Wreck of the USS Johnston

[jon_norstog]

The Johnston went down after giving all it had in the 1944 Battle off Samar that turned back the Japanese Navy's Center Force as it steamed toward the landing at Leyte Gulf. Where she went down is close on 25,000 feet deep. The wreck was found in 2019 but it was too deep for the ROV to investigate. This recent visit was by a manned submersible.

It is just a blurb, but one thing came out: two of the Johnston's 5"-38 turrets were still firing when she went down, and the torpedoes were all gone, fired off. The wreck is still in good shape.

https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-56608713

jn

[barretcreek]

The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors by James Hornfischer. Great read of an amazing feat.

[kj47]

That was a great read, thanks for posting.

[jon_norstog]

I wrote a song about that sea fight, posted here a few years ago:

http://www.jouster2.com/forums/showthread.php?65080-Battle-off-Samar&highlight=battle

Had to do it!

jn

[m1ashooter]

Thank you

[pmclaine]

Timely....What I was looking at as I drank my coffee yesterday morning....

https://i.imgur.com/5xQZ0KKl.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/aJLK4Eml.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/nnW65yll.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/zRZFGTdl.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/Kr87VqGl.jpg

I definitely had the Johnston in mind as I admired the fine lines of the Cassin Young.

This was a beauty too....

https://i.imgur.com/dsA1LkCl.jpg

[jon_norstog]

PM, they are two of a kind. Small, fast, heavily-gunned ships that punched way above their weight. The Fletcher class 'cans had it all: 36+ knots at flank, five 5"-38s in armored mounts, and the Mark 37 fire control system with the Ford Mark I A analog computer that could put a shell through a house window 5 miles away. Each mount could fire 12-14 rounds per minute.

The Mark 15 torpedoes were pretty effective when they hit something. A better torpedo would have probably shortened the war.

jn

[pmclaine]

PM, they are two of a kind. Small, fast, heavily-gunned ships that punched way above their weight. The Fletcher class 'cans had it all: 36+ knots at flank, five 5"-38s in armored mounts, and the Mark 37 fire control system with the Ford Mark I A analog computer that could put a shell through a house window 5 miles away. Each mount could fire 12-14 rounds per minute.

The Mark 15 torpedoes were pretty effective when they hit something. A better torpedo would have probably shortened the war.

jn

Second best naval engineering only beaten by the beauty of the Elco PT.

It would be the perfect sized ship to serve on in my mind. Not so big the crew doesnt know every other member.........big enough to bring a lot of fight.....and fast to boot.

Looking at its wavy plate you can tell its not heavily armored. Speed had to be part of its defense.....allowed it to be not where the enemy thought it would be.

The Massachusetts is nearby and impressive but the Cassin Young for such limited space seems to bristle with more guns.

[jon_norstog]

When I picked up the CGC Barataria at Pearl she had just come off Operation Market Time and was tied up on Tin Can Row. I had to cross and salute four decks to get out to her. One of the ships I crossed was the original Fletcher. Those ships had the range needed for battle in the Pacific, unlike a lot of the older cans.

jn

[PWC]

What are the blue (inert) things that look like mortor rounds just below the wheel house? Are they depth charges? All I have ever seen looked like 35 gal drums rolled off the back or shot off the side.....

[pmclaine]

What are the blue (inert) things that look like mortor rounds just below the wheel house? Are they depth charges? All I have ever seen looked like 35 gal drums rolled off the back or shot off the side.....

Hedgehogs.

Antisubmarine warfare mines. They launch like rockets and land in a pattern to bring hate to people under water.

- - - Updated - - -


When I picked up the CGC Barataria at Pearl she had just come off Operation Market Garden and was tied up on Tin Can Row. I had to cross and salute four decks to get out to her. One of the ships I crossed was the original Fletcher. Those ships had the range needed for battle in the Pacific, unlike a lot of the older cans.

jn

You picked up a CGC that had "just" been involved in Market Garden?

You a WWII CG vet sir?

[jon_norstog]

You picked up a CGC that had "just" been involved in Market Garden?

You a WWII CG vet sir?


My bad! I can just imagine a "white one" dropping into the Netherlands under about 12,000 parachutes! It was Market Time. Thank you for noticing, I'll edit the original post.


jn

[Art]

On the Hedgehog.

This was one of a multitude of British developed anti submarine weapons used initially against U-Boats but by early 1944 was being installed on allied escort vessels all over the world; anywhere there was an enemy submarine threat.

Sonar actually has a minimum effective range within which the echo returns so fast it can't be distinguished from the sent "ping." Once inside this circle a submarine could maneuver without being detected until it once again got outside the minimum range and the return of the "ping" could be detected.

The hedgehog was a way to attack the submarine while its position was still fixed by the sonar signal. The idea, mentioned above, was a salvo of projectiles from an array of spigot mortars arranged to land in a pattern several hundred yards ahead of the ship. It was a contact weapon which meant "no hit no bang." The salvo was tight enough that if it landed over the submarine there should be at least one hit and one hit was almost always fatal. Effectiveness was increased by the use of a stabilized mount that compensated for the roll of the ship. Used by a skilled crew the kill rate for hedgehog attacks was around one in five, much better than depth charges which,of course were also used.