As we all know, the three anti-fascist giants in World War II were Roosevelt , Stalin , Churchill . However, the dangers faced by the "Big Three" during the Second World War were different. Among them, the safest person was undoubtedly US President Roosevelt who stayed on the other side of the ocean for a long time. Interestingly, Roosevelt was almost killed by his own U.S. Navy in the latter stages of World War II. What's going on?
In November 1943, with the victory of the Battle of Midway , the Battle of Stalingrad , the Battle of Kursk and other strategic decisive battles, the World Anti-Fascist Alliance began a comprehensive counterattack. So Roosevelt, Stalin, and Churchill decided to hold a meeting in Tehran, Iran, to discuss major issues such as opening a second battlefield in Europe, the Soviet Union's war against Japan, establishing a new international order, and forming the United Nations.
Due to various considerations, US President Roosevelt went to Tehran on the US Navy's battleship " Iowa " . In order to protect the president's sacred vehicle and show military power, the U.S. Navy established a large-scale presidential escort fleet. Unexpectedly, it was this escort fleet that almost killed the president. The problem lay with the destroyer "William D. Porter" in the escort fleet.
The " William D. Porter " belongs to the "Fletcher" class destroyer of the U.S. Navy. It is a new warship that was only incorporated into the Navy in July 1943. The U.S. military industry was fully activated after entering the war, and a total of 175 "Fletcher" class destroyers were built. But the problem is that the training speed of naval soldiers lags behind the construction speed of warships. The 25 sailors on the " William D. Porter " are recruits with very poor quality.
Therefore, various accidents often occurred when the "William D. Porter" was launched, such as breaking the lifeboat of the warship next to it when leaving the port, depth charges suddenly falling into the water and exploding while sailing, and sailors being killed on the deck. Swept away by big waves, suddenly slowing down and falling behind when sailing in formation, etc. However, many warships at that time had this behavior, and the U.S. Navy had long been accustomed to it. As a result, the "William D. Porter" suffered a terrible death.
On November 14, 1943, the bored former Assistant Secretary of the Navy Roosevelt ordered the presidential escort fleet to hold an exercise to relieve his boredom. According to the exercise plan, the battleship USS Iowa, on which the US President is riding, acted as an imaginary enemy, and the escort fleet simulated launching torpedoes at it. However, the " William D. Porter " did not simulate a launch, but actually launched a mk15 torpedo at the " Iowa " .
If the torpedo of the "William D. Porter" hits, the top command of the United States will be paralyzed. Fortunately, " Iowa " escaped in time, and President Roosevelt survived the disaster. After escaping the torpedo, suspected that the " William D. Porter " was going to rebel. The " Iowa " immediately aimed all its main guns at the " William D. Porter " . The "William D. Porter" was immediately kicked out of the escort formation and headed to the port for review.
After review, the U.S. Navy determined that the "William D. Porter" had no objections, but was just too good. So the "William D. Porter" was transferred to defend the island. As a result, a sailor from the "William D. Porter" got drunk and shelled the headquarters on the island. The ending of the "William D. Porter" is also very interesting: a Japanese bomber sank into the water and exploded, sinking the "William D. Porter".
