![]() ![]() (The USS California had been in dry dock during the attack, and thus was not actually sunk.) The Japanese victory at Pearl Harbor turned out to be far less of a complete smashing of the US Fleet than they had thought, not counting on the resolve and ingenuity of Americans to raise those sunken battleships and return them to action.Ĩ. On the other hand, despite the seemingly catastrophic blow to the US Navy’s battleship fleet, 5 of the stricken battleships that fell victim during the Pearl Harbor attack, the USS California, USS Nevada, USS West Virginia, USS Maryland and USS Tennessee, were raised and repaired, and eventually returned to service during World War II. ![]() Sadly, the other 2 battleships sunk during Pearl Harbor Japanese surprise attack of December 7, 1941, the USS Oklahoma and USS Arizona, were damaged beyond repair and could not be repaired and returned to service, although the Oklahoma was refloated, she was too damaged to repair. Navy Photograph 80-G-19940, now in the collections of the U.S. USS Nevada beached and burning as a result of damage sustained during the attack on Pearl Harbor. 5 US Battleships sunk at Pearl Harbor, 1941, recovered and refloated 1942. The recovered portions of the Monitor are on display at the Mariners’ Museum in Newport News, Virginia.ģ-7. Discovered for real in 1973, the massive single turret was raised, and over the following years much of the rest of the wreck has been raised as well. The possible wreck of the Monitor may have been located as early as 1949, though sea currents prevented divers from examining the site. Unfortunately, 16 of her crew of 62 were lost in the sinking. Neither the Monitor or the Virginia survived the year 1862, the Virginia scuttled and blown up by her crew to prevent her capture, and the Monitor sunk in heavy weather while being towed past Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. While not the first steam powered ironclad warships, the USS Monitor and CSS Virginia (former USS Merrimac) had fought an epic and historic battle at Hampton Roads in 1862, the first documented battle of ironclad (armored) warships. The 1860’s were a time of important naval advancements, with the proliferation of steam powered warships and breech loading cannons combined with the armor plating of exposed areas of some ships. Navy photograph by Photographer’s Mate 1st Class Martin Maddock. The turret, moments after it reached the surface, secure in the “spider” lifting frame. USS Monitor, Ironclad warship, sunk 1862, recovered 1973-present. ( Note: The crew may have been killed by the explosion itself rather than from drowning due to leaks caused by the explosion.)Ģ. The partly reconstructed sub can be visited and viewed at the Warren Lasch Conservation Center in North Charleston, South Carolina. Exact credit for and date of the discovery of the Hunley is disputed, but in any case, in 2000 large parts of the old submarine were brought to the surface. Although the wreck of the Housatonic was located easily, the wreck of the Hunley remained elusive for over a century, as searchers never thought to look on the seaward side of the wreck of the Housatonic, assuming the Hunley had to be on the landward side since that is the direction the attack had come from. Sadly for the crew of the Hunley, all 8 men aboard the sub died as the Hunley was destroyed by the blast that sunk the Housatonic. ![]() Using a large explosive charge at the end of a 22 foot long pole driven against the hull of the unsuspecting Housatonic blew a big hole in that ship, sinking the US Navy ship and creating panic among the Union vessels blockading the Charleston, South Carolina harbor. We have previously discussed the Hunley in “10 “ Oops!” Moments in Naval History” and the fact that this first ever combat effective submarine had accidentally sunk itself twice before it became the first submarine in naval history to sink another ship, the USS H ousatonic, in 1864. Hunley in sodium hydroxide bath, July 2017. HL Hunley, Confederate Submarine, sunk 1864, recovered 2000. Today we list 10 of the most famous or interesting such shipwrecks (though 5 of them are from one incident!). ![]() The Hunley joins the roster of famous or infamous vessels that have been discovered on the sea floor and either raised or with major parts of the vessel recovered. Hunley were raised to the surface 136 years after this pioneering vessel was sunk, probably by itself during the US Civil War. On August 8, 2000, the remains of Confederate submarine H.L. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |