The Wreck of USS Strong - Completely Obliterated by Torpedo Hit 

Some of Strong"s crew made it to a Japanese held island. Those who went to surrender were never seen again. One man held out for some weeks and according to him, killed a number of Japanese soldiers and eventually was rescued by a PT Boat.

8:51 USN Machinist Mate 1st class. Pictured is the Main Condenser with the Low Pressure Turbine sitting atop it. Lower left of the picture we can see the lower half of the sea water inlet or discharge gate valve, the top is missing with the hand wheel and the internals of the valve. The crumpled up material between it and the flange on the condenser is the rubber expansion joint that mated the two together. The valve would have been bolted to the sea chest, (a box welded to the hull, likely 36" x 36"), and bolted to the expansion joint, with the other end bolted to the condenser.

I really enjoy these. My grandfather was aboard USS Indianapolis when she sank (he lived until 1976). His service is a good part of the reason I eat up content like this.

Damn, 13 miles. There is no way that could be a perfectly targeted torpedo over that distance. I mean currents would change the aiming point over that distance. Truly the Strong was in the absolute worst place at the absolute time. May she rest undisturbed.

Politics definitely played a part in our torpedo issues. According to what I’ve gathered from documentaries is that torpedoes were built at a single location in Rhode Island to supply the entire Navy. Beautifully machined yet almost worthless,the malfunctioning torpedoes were blamed on submarine commanders and crews rather than admit that the weapons were defective. State politicians didn’t want any other production facilities in competition with local industry,the lives lost due to their attitude astounds me. Everyone involved in this fiasco should have been drafted and put on the front lines!

The Long Lance was aptly named. The Japanese chose to take the risks of the oxygen fuel and it did sink a couple of ships; but the number of ships that the Long Lance either took out or sent to dry docks for months is VERY long. But the Strong was one of the most devastating ever. Just a perfect storm clearly. It is interesting to note that Japanese Subs had a significant impact in 1942 but after that year were not a factor at all. Same with the Long Lance; mainly because after 1942 close in fights with the IJN were very few. Even the Long Lance cannot compete with an aircrafts range. OVerall for the USN 1942 was a brutal learning curve in all areas from machinery to weapons to tactics to leadership. Transitioning from peace time to full scale world war overnight will do that. ANd of course the Torpedo problem lingered into the middle of 1943 due to bureaucrats and some to be blunt criminally negligent admirals.

Poor girl ended up on the wrong end of one of the most fearsome Maratime weapons ever made….the photo of her getting struck with the burning USS Wasp in the background is one of the most amazing photos I have ever seen. It’s hard to imagine those are both victims of the same sub attack. I’m glad you do these vids for wrecks like the Strong. Their broken wrecks are still worth studying, and they serve as a reminder that war is not a peaceful occupation, even when you’re surrounded by what’s seems to be serine blue water. Thanks again for another great vid! Always look forward to the next one! P.S. I’m curious if anyone here knows this, but has the wreck of Fubuki ever been located? I know she’s part of the collection resting on Iron bottom sound, or in the slot somewhere ( memory is foggy), but I couldn’t remember if her wreck site was ever confirmed

Sorry for the double comment, but I wanted to say cheers for using a pic from the place where I volunteer!! The Nimitz museum is a true gem for history lovers, and if you ever want to come see a combat reenactment, you’ll probably catch me there! Just wanted to say cheers for the shoutout!

did the captain of the sub really think a 13 mile torpedo would have a chance? wow..had to have some luck at least..another great obscure scenario from WW2..stories like this grab my attention..well done Sky..

Dark Waters, Starry Skies by Jeffrey R. Cox covers the sinking of the Strong in detail. Apparently the torpedo hit was so devastating that it blew through the entire ship and created a hole on the opposite side of the destroyer. The torpedo hit on the port side and the destroyer ended up with two holes, one on the port side and the other on the starboard side. The destroyer also listed to starboard, so the opposite side of the actual hit. The collision of the Chevalier was also somewhat accidental. O'Bannon, while dueling with the shore batteries, got on a collision course with Chevalier and Chevalier picked up speed to avoid that collision. (O'Bannon did hit Chevalier's stern, but not too badly and both ships ended up alright.) Being closer to Strong than expected, Chevalier thus ended up ramming the sinking destroyer, but at least that way Strong's crew could just walk to the other ship. Chevalier and O'Bannon actually ended up colliding a second time a few months later in the Battle of Vella Lavella.

RIP to The "Strong" ship and her brave crew.

Good thing to high light the stories of the lesser known ships….. respect for the ‘tin can’-crews

Thanks, Skynea

Really excellent narrative.

Is there any record on why the depth charges hydrostatic fuzes were not switched to safe? That is sop for a sinking ship.

Wow TY!

What you Called the mast is actually the propeller shaft

*USS Strong, an example of what happens when you put a stick of dynamite in a Campbell's soup tin can*

There is one wreck I need help understanding, which is the wreck of USS Susan B Anthony

Looks like the main condenser or the evaporator

Strong and her crew paid dearly.

One hell of an explosion.

I think the heavy cruiser Haguro’s hit to the destroyer Kortenaer was at a slightly longer range, but it’s debatable.

6:36 Torpedo rack. The first tube lower left, looks to have a four blade propeller on it (?). I thought most torps had two contra rotating props so I'm not sure what I am seeing. But if it is a torp, then it would suggest there were torps in the launcher upon its sinking.

This ship looks more like a victim of metal scavengers!

Wow! 20 kM=m! Talk about blind fire!

What an incredible hit, the Long Lance continues to impress.

Are there efforts to find the wreck of the Shinano. It would be nice to find a fully intact Yamato.

Is this battle damage or rusting away ?

didnt usa have alot of dud torpedoes in the beginning? wtf happened there? did they just bounce off the ships targeted or not even make it?

Was an intact Long Lance ever captured during the first half of the war? A Zero was recovered in the Aleutians and used to create the F6F,it would seem the same could have been done to remedy our torpedo problems much earlier. I haven’t heard or seen any references to this,anyone have info about it?

Could it have part of illegal scrappers?

USS Strong is gone

Hydraulic pump

Kentucky windage at its finest.

Not so strong now is it?

Next up...... Niizuki!

USS Strong is not a sad story after all, a small destroyer being hit by a torpedo could have gone quite bad... instant destruction, all hands and ship gone in seconds. But the ship stay alive long enough for most of it’s crew to transfer to the other destroyer. “Ships aren’t living beings”, sure but they are one with the crew and even if it was just chance USS Strong was anything but

Just something petty lol but it's not pronounced shev-ah-leer it's pronounced sha-val-lee-ay (USS Chevalier) I have children with a relative of her namesake

Shevaleer 🤨😏😉🤷