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Even as world wars go, the U.S.S. Nevada was a resilient ship: It was the only battleship to get underway during the December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, surviving bombs and torpedoes before the burning vessel was beached and later repaired. It trained its guns on German positions at Normandy on D-Day, and went on to support the invasions of Okinawa and Iwo Jima. At the end of the war, U.S.S. Nevada was selected as the central target for the first nuclear test at Bikini Atoll, where it survived a 23-kiloton aerial detonation (the bomb missed), as well as a second underwater detonation. Finally, on July 31, 1948, following a four-day naval gunfire exercise, the toughest ship of the Second World War was deliberately sunk in the Pacific by the U.S. Navy.
Now, thanks to archival research and underwater survey of more than 100 square miles of seafloor, the remains of the Nevada have been located 65 nautical miles southwest of Pearl Harbor.
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/2020/05/uss-nevada-shipwreck-discovered-pacific/
I love this stuff.
Thanks for the link!
...the bomb missed? Like how? -- I thought they were testing ariel detonation with that one.
(They're talking about the famous Castle-Bravo shot, the underwater version of which has become famous in stock footage since the 50s for the colorful white cloud blooming up over the ocean, with leeeeetle tiny warships visible under it.)
The sortie of the BB Nevada was a high point that boosted morale during the Pearl harbor attack. It also had some officers terrified that the BB would be sunk in the harbor's entrance, trapping the ships still in it and preventing ships outside from entering, i.e. plugging our biggest naval base with a cork.
Quote from: JasonPratt on May 11, 2020, 01:34:33 PM
...the bomb missed? Like how? -- I thought they were testing ariel detonation with that one.
OK. Who the hell misses with a NUKE?!?
The blurb suggested that the bomb missed by being an aerial detonation; so I can think of two ways:
1.) They meant to detonate the bomb by a strike on the ship. (Unlikely.)
2.) They meant to detonate the bomb for an aerial blast directly over the ship, but the droppath skewed far enough to be significantly distant from the ship by the time detonation height was reached.
Quote from: solops on May 11, 2020, 01:41:02 PM
Quote from: JasonPratt on May 11, 2020, 01:34:33 PM
...the bomb missed? Like how? -- I thought they were testing ariel detonation with that one.
OK. Who the hell misses with a NUKE?!?
Able Day/Gilda (a Mark III 23 kt bomb) missed. The Baker/Helen of Bikini shot was a big hit (it was denotated under aroun 100 feet of water).