The Destroyer That Launched Scout Planes, USS Pringle One of only three destroyers ever built with a floatplane catapult, USS Pringle briefly experimented with scouting from the air before returning to the front lines of the Pacific. Her war ended on radar picket duty off Okinawa, when a kamikaze strike split the ship in two in under six minutes. | The Reliable Narrator

The Submarine That Raised the Alarm, USS Threadfin In April 1945, USS Threadfin spotted Yamato’s final sortie and sent the warning that unleashed the U.S. fleet. She never fired a torpedo, but her radio call helped seal the fate of the world’s largest battleship—and shattered Japan’s last major naval strike. | The Reliable Narrator

The Destroyer That Challenged the Bismarck, ORP Piorun In May 1941, the Polish destroyer Piorun was first to find Bismarck—then charged the battleship alone, drawing fire so Maori could close in. For nearly an hour she dueled a ship ten times her size, flashing “I am a Pole” as she fought. Low on fuel, she finally withdrew, her defiance becoming legend. | The Reliable Narrator