Birmingham (CL-62), at left, and a destroyer pull away from thePrinceton (CVL-23) following the big explosion that destroyed the carrier’s stern at about 1523 hrs on October 24, 1944. This blast killed over two hundred men aboard Birmingham, which was alongside Princeton fighting fires. Note the light smoke over Birmingham’s midships and stern areas. Princeton’s stern, and a good deal of her after superstructure, has been blown off.
