Japanese Planes Attack Pearl Harbor
A Naval Reserve ensign, who had experienced only six months of sea duty, led the ship's defense until her commanding officer could return to the ship. The crew tumbled to battle stations at the sound of the general quarters alarm and quickly manned the main battery of two 3-inch guns. In addition, two Lewis guns atop the tall pilot house went into action. A number of riflemen armed with Springfield 1903 bolt-action rifles roamed the decks looking for good vantage points from which to fire at the attacking planes. Twenty minutes after the raid began, Turkey backed clear of the next ship to improve her field of fire and continued the fight.
When all Japanese planes had departed the area, Turkey and her sister ships labored to salvage the critically damaged battleships which were partially sunk in the mud and oily waters off Ford Island. Turkey remained engaged in these operations until 1 April 1942, when she departed Pearl Harbor for Samoan waters.
Read more about this topic: USS Turkey (AM-13)
Famous quotes containing the words japanese, planes, attack, pearl and/or harbor:
“The Japanese say, “If the flower is to be beautiful, it must be cultivated.””
—Lester Cole, U.S. screenwriter, Nathaniel Curtis, and Frank Lloyd. Nick Condon (James Cagney)
“After the planes unloaded, we fell down
Buried together, unmarried men and women;”
—Robert Lowell (1917–1977)
“We attack not only to hurt someone, to defeat him, but perhaps also simply to become conscious of our own strength.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)
“We’re in greater danger today than we were the day after Pearl Harbor. Our military is absolutely incapable of defending this country.”
—Ronald Reagan (b. 1911)
“The disabusing a man strongly possessed with an opinion of his own worth is the very same ill office that was done to the fool at Athens, who fancied all the ships that came into the harbor were his own.”
—François, Duc De La Rochefoucauld (1613–1680)