- Commemoration Toolkit
- General Collections
- 1941
- 1942
- Battles of Java Sea and Sunda Strait
- Bataan and Corregidor
- Early Naval Raids
- Doolittle Raid
- Battle of the Coral Sea
- Battle of Midway
- Submarine Combat Patrols
- Battle of the Atlantic
- Solomons Campaign: Guadalcanal
- Operation Torch: Invasion of North Africa
- Building the Infrastructure for War
- Manning the U.S. Navy
- 1943
- Establishment of Numbered Fleets
- The Aleutians Campaign
- Battle of the Atlantic—Continued
- On the Offensive Beyond Guadalcanal
- Sicilian Campaign: Operation Husky
- Tarawa: Breaking into the Gilberts
- Landings at Salerno, Italy: Operation Avalanche
- Naval Air Strikes Against German Shipping: Operation Leader
- 1944
- Operation Shingle: Landing at Anzio, Italy
- Gamble at Los Negros: The Admiralty Islands Campaign
- Evacuation by Submarine: USS Angler in the Philippines
- Securing New Guinea: Operations Reckless and Persecution
- Exercise Tiger: Disaster at Slapton Sands
- Defeating the Sharks: The Capture of U-505
- Pearl Harbor Ablaze Again: The West Loch Disaster
- Operation Overlord: Invasion of Normandy
- Operation Forager: The Battle of Saipan
- The Battle of the Philippine Sea
- Port Chicago Naval Magazine Explosion
- Operation Forager Continued: Landings on Guam and Tinian
- Operation Dragoon: The Invasion of Southern France
- Operation Stalemate II: The Battle of Peleliu
- The Battle of Leyte Gulf
- The Battle off Samar: The Sacrifice of "Taffy 3"
- United States Navy War Instructions, 1944
- The Japanese “Hell Ships” of World War II
- 1945
- Battle of Iwo Jima
- Navy Nurses Behind Enemy Lines in the Philippines
- Operation Plunder: Crossing the Rhine
- Battle of Okinawa
- Okinawa Highlights: 4-11 April 1945
- Battle of Okinawa: Historic Overview & Importance
- Okinawa Highlights: 12–19 April 1945
- Kamikaze Attack on USS Isherwood
- The Destruction of USS Pringle
- The Sinking of USS Little
- The Most Dangerous Place off Okinawa
- A Kamikaze Attack on New Mexico, Fifth Fleet Flag: A Photo Essay
- A Ceremony for the Fallen: Aftermath of a Kamikaze Attack
- Admiral Spruance Recounts Kamikaze Attack on His Flagship, New Mexico (BB-40)
- On the Verge of Breaking Down Completely: Combat Fatigue off Okinawa and the Destruction of USS Longshaw
- Investigating Okinawa: The Story Behind A Kamikaze Pilot’s Scarf
- The Loss of USS Twiggs at Okinawa
- The Most Difficult Antiaircraft Problem Yet Faced By the Fleet
- Victory in Europe (V-E) Day
- Japan's Surrender and Aftermath
- World War II Profiles in Duty
- ENS Allen W. Bain and Minneapolis (CA-36)
- LT Eugene A. Barham and Laffey (DD-459)
- LT Richard H. Best of VB-6
- LCDR Joseph W. Callahan and Ralph Talbot (DD-390)
- LT Albert P. “Scoofer” Coffin of Torpedo Ten
- MAtt1/c Leonard R. Harmon and CDR Mark H. Crouter of San Francisco (CA-38)
- CDR Frank A. Erickson—First Helicoptar SAR
- CDR Ernest E. Evans of Johnston (DD-557)
- S1/c James Fahy on Montpelier (CL-57)
- Float Plane Pilots in the Pacific
- AMM1/c Bruno P. Gaido of VS-6
- CAPT Joy Bright Hancock
- Charles Kleinsmith and Yorktown (CV-5)
- LCDR Edwin T. Layton of PACFLT N2
- LCDR Maxwell F. Leslie of VB-3
- LCDR Eugene E. Lindsey of VT-6
- ENS Donald W. Lynch and Mugford (DD-389)
- Theodore W. Marshall of VP-22
- LCDR Lance E. Massey of VT-3
- LCDR Bernard F. McMahon and Drum (SS-228)
- ARM1/c Oliver Rasmussen
- LTJG Melvin C. Roach, Guadalcanal Fighter Pilot
- CDR Joseph J. Rochefort and "Station Hypo"
- Chief Machinist William A. Smith and Enterprise (CV-6)
- LTJG Steffenhagen and Shōhō
- Submerged Appendectomy
- LCDR John C. Waldron of VT-8
- LCDR William J. “Gus” Widhelm of Scouting Eight
- Theater of Operations--Pacific
- Operations
- Boats-Ships--Cruisers
- Biography
- World War II 1939-1945
Ensign Allen W. Bain and Minneapolis (CA-36)
On the night of 30 November–1 December 1942, the cruisers and destroyers of Task Force 67 surprised a force of Japanese destroyers off Tassafaronga Point, Guadalcanal. The Japanese responded effectively to the attack and launched torpedoes. While the heavy cruiser Minneapolis (CA -36) and the other cruisers fired at Japanese transports and warships, the torpedoes started to hit. Minneapolis took two in the port side simultaneously. One torpedo struck below the stacks, blasting open boiler room Number 2 and flooding boiler rooms 1 and 3 as well. The other torpedo struck well forward and detonated the aviation gas tank there. The resultant massive explosion blew 80 feet of the bow almost completely off. Avgas fires burned on the forward part of the ship and the forward magazines began to flood.
Ensign Allen W. Bain quickly moved the forward repair party into action. Bain was not a typical ensign: Almost 34 years old, the North Dakota native had served 10 years as an enlisted sailor and was warranted carpenter in Minneapolis in 1937. Bain remained with the cruiser, and fought in many of the early Pacific actions in early 1942. Promoted to temporary ensign in the summer of 1942, he stayed with “Minnie” as operations began around Guadalcanal.
Bain led his men to the scene of the fire from their station on the second deck. As the ship continued to fight, Bain risked being blown overboard or severely injured by the blast of the forward 8-inch guns firing at targets crossing the bow as he directed the fire-fighting detail. Once the fire was extinguished, Bain made a rapid survey of the damage forward and quickly ascertained the extent of the destruction which he reported to Central Station, information of “great value in the damage control efforts.” For his heroism and “intelligent and fearless action,” Bain received the Silver Star.
Bain continued to serve the U.S. Navy, and retired as a commander in 1956.
—Curtis A. Utz, Naval Historical Center, November 2008
More "Profiles in Duty: Vignettes of Naval Service and Leadership"
Footnotes
- Accessibility/Section 508 |
- Employee Login |
- FOIA |
- NHHC IG |
- Privacy |
- Webmaster |
- Navy.mil |
- Navy Recruiting |
- Careers |
- USA.gov |
- USA Jobs
- No Fear Act |
- Site Map |
- This is an official U.S. Navy web site