on 17 August with Task Force 17 (TF 17) to reinforce the South Pacific Force, screening the tanker . Sinking While escorting a convoy of troop transports en route to Guadalcanal, the combined Task Forces 17 and 18 were attacked by the Japanese submarine on 15 September 1942. The aircraft carrier was sunk, and the battleship and O’Brien were damaged by a spread of six torpedoes from the submarine. At 1452, O’Brien sighted smoke coming from Wasp. As a member of the aircraft carrier 's ASW screen, she made an emergency turn to the right. At about 1454, while accelerating and swinging right, her lookouts spotted a torpedo two points forward of the port beam, away. This torpedo then missed O'Brien close astern, but while her crew's attention was concentrated on it, another torpedo hit her port bow. This explosion did little obvious damage, but it set up severe structural stresses throughout the framework of O'Brien. She was able to proceed under her own power, and on 16 September she reached Espiritu Santo, where the sailors from Curtiss made temporary repairs. O’Brien next steamed out on 21 September, bound for Noumea, New Caledonia, for further repairs by the repair ship . Then, she steamed out on 10 October, bound for San Francisco Bay. O'Brien made it to Suva in Fiji on 13 October, and then steamed out once more on 16 October. The rate of leakage of seawater into O'Brien continued to increase, and on 18 October it was necessary for O’Brien to head for the nearest anchorage. Large amounts of topside weights were jettisoned, and preparations were made for abandoning the ship, but her captain still thought that she could be taken intact to Pago Pago. However, at about 0600 on 19 October, her bottom suddenly split open considerably, and her forward and after hull portions began to work independently. At 0630, all hands except for a small salvage crew abandoned, but half an hour later O'Brien was abandoned entirely. Just before 0800 she descended beneath the waves, and after steaming nearly since she had been torpedoed. All members of her crew were saved. Awards USS O'Brien earned one battle star during World War II. References External links Naval History & Heritage Command: USS O'Brien (DD-415), 1940-1942 Navsource.org: USS O'BRIEN (DD-415) Forward Repair of Torpedo Damage 1942 O'Brien (DD-415) O'Brien (DD-415) Ships built in Boston World War II shipwrecks