Pearl Harbor: Why, How, Fleet Salvage and Final Appraisal

by Homer N. Wallin, Ernest McNeill Eller (Foreword)

Pearl Harbor will long stand out in men’s minds as an example of the results of basic unpreparedness of a peace loving nation, of highly efficient treacherous surprise attack and of the resulting unification of America into a single tidal wave of purpose to victory. Therefore, all will be interested in this unique narrative by Admiral Wallin. The Navy has long needed a succinct account of the salvage operations at Pearl Harbor that miraculously resurrected what appeared to be a forever shattered fleet. Admiral Wallin agreed to undertake the job. He was exactly the right man for it – in talent, in perception, and in experience. He had served intimately with Admiral Nimitz and with Admiral Halsey in the South Pacific, has commanded three different Navy Yards, and was a highly successful Chief of the Bureau of Ships. On 7 December 1941 the then Captain Wallin was serving at Pearl Harbor. He witnessed the events of that shattering and unifying “Day of Infamy.” His mind began to race at high speeds at once on the problems and means of getting the broken fleet back into service for its giant task. Unless the United States regained control of the sea, even greater disaster loomed. Without victory at sea, tyranny soon would surely rule all Asia and Europe. In a matter of time it would surely rule the Americas. Captain Wallin salvaged most of the broken Pearl Harbor fleet that went on to figure prominently in the United States Navy’s victory. So the account he masterfully tells covers what he masterfully accomplished. The United States owes him an unpayable debt for this high service among many others in his long career.

Genres: History, World War II

396 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1988

Reviews

[James Jr. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good, solid work

If you're looking for a good source on World War II salvage in general and Pearl Harbor salvage in particular, this is it. Also does a good job of discussing the various effects weapon hits had on the ships in question. Highly recommend.

[David Hill · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book quite fascinating.

I've read many accounts of the attack on Pearl Harbor. I wanted to learn something about what happened at Pearl Harbor in the aftermath of the attack. There was considerable damage done in the attack and yet the base became a critical element in prosecuting the war against the Japanese. How was this accomplished?

This book is comprised of 15 chapters and 7 appendices. The first 6 chapters cover events well-known to me. The version of events detailed here is thorough yet concise. These chapters could serve as a good introduction to folks not fully aware of what happened, but I don't expect readers new to the subject to seek out this book.

The rest of the book covers the damage to specific ships, eye-witness reports, official ships' reports, and a deep dive (no pun intended) into the salvage work done on damaged and sunk ships. Finally, an assessment of Japan's errors.

The appendices include further eye-witness accounts, and official memoranda covering detailed processes for salvaging material and equipment and for the detection and remediation of deadly gasses encountered during salvage operations.

The author held the rank of Captain when he was in charge of salvage operations at Pearl and admiral when wrote the book two decades later.

Includes many photos of the damaged ships undergoing salvage and an index. Normally, I mark books down if they lack notes and a bibliography but in this case, I'll give it a pass.

One of the big takeaways I got from this book is that the choice to attack Pearl Harbor couldn't have worked out any better for the US. If our fleet had been attacked at sea, any vessels sunk in battle would have been lost. As it was, all the damaged ships and all but 3 of the ships that were sunk were recovered, repaired, and went to battle against the Japanese. (The only ships not returned to service were the USS Arizona, the USS Oklahoma, and the USS Utah. And the USS Utah was used for target practice prior to the Pearl Harbor attack, so it really wasn't a battleship.)

[Martin Burrows · Rating 4 out of 5]

It may come as a surprise to many, that of the 19 ships that were sunk or severely damaged on Dec. 7, 1941 at Pearl harbor, all but 3 of those ships were raised, salvaged, and eventually returned to duty, before the end of the war to continue the fight against the Japanese. This book is the amazing story of how that was accomplished. This book was published in 1968 by the US Naval History Division, and written by Vice Admiral Homer N. Wallin USN (Ret), who in 1941 was in charge of the Salvage Division at Pearl Harbor. I was surprised at how well written this book was. I was worried that it might be too technical, for someone not that familiar with ships, and marine engineering, however although there were some technical parts, and an appendix section that had a great deal of technical information, most of it was clear and extremely interesting. Admiral Wallin, not only wrote about how each ship was damaged and recovered but he devoted the first half of the book telling about the details of the attack it's self and the conditions that led up to it. Most interesting to me were dozens of first hand accounts by sailors and officers of each ship...where they were when the attack happened, what they did and what they saw. As a military officer Admiral Wallin writes in the military way; very organized, with bullet points and numbered paragraphs and not a lot of fluff, but this makes it very clear and understandable. If you have an interest in the Second World War, and especially the attack on Pearl Harbor, this should be required reading.

[Jeff J. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Memories of Pearl Harbor from the leader of salvage operations.

[Rodney Harvill · Rating 4 out of 5]

As many ships as were severely damaged or destroyed in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, all but three (Arizona, Oklahoma and Utah) were repaired and returned to service. This book, written by the Salvage Officer responsible for the repair effort at Pearl Harbor, documents the efforts to right capsized ships, refloat sunken ships and perform the necessary repairs to enable them to sail to west coast shipyards for permanent repair. Such efforts were important because the severely damaged and sunken ships tied up desperately needed berth space and because ships returned to service aided the war effort. At the same time, the salvage effort had to compete with wartime fleet needs for drydock space.

Some of the damaged ships presented remarkable challenges that required creative solutions:

• One of the iconic photos from the Pearl Harbor attack is the explosion of the forward magazine of the USS Shaw, DD-373, which destroyed the ship’s bow. The ship’s wrecked bow was replaced with a temporary bow, and a wheelhouse was jury-rigged, permitting the ship to sail under her own power to Mare Island for permanent repairs on February 9, 1942.
• USS Cassin, DD-372, and USS Downes, DD-375, were in drydock with the USS Pennsylvania, BB-38, during the attack. Pennsylvania, a battleship, drew a lot of attention from Japanese bombers, but many of the bombs aimed at her missed, hitting Cassin and Downes. By the end of the attack, the two destroyers were total wrecks and were initially written off as complete losses. However, their fittings and machinery turned out to be intact. Hence, the hulls were scrapped and their fittings and machinery shipped to Mare Island, where new hulls were built, and the rebuilt Cassin and Downes served in the Pacific theater.
• USS Oglala, a minelayer moored outboard the USS Helena, was a unique case. Although the ship was never hit by bombs or torpedoes, concussion damage from nearby explosions ruptured her hull, and she capsized. After extensive effort, she was righted and refloated, but she sank two more times at the pier before salvage crews were finally able to resolve all the hull integrity problems and keep her afloat. The temporary repairs complete, she sailed under her own power to Mare Island where she received permanent repairs and was outfitted as a repair ship.
• USS West Virginia, BB-48, sustained up to seven torpedo hits, almost opening up her entire port side. If not for effective counterflooding and wedging the USS Tennessee against a quay, the ship likely would have capsized before it settled on the bottom. So, refloating the ship required extensive underwater patching before it could be refloated. This involved using wood forms and specialty concrete. Once the ship was refloated, it was moved into a drydock, where the concrete was blasted off and replaced with steel patches. Finally, she sailed under her own power to Puget Sound Navy Yard for permanent repair and modernization. For the record, the wood form and concrete technique was used on all the battleships that sustained underwater hull damage.
• USS Oklahoma, BB-37, capsized at her mooring during the attack. For this reason, one of the first steps of raising her was righting her 35,000 ton hull. 40-ft tall wooden struts were installed on the hull and winches anchored in concrete foundations on Ford Island. An air bubble method was used to force about 20,000 tons of water out, significantly reducing the ship’s weight and permitting the winch system to right her. Once she was righted, divers were able assess the hull damage and utilize the concrete temporary patching method.
• Submergence in brackish harbor water was not good for mechanical and electrical equipment onboard the ships, and reconditioning techniques had to be improvised.

Personally, I was impressed with the level of detail in the planning of the salvage efforts. For example, the water in the submerged compartments of the sunken ships had an oil sheen on its surface. So, skimmers were used to remove that oil before the water was pumped out; if not, exposed surfaces would have been coated with oil as the water level fell, requiring more effort to clean it. The order of cleaning newly dewatered spaces was from inboard to outboard to ensure that newly cleaned spaces weren’t dirtied back up by workers walking through them.

One final point. With all the competing priorities of a major war effort, such a salvage operation would not have been possible without support from the highest levels. As busy as he was, Admiral Nimitz showed his support by being present at every refloating operation.

War is not just about winning battles. It is also about enabling soldiers, sailors and airmen to win those battles by providing them with the supplies and equipment necessary for them to fight effectively. As the saying goes, “Amateurs talk strategy, but professionals study logistics.” The salvage effort documented in this book is an example of the logistics efforts that enabled America to win the war.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book about the after after of Pearl Harbor

[David Vanness]

My copy is 377 page hardback. US Government Printing Office...1968