I Once Fought An Alien... A USS Missouri Story

War Log #15: Ships Ramming

USS Yorktown, June 6, 1942

As Thach swings out of his Wildcat onto the deck, the flight deck officer gives him a salute.

Flight Deck Officer: Welcome back to the Yorktown, sir. 

The officer's eyes widen as he gets a closer look at thebullet holes in Thatch's plane. 

Flight Deck Officer: Jeez... did you take on the wholeJap Navy by yourself? 

John Thach: Sure felt like it. The Enterprise squadron might even taken down those carriers, especially the two battleships.

The dull THUD of distant explosions turns their heads -- thecarrier's escorts are firing flak at a pack of swiftly approaching dark dots in the sky. 

Sailor #442: Incoming aircraft!

John Thach: Swing me around. 

The deck officer gives him a confused look. 

Flight Deck Officer: But, sir... you must be almost outof fuel.Thatch gives the officer a dry look. 

John Thach: I'm not going to need much fuel.

 And then he jumps back into his cockpit. 

The officer whistles and men rush to turn the plane back toward the bow. A momentlater the Wildcat is roaring down the deck. As it leaps intothe air, Thatch sees a burst of flak to his right.He banks towards it -- fighting every instinct for selfpreservation -- and spots a Japanese torpedo bomber flyingjust a hundred feet above the waves. 

All of the planes from Yorktown have been launched at began firing at the Japanese squadron that was launched by the Hiryu. 

Thatch locks on a dark shape flying close to the water, its another torpedo bomber. He pushes into a dive, jamming histhrottle fully open, but when he depresses his trigger, nothing happens. Hisplane is out of ammo. 

John Thach: Goddammit! YORKTOWN!!!

Thach can only watch in frustration as the bomber drops itstorpedo just eight hundred yards away from the Yorktown. Thedeadly fish leaves no wake as it runs toward its target... 

*THUD!*

The torpedo strikes the Yorktown directly amidships, agreat geyser of water erupting from her side.

From the Enterprise, Admiral Spruance and Captain Browning watch in horror as the Yorktown was hit by enemy aricraft.

Best and McClusky just came back after the success of bombing three enemy carriers, they reported to it as they need to fly back to get to Hiryu, who is the ship that attacked the Yorktown.

R. Ad. Spruance: Put the pilots you trust in any planethat can fly. 

Dick Best: Yes, sir. 

As Best turns to exit -- 

R. Ad. Spruance: Good luck, son.

Meanwhile at the Yorktown, she was now struggling after taking the first hit from the Japanese, the crew onboard put out the fires at her deck while the others went to her secondary guns and AA guns, firing at the enemy aircraftt.

The second bomb then hit the ship came from the port side, pierced the flight deck, and exploded in the lower part of the funnel, in effect a classic "down the stack shot." It ruptured the uptakes for three boilers, disabled two boilers, and extinguished the fires in five boilers.