wouldn't explode and make matters worse." , Larry Resen, Firecontrolman 1/C , , "Electrician McDonald yelled 'torpedo wake.' Everyone ran to the starboard side to avoid the blast. I didn't know what side it was on, so I just stood there. I took one step backward away from the shield and it hit. The ship jumped. You could feel 35,000 tons jumping several feet in the air. I never had any idea that there would be such an explosion from a torpedo. The ship rose and dropped and I found myself on my back. I looked up in time to catch the shower of water that came down. When I got up, smoke was everywhere... and smelled like fuel oil. By then we were in a hard turn to starboard and the ship was heeling to port. We had increased our speed to 25 knots. We were running at 15 [knots] when hit. I snapped out of it about then and decided it was time I manned my battle station, so I made a dash for a down ladder and ran into a real traffic jam. I finally got there and sat down with my heart pounding, wondering if one torpedo would sink us or just what would happen." , Charles M. Paty, Jr., Radioman 1/C , , "We soon found that we were able to proceed at a fairly good rate of speed but we needed time to ascertain our damage. Soon we were able to report that we could rejoin the formation. The Carrier admiral wasn't going to let all of our anti-aircraft protection go....But we weren't anxious to take another torpedo until we could ascertain...what our damage was. I suggested to the Captain that we send the following message: ‘We are leaving an oil slick about 100 feet wide.' That did it. In no time we were ordered to proceed to Pearl...and stop at Tongatabu to bury our dead." , Joe W. Stryker, Rear Admiral, USN (Ret)