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Pearl Harbor 75th anniversary: The war beneath the waves

Before Japanese warplanes hit Pearl Harbor, U.S. sank one of approaching mini-submarines

By Tom Vogt, Columbian Science, Military & History Reporter
Published: December 7, 2016, 6:04am
4 Photos
James Delgado, left, in 2010 on a research ship in the Atlantic, above the site of the wreckage of the Titanic.
James Delgado, left, in 2010 on a research ship in the Atlantic, above the site of the wreckage of the Titanic. (JAMES DELGADO/NOAA) Photo Gallery

Ninety minutes before Japanese warplanes set America’s Pacific stronghold ablaze, a Navy destroyer at Pearl Harbor opened fire on an early arriving attacker.

The USS Ward sank one of the five mini-submarines that were part of the attack force on Dec. 7, 1941.

Members of that gun crew “fired the first shot of the Pacific war,” maritime archaeologist James Delgado said.

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Columbian Science, Military & History Reporter