World War II Photograph

The Second Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands, October 26, 1942. This is the USS Smith (DD-379) who so gallantly kept up continous firing, maintaining her position even after one of the Japanese torpedo planes had crashed on her forecastle, knocking her two forward five inch guns out of commission and exploding her ready ammunition locker. She maneuvered through our wake extinguishing her flames. This scene is when her ammunition exploded. Taken by the South Dakota. (10/26/42)