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U.S.S. Neosho at Coral Sea
U.S.S. Sims (DD-409)
afternoon of May 
Family History >
USS Neosho >
The Battle of the Coral Sea > Other Ships
> USS Sims
U.S.S. Neosho at Coral Sea
U.S.S. Sims (DD-409)
afternoon of May 6, 1942, as the American and Japanese fleets searched for each
other in the Coral Sea, Admiral Jack Fletcher ordered the vital oiler U.S.S. Neosho
to stay in a safe rendezvous area well behind the U.S. fleet. Fletcher ordered
the destroyer, U.S.S. Sims, to protect the vulnerable and
important oiler as the rest of the fleet steamed ahead.
At about 7:30 the next
morning, May 7, a Japanese scout plane
discovered the two ships, mistaking the Sims for a
cruiser and the flat-topped Neosho for an aircraft carrier. During
the next five hours, 62 Japanese dive bombers attacked the two ships. During the
fierce attack, the Sims valiantly
defended the Neosho but was struck amidships by several bombs, split in
half, and sunk shortly after noon with the loss of 237 men.
Crewmen on the Neosho, which itself was under
attack, watched in horror as the Sims quickly sunk. As the
bow of the Sims was submerging under the choppy seas, the forward
five-inch gun of the Sims let loose with one final shot, even as
the waves were engulfing it, a last, valiant effort by the doomed gun
crew. Only 15 Sims crewmen survi