World War II
The Pennsylvanias were both present during Japan's 7 December 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor. Arizona suffered a catastrophic detonation of the forward powder magazines when a bomb from a Hiryū Nakajima B5N "Kate" bomber hit between and to port of Turrets No. 1 and 2, resulting in the most dramatic and costly casualty of the raid. Arizona sank after a massive explosion that destroyed the forward part of the ship.
Pennsylvania was only lightly damaged, and she served in the Pacific throughout World War II. Fitted with a new secondary battery of twin-mounted 5-inch (127 mm) 38-caliber guns in late 1942, she supported many amphibious invasions and was present during the world's last battle between big-gun warships, the Battle of Surigao Strait on 25 October 1944. A torpedo hit in August 1945 damaged her propulsion beyond economical repair, wrecking three out of four shafts. With other obsolete battleships, Pennsylvania was a target of the Operation Crossroads atomic bomb test in 1946 and was scuttled at sea two years later.
Read more about this topic: Pennsylvania Class Battleship
Famous quotes containing the words world and/or war:
“Is not this whole world an illusion? And yet it fools everybody.”
—Angela Carter (1940–1992)
“Haven’t you heard, though,
About the ships where war has found them out
At sea, about the towns where war has come
Through opening clouds at night with droning speed
Further o’erhead than all but stars and angels
And children in the ships and in the towns?”
—Robert Frost (1874–1963)