A U.S. Navy destroyer, the USS O'Bannon, is patrolling near the Solomon Islands when it spots a Japanese submarine on the surface. The sub is caught off guard, drifting, vulnerable. The O'Bannon moves in for the kill.
But there's a problem. They're too close.
The destroyer's main guns can't depress low enough to hit the sub. The deck guns are empty. The crew scrambles, searching for anything that can be thrown, anything that might stop the enemy from diving and escaping.
And then someone has the most absurd, brilliant idea in naval history.
"Throw the potatoes!"
The Spud Offensive
The O'Bannon was carrying a large shipment of potatoes for the galley - hundreds of pounds of fresh, Idaho-grown spuds. In desperation, the crew grabbed them by the armful and began hurling them at the Japanese submarine.
Potatoes rained down on the conning tower. Potatoes bounced off the deck. Potatoes filled the air like a starchy hailstorm.
The Japanese sailors, peering up through the chaos, saw something terrifying: hand grenades.
They didn't stop to inspect. They didn't question why a destroyer would be throwing potatoes instead of shells. They just saw objects flying toward them, panicked, and scrambled below deck to crash-dive.
The sub disappeared beneath the waves. The O'Bannon steamed away, victorious - and probably laughing.
A naval engagement had been decided by a root vegetable.
The Aftermath
The story quickly became legend. The O'Bannon's crew was hailed for their quick thinking. The ship went on to serve with distinction for the rest of the war, earning 17 battle stars and a Presidential Unit Citation.
As for the Japanese submarine? It survived. But its crew had to live with the knowledge that they'd been driven off by potatoes.
No one knows if they ever found out the truth. But one can imagine their embarrassment if they did.
Why It Worked
The potato attack succeeded because of confusion.
In the chaos of battle, the Japanese sailors didn't have time to identify what was being thrown at them. They saw objects in the air, heard shouts, and made a split-second decision: dive.
If they'd realized they were being bombarded with vegetables, they might have stayed on the surface and fought. But they didn't.
The potato's greatest weapon was its ability to be mistaken for something deadlier.
The Spud Is Mighter Than the Sword
The Great Potato Attack is one of the strangest stories to come out of WWII - a war filled with horror, sacrifice, and tragedy. It's a reminder that even in the darkest times, humans can be absurd, clever, and unexpectedly hilarious.
The O'Bannon didn't win because it had better weapons. It won because it had better improvisation.
And because it had potatoes.
The Echo That Remains
Today, the USS O'Bannon is remembered as one of the most decorated destroyers of WWII. But its most famous battle involved no bullets, no bombs, and no blood.
Just a bunch of potatoes hurled at an enemy that didn't stick around to find out what they really were.
The spud, it turns out, was mightier than the sword.
The Next Time You See a Potato
The next time you're in the grocery store, passing by a bag of russets, take a moment.
Think of the USS O'Bannon. Think of the Japanese submarine. Think of the chaos, the laughter, the sheer absurdity of a battle won by vegetables.
And remember: in the right circumstances, even a potato can be a weapon of war.
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