Tuesday, September 27, 2011

US History Trivia: Which of these ships escaped damage at the Pearl Harbor attack?

The Pearl Harbor attacks remain one of the deadliest days in American history, ultimately killing 2,402 servicemen, wounding several thousands and sinking over a dozen ships.  The attack, of course, helped to propel the United States into World War two.

Off of Pocket Trivia: US History - Which of these ships escaped damage at the Pearl Harbor attack? Was it:

  • The Saratoga
  • The Arizona
  • The California
  • The West Virginia


The answer to this one is the USS Saratoga, pictured here.  The Saratoga was one of the three US Aircraft Carriers at the time, and it, like the Enterprise and Lexington, were not in Pearl Harbor on the day of the attacks.  The Saratoga later played a major role in the navy battles against the Japanese.

As for the other ships, the Arizona was the sight of nearly half of the U.S. fatalities on the day, when a bomb hit its forward magazine, destroying the ship in killing 1,177 men.  The California was hit four times; twice by a bomb and twice by a torpedo, and was ultimately abandoned.  The West Virginia was actually hit by seven torpedos in the attack, but survived and was ultimately rebuilt.

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