The USS North Carolina (BB-55) My all-time favorite warship. As an elementary school student in North Carolina, I donated nickels and dimes to save this ship back in the early sixties.

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

The Wreck of the Destroyer USS Jacob Jones-- Part 3


Joseph Tidwell was on engine room watch and the Jones came to a complete stop. Word was passed along to abandon ship. He scrambled to the deck just as the second torpedo hit.

The survivors managed to get five or six rafts from their rope cradles that hung along the railings and jumped into the freezing water. "If you wanted to survive, you swam. I was pretty good," he said.

And swim fast to a raft he did. He climbed onto a raft and saw the ship's damage. "There was a big hole in the side of the ship where the torpedo hit right under the officers quarters."

As the ship quickly sank, the depth charges, which were set for a particular depth started to go off, killing more survivors.

--GreGen

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