On December 7, 1941 USS Maryland was moored inboard of USS Oklahoma. The ship’s guns responded to the attack almost immediately. From their vantage point, the men witnessed the attacks that critically damaged Maryland’s sisters along battleship row, and faced attacks so fierce that the Japanese reported her sunk. They were wrong, and the “fighting Mary” would come back to haunt the empire of the rising sun, and feel the fury of the dreaded Kamikazes.
The first class of nuclear submarines were a learning experience for the Soviet Navy. The November class boats experienced numerous difficulties and accidents, culminating in what has been described as a potential “Underwater Chernobyl."