How Did The Navy Raise Sunken Battleships After Pearl Harbor?

A dirty and terrifying job

(Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval History and Heritage Command)

The surprise attack at Pearl Harbor dealt a nasty blow and an even nastier shock to the United States in 1941. Despite the initial damage and loss of life the vast majority of ships damaged during the attack were brought back to life including five battleships. Some of the ships that were resurrected had been sitting on the bottom of the harbor after the attack but were subsequently raised, repaired, refitted and returned to service. Many people know about the battleships that came back to life but few people know how this mammoth task was achieved.

How did the navy raise and repair ships that had been sent to the bottom?

The job was done by hundreds of trained divers and salvage crews that had to descend into the sunken ships, patch holes and pump in air and out water in order to try and lift the ships. It was a ghastly job and one of the most underrated parts of the US war efforts in the Pacific.

An Underwater Nightmare

(Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval History and Heritage Command.)

One of the first things that had to be accomplished in order to raise a sunken battleship was…