PhoM 2/c Marion Riley, U.S. Navy
1942, 24 August
Jap Bomb Hits Flight Deck of USS Enterprise 24 August 1942

Photograph
National Archives and Records Administration
National Archives Identifier (NAID): 520592
 
A Japanese bomb explodes on the flight deck of USS Enterprise, 24 August 1942 during the Battle of the Eastern Solomons, causing minor damage. This was the third and last bomb to hit Enterprise during the battle. The bomb was dropped by a Japanese Aichi D3A1 "Val" dive bomber piloted by Kazumi Horie who died in the attack.
 
According to the original photo caption in the US Navy's archives, this explosion killed the photographer, Photographer's Mate 3rd Class Robert F. Read. This image, however, was actually taken by Photographer's Mate 2nd Class Marion Riley, who was operating a motion picture camera from the aft end of the ship's island, above the flight deck and who survived the battle although his photographic equipment was damaged. The film Riley took that day, and of which this still was extracted together with others and published in Life, can be seen at this Youtube link (explosion at 03:05). Robert Read was stationed in the aft starboard 5" gun gallery and was killed by the second bomb to hit Enterprise. The smoke from the bomb explosion that killed Read can be seen in the upper left of this photograph.
 
LL/126085