The Saber and Scroll
laghan and his staff . Had Japanese shell hoists been loaded with armor-piercing shells , and not thin-skinned bombardment rounds , San Francisco ’ s damage would have been fatal . Furthermore , the two ships were so close , often just a few hundred yards , that the battleship could not depress its guns sufficiently to hit San Francisco below the waterline .
Cruiser Portland , seventh in the column , came to San Francisco ’ s aid but only momentarily . “ Sweet Pea ” loosed several 8-inch salvos at Hiei , but a Japanese torpedo struck her fantail . A massive hunk of steel from her stern acted as an auxiliary rudder and jammed her steering hard over . As Portland made endless circles , her main battery got off a few rounds aimed at Abe ’ s flagship before checking fire to avoid hitting friendly ships .
Helena also came to San Francisco ’ s aid by sinking destroyer Akatsuki in place and pouring small-caliber rounds into cruiser Nagara . Always considered a good ( lucky ) ship , Helena received minimal damage , but a Japanese shell struck her bridge , freezing the wall-mounted clock at 0148 . 39
Last in the cruiser column , Juneau plowed ahead as hell swarmed all around her . Her sixteen 5-inch guns spewed a continuous stream of fire , first at destroyer Yudachi or Harusame and then Hiei and Kirishima . Seaman Allen Heyn and George Sullivan , standing just a few feet apart at their battle stations on the fantail , watched the growing danger . Heyn , who handled the 1.1- inch machine gun , could do something about it , while George ’ s depth charges were useless in a fight against surface ships . Heyn remembered seeing a Japanese battleship materialize out of the dark and firing right at him , “ so close you ’ d think you could almost throw something at it .” 40
Moments later , as she turned to avoid San Francisco , a Japanese “ Long Lance ” torpedo struck Juneau ’ s forward fire room on her port side , causing an enormous explosion . The blast disabled central fire control , which powered her gun turrets , and crippled the ship ’ s steering controls . Captain Swenson had little choice now but to get clear of the action and labor to keep his ship afloat .
The four rearmost destroyers were last to join the slugfest , but their opening ranges were greater than the side-scraping distances at which the vanguard destroyers fought . Station keeping and target selection were nearly impossible among the shattered debris that was the American column . Individual ships maneuvered as best they could , avoiding the sinking Cushing and Laffey , the dead-in-the-water Atlanta , and the un-steerable Portland . They fired on targets of opportunity and checked fire when the range became fouled . Eventually , however , luck ran out for all but one destroyer . Only tail end Charlie , the Fletcher , reported to the rendezvous at daybreak .
No American knew , but by four bells of the midwatch , Abe decided to withdraw . There would not be enough time to gather his dispersed ships and complete the mission before daylight , and so at 0200 , the Japanese commander ordered a general retreat . Hen-
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