uss nevada beached , burning result of damage sustained during attack on pearl harbor
map of ships , port facilities in pearl harbor during attack; nevada #7. click on image key.
damage sustained bow of nevada, photographed 5 days after attack
when weekend of 6–7 december arrived, of pacific fleet s battleships in port weekend first time since 4 july. took turns spending time in port— 6 out vice admiral william s. pye s battleship task force 1 one weekend, while next weekend find 3 ranging vice admiral william halsey, jr. s aircraft carrier task force. however, because halsey not afford take slow battleships fast carriers on dash reinforce wake island s marine detachment fighters , because pye s turn rest in port , harbor considered safe, none of battleships sailing on morning. when sun rose on nevada on 7th, ship s band playing morning colors ; planes appeared on horizon , attack on pearl harbor began.
aft of arizona during attack, nevada not moored alongside battleship off ford island, , therefore able maneuver, unlike other 7 battleships present. officer of deck, ensign joe taussig (son of admiral of same name), had earlier morning ordered second boiler lit off, planning switch power load 1 boiler other around 0800. nevada s gunners opened fire , engineers started raise steam, single 18 in (460 mm) type 91 mod 2 torpedo exploded against frame 41 14 ft (4.3 m) above keel @ 0810. seconds later, same kate torpedo bomber dropped torpedo shot down nevada s gunners. torpedo bulkhead held, leaking through joints caused flooding of port side compartments below first platform deck between frames 30 , 43 , list of 4–5°. damage control crew corrected list counter-flooding , nevada got underway @ 0840, gunners having shot down 4 planes. ensign taussig s efficiency paid off, saving ship, lost leg in attack.
nevada became prime target japanese val dive bombers during second wave. japanese pilots intended sink in channel ostensibly block harbor. tactically target selection wrong 14–18 dive bombers attacking wouldn t able sink battleship 250 kg bombs , channel s width of 1200 feet made idea of bottling harbor impossible. steamed past ten-ten dock @ 09:50, nevada struck 5 bombs. 1 exploded on crew s galley @ frame 80. struck port director platform , exploded @ base of stack on upper deck. yet hit near no. 1 turret inboard port waterway , blew large holes in upper , main decks. 2 struck forecastle near frame 15; 1 passed out through side of second deck before exploding, other exploded within ship near gasoline tank; leakage , vapors tank caused intense fires around ship.
the gasoline fires flared around turret 1 might have caused more critical damage if main magazines had not been empty. several days prior attack, of 14-inch-gun (356 mm) battleships had been replacing standard-weight main battery projectiles new heavier projectile offered greater penetration , larger explosive charge in exchange slight decrease in range. of older projectiles , powder charges had been removed magazines of nevada, , crew had taken break after loading new projectiles in anticipation of loading new powder charges on sunday.
as bomb damage became evident, nevada ordered proceed west side of ford island prevent sinking in deeper water. instead, grounded off hospital point @ 10:30, of hoga , avocet, though managed force down 3 planes before struck shore. gasoline fires prevented damage control parties containing flooding forward of main torpedo defense system. flooding main magazine , counterflooding keep ship stable lowered bow allowing water enter ship @ second deck level. lack of watertight subdivision between second , main decks frame 30 frame 115 allowed water entering through bomb holes in forecastle flow aft through ship s ventilation system flood dynamo , boiler rooms.
over course of morning, nevada suffered total of 60 killed , 109 wounded. 2 more men died aboard during salvage operations on 7 february 1942 when overcome hydrogen sulfide gas decomposing paper , meat. ship suffered minimum of 6 bomb hits , 1 torpedo hit, possible many ten bomb hits may have been received, [...] damaged areas [were] of sufficient size indicate struck more 1 bomb.
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