What a Difference a Second Makes

On the night of 2 November 1943 when the FOOTE was torpedoed at the Battle of Empress Augusta Bay she lost 19 crew members and approximately 55-feet of her stern. For this damage to occur it is estimated that the torpedo impacted 26.5-feet aft of the 5-inch gun mount No. 5.

The ship was steaming at 31-knots (52.4 feet per second).



If we use the point of impact as a fixed reference and arrive at that point one second sooner (52.4-feet) the torpedo would have passed about 24-feet astern - missing the ship altogether.

On the other hand “what if “ the ship had arrived at the reference point two and one-half seconds later (131-feet) then the torpedo would have impacted amidship - causing greater loss of life and in all probability, sunk the FOOTE instantly.









What a difference a second can make in an individual’s life.
(This scenario was suggested by Charlie Zobie, Chief Radioman on the FOOTE, about 10-days before his unexpected death on 12-12-91.)