This image shows the damage done to the starboard side pantry of USS BAILEY at The Battle of the Komandorski Islands. This damage was caused by an 8" Japanese shell that hit the starboard side around frame 65 during the Bailey's torpedo attack. The Bailey crew members killed by this shell were standing in the same passageway from which this photograph was taken. The door size hole made in the starboard side of the ship just above the waterline and the temporary patch welded to the outside of the ship can be clearly seen in front of the man using the cutting torch. The forward davit holding the whaleboat which was also severely holed during the attack can be seen just to the left of the man with the torch. This whaleboat was never replaced and the port side boat became the captain’s gig. Some of the damage has already been cut away in preparation for the trip to Mare Island for permanent repairs.
This photograph was taken at Dutch Harbor on 31 March 1943 and is National Archive number 89-G-72698. Naval Historical Foundation Photographic Service