The battleship that survived a torpedo hit only to sink from a fire

Entertainment · Published 20 October 2026 · Updated 25 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: On December 7, 1941, the USS California was struck by two torpedoes. While the hull held, a fire disabled the ship's electrical system. Without power, the pumps failed, and the battleship slowly filled with water over three days, becoming a tragic casualty of its own internal systems.

The USS California (BB-44), a Tennessee-class battleship, was a centerpiece of the U.S. Battle Fleet. During the attack on Pearl Harbor, she was moored on the southeastern side of Ford Island. When the attack began, the ship was prepared for inspection, meaning many watertight doors and portholes were open. This configuration proved disastrous; as the ship took on water from two torpedo hits—one forward and one aft—the open access points allowed flooding to spread rapidly throughout the vessel.

The primary cause of the ship's demise was not the structural failure of the hull, but a systemic collapse. The torpedo blasts ruptured forward fuel tanks, contaminating the fuel system and shutting down the ship's electrical power. This rendered the primary pumps inoperable. While the crew attempted to use portable pumps from nearby vessels, these lacked the necessary power to counteract the incoming water. A subsequent bomb hit near the forward casemate caused a massive fire that eventually reached the forward engine room, forcing the evacuation of the crew and ending all pumping efforts.

The ship's resilience is notable: it was raised in April 1942, heavily rebuilt, and returned to service in January 1944. It continued to fight through the Pacific War, surviving a kamikaze hit in 1945 before being decommissioned in 1959. The tragedy of its sinking remains a study in how internal infrastructure—power and fire suppression—can be as vital to a warship's survival as its outer armor.

The attack resulted in 165 casualties, with four men receiving the Medal of Honor. In a modern update, the Department of Defense announced in 2019 that 25 unknown remains from the ship were exhumed for identification.

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