- General Collections
- 1941
- 1942
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- Solomons Campaign: Guadalcanal
- Operation Torch: Invasion of North Africa
- Building the Infrastructure for War
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- 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
- Awards and Medals
- Boats-Ships--Aircraft Carriers
- Biography
- World War II 1939-1945
- Image (gif, jpg, tiff)
Chief Water Tender Charles Kleinsmith and Yorktown (CV-5)
During the afternoon attack by dive bombers from the Japanese carrier Hiryu, Warrant Officer Iwao Nakazawa’s 250-kilogram semi-armor-piercing bomb penetrated deep inside the carrier Yorktown (CV-5) . The resulting high-order detonation at about 1414 ruptured the uptakes of the forward firerooms, completely disabling boilers numbers Two and Three. Fragment holes, however, permitted smoke to fill the second group of three firerooms, extinguishing the fires in boilers Four through Six.
In Yorktown’s Number One fireroom, 37-year-old Chief Water Tender (Acting Appointment) Charles Kleinsmith, appointed to that rate only three days before, remained at the only undamaged boiler, Number One. Despite the broken, red-hot boiler casing, the noxious fumes from ruptured uptakes, and imminence of an explosion, he supervised and assisted his six-man crew in keeping that boiler under steam with two burners still going, allowing the ship’s vital auxiliary power to be maintained as Yorktown’s sailors repaired the damage to the uptakes for boilers Four through Six. His courageously and efficiently performed duty ultimately enabled the carrier to go from dead in the water (1440) to the 20-knots speed (1627) necessary to launch fighters to oppose Hiryu’s second assault later that same afternoon. The enemy torpedo planes fought their way through the combat air patrol and intense antiaircraft fire, however, and scored two hits at 1645 that stopped Yorktown and forced her abandonment.
Kleinsmith, initially numbered among the missing after that second Japanese attack, was awarded the Navy Cross, posthumously, for his heroism and devotion to duty.
—Robert Cressman, Naval Historical Center, 2008
More "Profiles in Duty: Vignettes of Naval Service and Leadership"
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