TEST B: UNDERWATER EXPLOSION 



her stern was clearly low in the water and she had 

 begun to list slightly to starboard. By five hours after 

 Mike Hour her freeboard had decreased further, and 

 observers indulged in some betting as to whether she 

 would sink, and when. Admiral Blandy ordered tugs 

 to attempt to secure lines to her if practicable and tow 

 her to Enyu Island for beaching. But this proved to be 

 impossible. The ship herself and the water surround- 

 ing her were too "hot" to permit safe approach. She 

 sank slowly. Her stern was awash at 3:59 p.m. By 

 4 :09 p.m. her deck was completely awash and air could 

 be seen blowing from her. The last bit of her super- 

 structure sank forever beneath the surface of the la- 

 goon at 4:16 p.m. Analysis of photographs of ''Old 

 Sara" shows that all moored airplanes and materials 

 on her deck had been swept overboard; much of her 

 superstructure had been demolished; her distinctive 

 stack had crashed to the flight deck and her below-the- 

 waterline hull had taken a serious beating. 



The ex- Japanese battleship NAGrATO sank during 

 the night, four and a half days after Mike Hour. Only 

 a few hours after Mike Hour she took on a list of about 

 5 degrees. This list increased so slowly that many ob- 

 servers expected her to survive. When her characteris- 

 tic silhouette failed to show itself on the morning of 

 July 30, surprise was general. No one had seen her 

 sink. Undoubtedly openings had been made in her hull. 



Three of the submarines sank. They were the 

 PILOTFISH, SKIPJACK, and APOGON. All of 



165 



