How USS Colorado kept fighting after Japan hit it 22 times off Tinian during World War II

USS Colorado (BB-45). (Photo: Dyer Collection/Naval History and Heritage Command, NH 77074) As American forces moved to capture Tinian in the Mariana Islands during the Second World War, hidden Japanese coastal batteries opened fire on USS Colorado. The battleship was hit 22 times in quick succession, killing 43 crew members and wounding 198 others. Despite the heavy damage, USS Colorado remained in action and continued supporting the invasion.According to US Navy's Naval History and Heritage Command (NHHC), the attack on July 24, 1944 was the worst casualties suffered by naval forces during the bombardment phase of the Tinian operation. The incident took place during Operation Forager, the US campaign to capture the Mariana Islands from Japan.The battle became a key moment in the Pacific War. Tinian was captured within days, and the island later became the main base for B-29 Superfortress bombers that carried out missions against Japan, including the flights that dropped the atomic bombs in August 1945.Japan hid guns inside cavesAfter American forces secured most of nearby Saipan in July 1944, attention shifted to Tinian, which lay only a few miles away. Around 8,000 Japanese troo...