in assessing the damage and making temporary repairs. attempted to tow Aylwin back to Pearl Harbor but the cable parted. soon picked up the damaged destroyer and towed her to port stern first. Following extensive repairs in drydock, Aylwin resumed her operations in the Hawaiian waters. After conducting her last peacetime training late in November, she moored to buoy X-14 at 13:47 on the 28th, and remained there into the first week of December. World War II As Aylwin lay moored in a nest with her squadron mates on the morning of 7 December 1941, one small boiler was in operation to provide enough power for auxiliary services on board. Approximately half of her men were enjoying leave and liberty that weekend. At 07:55 that Sunday morning, shortly before morning colors, the sound of airplane engines surprised Aylwins men and countless other sailors. At that time, Japanese planes torpedoed the target ship moored to a quay off Ford Island. Three minutes later, Aylwin returned fire. At 08:00, the "black gang" lit fires under two boilers, cutting them in on her main steam line within 15 minutes. At 08:29, Commander, Destroyers Battle Force directed his ships to get underway. At about 08:50, a Japanese plane dropped a bomb that exploded some 75 yards off Aylwins starboard bow. Eight minutes later, Aylwin, leaving her stern wire and anchor chain behind, headed for the channel and the open sea. The destroyer, manned by 50% of her crew under the direction of four ensigns—the senior officer, Ensign Stanley B. Caplan, USNR, had served at sea for only some eight months—proceeded out of Pearl Harbor, stripping ship for war and simultaneously maintaining a "continuous fire." Her machine gunners claimed to have downed at least three aircraft; but, in the light of the tremendous volume of antiaircraft fire from all ships, her "kills" cannot be proven conclusively. As Aylwin raced out to sea, those men topside who chanced to look astern beheld a curious sight; her captain, Lt. CDR. Robert H. Rodgers, and other officers, in a motor launch about 1,000 yards off the entrance buoys. Nevertheless, in view of ComDesRon 1's instructions, Aylwin could not slow down, but instead headed out to sea for patrol duty, leaving most of her officers orphans on board the old flushdecker . A little less than a half hour later, Aylwin investigated a reported submarine sighting, but found nothing.