A Place Called YORKSHIP - At Pearl Harbor

A small flotilla of New York Shipbuilding vessels were in Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. These were their experiences:

• USS Curtiss (AV-4) - seaplane tender, moored at the mouth of the Middle Loch, across the channel from Ford Island. A midget submarine fired a torpedo at her, which missed. A damaged Japanese Type 99 dive bomber ("Val") crashed into one of Curtiss's forward cranes, causing minor damage. A near miss sprayed her stern with bomb fragments. A 250kg Japanese bomb struck the Boat Deck and penetrated to the hangar on the Main Deck, three levels below, before exploding. About 20 Curtiss crewmen were killed in these attacks, which sidelined the vessel for a little more than a month. Action Report
• USS Oklahoma (BB-37) - battleship, moored outboard of USS Maryland on Battleship Row. Oklahoma was hit by three torpedoes in the first minutes of the attack and began to capsize. Struck by two more torpedoes, she rolled until her masts hit bottom, leaving her starboard side above water. Many crew were trapped in the hull, though some were eventiually rescued through heroic efforts by civilian yard workers. In the final tally, 20 officers and 395 enlisted were killed or missing. Oklahoma was salvaged in 1943, decommissioned in 1944, and sold to Moore Drydock Co., which planned to tow it San Francisco. On 17 May 1947, some 500 miles from Pearl Harbor, the towline parted, and Oklahoma sank into the Pacific depths. Action Report
• USS Ontario (AT-13) - ocean tug, moored in berth 18, Repair Basin, outboard of USS Sicard. When the attack began, the deck force broke out 12 Springfield rifles and 6 .45-cal pistols and fired at low-flying planes. The ship's one Lewis machine gun was mounted and ammunition borrowed from the Sicard. There were no steel helmets aboard, so unarmed crew were ordered to take shelter. No hits were recorded and no casualties or damage taken. Action Report
• USS Phoenix (CL-46) - light cruiser, moored off McGraw Point between East Loch and Aiea Bay. Action Report
• USS Selfridge (DD-357) - destroyer, westernmost of a group of five destroyers moored alongside USS Whitney in East Loch.. Her O.D. witnessed the launching of the first torpedo against USS Raleigh, and sounded general quarters. With 99 percent of the crew on board and the ship's .50 caliber and 1.1" gun positions already supplied with ammunition, Selfridge was firing on Japanese planes within two minutes. Her gunners shot down at least three aircraft, and the ship suffered no casualties or damage beyond a dent from a single bullet. Action Report
• USS Utah (AG-16) - radio-controlled target vessel (ex-battleship BB-31), moored on the north side of Ford Island. Though the Japanese pilots had been instructed to ignore the Utah, she was attacked by torpedo planes in the first minutes. Struck by two torpedoes, the old and largely disarmed battleship capsized and sank within ten minutes, trapping dozens of her crew inside. Six officers and 52 enlisted men were killed, though ten trapped sailors were eventually rescued through holes cut in her hull. The hulk was partially righted but never salvaged, and Utah rests near where she sank, the lesser-known of Pearl Harbor's two memorials..Action Report

In addition to the above, two NYSB-built 125-foot Coast Guard cutters, the Reliance and the Tiger, were stationed at Honolulu. On the morning of the attack Tiger was patrolling off Barber's Point.

This page is a work in progress. More to come!

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your Yorkship memories to Michael Kube-McDowell, Class of '68