Replies

I heard of this back around August, and downloaded a bunch of really neat photos of the sub taken by the Univ. of Hawaii robot submersable that found it.

Of course, I don't have a clue how to post a graphic on here, and I can't find the URL for the U of H website where I got them - but a search could probably turn them up. I think it is in Honalullu.

The reason I was interested is that a fellow I used to have breakfast with in North Yarmouth, Maine is one of the Pearl Harbor Survivors, and had related how his ship (I think it was the Ward) sank a Jap mini-Sub just outside of the Harbor shortly before the attack.

According to "Burt" Davis, they were returning from a top-secret mission to rescue a US Merchant ship that had been taken hostage, essentially, by the Japanese, and to escort it back to the US base. He says that the mini-subs had been following them all the way from Japan and were under orders to sink the Merchantman "at all costs", it's recapture by the U.S. Navy having caused considerable "loss of face" to the Empire. It was during a last-ditch, suicidal attack by one of the subs that the Ward sank it.

Burt's ship had just begun refueling when the attack hit, and he helped rescue tug crews pull what victims they could from the oily, often burning water, while his Crewmates fought from the deck of the Ward as best they could. The ship was "running on fumes" coming into the harbor after the long-range mission, so making a run for it was not an option. Apparantly the Ward survived the attack and went on to distinguish itself in the Pacific Theater for the rest of the War.

The pictures from the research sub show the two 14" HE torps in the bow, one on top of the other and noses exposed, and shell - hole through the base of the conning tower quite distinctly, and I hope someone who knows how can post the pictures on here.

I have never seen any "official" account which collaborates Burt's story. Sadly, I am told that he is currently suffering from the advanced stages of Alzheimer's and may not be with us much longer.