West Loch Disaster
Encyclopedia
The West Loch Disaster was a previously secret American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 maritime accident which led to the deaths of 163 men at the U.S. naval base of Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...

 in Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...

 on 21 May 1944. The incident is not as well known as the original Pearl Harbor disaster, the Japanese
Japanese people
The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...

 Attack on Pearl Harbor
Attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941...

 of December 1941, in part because the event was classified top secret
Top Secret
Top Secret generally refers to the highest acknowledged level of classified information.Top Secret may also refer to:- Film and television :* Top Secret , a British comedy directed by Mario Zampi...

 until 1960.

The disaster occurred in the West Loch part of the harbor
Harbor
A harbor or harbour , or haven, is a place where ships, boats, and barges can seek shelter from stormy weather, or else are stored for future use. Harbors can be natural or artificial...

, at the time being used as a staging area for a fleet of Landing Ships, Tank (LSTs) and other amphibious assault ship
Amphibious assault ship
An amphibious assault ship is a type of amphibious warfare ship employed to land and support ground forces on enemy territory by an amphibious assault...

s being prepared for the upcoming Operation Forager, an invasion of the Japanese-held Mariana Islands
Mariana Islands
The Mariana Islands are an arc-shaped archipelago made up by the summits of 15 volcanic mountains in the north-western Pacific Ocean between the 12th and 21st parallels north and along the 145th meridian east...

. At 15:00 on a Sunday afternoon, an initial explosion occurred on board , and subsequently spread fire among the tightly packed ships loaded with fuel and munitions. The resulting fires lasted 24 hours, and led to the eventual sinking of six LSTs.

The exact cause of the disaster was never determined, but it is believed that a mortar
Mortar (weapon)
A mortar is an indirect fire weapon that fires explosive projectiles known as bombs at low velocities, short ranges, and high-arcing ballistic trajectories. It is typically muzzle-loading and has a barrel length less than 15 times its caliber....

 round exploded during an unloading operation, setting off the chain reaction. The round exploded either because it was dropped during handling or ignited by a gasoline explosion. The incident—together with the Port Chicago disaster
Port Chicago disaster
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. Munitions detonated while being loaded onto a cargo vessel bound for the Pacific Theater of Operations, killing 320 sailors and...

 two months later—led to changes in Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

 weapon handling practices.

The wreckage was quickly cleared in a salvage operation and dumped at sea 3 mi (2.6 nmi; 4.8 km) south of Hawaii, leaving only the rusted hull of the partially beached wreck of in the loch as present-day evidence of the disaster. The remains of a Japanese midget submarine
Midget submarine
A midget submarine is any submarine under 150 tons, typically operated by a crew of one or two but sometimes up to 6 or 8, with little or no on-board living accommodation...

 later found in the salvage is believed to be the fifth Japanese midget submarine used in the 1941 attack.

Background

In May 1944, the West Loch area of Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...

 was unusually crowded with various vessels as it was being used as a staging area for the upcoming Operation Forager. Twenty-nine Landing Ships, Tank (LSTs) were tied up, beam to beam, at six Tare piers. Many of the LSTs, in addition to carrying their own munitions and fuel, were already fully loaded with cargo — all the munitions, fuel, vehicles, equipment, and other general stores required by the Marines for the invasion, due to begin in mid-June. This included high-octane
Octane rating
Octane rating or octane number is a standard measure of the anti-knock properties of a motor or aviation fuel. The higher the octane number, the more compression the fuel can withstand before detonating...

 gasoline stored on deck, ready for quick deployment ashore after landing.

In the weeks leading up to the incident, the vessels and crews had been training for the upcoming invasion. The LSTs were each crewed by around 120 Navy sailors or Coast Guardsmen, and manned by around 200 Marine loaders, drivers and mechanics. As a result of the rapid expansion of the fleet, many of the sailors and Marines
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...

 were inexperienced. Following a week of training, on the day of the incident, a Sunday, many were on shore leave; consequently, many of the LSTs had only half their crew aboard.

Explosion

The disaster began on 21 May 1944. At 15:08, an explosion emanated from moored at Tare 8, sending a large fireball into the sky. The explosion was heard miles away at Pearl Harbor Headquarters, followed immediately by more explosions of increasing intensity, sparking fears of a Japanese attack or an earthquake
Earthquake
An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. The seismicity, seismism or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time...

. A chain reaction of explosions was initiated as fire and debris rained down on the fuel and munitions stored on the decks of other LSTs. In minutes, 200 men had been blown from the decks into the water. Eleven wooden buildings on the shore were destroyed, and vehicles blown on their side. In all, 20 buildings were damaged.

Initial fire-fighting efforts by crews were impeded by the heat, although some crews further away managed to muster damage control parties. Many of the LSTs tied together at Tare 8 began to sink. Fires also spread to Tares 7 and 9. Within the hour, Admiral
Admiral (United States)
In the United States Navy, the United States Coast Guard and the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, admiral is a four-star flag officer rank, with the pay grade of O-10. Admiral ranks above vice admiral and below Fleet Admiral in the Navy; the Coast Guard and the Public Health...

 Richmond K. Turner
Richmond K. Turner
-Footnotes:...

 was directing fire-fighting efforts from a launch.

Various LSTs—some under their own power and some assisted by tugboat
Tugboat
A tugboat is a boat that maneuvers vessels by pushing or towing them. Tugs move vessels that either should not move themselves, such as ships in a crowded harbor or a narrow canal,or those that cannot move by themselves, such as barges, disabled ships, or oil platforms. Tugboats are powerful for...

s—managed to move to safety, while others drifted, abandoned, spreading the fires and sinking in the channel. Leaking oil ignited on the water also spread fire to other Tares otherwise untouched by the chain reaction.

Tugboats and foam-carrying salvage ships from Pearl Harbor eventually arrived to fight the spreading fires. Explosions and fires continued into the night, with the last explosion occurring at 22:30. Fires continued for 24 hours. Another vessel steered a drifting LST away from a collision course with an ammunition ship docked across the loch at the ammunition depot.

The harbor tugs , , and , the net tender , the chartered tug Mikioi, and smaller tugs YTL-233, YTL-306, YTL-307, YTL-308, YTL-309, and YTL-339 were damaged while engaged in fire control efforts.

Casualties

The initial official account listed 27 dead and 100 missing. The majority of sources state the final death toll as 163 men, with a further 396 wounded. In an account published in Sea Classics magazine in 2005 however, the total dead is put at 392, of which 163 were sailors, the remainder being Marines—part of the Department of the Navy—from the newly formed 2nd and 4th Marine Divisions, with records of Army dead having not been recorded in the confusion. Pearl Harbor attack survivor and historical researcher Ray Emory also disputes the death toll, stating that 132 men died at West Loch.

Investigation

A Naval Board of Inquiry
Naval Board of Inquiry
A Naval Board of Inquiry is a type of investigative court proceeding conducted by the United States Navy after the occurrence of an unanticipated event that adversely affects the performance, or reputation, of the fleet or one of its ships or stations.- Convening the board :Depending on the...

 was opened in Pearl Harbor the following day, under Rear Admiral
Rear admiral (United States)
Rear admiral is a naval commissioned officer rank above that of a commodore and captain, and below that of a vice admiral. The uniformed services of the United States are unique in having two grades of rear admirals.- Rear admiral :...

 John F. Safroth. Early thoughts that the incident was the result of a Japanese submarine attack were dismissed as impractical, because of the depth of the loch and the presence of anti-submarine nets.

The executive officer of LST-353 stated that immediately prior to the explosion, Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

 stevedore
Stevedore
Stevedore, dockworker, docker, dock labourer, wharfie and longshoreman can have various waterfront-related meanings concerning loading and unloading ships, according to place and country....

s were unloading mortar ammunition from a Landing craft tank
Landing craft tank
The Landing Craft, Tank was an amphibious assault ship for landing tanks on beachheads. They were initially developed by the British Royal Navy and later by the United States Navy during World War II in a series of versions. Initially known as the "Tank Landing Craft" by the British, they later...

 (LCT), itself a small vessel, lashed to the deck of the LST. The 4.2 in (10.7 cm) mortar rounds had been mistakenly loaded onto the wrong vessel. According to one source, it had been realized during training that mortars could not be accurately fired from LCTs, and this was the reason for the unloading taking place. Eighty drums of fuel were present 15 ft (4.6 m) from the LST′s elevator being used in the unloading process. The unit tasked with unloading the mortars had received no training for the task.

Neither the initial investigation, nor subsequent reviews, found a conclusive cause for the disaster. The two most likely causes were considered to be the accidental dropping of a mortar round being unloaded on LST-353, or the ignition of gasoline vapors from drums stored on the deck of LST-353. The Navy determined that a mortar round did explode on LST-353, sparking a chain reaction, but could not determine why, as all those nearest the explosion were killed. It noted that in addition to a handling error, fuel vapors could have been ignited by careless smoking (although banned), and that welding
Welding
Welding is a fabrication or sculptural process that joins materials, usually metals or thermoplastics, by causing coalescence. This is often done by melting the workpieces and adding a filler material to form a pool of molten material that cools to become a strong joint, with pressure sometimes...

 had also been occurring that day.

No courts-martial
Court-martial
A court-martial is a military court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the armed forces subject to military law, and, if the defendant is found guilty, to decide upon punishment.Most militaries maintain a court-martial system to try cases in which a breach of...

 or letters of reprimand
Letter of reprimand
A letter of reprimand is a United States Department of Defense procedure involving a letter to an employee or soldier from his or her superior that details the wrongful actions of the person and the punishment that can be expected...

 were issued to anyone involved, and the dangerous practices of closely loading fuel and munitions aboard closely nested vessels were all described as necessary under the conditions of war, and the layout of Pearl Harbor. A recommendation to avoid nesting in future was criticized by Admiral Chester W. Nimitz as impractical.

In his eyewitness testimony
Testimony
In law and in religion, testimony is a solemn attestation as to the truth of a matter. All testimonies should be well thought out and truthful. It was the custom in Ancient Rome for the men to place their right hand on a Bible when taking an oath...

, Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant commander (United States)
Lieutenant commander is a mid-ranking officer rank in the United States Navy, the United States Coast Guard, the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Corps, with the pay grade of O-4 and NATO rank code OF-3...

 Joseph B. Hoyt, USNR—Commander of LST Group 39, Flotilla 13, citing the efforts of the crew of the badly damaged but saved LST-274—criticized the crews of many of the other LSTs for abandoning their vessels too early, leaving them to sink or drift, rather than fire-fighting or attempting to beach them elsewhere. Several crews and skippers were called to account for inadequate reactions to the emergency, although the severity of the conditions were cited as mitigating factors.

Coverage

A press blackout was ordered following the incident, and the official inquiry was marked Top Secret. Survivors and eyewitnesses were not permitted to mention the incident in letters home. Four days after the incident, the authorities released a one-paragraph statement noting an explosion had caused "some loss of life, a number of injuries and resulted in the destruction of several small vessels". It was only after Operation Forager that a fuller account was released. The incident was not declassified and made public until 1960.

As a result of the secrecy surrounding the incident, it has been asserted that the public knows little about Pearl Harbor′s "second disaster". As of 1997, the only book about the incident, The West Loch Story, was privately published by William L.C. Johnson, a survivor, in which he alleged that a full account had not emerged from the Navy until 1964, and that the incident had been caused by careless smoking.

Impact on Operation Forager

Six LSTs were sunk (LST-39, LST-43, LST-69, LST-179, LST-353, and LST-480), two already carrying smaller, fully loaded Landing craft tank
Landing craft tank
The Landing Craft, Tank was an amphibious assault ship for landing tanks on beachheads. They were initially developed by the British Royal Navy and later by the United States Navy during World War II in a series of versions. Initially known as the "Tank Landing Craft" by the British, they later...

s (LCT-961, 963 and 983) lashed to their decks. Several LSTs were damaged and/or ran aground. Four (including LST-205 and LST-225— could not be repaired in time for the invasion. Seventeen tracked landing vehicles (LVT) and eight 155 mm (6.1 in) guns were destroyed. Other sources place the total number of destroyed LSTs at nine. With reinforcement of the fleet from elsewhere, and through quick repair efforts, Operation Forager was only delayed by one day as a result of the incident, with the operation commencing essentially as planned three weeks later.

Memorials

In the weeks following the disaster, all wreckage was salvaged and removed, with the exception of (sometimes reported as LST-353). Its bow can be seen at 21°21′25.91"N 157°59′49.87"W, rusting, the craft having been beached during the disaster. In April 1995, the first memorial to the disaster was unveiled: a table-sized plaque sited on the shore of the loch. At the behest of Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....

, gravestones of unidentified victims in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific
National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific
The National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific is a cemetery located in Honolulu, Hawaii that serves a memorial to those men and women who served in the United States Armed Forces...

 were amended in the 2000s from recording simply "unknown", to "Unknown, West Loch Disaster, May 21, 1944". The Navy commemorated the 65th anniversary of the disaster on 21 May 2009.

Legacy

As a result of the incident, and the Port Chicago disaster
Port Chicago disaster
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. Munitions detonated while being loaded onto a cargo vessel bound for the Pacific Theater of Operations, killing 320 sailors and...

 two months later, the Navy drastically changed their ordnance-handling procedures, insisting on training for handlers, redesigned munitions for safer handling, and no longer nesting vessels when ammunition was being handled.

It is also possible that the salvage operation undertaken to clear the loch after the disaster inadvertently lengthened the hunt for the "fifth midget submarine" involved in the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor. After three pieces of a midget submarine were discovered three miles south of Pearl Harbor, a working theory was developed that this was the only submarine in a group of five Japanese Ko-hyoteki class submarine
Ko-hyoteki class submarine
The class was a class of Japanese midget submarines used during World War II. They had hull numbers but no names. For simplicity, they are most often referred to by the hull number of the mother submarine...

s involved in the attack that had not yet been accounted for. Researchers posited that it had penetrated the harbor to attack Battleship Row
Battleship Row
Battleship Row was the grouping of eight US battleships in port at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, when the Japanese attacked on December 7, 1941. These ships bore the brunt of the Japanese assault. They were moored next to Ford Island when the attack commenced. The ships were , , , , , , , and...

, before escaping into West Loch and being scuttled by the two-man crew. Lying on the bed of the loch, it was then salvaged along with the remains of the LSTs, LCTs and landing tanks, and then dumped at sea.
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