7020. Another name ship of her class, the 1,500 tons [light] destroyer USS BAGLEY had also operated frequently in company with the Anzac Squadron, or TF 44 as it had previously been known. She is seen here shipping a heavy sea as she takes from HMAS HOBART [I] in preparation for re-fueling. Built at Norfolk Naval Shipyards and commissioned on June 12, 1937, BAGLEY is thought to have been the first ship to fire on the Japanese aircraft attacking Pearl Harbour on Dec. 7, 1941. The destroyer claimed to have downed six Japanese aircraft on the morning of the attack, but in the confusion of fire and destruction these claims were not confirmed. It seems likely that either one or two torpedoes fired by USS BAGLEY in the opening minutes of the Battle of Savo Island on the night of Aug. 9, 1942, mistakenly struck HMAS CANBERRA [I], causing the cruiser - already overwhelmed by a reported 27 or 28 8-inch shell hits - to lose power, ending her ability to fight back, to quell the fire aboard, or recover. BAGLEY had claimed hits on Admiral Gunichi Mikawa's raiding force of seven cruisers and a destroyer, but it would later emerge that none had been hit by torpedoes at that time. The firing of the torpedoes had been delayed while they were being armed at night and the destroyer made an emergency turn - fortunes of war. USS BAGLEY herself survived WWII, earning an impressive total of 12 battle stars. Photo: RAN, courtesy Brent Jones and his USS ASTORIA. org website, which can be seen here: www.ussastoria.org/Watchtower.html