Page 1540 - Dive the Seas and More-2

USS ARIZONA This battleship was the sinking and later repaired by her own
most damaged out of all of the ships
attacked. A 1756-lb. bomb detonated near
the forward munitions magazine,
resulting in an incredible explosion that
destroyed the front half of the ship, and
caused it to sinkin nine minutes, taking
1177 lives. There were 377 survivors. The
unsalvageable ship was left on the bottom
of the harbor. The USS ARIZONA still
entombs over 900 crewmen.
USS WEST VIRGINIA Struck by up to
nine torpedoes, extensive damage
severely hampered the post-attack raising
of the ship. However, after repairs, the
ship returned to service on July 4, 1944.
She took part in the Battles of Leyte Gulf,
Iwo Jima, and Okinawa, and was in Tokyo
Bay during the Japanese surrender on
September 2, 1945.
USS MARYLAND Struck by two bombs
that did not inflict serious damage. The
MARYLAND returned to active duty on
Feb. 26, 1942. She went on to take part in
the Battle of Midway, the invasion of the
Gilbert Islands, the Battle of Tarawa, the
invasion of Saipan, and the Battles of
Leyte Gulf and Okinawa.
GARBAGE LIGHTER (YG 17) The
heroic crew of this service ship assisted all
over the harbor with its big pumps
shooting water onto fires.
USS VESTAL Damaged by two 1756 lb.
bombs, the repair ship VESTAL was
helped away from the flaming ARIZONA
by tugs. She was beached to keep from
crew.
USS TENNESSEE Struck by two bombs
that did not detonate. She was again ready
for service on Feb. 26, 1942. Throughout
the war the TENNESSEE remained near
the west coast of the United States.
USS NEOSHO This oiler had just
delivered aviation fuel to Ford Island.
During the attack, knowing that her
position blocked Battleship Row, she took
the initiative without orders and chopped
off her mooring lines and moved to the
Dredge across the channel to clear the way
for the USS MARYLAND. Then she
moved to Merry Point behind the USS
CASTOR, firing 171 rounds of anti-
aircraft shells along the way. The
NEOSHO was not damaged.
Beside ships, the attack was taken to the
Air Stations as well. This is the story of
Ford Island Naval Air Station:
FORD ISLAND NAVAL AIR STATION
The Air Stations of Oahu were bombed
and strafed simultaneously at the start of
the Japanese raid. This included Naval Air
Stations at Ford Island, Kaneohe, and
Wheeler, plus Bellows Army Air Field
and Marine Air Base at Ewa. This almost
eliminated U.S. air response capabilities
for the ensuing attack on Pearl Harbor.
The U.S. Armed Services had adopted an
anti-sabotage practice of bunching their
aircraft and ships together out in the open.
This made for easy targets for the enemy
pilots.