On March 15, 1952, while operating off the coast of Korea during the Korean War, the Iowa class Battleship USS Wisconsin sustained a direct hit from a North Korean 155mm gun battery, causing minor damage to the ship and injuring three sailors.
In retaliation, the Wisconsin unleashed a devastating response, firing all nine of its Mark 7 16-inch guns. Each of these guns launching a 2,700-pound armor-piercing shell over 20 miles, obliterating and erasing the North Korean gun battery responsible for the attack from the landscape.
Following this overwhelming and disproportionate display of firepower, the USS Duncan, an escorting ship, humorously signaled the Wisconsin with the message, “Temper, Temper,” acknowledging the intensity of the retaliatory strike.