7/23/2009:
The 1942 Battle of Midway was a turning point in the war in the Pacific. The Japanese fleet had suffered a crushing blow, but they still had an ace up their sleeve: the secret aircraft carrier, Shinano.
When construction of the Shinano began in 1940, she was intended to be a super battleship. But the bitter lesson at Midway convinced the Japanese that any hope of victory depended on the use of aircraft carriers. So, half-way through construction, the Shinano was converted. When finally launched in 1944, she was largest warship in the world, and US Naval Intelligence knew nothing of her existence. The Japanese were convinced the Shinano was unsinkable. A North Dakotan proved them wrong.
Near the launch site, a US submarine under the command of Joseph Enright was patrolling the waters. Born in Minot, North Dakota in 1910, Enright grew up in Bismarck far away from the sea. His uncle, a World War I navy veteran, encouraged his nephew to consider Annapolis. US Senator Gerald P. Nye gave him an appointment to the US Naval Academy in 1929. By late 1944, Enright was in command of the USS Archerfish.
While patrolling Tokyo Bay on November 27, 1944, Enright's submarine kept a close lookout for enemy vessels. By the next evening, as the crew battled radar problems, nothing but a small island had yet been spotted. Or so they thought. Suddenly, the radar officer shouted, "Captain, your island is moving!"
Three hours into its maiden voyage, the top-secret Japanese aircraft carrier had been spotted. The Shinano's lookout likewise spotted the Archerfish and, fearing a pack of submarines, zigzagged in an effort to elude them. But by early morning, the USS Archerfish got its lucky shot. Four torpedoes slammed into the Shinano's side. As water poured into the carrier's broken hull, her two escorts forced the Archerfish to dive and brace for the onslaught of depth charges. Miraculously, none came close to the American sub. The Shinano however was not so fortunate. By late morning of November 29, she capsized and sank; taking 1,400 sailors and civilians workers with her.
At the time, Enright and his crew had no idea they had just sunk the largest aircraft carrier of World War II. But it didn't matter. Commander Enright couldn't have been more pleased with their success. He later described the excitement on board "like New Year's Eve at Times Square." "We were a happy ship," he wrote, "but exhausted." For his actions, Commander Enright received the Navy Cross, the service's second-highest award for valor.
More than half a century later, Captain Joseph F. Enright, along with other submariners from North Dakota, was honored during the dedication of a monument erected at Lindenwood Park in Fargo on this date in 2005.
Dakota Datebook written by Christina Sunwall
Sources:
Captain Joseph F. Enright, USN. Shinano!: The Sinking of Japan's Secret Supership. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1987.
Eriksmoen, Curt. Did You Know That...? Vol. 2: McCleery & Sons Publishing, 2008.
Goldstein, Richard. "Joseph Enright, 89, Dies; Sank WWII Carrier." The New York Times Wednesday, July 26, 2000, Section B, Page 9.
Henry, Ken, and Don Keith. Gallant Lady: A Biography of the USS Archerfish. New York: Tom Doherty Associates, LLC, 2004.