The USS O’Bannon’s Potato Incident

The USS O’Bannon’s Potato Incident is a legendary story about a World War II battle where the USS O’Bannon, a US Navy destroyer, allegedly used potatoes to distract and disorient the crew of a Japanese submarine, allowing the ship to gain the upper hand and sink the enemy vessel.

The Incident

On April 5, 1943, the USS O’Bannon was patrolling the Solomon Islands when it detected a Japanese submarine, RO-34, on the surface. As the two vessels approached each other, the USS O’Bannon’s crew realized they were too close to use their deck guns effectively. In a creative and desperate attempt to keep the Japanese sailors from reaching their deck guns, some crew members of the USS O’Bannon started throwing potatoes at the submarine .
The potatoes, thrown at high velocity, likely created a thudding sound on the metal hull of the submarine, which may have been mistaken for hand grenades by the Japanese crew. This confusion and panic bought the USS O’Bannon’s crew enough time to create distance and use their guns to sink the submarine. The ship’s commander, Donald MacDonald, however, disputed the potato-throwing account, stating that no such incident occurred .

Aftermath

Despite the uncertainty surrounding the potato-throwing incident, the USS O’Bannon’s bravery and ingenuity in sinking the Japanese submarine were widely recognized. The Association of Maine Potato Growers even presented the ship with a plaque commemorating the event, which read: “A tribute to the officers and men of the USS O’Bannon for their ingenuity in using our now proud potato to ‘sink’ a Japanese submarine in the spring of 1943” .

The USS O’Bannon’s Potato Incident has become a celebrated anecdote in naval history, symbolizing the resourcefulness and quick thinking of the ship’s crew. While the accuracy of the potato-throwing account is disputed, the USS O’Bannon’s role in sinking the Japanese submarine RO-34 is a testament to the ship’s bravery and combat prowess during World War II .