During the early months of U.S. involvement in World War II, well-connected, Harvard-educated Lieutenant Gregg Masterman enjoys his cushy posting as the junior aide to Rear Admiral Stephen "Old Ironpants" Thomas, playing tennis and arranging various Navy social functions.

As a result, Thomas gives Roberts command of a once obsolete but now reconditioned World War I-era destroyer, the USS Warren.

Admiral Thomas is put in charge of a convoy of ships from Honolulu to San Francisco, but one of the escort destroyers breaks down and USS Warren is assigned to replace it.

While traveling at flank speed through a heavy Pacific squall to join the convoy, Johnson falls and suffers a concussion.

The Warren shoots the plane down, but its battleship emerges from a thick fog bank and opens fire on the flagship.

The Warren successfully fires six torpedoes into the Japanese battleship, detonating its ammunition magazines and completely destroying the capital ship.

After their return to San Francisco, a formal ceremony is held aboard the now repaired USS Warren: a proud Admiral Thomas presents Roberts, Masterman, and a recovered Johnson with the Navy's highest honor, the Navy Cross, awarded by the president.

[1][5] The film was nominated for the Oscar for Best Special Effects (A. Arnold Gillespie, Donald Jahraus, Michael Steinore).