The forgotten destroyer that fired the first shot of World War II

History · Published 8 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Before the planes descended on Pearl Harbor, a single destroyer spotted an intruder. An hour before the infamous attack began, the USS Ward engaged a Japanese midget submarine, marking the true beginning of American involvement in the Pacific theater.

On the morning of December 7, 1941, the attack on the American base at Pearl Harbor is often remembered as a sudden, unprovoked strike. However, the conflict had actually begun an hour earlier. At the harbor's entrance, the USS Ward, a destroyer crewed by naval reservists, identified and fired upon a Japanese midget submarine. This engagement is historically recognized as the first shot fired by the United States in World War II.

The USS Ward was not a cutting-edge vessel at the time; it was considered outdated. Despite this, the ship played a pivotal role in the early days of the war. Its service extended far beyond the initial attack at Pearl Harbor, representing a period of intense naval determination. The vessel eventually met its end in 1944, after being targeted by kamikaze attacks and subsequently sunk in the Leyte Gulf in the Philippines.

For 73 years, the wreckage of the Ward remained unseen by human eyes. Recently, however, new underwater footage has revealed the ship's remains. The 250-foot vessel was found by Paul Allen's R/V Petrel crew, employing robotic submersibles, cameras, and sonar technology. The wreck lies more than three miles below the surface, now heavily overgrown with marine vegetation.

This discovery is part of a larger series of significant underwater finds by Allen's team. The same expedition previously located the USS Indianapolis in August and had identified the remains of the Musashi, the world's largest battleship, in 2015. Seeing the Ward's remains provides a rare, direct look at a piece of naval history that had been hidden in the deep for decades.

General information, not professional advice. Spotted an error? Flag the card or see corrections and complaints.

Intellect Plus is a visual educational discovery platform for exploring fascinating facts and ideas. Brain Food, Not Brain Rot. What is Intellect Plus?

Related

• A decorated cruiser that survived the chaos of the Pacific War's most intense battles
• The deadliest sinking of a carrier in United States Navy history
• A single bomb triggered a fire that devastated a rescuing cruiser
• The aircraft carrier that survived a kamikaze onslaught but never sailed again
• Launched exactly one year after Pearl Harbor, the USS Bowfin became its avenging submarine.
• The V-1 Flying Bomb Raids That Struck England's North Eastern Coastline
• The role of the USS Texas in the Battle of Okinawa
• Why people once dug up the dead to stop a vampire plague
• The Secretive World War II Service of the USS Seawolf Submarine
• The diverse and bloodthirsty forms of Greek mythological vampires
• The secret victory of the USS Roper off the American East Coast
• Why vanilla is far more than just a boring, standard flavor

More in History · Latest · A–Z · All topics