File talk:USS Enterprise (CV-6) under attack by dive bombers during the Battle of Santa Cruz Islands on 26 October 1942 (80-G-20989).jpg

Reverted from User:Denniss's version which removed these categories:

Naval actions | United States Navy aircraft carriers | World War II ships | 1930s ships

This image falls into all of these categories.Mak 19:09, 22 March 2006 (UTC)

This picture of the USS ENTERPRISE

If you will note, in the right 1/3 portion of the picture, you will see the image of a rather large vessel. On that vessel you will see what appears to be a 'burst of light'!!! This happens to be the American lead-ship USS SOUTH DAKOTA, BB-57 also known as the 'GHOST BATTLESHIP'. This was it's 1st WWII engagement, wherein it was credited with shooting down 26 Japanese aircraft, in its' primary duty as defending the carrier.

Though BBs' were initially the 'heavy muscle' of the navies, they eventally ended up carrying out shore bombardments, were AA platforms (serving as anti-aircraft protection and fleet air cover), they did refueling, formed their protective cover from the midst of a 'task force', and even after the war, the IOWAs' especially, served as USA Ambassadors of power and peace around the world, in conjunction with 'ongoingly' the Aircraft Carriers' of today.

During and throughout the engagement, several of our covering destroyers, when damaged and on fire, had the fires extinguished by sailing close inboard of the 'South Dakota' whose either bow wave or stern waves would serve to extinguish the fires.

Just thought it might be interesting to add this update. The South Dakota Class of Battleship, actually had several of its total of four units, in the water, and commissioned, and working up, at the time of Pearl Harbor. This class along with the North Carolina and Iowa Classes were ordered, for construction of a TWO OCEAN NAVY under Roosevelt in either '38 or '39.

The South Dakotas' were able to make upwards of between 27 - 29 knots ( a knot of speed for a ship is approx 1.6 or 1.7 mph). The (3) Three classes of battleships ( Washington/North Carolina Class, South Dakota Class, Iowa Class), we built during this period, the 4 IOWAs' which have been and are being turned into Naval Museums, were known as the 'fast battleships'. They were usually able to 'keep station' with the task forces, which usually required manouvering and speeds of 25-33 or 35 knots at various times, dodging planes, etc. These tfs...task forces, were created and then during the 'island hopping campaigns' were protected manytimes, from 'deep water locations' such as the Ulithi Atoll (circular coral reefs'. These reefs usually had entrances into the midst of it, with deep water of 800 - 1,200 feet plus), with usually a singular entrance that would provide great anchorage and protection for our military island hoping fleets across the Pacific Theatre of Operations.