USS Corry (DD-463) - Discrepancy Over The Sinking of Corry

Discrepancy Over The Sinking of Corry

The official loss of ship report for Corry states that at 06:33 she hit a mine, which was said to have exploded below her engineering spaces. Initial reports by the commanding officer, however, state that Corry was sunk by a salvo of heavy caliber projectiles which detonated amidships below the water level in the engineering spaces and caused the breaking in half and sinking of the vessel. German reports also state that the Saint Marcouf (Crisbecq) battery commanded by Walter Ohmsen, located 1+1⁄₂ miles (2.4 km) inland, with its three 210-millimeter (8.25 in) guns scored a direct hit on an American warship at approximately H-Hour (0630), causing its sinking. The warship was initially believed to be a light cruiser (due to Corry's silhouette resembling that of a light cruiser at a distance). About two weeks after D-Day, a detailed report stating that heavy artillery fire had sunk Corry was about to be submitted as the official loss of ship report, but it was suddenly scrapped and rewritten stating that Corry had struck a mine. No officers or crew were consulted for input on the rewrite of the report. This final official loss report for Corry stated on its last page that shelling received simultaneously with the proposed mine resulted in "merely incidental damage".