The Wreck of USS Laffey - Went Down Fighting Impossible Odds

[@luked7525]

That shot of Laffey’s builder’s plate is amazing.

[@IamJunius]

Mount 52's gun has no elevation dialed in. A clear indication they were shooting at point blank range. It also appears the torpedo tubes are empty. If the Torp ws in place, you would be able to see part of the war head sticking out underneath the half cover (right side of picture). It was also standard practice to return the launcher to the center line after firing.

[@daniellucas1494]

Rest well Laffey - your service shall NEVER be forgotten among those you refuse to change the past! I have had the honor of being on the second Laffey many times and always stand in awe has I think about the horrors she survived off Okinawa.

[@Kw1161]

I remember our ship tying up to the pier next to the Laffey in the Charleston weapons station before the Laffey was waiting to be turned into a museum ship. It was in bad condition and I’m glad they saved it for the Laffey’s service. Happy New Year 🎉🎉🎉!

[@Normandy1944]

Don't know if you been to her since, but she's in wonderful condition now with great displays and sitting next to the Yorktown. You can travel through almost every inch of her. She had her beltline redone about 6 years ago.

[@Kw1161]

@@Normandy1944 Thanks as I had not been to Charleston SC in about 40 years. I used to go to the Yorktown regularly when we were in the shipyard for a year back in 1980-81. They had just opened submarine diesel boat , and pulled in the nuclear merchant ship but it wasn’t open to the public then. Happy New Year 🎊🎈!

[@RetiredSailor60]

I was stationed on USS Semmes DDG 18 1983-84 in Charleston SC. Visited the museum ships in July 1983.

[@Kw1161]

@@RetiredSailor60 I was on the USS Dale CG (ex DLG)-19 normally out of Mayport, FL , but we’re in the on Charleston Naval Shipyard back in 1980-81. I do remember seeing the Semmes at Mayport in the early eighties . Happy New Year.🎊

[@RetiredSailor60]

@@Kw1161 Happy New Year shipmate. I also served on USS Cape Cod AD 43, USS Kinkaid DD 965, USS Whidbey Island LSD 41, and USS Wasp LHD 1

[@robertf3479]

According to the entry for LAFFEY (DD-459) in DANFS, the destroyer launched her torpedoes at "the enemy battleship" (Hiei I assume.) Due to damage sustained during the barroom brawl sea fight, Hiei managed to crawl away from the scene before being found the next day by planes from USS Enterprise and suffered further attacks. Battleship Hiei was determined to be too badly damaged to be salvaged and was scuttled 13 November 1942.

[@Broadshore]

Laffy went down like a baller. She fought like a hard charger. Taking on larger ship with no f***s givin.

[@JesseJames-wj8ft]

Good job, there was some wild melee fighting in the Solomons, unprecedented as a matter of fact. The premiere US naval historian Samuel Eliot Morison described these battles as bar room brawls. USS Houston was lost even earlier in the war in a similar wild melee, running a gauntlet of Japanese heavy ships through the Sumatra straights until overcome and sunk through sheer volume of fire - A man was reputed to be firing a machine gun on the mast as it went under. Unfortunately, I believe that proud wreck is a victim of scrappers since it went down in relatively shallow waters.

[@JamserPol]

Thanks for making a video on her nice way to end the year

[@lunaball2112]

The Barroom Brawl off Guadalcanal. Great Video! Cheers!

[@franksposato6072]

There has been a very recent update to this battle done by Robert Lundgren. Its more likely that Laffey was the victim of friendly fire by one or two torpedoes from the Sterett sailing behind her and shooting at Hiei. Half her torpedoes hit both ships. There are even a few more incredible pictures available to see in the article he wrote called "The Naval Battle for Henderson Airfield, Night One."

[@colinmartin9797]

If laffey 2 was literally too angry to die. Laffey 1 was just literally too angry. getting into a knife fight with a battleship. Didn't she fuck up the Japanese admiral with a head injury and kill his entire staff in her brawl? That would have done a lot to influence the battle

[@FLJBeliever1776]

She did. Admiral Abe was wounded, but his Chief of Staff was KIA.

[@colinmartin9797]

@FLJBeliever1776 and if I recall (having done no archival research so I may be completely wrong) Abe didn't remember basically anything from the battle afterwards, so it's possible laffey's mauling might have had a huge impact on the battle

[@rekunta]

Could you imagine how brutal the ship to ship combat was? These machines were literally blasting car sized rounds at each other. These ships must’ve been painted crimson. Blood and guts everywhere. I can only imagine how horrific it must have been.

[@gotanon9659]

Aside from the huge german rail cannono the most common calibre was 16 inch and there barely car sized there lenght in human size was probably equal to a 6'0"guy and width in human size reaches your knee and that the battleship main gun. And destroyers fire shell as big as 2 1.5 litre coke battle on top of each other

[@PhantomP63]

16” shells are sometimes compared in weight to the original VW Beetle. OP’s comment stands

[@samkornrumph8545]

I think I have Ballard’s Guadalcanal book in storage somewhere. It’s an oversized reference book with a picture of a sunken cruiser on the front (probably USS Quincy).

[@Ben-gu2qz]

Patriots point museum i went aboard the laffy there in 1989 along with the uss Yorktown and the submarine uss clamamore

[@timdake]

Charleston guy checking in. Sadly, the Clamagore was towed to Norfolk, last fall, for scrapping. She was partially scrapped, prior to departure. Was on her, many times, even during the initial dismantling steps. It’s a tragedy to let these historical artifacts, disappear.

[@albertkinney8021]

We have both ships of the same name as 2 other ships uss laffey uss York Town in Charleston SC.

[@CaptainCrackp1pe]

Best bunbun

[@Avalon64]

It seems no matter what...a Destroyer named Laffey was destined for greatness

[@3DLoft]

Ballard's book could be found online by someone who searches well

[@ph89787]

USS Sleepy Bunny.

[@johnalexander178]

The future name of a carrier named after biden

[@ikke12345]

​@@johnalexander178better than the USS the orange one😂

[@rogerwolstenholme2710]

@@ikke12345 TDS

[@JesseJames-wj8ft]

@@johnalexander178 That would be "USS Kiddy Sniffer"

[@boholde2757]

Only a MAGAT would turn a serious video of a heroic warship into a political cheap shot. How patriotic of you.

[@nattybumpo7156]

Our cruisers amounted to al.ost nothing in the pacific in terms of surface combat. US destroyers did most of the heavy lifting.

[@oso9809]

And the aircraft carriers.

[@nattybumpo7156]

@@oso9809 Different type of combat. Except for Taffy 3, of course.

[@aquateenchris]

I'd argue that Boise, San Fran, and Sandy Eggo had some pretty notable careers

[@nattybumpo7156]

@@aquateenchris San Fran shot the crap out of another US cruiser and killed a lot of people. Second only to the shame Mogami incurred.

[@jeanmouloude]

truly the best ship the best starter

[@ironkeko4423]

Any Shikikans here Got Laffey II in AL?

[@49558201]

" Greyhound " T.H.

[@ricksadler797]

God bless

[@aquateenchris]

Best starter Best bunny Papa Johns

[@RhobarEisenblut]

What's about the Torpedo juice?

[@tylermcneill]

😂