Sunday in Hell by Bill McWilliams

Author:Bill McWilliams
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Open Road Media
Published: 2011-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

At the right in the image, at approximately 0940 hours while the attack is still in progress, is the cruiser St. Louis (CL-49), moving down-channel toward the harbor entrance. Following her in the background is an unidentified destroyer. In the left foreground is the bow of the slowly settling, listing battleship California, and in the background is the burning, sinking West Virginia and shattered, fiercely burning Arizona. NA

Power to train her 5-inch guns came on at 0947, and at 1004 she cleared the channel buoys and entered international waters, accelerating toward 25 knots - just as men at battle stations on the bridge sighted two torpedoes approaching on the starboard beam. Rood ordered an immediate change in course to begin zigzagging, while the conning tower of a submarine was sighted on the starboard bow, distance about 1,000 yards.

The two torpedoes exploded, one shortly behind the other, approximately two hundred yards from their intended victim, having struck a reef near buoy #1. St Louis commenced firing with her 5-inch battery. The first two salvos were believed to have hit the conning tower. At 1007 she ceased firing when the submarine either sank or submerged. The cruiser set course to the south according to a modified zigzag plan, at 25 knots, 262 r.p.m., while signaling word of the attack to Commander-in-Chief Pacific Fleet’s operations center, and other American ships in the area.55

The sortie of St Louis was the last major ship action at Pearl Harbor. Egusa’s Vals, bomb racks empty, flew off to strafe Ewa, Hickam and Ford Island, while above, except for random strikes by aircraft using up the last of their ammunition loads, the attack was over. The second wave cost the Japanese six Zekes and fourteen Vals. Many others were hit but escaped.

Commander Mitsuo Fuchida, in his Kate, orbited over the fearful scene, assessing the damage and rounding up stragglers. His badly shot up plane had circled for about two hours. As a good leader should, he waited until the last of the rearguard fighters flew out of sight returning to their carriers, before he headed for Akagi. He couldn’t obtain an accurate damage report because he couldn’t see through all the smoke obscuring his vision. Despite the smoke, he reported to the rejoicing Admiral Nagumo success beyond his wildest dreams.56

At 1010, Captain Rood ordered the destroyers Blue, Phelps, and Lamson to act as an anti-submarine screen for St. Louis, and six minutes later sighted four enemy aircraft high overhead on a parallel course. He ordered open fire, saw no hits, and ordered “Cease fire” at 1018. At 1115 the crew sighted five more enemy planes on the port beam position angle of about 70 degrees, and antiaircraft guns again opened fire, then ceased firing two minutes later. At 1134 St Louis ceased zigzagging and turned right to course 270 degrees. At 1145 three more enemy aircraft came into view, bearing 010 degrees, almost due north, and St. Louis commenced firing. Cease fire came one minute later as St. Louis and her submarine screen began zigzagging according to standard Plan 6.

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