Explosion on the USS Shaw, Pearl Harbor

The USS Shaw, a Mahan-Class Destroyer commissioned in 1936, was in a floating dry-dock in Pearl Harbor when the Japanese attacked on the 7th of December. The ship was hit by three bombs and set afire. The flames being impossible to extinguish, the USS Shaw was evacuated. Shortly thereafter, the forward magazine exploded, the event captured in this infamous image. Yet the ship was not fully destroyed. Following significant repairs in American home waters, the USS Shaw returned to the Pacific theatre of war in August 1942. It saw continual action and was ultimately decommissioned in October 1945. (Josef Mlejnek)