The Hyper War website has scanned and posted a great number of battle damage reports from the Second World War, including some from the most famous US Naval actions in her history. Among them is the loss report of the three US Cruisers, Quincy (CA-39), Astoria (CA-34), and Vincennes (CA-44).
Since the topic of that tragic 8-9 August 42 action has come up in several comments of late, I wanted to offer this up for reading. Despite the official tone of the summaries, it isn’t hard to get a feel for the frightful and bloody chaos on those decks and in the waters around Savo.
Here it is: savo-battle-damage-reports
One very interesting question has an answer that eludes me. So I will offer it out to those smarter than I am. What prompted the decision for the US Navy in the 1930s to remove the torpedo tubes from its heavy and light cruisers? There are references to some Naval War College war games, whose results are referenced as an impetus to that decision. But I have not seen any written summary of those conclusions any place. The decision certainly ran counter to the thinking of the Royal Navy and the IJN. Anyone have any insight?
