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Monday, November 3rd —1PM at The Artisan Hotel at Tuscan Village Monday, November 3rd —6 PM at The Artisan Hotel at Tuscan Village Tuesday, November 4th —6 PM at Atkinson Resort & Country Club Wednesday, November 5th —1 PM at LaBelle Winery
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What Really Happened Aboard the O’Bannon? THE TATER TALE THAT TORPEDOES THE TRUTH
The phrase “history is written by the victors” has been around since the French Revolution, and it can make you wonder how truthful far-fetched historical stories actually are. For example, consider the famous WWII story about the USS O’Bannon. This ship notoriously sank a Japanese submarine using potatoes, but let’s take a closer look to separate fact from fiction. In early April 1943, the crew of the USS O’Bannon was returning to the island of Tulagi when they were asked to check out a submarine that had made contact with the surface not far from their location. It was a dark night, but the waters were calm, so it didn’t take long for the crew to spot a Japanese submarine 2,000 yards away. The sub headed right for their ship, and once it was less than 1,000 yards away, the O’Bannon crew knew they were face-to-face with the enemy.
Commander MacDonald of the USS O’Bannon never mentions potatoes in the official report of the incident. He’s even gone as
far as stating it never happened. However, a book called “Action Tonight” by James David Horan goes into meticulous detail about the events of that fateful night. Horan states that the crew threw everything they could at the Japanese submarine, including bolts, pieces of artillery, and potatoes. Other publications have repeated this story, noting that potatoes knocked Japanese sailors into the water, leading to the sinking of the submarine. Crew members have also stated that they saw people throwing potatoes.
Now, 80 years removed from the event, many O’Bannon crew members have passed away. We’ll
The O’Bannon unloaded their artillery at the Japanese sub, causing significant damage. They turned around for a second attack, and then a third attack until the sub sank below the surface. They were victorious, but when did potatoes come into play? It depends on the source you check.
never know whether this story is true, but one detail may illuminate the truth. The USS O’Bannon was never closer than 90 yards to the submarine. Unless they had someone with the arm of an NFL-caliber quarterback on board, it’s unlikely that anyone hit the Japanese sub with a potato.
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