{"product_id":"pearl-harbors-revenge-how-battleships-sunk-or-damaged-in-1941-returned-to-war","title":"Pearl Harbor's Revenge: How Battleships Sunk or Damaged in 1941 Returned To War","description":"\u003cp\u003eEarly on Sunday, 7 December 1941, Japanese carrier-borne aircraft launched a surprise attack against the US Pacific Fleet based at Pearl Harbor. It was a date that President Roosevelt declared “will live in infamy”.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDuring the strike, Japanese planes attacked the seven US battleships lined up in Battleship Row – and the flag battleship USS \u003ci\u003ePennsylvania\u003c\/i\u003e, in drydock for overhaul. The battleship USS \u003ci\u003eArizona \u003c\/i\u003eexploded from a bomb hit at the forward magazine killing 1,177 officers and men. On USS \u003ci\u003eOklahoma\u003c\/i\u003e, 429 men were killed – many trapped inside as the great battleship capsized after aerial torpedo strikes. USS \u003ci\u003eWest Virginia\u003c\/i\u003e, meanwhile, was hit by at least seven torpedoes and several bombs, and engulfed in flames; she settled onto the bottom on an even keel. USS \u003ci\u003eCalifornia \u003c\/i\u003ewas hit by a pair of torpedoes and a bomb, flooding slowly, she too settled on the bottom. The other battleships present were more lightly damaged, with the crippled \u003ci\u003eNevada\u003c\/i\u003e, the only battleship to get underway during the attack, being successfully beached.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBy the time the assault was over, eight battleships, three light cruisers, three destroyers, a training ship and other smaller vessels had been sunk or damaged. Hundreds of US aircraft had been damaged or destroyed, whilst 2,403 Americans had been killed.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWithin a week of the Japanese attack, a great salvage organisation had been formed. Very quickly the lightly damaged battleships \u003ci\u003ePennsylvania\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eMaryland \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eTennessee \u003c\/i\u003ehad been repaired in naval yards and put back into service to protect the west coast of the USA.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOf the eight battleships attacked, all but \u003ci\u003eArizona \u003c\/i\u003ewere raised, temporarily patched-up and sent back to naval yards on the west coast of America for final repair and modernisation. Main battery guns and ordnance were recovered from the wrecked \u003ci\u003eArizona\u003c\/i\u003e, which would then be left to rest on the bottom of the harbour for eternity – as a memorial to the events of that fateful December day. USS \u003ci\u003eNevada \u003c\/i\u003ewas lifted off the bottom in February 1942, \u003ci\u003eCalifornia \u003c\/i\u003ein March 1942 and \u003ci\u003eWest Virginia\u003c\/i\u003e in June 1942. The capsized \u003ci\u003eOklahoma\u003c\/i\u003e, whilst eventually parbuckled and raised, was found to be too badly damaged to be fully rebuilt.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSix of the eight battleships would thus return to service, with improved protection against bombs and torpedoes and being fitted with the latest anti-aircraft and gunnery systems. They would re-enter to the war to wreak a terrible revenge – making their presence felt during the reconquest of the Aleutian Islands and the Philippines, and the great battles of Leyte Gulf, Iwo Jima and Okinawa. \u003ci\u003eNevada \u003c\/i\u003ewould go on Atlantic convoy duty before bombarding German positions off Utah beach as the D-Day Normandy landings began. This is the story of those six.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Pen \u0026 Sword Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48783606841501,"sku":"9781399013338","price":89.9,"currency_code":"MYR","in_stock":false}],"url":"https:\/\/mphonline.com\/products\/pearl-harbors-revenge-how-battleships-sunk-or-damaged-in-1941-returned-to-war","provider":"MPHOnline.com","version":"1.0","type":"link"}