ammunition ship explosion ww2

Beginning in August, Divisions Four and Eight and both sections of Division Two moved to the Ryder Street Naval Barracks in Vallejo, California, across a short channel from Mare Island, where they were assigned barracks duties with no ship-loading. Veltmann restated that the established legal definition of mutiny was a concerted effort to usurp, subvert or override military authority, and that there had been no such action or intent. Statement of William D. Shaddox, ...National Park Service, ...Concerning H.R. The ammunition loaders worried and complained about the safety of what they were doing, but their concerns were never addressed. Hood ammunition ship exploded near Manus Island in … Admiral Wright stuck by his reduced sentences. CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (, International Longshore and Warehouse Union, United States District Court for the Northern District of California, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Federal Correctional Institution, Terminal Island, African-American mutinies in the United States Armed Forces, Largest artificial non-nuclear explosions, List of accidents and incidents involving transport or storage of ammunition, World War II: The Navy. Clouds of smoke are seen spreading over the harbour. 2 hold. [10], Powered winches were used on cargo ships to speed the handling of heavy loads. Atlantic vessels were refit for their new duties in the Pacific. Includes class characteristics and links to individual ship pages. [91] In the months following the disaster, the Pittsburgh Courier, a newspaper with a large nationwide subscription primarily of African Americans, related the incident and the subsequent mutiny trial in their Double V campaign, a push for victory over not just the Axis powers but also over racial inequality at home. Wright sent an incident report of this mutiny to Washington, D.C., telling his superior officers that the men's "refusal to perform the required work arises from a mass fear arising out of the Port Chicago explosion. Seaman Ollie E. Green‍—‌who had accidentally broken his wrist one day prior to the first work-stoppage on August 9‍—‌said that though he had heard an officer in prior testimony name him as one who had been given a direct order, the officer had only asked him how his wrist was doing, to which he responded "not so good. Koller stated that the hundreds of men like him who continued to load ammunition in the face of danger were "the ones who should be recognized". Congressman George Miller. The Port Chicago disaster was a deadly explosion that took place on July 17, 1944 at the Port Chicago Naval Magazine in Port Chicago, California, in the United States. Deen received a … [16] The International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) responded to word of unsafe practices by offering to bring in experienced men to train the battalion but Navy leadership declined the offer,[17] fearing higher costs, slower pace, and possible sabotage from civilian longshoremen. [28], A boxcar delivery containing a new airborne anti-submarine depth charge design, the Mark 47 armed with 252 lb (114 kg) of torpex, was being loaded into No. Around 1,500 Japanese suicide pilots died attacking American ships. Sailors and dock workers were pressured by time and their superiors and were also using unsafe unloading methods. [14] Most loading officers considered this goal too high. Newhaven WW2 memories. Sandra Evers-Manly, 1998. The official proceeding lasted for 39 days and included interviews with witnesses who were officers, civilians and enlisted men. On 10 November 1944, shortly after 18 men had departed for shore leave, the rest of the crew were killed when the ship exploded in Seeadler Harbor at Manus Island in Papua New Guinea. [17] The E. A. Bryan was completely destroyed and the Quinault was blown out of the water, torn into sections and thrown in several directions; the stern landed upside down in the water 500 ft (150 m) away. Some of the men related how, following the official interrogation at Camp Shoemaker, they had been under great pressure to sign statements containing things they had not said. Captain Harold Stassen recommended in October that the Navy reduce the sentences to just two years for men with good conduct records and three years for the rest, with credit for time served. "[48] Wright's report was passed to President Franklin D. Roosevelt by Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal who added his opinion that it was "mass fear" motivating the work stoppage. A black petty officer under Delucchi testified that he had heard no derogatory remarks or conspiratorial comments and that it had been a surprise to everybody when all of the men suddenly refused to march toward the docks on August 9. The munitions, destined for the Pacific Theater of Operations, were delivered to the Port Chicago facility by rail then individually loaded by hand, crane and winch onto cargo ships for transport to the war zones. Frequently Asked Questions. Delucchi added that the cook and a second man were sailors he did not consider "up to par"; the cook in particular was prone to nervous attacks and was seen as a liability at the pier. Some of these men had already been convicted of disobeying orders in summary courts-martial. [75] The next day, Marshall held a press conference, charging that Judge Advocate Coakley was handling the case in a prejudicial manner. The Port Chicago disaster was a deadly munitions explosion that occurred on July 17, 1944, at the Port Chicago Naval Magazine in Port Chicago, California, United States. Fifty men‍—‌called the "Port Chicago 50"‍—‌were convicted of mutiny and sentenced to 15 years of prison and hard labor, as well as a dishonorable discharge. They discovered that not all of the 50 were experienced ship loaders. [21], The enlisted men were leery of working with deadly explosives but were told by officers that the larger munitions were not active and could not explode‍—‌that they would be armed with their fuzes upon arrival at the combat theater. Another of the 50, who had a broken wrist in a sling was also asked if he would load ammunition, to which he replied that he would not. [22] Handling of larger munitions, such as bombs and shells, involved using levers and crowbars from boxcars, in which they were packed tightly with dunnage‍—‌lifting the heavy, grease-coated cylinders,[17] rolling them along the wooden pier, packing them into nets, lifting them by winch and boom, lowering the bundle into the hold, then dropping individual munitions by hand a short distance into place. [35], All 320 of the men on duty at the pier died instantly, and 390 civilians and military personnel were injured, many seriously. Marshall had flown to the Bay Area on a special wartime travel priority arranged by Navy Secretary Forrestal. He said that the men he had spoken with were willing to follow any order except to load munitions; that each man expressed fear of another explosion. § 173.59. Just after 11:30 AM she suffered an explosion in her forward #2 turret ammunition handling room. 4 hold. On August 8, 1944, the USS Sangay docked to be loaded with naval mines and other munitions. The explosion occurred at 11.20 in the morning and damaged the wheelhouse and ruptured the hull, causing water to flood into the engine room. His aim was to show the court that a conspiracy had taken place‍—‌the mass of accounts from officers and men appeared to support the conclusion that ringleaders and agitators had forced a rebellion against authority. Officers inspect wreckage from ammunition explosion on freight train. Tobin verified that the men were not aggressive or disrespectful. On April 30, 1946 she began offloading ordnance at the Leonardo Piers so that she could enter New York Harbor. Some men said Small's speech included words to the effect of having the officers "by the tail" or "by the ass". | Military.com … A memorial ceremony was held for the victims on July 31, 1944, at Port Chicago. The author fully understands the site's terms and conditions.'. [72], Some of the men who had been named as having been given direct orders to work testified that they had not been given any such order. Enjoy this [relatively] clear film of ammunition ship SS John Burke being completely destroyed in one of the largest manmade non-nuclear explosions in the history of the world. Each man said that he himself had not coerced others to refuse to work. During World War II, the Navy loaded thousands of pounds of explosives onto cargo ships headed to the Pacific theater at Port Chicago, near the mouth of the Sacramento River. Suisun Bay is connected to the Pacific Ocean by San Francisco Bay. Divisions Two and Four were split by the decisions of their men: Small and 43 others chose to form a group unwilling to obey every order. The ammunition was stored in the Canadian Naval Ammunition Storage Depot at Bedford … For any other comments, please Contact Us. The USS Mount Hood (AE-11) (Ammunition Ship-11) was 1,100 yards away. Five to seven seconds later[17][31][32] a more powerful explosion took place as the majority of the ordnance within and near the SS E. A. Bryan detonated in a fireball seen for miles. Veltmann objected to this hearsay but was overruled after Coakley explained it was evidence toward conspiracy. The Navy determined that the tonnage contest between divisions was not at fault, although the Judge Advocate warned that "the loading of explosives should never be a matter of competition. Jon Excell investigates. [23] This series of actions was rough enough that damaged naval shells sometimes leaked identification dye from their ballistic caps. Tobin affirmed that one of the accused men from Division Two was permanently assigned the job of cook because he weighed 104 lb (47 kg) and was considered too small to safely load ammo. The air raid on Bari (German: Luftangriff auf den Hafen von Bari, Italian: Bombardamento di Bari) was an air attack by German bombers on Allied forces and shipping in Bari, Italy, on 2 December 1943, during World War II. In the event that you consider anything on this page to be in breach of the site's House Rules, please click here. [24], Commander Paul B. Cronk, head of a Coast Guard explosives-loading detail tasked with supervision of the working dock, warned the Navy that conditions were unsafe and ripe for disaster. Each man was reduced in rank to seaman apprentice and sentenced to 15 years of hard labor to be followed by dishonorable discharge. During loading operations, the winches were worked hard, requiring steady maintenance to remain operable. On the morning of August 12, six men from Divisions Two and Four who had put themselves in the obey-all-orders group failed to show up for work call; these six were confined to the brig, making 50 prisoners in all. The disaster featured prominently in the 2011 novel Blue Skies Tomorrow by Sarah Sundin. The documentary was nominated for the Peabody Awards and won an Emmy. [36] Two hundred-two of the dead and 233 of the injured were African-Americans, which accounted for 15% of all African-American casualties during World War II. 4 required immediate repair. Naval Photographic Center film #4814. Coakley entered into the record his definition of mutiny: "Collective insubordination, collective disobedience of lawful orders of a superior officer, is mutiny. Oral History. [44], The Navy asked Congress to give each victim's family $5,000. Injuries were treated, those seriously injured were hospitalized, and uninjured servicemen were evacuated to nearby stations. Coakley characterized the statements as not being confessions requiring voluntary conditions but merely "admissions" that had no such requirement. [53], Throughout August, all 258 sailors were taken to Camp Shoemaker and questioned. The USS SOLAR spent most of World War II escorting convoys in the Atlantic and Mediterranean. He was a black man, a good man and a gentleman. The air raid on Bari (German: Luftangriff auf den Hafen von Bari, Italian: Bombardamento di Bari) was an air attack by German bombers on Allied forces and shipping in Bari, Italy, on 2 December 1943, during World War II. He did go to his Auntie’s in Sparrow Hall. [25][26], The Liberty ship SS E. A. Bryan docked at the inboard, landward side of Port Chicago's single 1,500 ft (460 m) pier at 8:15 a.m. on July 13, 1944. Fortunately, the people of that area were in shelters. Marshall's appeal made the case that no direct order was given to all 50 of the defendants to load munitions and that even if orders had been given to certain individuals, disobeying the orders could not constitute mutiny. [80], Veltmann denied that there was a mutinous conspiracy, saying the men were in a state of shock stemming from the horrific explosion and the subsequent cleanup of human body parts belonging to their former battalion mates. Defending the accused men were six Navy lawyers, one as leader of the team and one attorney for every 10 men. A huge mine and fully loaded ammunition ship exploded in Oslo Harbour. Even the officers did not receive training: Lieutenant Commander Alexander Holman, loading officer at Port Chicago whose duties included officer training, had initiated a search for training materials and samples but failed to organize a training class before disaster struck. [101] In March 2008, NPS was directed by Congress to manage the memorial, after passage of a bill introduced in 2007 by Miller. The storyteller was an infant at this time and the father would not let his son be evacuated. The Port Chicago Mutiny involved African American enlisted men in the U.S. Navy who refused to return to loading ammunition after a disastrous explosion at Port Chicago, California on July 17, 1944 that destroyed the Liberty ship SS E.A. Port Chicago Naval Magazine Explosion, 1944, A Chronology of African American Military Service. [38], After the fires had been contained there remained the task of cleaning up‍—‌body parts and corpses littered the bay and port. [9] None of the new recruits had been instructed in ammunition loading. Questions focused on identifying "ringleaders" of the work-stoppage and on what was said by whom at the meeting on the prison barge. Ninety-six of 104 refused and were sent to the prison barge, but all of these men agreed to work after hearing Admiral Wright's speech on August 11; none of Morehouse's men were on trial for mutiny. Others of the Port Chicago 50 had refused to ask for a pardon, reasoning that a pardon is for guilty people receiving forgiveness; they continued to hold the position that they were not guilty of mutiny. WWII Metal Detecting - Discover History Recommended for you 19:47 [43] The remains of 44 of the victims were interred at Golden Gate National Cemetery. Jon Excell investigates. After four days of around-the-clock loading, about 4,600 tons (4,173 tonnes)[27] of explosives had been stored in its holds. The worst single night was the 3rd/4th when an … They interviewed mutiny convict Joe Small, his defense lawyer Gerald Veltmann, as well as Percy Robinson, a seaman who returned to loading ammunition after the first work-stoppage, and Robert Routh, Jr., a seaman who was blinded in the blast. Reporters from the major and local newspapers were invited to watch the proceedings; Navy public relations officers gave reporters copies of photographs and press statements describing the trial as the first mutiny trial in World War II and the largest mass trial the Navy had ever convened. Several shots of a map showing where the explosions took place. The pier, along with its boxcars, locomotive, rails, cargo, and men, was blasted into pieces. [8] All of the enlisted men had been specifically trained for one of the naval ratings during his stay at Naval Station Great Lakes (NSGL) but the men were instead put to work as stevedores. [12] They and their men sometimes struck an antagonistic relationship. No plan was forwarded to use black officers to command the black sailors, and no plan included any form of desegregation. [56] A few of them were held as witnesses in the upcoming mutiny trial. The original magazine was planned in 1941 with construction beginning shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor.

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