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In this remarkable sequence captured on motion picture film from the nearby USS Kitkun Bay, White Plains is straddled again by a 6-shot salvo from Yamato.

One of these shells explodes directly under the keel of the carrier (note the forward-most splash to her port side that appears to shoot sideways and across the next geyser instead of straight up), causing her to lose power and also causing significant structural damage.

She would withdraw from the battle to head home for repairs and would be dry-docked til war's end.

This salvo, being fired by Yamato from a distance of 19.65 miles, goes down as arguably the longest "hit" in naval history. (As Robert Lundgren discussed in his book "The World Wond'rd", whether this is considered a "hit" or not is a bit of an exercise in semantics. Technically the shell did not make contact with the hull of the White Plains, but, detonating under her keel, she caused significant damage (as Japanese shells were designed to do in the event of underwater detonations). Had the shell been a high explosive shell instead of an armor piercing shell (explosive shells carried a larger charge), the detonation might have split the ship in half and sunk her. Cracks that developed over the next 24 hours all the way around the hull and keel indicate that the Japanese choice of shells may have saved the White Plains from a watery grave on that morning.

Note the USS Johnston laying covering smoke at the upper left of the photo.

Many thanks to Robert Lundgren who kindly provided me with this series of stills from the film which is in the National Archives.

Robert's website is linked on the index page. He is currently working on what will be the definitive account of the engagement off Samar island.