The WW2 “Potato Battle” That Became U.S. Navy Legend

[00:00:00]At the last moment, the rudder was swung hard to avoid a collision and we found ourselves in a rather embarrassing situation as we sailed alongside the Japanese submarine. Our ship, however, was far too close to permit our guns lowered enough to fire and since no one on deck carried a gun, not a shot was heard. Ditto on the Japanese sub. No one there had a gun, either. In this situation, no one seemed sure of the proper course of action. Thereafter, everyone just stared. The submarine was equipped with a 3-in deck gun. As the Japanese sailors ran towards their gun, our deck parties reached into storage bins that were located nearby, picked out some potatoes, threw them at the sailors on the deck of the sub.

[00:00:35]Apparently, the Japanese sailors thought the potatoes were hand grenades.

[00:00:38]As the O'Bannon was able to pull away to bring her guns to bear, she fired on the submarine as it submerged. She then ran over and dropped depth charges. McDonald reported the submarine sunk.

[00:00:48]When the Association of Potato Growers of Maine heard of this strange episode, they sent a plaque to commemorate the event.

[00:00:54]The plaque was mounted in an appropriate place near the crew's mess hall for the crew to see.