Pearl Harbor....

[Dodge_Sniper]

Well, we read a book last week about Pearl Harbor(A Boy At War), and now are watching the Ben Affleck/Josh Hartnett Pearl Harbor. And I've realized some stuff, I'm kind of curious about. In the movie(Granted it's a movie, I still assume it's true), they say, "It's too shallow for them to bomb us on Pearl Harbor" or something. Well if that's true, how'd the Arizona sink even this far down?

Next, if the Arizona sank, and landed like in that picture, upright, then why, in this photo, is it leaning to one side as it burns?



Thirdly, from another picture I saw(I can't get the link to work), this part of the ship has a ladder going down(This is a current photo).

So couldn't somebody back then have climbed in that hole and saved anybody? And why not go down in it now? It's got a ladder.

And lastly, I need to refer again to this photo. What exactly are these things stick out of the water from the ship?

Please don't think I'm trying to insult anyone or anything about this, I'm just curious about that stuff.

 

[AtlanticBlue99]

you have a lot to learn. you cant believe any and everything you see on tv or the internet.

 

[insanityOfReality]

the entry to the harbor is much shallower than the actual harbor itself, and the bottom is covered in lots of plants and vegetation that regular torpedoes the props would get tangled and the torpedo would stop and never reach its destination, the japanese put wooden planks to protect the props from the vegetation

 

[TheOriginalJames]

The line you quoted probably came from an officer thinking that the only way the Japanese are going to try to torpedo from the sea from submarines.

The ship sank that much over the past 65 years because it weighed 36,157 tons fully loaded. Sitting ontop of a harber sea bed with that kind of weight will eventually cause it to 'settle', or sink into place.

Same reason your house will start showing cracks in the wall/ceiling after so many years, it settles on its foundation.

Part of the reason it started to sink to the starboard (right) side is that it was hit by two bombs, causing the forward magazines to detonate; the ship was blasted apart and sunk almost instantly.

Same reason the Titanic sank faster towards the front of the ship, flipped straight up and broke in half.

Once the water started to flow between the cabins and eventually ran throughout the entire bottom half of the ship, it evened out and sank straight down. The reason it sank is with the influx of water, it became more dense than the water it was floating in.

I'm not sure what that hole/ladder is about, I'd need to find a better picture to determine exactly what it was.

It could have been one of the gun turrets... and as for the two things sticking out... I have absolutely no idea... they appear to be right near the bow of the ship.

 

[lemon]

those two things hold the anchor at the ship side. and im also guessing storing the anchor as well.

or something like that...

:dunno

 

[Dodge_Sniper]

Re: RE: Pearl Harbor....

The line you quoted probably came from an officer thinking that the only way the Japanese are going to try to torpedo from the sea from submarines.

The ship sank that much over the past 65 years because it weighed 36,157 tons fully loaded. Sitting ontop of a harber sea bed with that kind of weight will eventually cause it to 'settle', or sink into place.

Same reason your house will start showing cracks in the wall/ceiling after so many years, it settles on its foundation.

Part of the reason it started to sink to the starboard (right) side is that it was hit by two bombs, causing the forward magazines to detonate; the ship was blasted apart and sunk almost instantly.

Same reason the Titanic sank faster towards the front of the ship, flipped straight up and broke in half.

Once the water started to flow between the cabins and eventually ran throughout the entire bottom half of the ship, it evened out and sank straight down. The reason it sank is with the influx of water, it became more dense than the water it was floating in.

I'm not sure what that hole/ladder is about, I'd need to find a better picture to determine exactly what it was.

It could have been one of the gun turrets... and as for the two things sticking out... I have absolutely no idea... they appear to be right near the bow of the ship.

Cool, thanks man. Also, on the line about the Titanic, that just made me remember. I was also wondering why it sank straight down because(even though it IS just a movie) in the movie, a torpedo lands in the Arizona(or some other ship), and it goes to the bottom of the ship. Then when it explodes, the front of the ship lifted up and ripped in half. Oh, I just have one more question. What happened to the towers on the top of the ship from where it's on fire in that one picture? Did they get destroyed?

 

[sharpies]

The two projections in the bottom photo look like Bollards. They are used to tie the ship to wharves etc.

I'm fairly certain the round thing is a gun turret - they have since put a small bollard on the top of it.

Allan

 

[Dodge_Sniper]

Again, I have to print some junk for school, this voluntarily. I'll post it here, print it tomorrow, then delete it.