Aerial Bombing - Pearl Harbor
Vestal was, moored outboard of the USS Arizona on the morning of December 7. She was hit by two Japanese bombs and received additional damage from the force and heat of Arizona's explosion. ... Casting loose from the sunk and burning battleship, Vestal moved up the harbor a short distance and anchored. However, one of the bomb hits caused her to flood aft, and the water could not be controlled in the ship's old hull. Accordingly, she hoisted her anchor and was beached on Aiea Shoal, in Pearl Harbor's northeastern corner.
