Black Cats were radar equipped PBY Catalina's, painted black for night recon. They actually scored a torpedo hit on one of the Japanese Troop Carrying Transports before "the main event" at Midway!
The photo is the USS Nicholas (DD-311), a Clemson-class destroyer take on trials in Santa Barbara Channel, Nov. 10, 1920. It was lost in Sept. 1923 in a major accident when the lead ship of a destroyer squadron headed from San Francisco to San Diego made a navigation error entering Santa Barbara Channel. In trying to avoid 4 ships that wrecked ahead of her she ran aground and rocks fatally ripped her hull open. She was one of seven destroyers lost. It was a later ship with the same name, USS Nicholas (DD-449), a Fletcher-class, that participated at Guadacanal and many other battles of WW2 as well as the Korean War and Vietnam War. It holds the record in the US Navy for the most battle stars, 16 from WW2, 5 from the Korean War and 9 from the Vietnam War.
Black Cats were radar equipped PBY Catalina's, painted black for night recon. They actually scored a torpedo hit on one of the Japanese Troop Carrying Transports before "the main event" at Midway!
I knew it looked like an older destroyer. Not seeing much AAA here Thanks again, David
The photo is the USS Nicholas (DD-311), a Clemson-class destroyer take on trials in Santa Barbara Channel, Nov. 10, 1920. It was lost in Sept. 1923 in a major accident when the lead ship of a destroyer squadron headed from San Francisco to San Diego made a navigation error entering Santa Barbara Channel. In trying to avoid 4 ships that wrecked ahead of her she ran aground and rocks fatally ripped her hull open. She was one of seven destroyers lost.
It was a later ship with the same name, USS Nicholas (DD-449), a Fletcher-class, that participated at Guadacanal and many other battles of WW2 as well as the Korean War and Vietnam War. It holds the record in the US Navy for the most battle stars, 16 from WW2, 5 from the Korean War and 9 from the Vietnam War.