Sinking of USS Wasp and USS O'Brien
On September 15, 1942, while patrolling south of the Solomon Islands during the Guadalcanal campaign, I-19 sighted and attacked the U.S. carrier Wasp, firing six torpedoes. Three of the torpedoes hit Wasp, causing heavy damage. With power knocked out due to damage from the torpedo explosions, Wasp’s damage-control teams were unable to contain the ensuing fires, she was abandoned and scuttled. The remaining three torpedoes from the same spread (torpedo salvo), often incorrectly attributed to a second Japanese submarine, hit the U.S. battleship USS North Carolina (BB-55) and the destroyer USS O'Brien (DD-415), which later sank en route for repairs on October 19, 1942. Significant damage had been sustained by the North Carolina, which was under repair at Pearl Harbor until November 16, 1942. This single torpedo salvo thus sunk one aircraft carrier, one destroyer and severely damaged one battleship, making it one of the most damaging torpedo salvoes in history.
Further information: Sinking of USS Wasp and Sinking of the USS O'BrienRead more about this topic: Japanese Submarine I-19
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