brickhistorian
The Potato Incident, 1943
According to a Navy legend, an American destroyer, the USS O'Bannon, was patrolling in the Pacific when it encountered a Japanese submarine. The destroyer fired on the sub and damaged it. However, the Japanese captain brought the submarine up right next to the destroyer so that the O’Bannon was too close to fire its deck guns. The Japanese submariners came topside, ready for a fight. As the legend goes, some quick-thinking sailors on board the O’Bannon pelted the Japanese with potatoes. Confusing the potatoes for hand grenades, the sub crew withdrew. The confusion gave the O’Bannon time to circle around the sub and get far enough away to attack – this time with the deck guns and depth charges. This time, the destroyer sank the sub. “We sank the submarine with potatoes,” said a member of the O’Bannon crew. “It was a big joke, but it happened.”
God bless!
-The Historian
The Potato Incident, 1943
According to a Navy legend, an American destroyer, the USS O'Bannon, was patrolling in the Pacific when it encountered a Japanese submarine. The destroyer fired on the sub and damaged it. However, the Japanese captain brought the submarine up right next to the destroyer so that the O’Bannon was too close to fire its deck guns. The Japanese submariners came topside, ready for a fight. As the legend goes, some quick-thinking sailors on board the O’Bannon pelted the Japanese with potatoes. Confusing the potatoes for hand grenades, the sub crew withdrew. The confusion gave the O’Bannon time to circle around the sub and get far enough away to attack – this time with the deck guns and depth charges. This time, the destroyer sank the sub. “We sank the submarine with potatoes,” said a member of the O’Bannon crew. “It was a big joke, but it happened.”
God bless!
-The Historian