QuickCheck: Did a ship sail backwards for almost 3,000km?

IT sounds absurd; a ship making a 2,900km journey from the island of Tulagi in the Pacific Ocean to Sydney, Australia, sailing backwards the whole way.

As it is, it's a really long way to spend in reverse gear, basically going "gostan" (to use the Malaysian colloquialism for reversing) the whole time.

In fact, it sounds like one of those tall tales sailors might tell, too outlandish to be believed.

However, this story has persisted ever since the Battle of Tassafaronga in 1942, a fight between the United States and the Empire of Japan.

Is there any truth to this story that has endured for 81 years?

Verdict:

TRUE

This story is, in fact, true, and the ship that pulled off the feat is the USS New Orleans, a heavy cruiser of the United States Navy – a ship that saw some of the heaviest fighting in World War 2, according to the National WW2 Museum, coincidentally located in New Orleans, Louisiana.

In its write-up of one of the preserved coconut tree logs used to seal up the battle damage sustained in the events of the night of Nov 30, 1942, the museum said that the ship lost 45.7m (150ft) of its bow when a Japanese Type 93 torpedo blew up the forward ammunition storage.

The museum adds that In the aftermath of the explosion that killed 182 men, a further 45.7m of the bow and forecastle tore away as the ship struggled to stay afloat.

It had a long way to go before it could be made fighting fit again.

The museum says the New Orleans then limped back to Tulagi harbour across from Guadalcanal, where temporary repairs were made to save it and in the process, a new bow was made out of coconut logs.

The New Orleans then had to sail to Sydney for more permanent repairs.

“After working furiously for 11 days, the crew managed to get the ship in a good enough condition to sail to Australia for more permanent repairs. However, due to the temporary coconut log bow, the ship had to sail backwards to prevent flooding from sinking the ship,” it said.

Considering that the distance between Tulagi and Sydney is 2,900km, yes, a ship has sailed that distance going backwards the whole way – and that ship is the USS New Orleans.

#OTD in 1942, USS New Orleans was hit by a torpedo and lost her entire bow during the Battle of Tassafaronga. The crew made quick repairs with coconut logs and then sailed the cruiser in reverse for 1,800 miles to reach Sydney, Australia. pic.twitter.com/EkDsapvbY2 — U.S. Naval Institute (@NavalInstitute) December 1, 2023

References:

https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/uss-new-orleans-coconut-log-artifact

https://www.history.navy.mil/research/library/online-reading-room/title-list-alphabetically/w/war-damage-reports/uss-neworleans-ca32-war-damage-reportno38.html

https://twitter.com/NavalInstitute/status/1730397911010214043