"1944 Port Chicago Disaster" reminder
When
Tuesday, 18 July 2017
06:00 AM to 06:00 AM
(GMT) Greenwich Mean Time - Dublin / Edinburgh / Lisbon / London
(GMT) Greenwich Mean Time - Dublin / Edinburgh / Lisbon / London
Where
Contra Costa County - Suisun Bay
Notes
At 10:18 PM this day in 1944 a mishap involving boom or winch loading ordnance on one of two Liberty ships being loaded simultaneously on opposite sides of a dock at the Port Chicago Naval Magazine triggered a smaller explosion and resulting fire. Several seconds later a catastrophic explosion featuring a 3-mile diameter fireball rose from the site killing all 320 personnel on the docks and ships and injuring 390 others nearby, many of whom were seriously burned. The SS E.A. Bryan where the disaster began was completely destroyed while the adjacent SS Quinault was torn in pieces and thrown in various directions several hundred feet away. The US Coast Guard fire boat CG-60014-F was lifted 600 feet into the air and dumped into the bay sinking immediately and killing its 5-person crew. Chunks of glowing shrapnel were thrown 12,000 feet into the air. Due to work conditions at the time of the disaster and in the aftermath, the infamous Port Chicago Mutiny would occur a few weeks later.
From
californiadisasters Calendar
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