Two wars and two Destroyers lost on this day. May 18, 1915 during World War 1 it was the German destroyer
V-150, she was lost due to a collision with her sister ship V-157. She went down in the North Sea off Heligoland
with 60 of her crew. The V-157 made port and was repaired.
On May 18, 1945 during World War 2 the USS Longshaw DD-559 was grounded on reef south of Naha airfield,
Okinawa. She was stuck fast and attempts to free the stranded destroyer failed. A tug arrived shortly after noon
but, the Japanese opened fire on the Longshaw with shore guns. A direct hit removed her bow and the ship was
abandoned. Eighty four of her crew including the commander were killed in the battle. The Longshaw was later
destroyed by US Navy ships to keep her out of enemy hands.
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