Naval action map steering12/20/2023 ![]() She took at 15-degree list to port and her keel had either been broken, or at the very least, severely fractured. ![]() All control of Juneau’s gun turrets ceased, her steering was lost, her internal bulkheads near the detonation were crumpled, her deck was buckled. He recalled that, “all of us fellows that were on the main deck, it stunned us like, and knocked us down.” The damage caused by the torpedo hit on the lightly armored anti-aircraft cruiser was terrific. The torpedo hit stunned Allen Heyn on Juneau’s stern. ![]() USS Juneau at sea during the Battle of Santa Cruz October 26, 1942. A single torpedo meant for the American flagship struck Juneau nearly amidships, on the port side in the forward fire room. Murasame had fired a spread of torpedoes at San Francisco just before Juneau had taken station alongside her. The two ships traded shell fire briefly when Juneau was seemingly lifted out of the sea with a tremendous jolt. The Japanese destroyer opened fire on Juneau, who answered in kind. As Juneau slid into position, she and her larger friend San Francisco attracted the attention of the Japanese destroyer Murasame. Captain Swenson ordered flank speed, cut his ship across Frisco’s bow and took station on her port side. Radio transmission from San Francisco to Juneau indicated that the latter ship was blocking the former from firing a full broadside at an enemy target. 50 caliber machine gun, raking the battleship up and down with his weapon, attempting to kill as many enemy sailors as he could with his fire.Īs Juneau cleared Hiei she began to pass the heavy cruiser San Francisco (CA-38). He later recalled, “We fired right into the topside of their ship trying to knock off some of their guns on their deck.” Further forward on Juneau, Joseph Hartney opened fire with his water-cooled. Heyn and his fellow gunners opened fire on the massive Japanese battleship from close in. The nearest target to Juneau was the massive Japanese battleship Hiei, burning like a bonfire from all of the small caliber shell hits her superstructure had taken from the other American ships. Juneau’s rapid-fire 5-inch gun turrets trained to port and opened fire on the nearest target. Juneau’s captain, Lyman Swenson wasted no time and ordered his gun crews to open fire. A Japanese star shell exploded directly above Juneau and shone on the anti-aircraft cruiser from stem to stern. In an instant, the black night became as bright as noon on a desert. Through all the muzzle flashes Heyn could see that the Japanese ships were getting closer, yet his ship, the USS Juneau (CL-52) remained undetected, cruising along in the night, headed straight for the pyrotechnic show dead ahead. ![]() In the lead of the second column of American vessels, Seaman Allen Heyn sat in his 1.1 anti-aircraft mount and watched as the ships ahead shot each other to pieces. Several thousand yards ahead of the cruiser, the sky was awash with searchlights, tracers and muzzle flashes exploding on the inky-black night sky like brilliant, violent lightning strikes.
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