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My Uncle served aboard the USS Mount Hood and was one of the few that survived as he was in one of the smaller boats away from his ship. My Grandparents were told that their son was dead (a telegram was slipped beneath their door) but later learned that he had survived although severely wounded by shrapnel. Just before he passed away at the age of 90 he finally spoke at our last family reunion about what had happened that day. My Uncle's name was Cornelius (Sonny) Donato.
Beautiful story Cathy, my own grandfathers served but never shared with us their experiences in WW2 and I wish they had. I’m glad your uncle did and that he had a family to love and support him. All the best to you and yours love.
The way that dude’s account went from Wiley Coyote-esque sudden nakedness to his buddy getting chopped in half by plate steel right back to Wiley Coyote shenanigans carrying a live shell with another guy while they debate if they could outrun the explosion then right back to death and horror gave my soul permanent whiplash. Genuinely one of the most surreal things I’ve ever heard.
@@GrumpyIan Copy that . I served in two combat areas . We just did what we were to do . While waiting to go in you knew you may be one to buy it . But once in you focused .
Was an Ordnance Officer in Korea 84-85. We were inventorying ammo in an above ground warehouse (size of an American football field) when South Korean Army soldiers dropped 40 to 50 founds of 155mm HE Rocket Assist from abt seven feet off the ground. We all just held our breaths for a second or two, then exhaled.
My grandfather was one of he 18 men of the Mount Hood's shore party. He never spoke of the disaster, but my mom told me he was detailed to pick up mail.
I really like this channel’s use of maritime lingo. Even if I don’t fully understand it all, it really underscores the creator’s passion for these maritime stories.
Horace Hood - exploded to death on his ship HMS Hood - exploded in battle with Bismarck USS Mount Hood - also exploded People, please stop calling ships Hood, they´ll explode. And if your name is Hood, stay away from the sea as well...
@@Avewyowo Other common deadly and serious side effects include, but are not limited too: Expected Combustion Unexpected Detonation Expected Detonation
John Bell Hood, Confederate general: wounded at Gettysburg and lost the use of his left arm. Later wounded again at the Battle of Chickamauga and lost his right leg... Maybe the answer is to just not be named Hood
I bought a 40' UTB from the US Navy that had been attached to the U.S.S. MOUNT HOOD that was commissioned in 1972 I believe. They were changing out all the Willard Marine UTB launches, for Ridgid hull inflatables. I had researched the lineage of all the cargo / ammo ships to have that name, and found this story in the US Navy archives. My UTB was in great shape, and only had 11 hours on it. I got it USCG certified for up to 49 passengers. I named it "LIBERTY" ( every sailor is happy to be on liberty ) , and eventually sold it to Mystic Seaport in Mystic, CT. Apparently they use it to do Mystic River Cruises around the museum, and for towboat duty. She was a great boat. I enjoyed your video on her original name sake. Very good job on researching for this story. Capt. Keith Lane
That's really cool! Sorry for the response to a message months old, but did you ever let Mystic Seaport know about the history of the ship? Sounds like the sort of thing they might be interested in knowing and maybe putting a plaque on the ship about.
My grandfather was on a boat returning to his ship, the escort carrier U.S.S. Saginaw Bay when the explosion happened. I can't remember the details, but he said that if he was near the ship a minute longer he would've been dead. He remembered seeing chunks of hot metal and body parts flying all over the place. From what I've read the Saginaw Bay only suffered light damage from the explosion. I remember my grandma telling me that he had nightmares because of the explosion. Despite some personal problems, he lived to be 94, a long and fulfilling life. Rest in peace Grandpa.
My grandpa was in the sick bay with pneumonia on manus island, when this happened. He was blown out of bed but survived to live till 93 years old. he never talked much about the war until his old age but I was thankful to get a hidden recording of his recount of this day. He would never talk if he knew he was being recorded.
This has no scientific bearing, but it is his belief, that submarines followed the ship into bay through the nets and when they were opened up and it was submarines that blew up the ship on a suicide mission. Just his opinion.
Fascinating story about the pacific war that I'd never heard. It's rare to find videos on events like this of such stellar quality. Way to go man! You've got yourself a new subscriber.
They tried not to tell stories like this during the war. They didn't want parents second-guessing their son's ( or for some, even their daughters) bravery. It takes a hell of a lot of people to keep one soldier on the line, and without them, the soldier fails. It's true that no how matter how menial job, it's still important in the overall whole.. they just don't have time to explain how so, or tell you thank you... yes, even cleaning the toilets. One sick man can make one sick ship.
Stuff like this isn't good for moral or the war Dept. Late in the war some LSTs blew up at Pearl Harbor. Was kept hush-hush and Marinas invasion was delayed
My great grandpa was a cheif elecrtictian's mate aboard the USS Mt. Hood AE 11 on November 10, 1944. He was one of the brave men killed in the incident.
My grandfather was a farmer. It sounded like the most boring thing to me when I was a child, but actually there was a lot of fun stuff to it. My stepdad had spent 23 years in the Navy and part of it during the war. I pictured this as some exciting thing as a child, but he let me in on the truth. Part of the time there was some fun and joshing around, but mostly you were bored stiff, or scared sheet White, no matter what your skin color was.
My father in law was there a little over a mile from the ship . A sargent where he was at saw the explosion and screamed "Hit the dirt", open your mouths and cover your ears, right after that the shock wave hit.
@@MaritimeHorrors He is now 95 years old and still remembers that time. Recently he was celebrated in D.C. when Prez. Trump called him and other survivors there What an honor.His name is Tom Irving.
@@spikespa5208 Sadly, My ex-father in law, Tommy Irving just passed away. He was 99 years old.. They had to cremate him because of this stupid COVID thing. His ashes will go to one of the National cemetaries. My big brother and a close friend I knew in Easton are both buried in the Tahoma cemetery
If I were a sailor, I'd request to be on an ammo ship. Whereas you can die horribly during a capsize, torpedoing, on-board fire, oil-surface fire, be taken by sharks or lost at sea and die of thirst aboard something else - on an ammo ship, you'd blissfully never know you had an accident. Thank you for covering this untold story. I was going to mention her after I interviewed a witness, a sailor on the USS Haggard. I was reading his personal journal and couldn't believe it. The Hood's detonation was just another journal entry of daily, unbelievable horror.
This disaster hit close to home. My father, a WW2 Navy vet himself, lost one of his childhood friends who was a crewman aboard _Mt._ _Hood_. And that guy had an older brother, also in the Navy, who happened to be aboard another ship in the harbor at the time. The older brother wrote a letter home saying he assumed his parents already knew his younger brother was dead (a reasonable assumption given the speed of mail from the front) and stating he'd seen the ship blow up. Sadly, this letter somehow got to the parents prior to official notification from the Navy.
As a parent that would be so horribly sad and comforting at the same time. Knowing that their son(the brother)was nearby and hearing it from him instead of a random stranger. It would still be heartbreaking and sad.
Thanks for the video. I found it today researching for a story. My Dad was there at Seeadler Harbor Manus with Boat Pool 15. He was a LCM driver. "BOAT POOL 15 NAVY 3205 MANUS ISLAND". He was on shore when it blew up. 19 of his shipmates were tied up to the HOOD in their LCM's and were lost in the blink of an eye. I attended several of his last Navy Reunions with his Shipmates and heard the stories from the guys that were there. I remember that one of the friends was near shore in the harbor in the LCM and the Bow Wave created by the explosion lifted his LCM up and washed it quite a good ways away from the harbor up on land. An interesting side note is that Martin Robinson (the famous Marty Robbins) was in that Boatpool with my Dad and I heard stories from my Dad about some of the fun times he and Martin (Marty) had while on shore. Marty became the famous entertainer after the war, but my Dad remembered Martin learning the guitar over there. I remember my Dad told me that when it blew, he and the other guys ran to bunkers as fast as they could and my Dad had just gotten in a bunker when a piece of ship slammed it. Interesting to note. Martin (Marty) quit high school and went in to the Navy at 17. My Dad was the only son on a farm, so he didn't have to go, but in his heart, he COULD NOT sit by and NOT get in the fight, so he volunteered for Naval Service.
This reminds me of a story my grandfather told me about his time in service. He had been with the US Army at the time, part of their aircraft supply division. It would be during that service that a plane suffered a fire on the runway while loaded with bombs, and a lieutenant ordered him and his friend to go deal with it. He told the officer that the fire team that should have been ready on the runway needed to handle it, due to the danger involved, while his friend went out. A second later, one of the explosives went off, killing his friend. He never forgot what happened.
Great comment and story, really made me think of the chain of events that lead to all of us being here today. Good lesson about standing up for yourself as well. I hope your grandfather is alive and well, I’d hope his story is documented for posterity so your own grandchildren would have a chance to hear about his life.
@@antondavis33 He passed last year from natural causes, but lived very well up to 97. His stories were all recorded by my brother, so that we would never forget them.
@@ardanblade641 could you please share some other stories? I’m glad your brother was able to record them, important we never forget what happened on the individual level.
You should do a video on the Texas City disaster. 2 retired liberty ships, serving as freighters, were being loaded with ammonium nitrate when they exploded. It is one of the largest non-atomic explosions in recorded history.
I've been kicking myself for the last 5 minutes wondering like "Gah I know, I know that name and it was big but I can't place it". Finally clicked when I saw your comment lol. Can't help but wonder what the men though when they found out they'd be serving on an American Hood after what happened to the HMS Hood
The part about the poor young man being cut in half by the metal sheet and how the captain of the minesweeper was gasping after being impaled… I hope they weren’t in too much pain when they passed. And same to the rest of those who lost their lives that day. I’m grieving for people I’d never heard about until now. I hope they find peace.
@@NashmanNash I know that John Jacob Astor was one of the first class passengers who perished aboard the RMS Titanic, but off the top of my head, I'm not sure about any other marine tragedies involving the Astor family. ⚓🤔
Edit: Nvm, as OP is probably aware, it is a form of irony I was unaware of, as explained below this comment. Correct me if i'm wrong, and I don't want to be that guy, but don't those observations seem more 'coincidental'/'fitting'/'foreshadowing' than 'ironic'? As I understand, it would be ironic if it were named after something that was typically known to not blow up (e.g. USS Dud rather than USS Mount Hood). And would be even more ironic if it were named similarly to another ship that did whatever the opposite of exploding is.
@@nathanielwilliams7456 In this case, this is dramatic irony. Because we're aware of the outcome, we find it ironic that it's named after a volcano, and had a similar name as the HMS Hood. When people were naming the ship they had no idea this would happen, but with hindsight we know more about the situation then they did at the time, hence the irony of it all. What you're describing is situational irony, so you're not wrong, you've just fallen victim to the English language, and the fact a single word can be applied in a multitude of ways. If you're curious, the third type of irony is verbal, which is if I was to say "what lovely weather we're having" when it's raining and miserable, that would also be ironic.
I initially thought this video was about the HMS Hood disaster but confess I learned something today because I had never heard of this incident. These are most informative and well made videos
@@purplefood1 I think it depends in the nature of the incident. If design fault, crew error, or nature played a role thus directly increasing the casualty numbers then I would say it counts. Then again it’s a matter of opinion really so who can say?
Reckon both the loss of the Hood and the sinking of the Bismarck were disasters to their Flag's nations. Hood as it was the star unit of the Royal Navy, exploded due a fault design, while Bismarck went down fighting (well, scuttled, but they didn't stand a chance a that point) but it proved the Kriegsmarine tactics of raiding convoys using capital ships didn't work. Bismarck loss pretty much devasted the Kriegsmarine reputation with Hitler, sister ship Tirpitz was kept in port ever after.
@@reuireuiop0 It wasn't a desin fault necessarily that's just how battlecruisers were built, she was due to receive upgrades to her armour which never happened but disaster tends to imply a somewhat natural occurance rather than a military action.
@@reuireuiop0 to be fair she was an older ship and hadn't been able to get a refit but even then they did have the magazine doors open to try to fire faster which isn't really a fault and design as it is a fault and operation
my grandfather was on the uss oberender a destroyer escort that was was moored close to the hood when it expolded. He rememered a hamberger patty landed on his ships deck just like some one had softly planted it. He asked after if anyone on his ship had served meatloaf that day and found it was served on the Hood the day. He also remembers that it did more damage than the kamakozy attack the next year.
Have you covered the attack at Bari, Italy? It came at about the same time (1943) as this event, and resembled it in some ways, except one of the ships that exploded contained mustard gas bombs. It's a little known incident that was absolutely horrific, and the presence of chemical weapons (which were only kept on an "in case the enemy uses it" basis) was kept secret for many years....
Great video, I had never heard of this event prior to seeing this. One small thing- Nimitz was described as “infamous”- which means to have a reputation of the worst kind, and he is one of our nations most respected leaders.
@@ostrich67 I agree brother, but only in regards to his temperament- as a man and leader he was very respectable in my opinion and I think you feel the same.
@@wheels-n-tires1846 I’m confident it was a little mistake, it’s one of those words that means something different than what one might intuitively think it does
Reminds me of a German dark humor joke about the slogan of a minesweeper unit: "Wer suchet, der findet, wer drauftritt, verschwindet" (translates to "He who seeks shall find, he who steps on it shall disappear")
Wow. My great uncle was one of the unfortunate ones to lose his life on this ship. (He survived Pearl Harbor) This is so interesting. Thank you so much. Lt. Winfrey D. Collie, Jr. RIP
You do us a great service by educating us on many incidents that many of us were not even aware of, I am a Navy vet and I am deeply interested in all history and especially military history. Thank you sir!
Look up Operation Aphrodite, and specifically how JFK's older brother was killed. To think of a large four engined B-24 bomber being turned into tiny shreds of metal scattered across many square miles of landscape explains why nothing was ever found of the crew. 😲
@@ScumfuckMcDoucheface It sure is! It was a bold experiment and may have had potential to do some major damage to the enemy, but the program ended badly with this stunning accident. I saw a documentary about it not too long ago that had an interview with a ground crewman who was responsible for the modified electrical system on that aircraft, and he said that he'd warned the higher ups about possible short circuits in the arming mechanism, but that his warnings went unheeded. Long story short, he swears that he believes that what went wrong was that just before Kennedy was about to bail out over England and leave the aircraft to radio control from the other aircraft, he would have pulled out the safety pin that kept the firing mechanism from triggering the main charge of explosives, but that a stray electrical charge must've gone through the circuit and actually set off the blast, before he was out, and before the aircraft was safely away from England. Brave folks back then! RIP
You would think after Halifax and when the Mont-Blanc exploded that lessons would have been learned but I suppose to matter how much care goes into loading ammunition ships the danger of mistakes and a devastating explosion is always present.
There were lessons learned. The trick is there was 27 years between those events and they were in different Navies. The US seamen would likely have never heard of the incident outside of a single day news paper run and the incident report would likely have not left the French navy's control. If it did then it was probably disregarded and filed away.
The main lesson of Mont Blanc was that it was a bad idea to store a batch of petroleum products in barrels on the deck of an ammunition ship. When Mont Blanc collided with another vessel, the collision ruptured the barrels and the spilled combustible liquid caught fire, which eventually caused the ships cargo to explode.
Just discovered your channel this evening: watched the "Scots Cap Lighthouse Disaster, ""The Philadelphia Experiment" and this one. Excellent, distinctive, original. "Hood" seems not to be a very lucky name for a ship. There's the "HMS Hood," blown up by the Bismarck. And this "Hood" the ammunition ship.
@@MaritimeHorrors lol, it’s sad what happened to her captain! May he Rest In Peace alongside his men ! Maybe I’ll be able to visit the USS Arizona Memorial.
@@MaritimeHorrors the US war ministry really did fuck over Captain Mcvay, almost 3 decades after the Sinking of the USS Indianapolis, captain mcvay killed himself. It took almost 6 decades for his name to be cleared, his crew and their families fought for his name to be cleared. It was the us militaries fault that caused the casualties, he was told not to call for help or signal SOS. The captain of I58 sent out the SOS, even he fought to clear Captain Mcvay’s name.
@@AndyProper Well...to be fair...The US Naval authorities do not have a good track record of making usefull decisions during the WWII period...and that is not only limited to the beaur..beauro...the idiots who developed the MK13 torpedo...Another dumb decision,that cost far more lives than the sinking of the Indianapolis was the decision not to fire Halsey after 1943 at the latest...
Served almost 3 years on the U.S.S. Mauna Kea and they never let us tie up close to anything interesting, always some NavMag 20 miles from population, or anchored waaaaaay out, except Hong Kong. They let us anchor in the middle of the bay which was convenient, but sketchy. Our homeport was Concord NWS which had 2 parts, the main base that had all the usual amenities like a small bar, Navy Exchange, etc. and the actual port a few miles down the road on the other side of a small mountain, formerly known as Port Chicago. Yeah, that one.
All ammunition ships of the Navy of the Kilauea class AE are named after volcanos. I served on the last AE the Navy commissioned, the USS Kiska. (AE-35). Home ported out of Concord Naval Weapons Station -Port Chicago. Yep the port that blew up in WW2. You pulled into piers 3/4 or 5/6. Because piers 1/2 were scattered wood pilings left from the explosion. The guy who wrote this is right on. On westpac you didn’t pull into regular piers. You tied to ammo piers miles from no where. Anchored in the middle of some bay, when in home port we seldom tied up in Concord. Mare island, Alemeda air station, Army supply station in Oakland. Only saw concord when loading ammunition. Sadly, the last two AE’s (USS Kiska and USS Shasta) were towed from Pearl Harbor in 2013 and cut up for scrap in Texas.
I have seen several versions of the Mount Hood event and this is by far the best one, the eyewitness accounts give it a depth that other versions lack! Great work!👍
My great grand dad served on that ship, he was on the island when it exploded, he described that he ran from the ships fragments landing on the island like it was Artillery. That wasn't the worst for him, it was just seeing his friends die with out saying goodbye.
My dad was there on asbd2 when that happened he said there was a second ammo ship with the hood that had departed early that morning and it could have been worse he said the noise from explosion affected his hearing from then on also he mentioned on a couple dozen guys survived when they went to get the mail
I am more of a WWI person, but I agree with Nimitz in that as a war progresses and casualties mount replacement troops tend to be less battle ready, and not as well trained. It becomes unavoidable as the need for manpower exceeds the time allowable to train.
I was stationed on the USS Sacramento A0E-1. We were a floating bomb.9.9 million gallons of fuel and Over 50 thousand tons of bombs . 796 feet of destruction. It is scary to think about it
My uncle was on the same ship during the 70s and 80s and showed me pictures and videos of it rearming and refueling other ships. This video gives a different perspective of what could’ve happened if they didn’t do it right.
Just wanna say I appreciate your video uploads ☆ I'm an older guy (Grandpa was in Navy *Pacific Ocean* during WW2) You're very informative and have a better narration voice than most -
Almost 20 years ago I did two 4 month hitches on a government contracted container ship carrying ammunition. First trip we were pretty light, having given a lot of our cargo to ongoing operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Pretty light being about the same load as the MOUNT HOOD had onboard that day. Next trip we had reloaded, and had two TIMES that much. Never really bothered me, probably safer than the crude oil tankers I'd also worked on. But, with the modern advent of containerized cargo, we weren't ever physically handling the ammo.
In the 90s, I met a sailor who saw this happen. He told me he was on a shop coming into the harbor and just happened to looking that direction when she went up. He said it was a instant flash and nothing but smoke after that, which he knew meant it was an HE explosion, so he knew right away it was an ammo detonation
The two crew members to be court marshalled.. What a way to be spared. The detail taking them to shore would have been grateful though. I imagine the surviver’s guilt for all of them would have been horrific.
Port Chicago happened only four months earlier, and under similar circumstances. And it was excused for the same reasons - for "the urgencies of war." Had Adm. King's kids been there, I wonder if his reaction would have been the same?
I just subscribed to your channel. I got to say. Well done 👏. I find it very fascinating of stories and events I've never heard of. Great job with the research is really remarkable. Thank you for your hard work in getting these stories out. I've totally enjoy them.
*If it blows up, we can't run that fast. Let's throw it overboard.* That's a very good example of the bravery, commitment to duty, and the commitment to save the lives of your friends. One of the best examples of heroism I've ever heard. That's almost akin to jumping on a grenade, which many have done ..most of those never even got credit for it - and they wouldn't even care that they didn't. The only thing important to them was saving their brothers lives.
If you haven't already been suggested the idea, you should definitely do a video on the USS Indianapolis, or-the slightly less depressing-MV New Carissa
Well organized presentation of an incident that's largely forgotten. I'd read about this years ago, in a US Navy history book. It's not surprising that not much has changed in terms of "most likely cause." The reasons for it being anchored where it was were pretty well understood. Someone chose to prioritize "faster" and "easier" over "safety." Not all causalities of war are the result of direct enemy action. I'm curious about the word choice of "infamous" being applied to Admiral Nimitz.
I got trained to handle ammo and explosives during my time in the Bundeswehr. One of the things I learned was that you do not keep explosives or large quantities of ammo near any barracks or other places you don't want to get shredded. Super scary, what happened to the USS Mount Hood.
Ugh how awful. I remember hearing about this one before, but I wasn't reading closely when I clicked the link, and I thought this was going to be on HMS Hood that blew up in the Batttle of Jutland. Not Mount Hood, but still, I don't think I could serve on any vessel called Hood. I suppose every name carried by multiple ships in the US & Royal Navies eventually accrues a number of harrowing war stories.
As already corrected HMS Hood (Admiral class) wasn't lost at Jutland but both HMS Invincible (Invincible class) & HMS Indefatigable (Indefatigable class) where lost to magazine detentions at Jutland. The dangers of Battlecruisers was the light armour which resulted in some of their destruction if a projectile it it's mark on a magazine. Speaking of these ships lucky a Courageous class Large Light Cruiser was never field for those only had 3 inches of armour yet carried some of the largest cannons (notable HMS Furious with it's 18 inch BL Mk.I cannon/cannons, While HMS Courageous & HMS Glorious with 15 inch BL Mk.I cannons).
If possible, i would like to see a video on the Halifax Explosion, where the SS Mont-Blanc and the SS Imo resulting in one of, if not the largest non-nuclear explosion in history. I learned about it in history class, but the detail of the research and history of the ships you put into your videos far exceeds what I learned in class, and I would like to learn more.
This is pretty similar to the Halifax Explosion in 1917, which also involved a munition ship, French freighter Mont Blanc, exploding in harbour, in this case due to a fire caused by a collision with another vessel the Imo. It was the largest man-made explosion in history until the atomic bombs were dropped on Japan, and to this day remains a contender for the largest, non-nuclear man-made explosion ever. Almost half the city of Halifax was just annihilated, either by the blast or the resulting tsunami, damage ranging many kilometers away. An 1140 ib chunk of Mont Blanc's anchor was found almost 3 miles away from the epicenter, and remains there with a mounted memorial.
I think I must have misspoke, I didn't catch that in my editing process. Admiral Nimitz had a stirling legacy. Though his callus and indifference in that quote is a bit off-putting. Thanks for the comment, shipmate.
@@MaritimeHorrors I think he wasn't being deliberately callous. When you receive casualty reports seven days a week, 52 weeks a year, you cannot let yourself get all boo-hooty about the numbers. He had to, as the British say. Keep Calm and Carry On. And, an officer is expected to set an example. He did.
Once again, a completely foreseeable and avoidable catastrophic incident due to recklessly negligent judgement! Mercifully, the majority of those killed would have died instantly so that they had no knowledge of it, and suffered no fear or pain. That there was literally not a trace of hundreds of men foretold the effects of the nuclear devastation inflicted on Hiroshima and Nagasaki...
I’m sure most people would be very surprised to hear of the particulars of the epic struggle between the New Zealand corvettes Kiwi and Moa and the very large Japanese I-1 at Guadalcanal…
I watched three of these ship stories on this channel. The Carl D Bradley, Edmund Fitzgerald and this one. Is it just a coincidence that all three disasters just happened to happen during the month of November
If you know anything about physics, you know for a fact 1300lbs landing on just 1 ship a fair distance away is a LOT. Most of the debris went in other directions, most of the debris in that exact direction had a small target, and undershot and overshot it. So the fact that 1300lbs landed on its deck alone shows exactly how much went into the air, probably at least 10,000x of that amount.
Very similar to the SS Paul Hamilton explosion off Morocco, & the Port Chicago & West Loch Disasters. Also the USS Mississinewa (AO-59)., an oiler; blew up after a Japanese suicide boat rammed it
This sounds alot like the Halifax Explosion from the SS Mont Blanc in Halifax Harbor on December 6th, 1917 after it collided with the SS Imo. It eventually killed 1,782 people and injured over 9,000 both on and off shore.
Came across this channel while browsing UA-cam and after watching a couple of videos, subscribed. Fantastic content! I grew up learning about WWII, my dad was a veteran of the European Theater. From about the 4th Grade on, I read about the war constantly. My dad and I built tons of models, WWII ships, planes, tanks, etc. Despite growing up like that and devouring so much information, I'd never heard about the USS Mount Hood disaster. What a horrible tragedy. Reminds me of the other major munitions catastrophe of the war. Sadly, too many Americans have no idea that this one happened, right here in the US. ua-cam.com/video/DaIphGJt5NU/v-deo.html
You made a mistake Mount Hood had been anchored in about 114 feet (35 m) of water.[6] The initial explosion caused flame and smoke to shoot up from amidships to more than masthead height. Within seconds, the bulk of her cargo detonated with a more intense explosion. Mushrooming smoke rose to 7,000 ft (2,100 m), obscuring the ship and the surrounding area for a radius of approximately 500 yd (460 m). Mount Hood's former position was revealed by a trench in the ocean floor 300 ft (91 m) long, 50 ft (15 m) wide, and 30-40 ft (9-12 m) deep.[7] The largest remaining piece of the hull was found in the trench and measured no bigger than 16 by 10 ft (5 by 3 m). You have the wrong information on her depth of water when anchored, and wrong information on the trench , and the largest piece found
Attention all hands!
I now have merch! My channel artist has made up some merch on her teepublic. All funds go to paying her for the wonderful work she does. So if you want to show your support for the channel and the great art she does, pick something up!
www.teepublic.com/user/dragonrise_studio/albums/146205-maritime-horrors
Video suggestions: Ammunition Ship SS John Burke, British troopship Laconia, and "Battle" of May Island.
How abt going an episode on the SS Paul Hamilton, the USS Mississinewa (AO-59), & the German air raid on the Italian port of Bari.
or the Wilhelm Gustloff
Just found your channel and I am binge watching totally new subscriber thanks for all the hard work
@@joshjablonicky171 me too
My Uncle served aboard the USS Mount Hood and was one of the few that survived as he was in one of the smaller boats away from his ship. My Grandparents were told that their son was dead (a telegram was slipped beneath their door) but later learned that he had survived although severely wounded by shrapnel. Just before he passed away at the age of 90 he finally spoke at our last family reunion about what had happened that day. My Uncle's name was Cornelius (Sonny) Donato.
Beautiful story Cathy, my own grandfathers served but never shared with us their experiences in WW2 and I wish they had. I’m glad your uncle did and that he had a family to love and support him. All the best to you and yours love.
Thanks for your story and god bless your uncle for serving our country
It must have been amazing to hear about it first hand, from your uncle no less! Best regards for the memory of your uncle.
Wow that is incredible !
So he was one of the only 3 to survive? Unlikely story. Sorry
The way that dude’s account went from Wiley Coyote-esque sudden nakedness to his buddy getting chopped in half by plate steel right back to Wiley Coyote shenanigans carrying a live shell with another guy while they debate if they could outrun the explosion then right back to death and horror gave my soul permanent whiplash. Genuinely one of the most surreal things I’ve ever heard.
Best summary of the story by far
Imagine working on an ammunition ship and not being scared of blowing up at any second and proceeding to improperly handle said ammunition
whilst smoking... :O
I think they learned to accept it. Like how submariners do with every dive.
@@GrumpyIan yeah but submariners don't go around fucking with torpedoes or hammering the hull
@@GrumpyIan Copy that . I served in two combat areas . We just did what we were to do . While waiting to go in you knew you may be one to buy it . But once in you focused .
Was an Ordnance Officer in Korea 84-85. We were inventorying ammo in an above ground warehouse (size of an American football field) when South Korean Army soldiers dropped 40 to 50 founds of 155mm HE Rocket Assist from abt seven feet off the ground. We all just held our breaths for a second or two, then exhaled.
My grandfather was one of he 18 men of the Mount Hood's shore party. He never spoke of the disaster, but my mom told me he was detailed to pick up mail.
Man. Your bloodline really dodged a bullet there.
@@SUBARCTICPSYCHO Actually tons of them bombs and rockets to.
I could see something like that leaving a mountain of survivors guilt.
@@acester86 hmm, more likely survivor happiness, that he’d gotten so lucky… he wasn’t at fault in any way….
@@PRH123 that's not how survivor's guilt works.
I really like this channel’s use of maritime lingo. Even if I don’t fully understand it all, it really underscores the creator’s passion for these maritime stories.
I'm a former mariner, and its spot on to me.
Agreed. It’s one of my favorite aspects of this channel.
My thoughts exactly. Definatley hit a sweet spot with what he's doing and how he's doing it
It's nice when the commentator actually understands his material.
I found out I've been saying "gunwale" and "forecastle" completely wrong
Horace Hood - exploded to death on his ship
HMS Hood - exploded in battle with Bismarck
USS Mount Hood - also exploded
People, please stop calling ships Hood, they´ll explode. And if your name is Hood, stay away from the sea as well...
Side effects of being named hood:
Unexpected Combustion
HOOD, GET AWAY FROM THAT SHIP, YOU'LL SPONTANEOUSLY COMBUST
@@Avewyowo Other common deadly and serious side effects include, but are not limited too:
Expected Combustion
Unexpected Detonation
Expected Detonation
John Bell Hood, Confederate general: wounded at Gettysburg and lost the use of his left arm. Later wounded again at the Battle of Chickamauga and lost his right leg...
Maybe the answer is to just not be named Hood
That's just freaky. There's a reason sailors are superstituous.
I bought a 40' UTB from the US Navy that had been attached to the U.S.S. MOUNT HOOD that was commissioned in 1972 I believe.
They were changing out all the Willard Marine UTB launches, for Ridgid hull inflatables.
I had researched the lineage of all the cargo / ammo ships to have that name, and found this story in the US Navy archives.
My UTB was in great shape, and only had 11 hours on it. I got it USCG certified for up to 49 passengers.
I named it "LIBERTY" ( every sailor is happy to be on liberty ) , and eventually sold it to Mystic Seaport in Mystic, CT.
Apparently they use it to do Mystic River Cruises around the museum, and for towboat duty.
She was a great boat. I enjoyed your video on her original name sake.
Very good job on researching for this story.
Capt. Keith Lane
haha what a great story/comment.. thanks a lot for sharing man... errrrr, *Captain, Sir*
Ute
@@ScumfuckMcDoucheface Dude you might have the best name EVER! LMFAO!
That's really cool! Sorry for the response to a message months old, but did you ever let Mystic Seaport know about the history of the ship? Sounds like the sort of thing they might be interested in knowing and maybe putting a plaque on the ship about.
My grandfather was on a boat returning to his ship, the escort carrier U.S.S. Saginaw Bay when the explosion happened. I can't remember the details, but he said that if he was near the ship a minute longer he would've been dead. He remembered seeing chunks of hot metal and body parts flying all over the place. From what I've read the Saginaw Bay only suffered light damage from the explosion. I remember my grandma telling me that he had nightmares because of the explosion. Despite some personal problems, he lived to be 94, a long and fulfilling life. Rest in peace Grandpa.
And God bless him for his service.
My grandpa was in the sick bay with pneumonia on manus island, when this happened. He was blown out of bed but survived to live till 93 years old. he never talked much about the war until his old age but I was thankful to get a hidden recording of his recount of this day. He would never talk if he knew he was being recorded.
This has no scientific bearing, but it is his belief, that submarines followed the ship into bay through the nets and when they were opened up and it was submarines that blew up the ship on a suicide mission. Just his opinion.
@@ryansmith803 if that was the case, you'd think it'd be made public after all this time. I mean why wouldnt they
Fascinating story about the pacific war that I'd never heard. It's rare to find videos on events like this of such stellar quality. Way to go man! You've got yourself a new subscriber.
Thank you, I appreciate it, shipmate. I feel like they all deserve their own bit of attention, so as not to disrespect those that are gone.
They tried not to tell stories like this during the war. They didn't want parents second-guessing their son's ( or for some, even their daughters) bravery.
It takes a hell of a lot of people to keep one soldier on the line, and without them, the soldier fails.
It's true that no how matter how menial job, it's still important in the overall whole.. they just don't have time to explain how so, or tell you thank you... yes, even cleaning the toilets. One sick man can make one sick ship.
Stuff like this isn't good for moral or the war Dept.
Late in the war some LSTs blew up at Pearl Harbor. Was kept hush-hush and Marinas invasion was delayed
My great grandpa was a cheif elecrtictian's mate aboard the USS Mt. Hood AE 11 on November 10, 1944. He was one of the brave men killed in the incident.
Incredible, they were all very brave men.
My grandfather was a farmer. It sounded like the most boring thing to me when I was a child, but actually there was a lot of fun stuff to it.
My stepdad had spent 23 years in the Navy and part of it during the war.
I pictured this as some exciting thing as a child, but he let me in on the truth. Part of the time there was some fun and joshing around, but mostly you were bored stiff, or scared sheet White, no matter what your skin color was.
What was his name?
@@notyou6950 His Name was Jack Deloss Imbeau
@@Prussian_Forever thank you!
My father in law was there a little over a mile from the ship . A sargent where he was at saw the explosion and screamed "Hit the dirt", open your mouths and cover your ears, right after that the shock wave hit.
God, that's intense. Glad your father in law made it through.
@@MaritimeHorrors He is now 95 years old and still remembers that time. Recently he was celebrated in D.C. when Prez. Trump called him and other survivors there What an honor.His name is Tom Irving.
That's incredible! He probably has some stories to tell.
My father was an electrician's mate on shore at Seadler. Knocked his Quonset shop hut off it's pilings.
@@spikespa5208 Sadly, My ex-father in law, Tommy Irving just passed away. He was 99 years old.. They had to cremate him because of this stupid COVID thing. His ashes will go to one of the National cemetaries. My big brother and a close friend I knew in Easton are both buried in the Tahoma cemetery
If I were a sailor, I'd request to be on an ammo ship. Whereas you can die horribly during a capsize, torpedoing, on-board fire, oil-surface fire, be taken by sharks or lost at sea and die of thirst aboard something else - on an ammo ship, you'd blissfully never know you had an accident.
Thank you for covering this untold story. I was going to mention her after I interviewed a witness, a sailor on the USS Haggard. I was reading his personal journal and couldn't believe it. The Hood's detonation was just another journal entry of daily, unbelievable horror.
Or drown, slowly suffocating like the sailors on the USS Oklahoma
You have totally scratched my macabre fascination with the sea. Thank you for what you’re doing and keep at it!
I'm very glad to have filled a niche for you, shipmate.
This disaster hit close to home. My father, a WW2 Navy vet himself, lost one of his childhood friends who was a crewman aboard _Mt._ _Hood_. And that guy had an older brother, also in the Navy, who happened to be aboard another ship in the harbor at the time. The older brother wrote a letter home saying he assumed his parents already knew his younger brother was dead (a reasonable assumption given the speed of mail from the front) and stating he'd seen the ship blow up. Sadly, this letter somehow got to the parents prior to official notification from the Navy.
As a parent that would be so horribly sad and comforting at the same time. Knowing that their son(the brother)was nearby and hearing it from him instead of a random stranger. It would still be heartbreaking and sad.
Thanks for the video. I found it today researching for a story. My Dad was there at Seeadler Harbor Manus with Boat Pool 15. He was a LCM driver. "BOAT POOL 15 NAVY 3205 MANUS ISLAND". He was on shore when it blew up. 19 of his shipmates were tied up to the HOOD in their LCM's and were lost in the blink of an eye. I attended several of his last Navy Reunions with his Shipmates and heard the stories from the guys that were there. I remember that one of the friends was near shore in the harbor in the LCM and the Bow Wave created by the explosion lifted his LCM up and washed it quite a good ways away from the harbor up on land. An interesting side note is that Martin Robinson (the famous Marty Robbins) was in that Boatpool with my Dad and I heard stories from my Dad about some of the fun times he and Martin (Marty) had while on shore. Marty became the famous entertainer after the war, but my Dad remembered Martin learning the guitar over there. I remember my Dad told me that when it blew, he and the other guys ran to bunkers as fast as they could and my Dad had just gotten in a bunker when a piece of ship slammed it. Interesting to note. Martin (Marty) quit high school and went in to the Navy at 17. My Dad was the only son on a farm, so he didn't have to go, but in his heart, he COULD NOT sit by and NOT get in the fight, so he volunteered for Naval Service.
This reminds me of a story my grandfather told me about his time in service. He had been with the US Army at the time, part of their aircraft supply division. It would be during that service that a plane suffered a fire on the runway while loaded with bombs, and a lieutenant ordered him and his friend to go deal with it. He told the officer that the fire team that should have been ready on the runway needed to handle it, due to the danger involved, while his friend went out. A second later, one of the explosives went off, killing his friend. He never forgot what happened.
Great comment and story, really made me think of the chain of events that lead to all of us being here today. Good lesson about standing up for yourself as well. I hope your grandfather is alive and well, I’d hope his story is documented for posterity so your own grandchildren would have a chance to hear about his life.
@@antondavis33 He passed last year from natural causes, but lived very well up to 97. His stories were all recorded by my brother, so that we would never forget them.
@@ardanblade641 could you please share some other stories? I’m glad your brother was able to record them, important we never forget what happened on the individual level.
You should do a video on the Texas City disaster. 2 retired liberty ships, serving as freighters, were being loaded with ammonium nitrate when they exploded. It is one of the largest non-atomic explosions in recorded history.
Hopefully they stopped giving ships names with "Hood" in it, as it never ends well.
nope uss mount hood AE-29 was her successor
Lol yeah right! It's a meme at this point.
I've been kicking myself for the last 5 minutes wondering like "Gah I know, I know that name and it was big but I can't place it". Finally clicked when I saw your comment lol. Can't help but wonder what the men though when they found out they'd be serving on an American Hood after what happened to the HMS Hood
There were two other HMS Hoods but they were before "The" HMS Hood. No Royal Navy ships called Hood since.
It is traditional in the USN to name Ammunition Handling ships after volcanoes. Go figure.
The part about the poor young man being cut in half by the metal sheet and how the captain of the minesweeper was gasping after being impaled… I hope they weren’t in too much pain when they passed. And same to the rest of those who lost their lives that day. I’m grieving for people I’d never heard about until now. I hope they find peace.
I'm gonna be very honest, they were likely in agony as they died. However they certainly died quickly.
@@synthwavecat96 maybe the captain, but when you’re blown in half you don’t have much time to react. The shock and adrenaline make sure of that.
My wife's grandfather was a chief motor machinists mate on the Mindanao. He was injured in the explosion
Ironic that a ship named after a volcano, goes and blows up. And it's even more ironic that it met a similar fate to a similarly named ship.
'Tis a curse. Also, one should never board a ship that has anything to do with the Astor family.
@@KathrynsWorldWildfireTracking Can you delve deeper on the Astor thing?
@@NashmanNash I know that John Jacob Astor was one of the first class passengers who perished aboard the RMS Titanic, but off the top of my head, I'm not sure about any other marine tragedies involving the Astor family. ⚓🤔
Edit: Nvm, as OP is probably aware, it is a form of irony I was unaware of, as explained below this comment.
Correct me if i'm wrong, and I don't want to be that guy, but don't those observations seem more 'coincidental'/'fitting'/'foreshadowing' than 'ironic'? As I understand, it would be ironic if it were named after something that was typically known to not blow up (e.g. USS Dud rather than USS Mount Hood). And would be even more ironic if it were named similarly to another ship that did whatever the opposite of exploding is.
@@nathanielwilliams7456 In this case, this is dramatic irony. Because we're aware of the outcome, we find it ironic that it's named after a volcano, and had a similar name as the HMS Hood. When people were naming the ship they had no idea this would happen, but with hindsight we know more about the situation then they did at the time, hence the irony of it all. What you're describing is situational irony, so you're not wrong, you've just fallen victim to the English language, and the fact a single word can be applied in a multitude of ways. If you're curious, the third type of irony is verbal, which is if I was to say "what lovely weather we're having" when it's raining and miserable, that would also be ironic.
I initially thought this video was about the HMS Hood disaster but confess I learned something today because I had never heard of this incident.
These are most informative and well made videos
Is it really a disaster if it's damage caused by the enemy during combat?
@@purplefood1 I think it depends in the nature of the incident. If design fault, crew error, or nature played a role thus directly increasing the casualty numbers then I would say it counts.
Then again it’s a matter of opinion really so who can say?
Reckon both the loss of the Hood and the sinking of the Bismarck were disasters to their Flag's nations. Hood as it was the star unit of the Royal Navy, exploded due a fault design, while Bismarck went down fighting (well, scuttled, but they didn't stand a chance a that point) but it proved the Kriegsmarine tactics of raiding convoys using capital ships didn't work. Bismarck loss pretty much devasted the Kriegsmarine reputation with Hitler, sister ship Tirpitz was kept in port ever after.
@@reuireuiop0 It wasn't a desin fault necessarily that's just how battlecruisers were built, she was due to receive upgrades to her armour which never happened but disaster tends to imply a somewhat natural occurance rather than a military action.
@@reuireuiop0 to be fair she was an older ship and hadn't been able to get a refit but even then they did have the magazine doors open to try to fire faster which isn't really a fault and design as it is a fault and operation
my grandfather was on the uss oberender a destroyer escort that was was moored close to the hood when it expolded. He rememered a hamberger patty landed on his ships deck just like some one had softly planted it. He asked after if anyone on his ship had served meatloaf that day and found it was served on the Hood the day. He also remembers that it did more damage than the kamakozy attack the next year.
Have you covered the attack at Bari, Italy? It came at about the same time (1943) as this event, and resembled it in some ways, except one of the ships that exploded contained mustard gas bombs. It's a little known incident that was absolutely horrific, and the presence of chemical weapons (which were only kept on an "in case the enemy uses it" basis) was kept secret for many years....
Great video, I had never heard of this event prior to seeing this. One small thing- Nimitz was described as “infamous”- which means to have a reputation of the worst kind, and he is one of our nations most respected leaders.
I'd say that Admiral Ernest King is more "infamous" than Admiral Nimitz.
@@ostrich67 I agree brother, but only in regards to his temperament- as a man and leader he was very respectable in my opinion and I think you feel the same.
these were hard, tough men.
Was going ro comment the same... Not sure if he just misspoke or if it was intentional... Either way, its an undeserved slight...
@@wheels-n-tires1846 I’m confident it was a little mistake, it’s one of those words that means something different than what one might intuitively think it does
300 men became the 'pink mist' in an instant as the British bomb defusers called it during the Battle of Britain.
Reminds me of a German dark humor joke about the slogan of a minesweeper unit:
"Wer suchet, der findet, wer drauftritt, verschwindet"
(translates to "He who seeks shall find, he who steps on it shall disappear")
Wow. My great uncle was one of the unfortunate ones to lose his life on this ship. (He survived Pearl Harbor) This is so interesting. Thank you so much. Lt. Winfrey D. Collie, Jr. RIP
You do us a great service by educating us on many incidents that many of us were not even aware of, I am a Navy vet and I am deeply interested in all history and especially military history. Thank you sir!
There is something morbidly fascinating about people being within such a release of energy that they are essentially vaporized.
Look up Operation Aphrodite, and specifically how JFK's older brother was killed.
To think of a large four engined B-24 bomber being turned into tiny shreds of metal scattered across many square miles of landscape explains why nothing was ever found of the crew. 😲
@@daviddunsmore103 yeah that's a hell of a story eh?
@@ScumfuckMcDoucheface It sure is! It was a bold experiment and may have had potential to do some major damage to the enemy, but the program ended badly with this stunning accident.
I saw a documentary about it not too long ago that had an interview with a ground crewman who was responsible for the modified electrical system on that aircraft, and he said that he'd warned the higher ups about possible short circuits in the arming mechanism, but that his warnings went unheeded. Long story short, he swears that he believes that what went wrong was that just before Kennedy was about to bail out over England and leave the aircraft to radio control from the other aircraft, he would have pulled out the safety pin that kept the firing mechanism from triggering the main charge of explosives, but that a stray electrical charge must've gone through the circuit and actually set off the blast, before he was out, and before the aircraft was safely away from England.
Brave folks back then! RIP
You would think after Halifax and when the Mont-Blanc exploded that lessons would have been learned but I suppose to matter how much care goes into loading ammunition ships the danger of mistakes and a devastating explosion is always present.
There were lessons learned. The trick is there was 27 years between those events and they were in different Navies. The US seamen would likely have never heard of the incident outside of a single day news paper run and the incident report would likely have not left the French navy's control. If it did then it was probably disregarded and filed away.
The main lesson of Mont Blanc was that it was a bad idea to store a batch of petroleum products in barrels on the deck of an ammunition ship. When Mont Blanc collided with another vessel, the collision ruptured the barrels and the spilled combustible liquid caught fire, which eventually caused the ships cargo to explode.
Lessons are often learnt, but safety regulations are often ignored.
Just discovered your channel this evening: watched the "Scots Cap Lighthouse Disaster, ""The Philadelphia Experiment" and this one. Excellent, distinctive, original. "Hood" seems not to be a very lucky name for a ship. There's the "HMS Hood," blown up by the Bismarck. And this "Hood" the ammunition ship.
Hopefully sometime you should do a video on the USS Indianapolis. I feel bad for those poor men.
Another one on the list lol
@@MaritimeHorrors lol, it’s sad what happened to her captain! May he Rest In Peace alongside his men ! Maybe I’ll be able to visit the USS Arizona Memorial.
@@MaritimeHorrors the US war ministry really did fuck over Captain Mcvay, almost 3 decades after the Sinking of the USS Indianapolis, captain mcvay killed himself. It took almost 6 decades for his name to be cleared, his crew and their families fought for his name to be cleared. It was the us militaries fault that caused the casualties, he was told not to call for help or signal SOS. The captain of I58 sent out the SOS, even he fought to clear Captain Mcvay’s name.
@@AndyProper Well...to be fair...The US Naval authorities do not have a good track record of making usefull decisions during the WWII period...and that is not only limited to the beaur..beauro...the idiots who developed the MK13 torpedo...Another dumb decision,that cost far more lives than the sinking of the Indianapolis was the decision not to fire Halsey after 1943 at the latest...
@@AndyProper
Visited the memorial, knowing that many are entombed and seeing the oil leaking, Very somber.
Holy crap the guy that pushed the shell off the ship. What a legend.
Served almost 3 years on the U.S.S. Mauna Kea and they never let us tie up close to anything interesting, always some NavMag 20 miles from population, or anchored waaaaaay out, except Hong Kong. They let us anchor in the middle of the bay which was convenient, but sketchy. Our homeport was Concord NWS which had 2 parts, the main base that had all the usual amenities like a small bar, Navy Exchange, etc. and the actual port a few miles down the road on the other side of a small mountain, formerly known as Port Chicago. Yeah, that one.
All ammunition ships of the Navy of the Kilauea class AE are named after volcanos. I served on the last AE the Navy commissioned, the USS Kiska. (AE-35). Home ported out of Concord Naval Weapons Station -Port Chicago. Yep the port that blew up in WW2. You pulled into piers 3/4 or 5/6. Because piers 1/2 were scattered wood pilings left from the explosion. The guy who wrote this is right on. On westpac you didn’t pull into regular piers. You tied to ammo piers miles from no where. Anchored in the middle of some bay, when in home port we seldom tied up in Concord. Mare island, Alemeda air station, Army supply station in Oakland. Only saw concord when loading ammunition. Sadly, the last two AE’s (USS Kiska and USS Shasta) were towed from Pearl Harbor in 2013 and cut up for scrap in Texas.
I have seen several versions of the Mount Hood event and this is by far the best one, the eyewitness accounts give it a depth that other versions lack! Great work!👍
My great grand dad served on that ship, he was on the island when it exploded, he described that he ran from the ships fragments landing on the island like it was Artillery.
That wasn't the worst for him, it was just seeing his friends die with out saying goodbye.
My dad was there on asbd2 when that happened he said there was a second ammo ship with the hood that had departed early that morning and it could have been worse he said the noise from explosion affected his hearing from then on also he mentioned on a couple dozen guys survived when they went to get the mail
I am more of a WWI person, but I agree with Nimitz in that as a war progresses and casualties mount replacement troops tend to be less battle ready, and not as well trained. It becomes unavoidable as the need for manpower exceeds the time allowable to train.
I was stationed on the USS Sacramento A0E-1. We were a floating bomb.9.9 million gallons of fuel and Over 50 thousand tons of bombs . 796 feet of destruction. It is scary to think about it
Scary stuff to be onboard
Aye, I served on the USS Camden AOE 2. I assumed we would never sink, just vaporize.
My uncle was on the same ship during the 70s and 80s and showed me pictures and videos of it rearming and refueling other ships. This video gives a different perspective of what could’ve happened if they didn’t do it right.
The U.S. Navy has a sense of humor when it comes to naming ammunition ships. They are all named after volcanoes that have erupted
Just wanna say I appreciate your video uploads ☆ I'm an older guy (Grandpa was in Navy *Pacific Ocean* during WW2) You're very informative and have a better narration voice than most -
Almost 20 years ago I did two 4 month hitches on a government contracted container ship carrying ammunition. First trip we were pretty light, having given a lot of our cargo to ongoing operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Pretty light being about the same load as the MOUNT HOOD had onboard that day. Next trip we had reloaded, and had two TIMES that much. Never really bothered me, probably safer than the crude oil tankers I'd also worked on. But, with the modern advent of containerized cargo, we weren't ever physically handling the ammo.
I love how you give the exact date that it ship was built. And I love stories about our history.
Excellent episode, thank you, R.I.P., all those lost souls!!!🙏😎
In the 90s, I met a sailor who saw this happen. He told me he was on a shop coming into the harbor and just happened to looking that direction when she went up. He said it was a instant flash and nothing but smoke after that, which he knew meant it was an HE explosion, so he knew right away it was an ammo detonation
The two crew members to be court marshalled.. What a way to be spared. The detail taking them to shore would have been grateful though. I imagine the surviver’s guilt for all of them would have been horrific.
Never heard of this one. Very great research. The Halifax explosion would be great for this channel.
Texas City disaster too.
I never heard about this tragedy before, i only knew about the Port Chicago explosion. Thank you for making a video about this.
Port Chicago happened only four months earlier, and under similar circumstances. And it was excused for the same reasons - for "the urgencies of war." Had Adm. King's kids been there, I wonder if his reaction would have been the same?
I just subscribed to your channel. I got to say. Well done 👏. I find it very fascinating of stories and events I've never heard of. Great job with the research is really remarkable. Thank you for your hard work in getting these stories out. I've totally enjoy them.
You’ve got a very unique channel. Your narration is improving all the time. Keep up the good work. 👍🇺🇸
WW2 ordinance handling was so dangerous it’s surprising there weren’t more disasters
I met a WWII Veteran who saw the Mount Hood Explosion and he said it looked like an Atomic Bomb went off
Yes, a 'mushroom cloud' can be formed by any large enough detonation. I can only imagine the force that went through all the survivors.
Great vid MH, thanks for your hard work.
I watch you and drak exclusively for my maritime stories and world war two ship info
wow, this happened 77 years ago today, It must’ve been a terrible sight.
*If it blows up, we can't run that fast. Let's throw it overboard.*
That's a very good example of the bravery, commitment to duty, and the commitment to save the lives of your friends. One of the best examples of heroism I've ever heard. That's almost akin to jumping on a grenade, which many have done ..most of those never even got credit for it - and they wouldn't even care that they didn't.
The only thing important to them was saving their brothers lives.
Thanks for posting this story.
I started listening to your channel to help me sleep.... Really educational TBH
Nicely done. Such a tragedy.
You should cover the Port Chicago munitions explosion.
There was also an ammo ship, the HOOD, that exploded during the Pearl Harbor attack. Must be a bad name for ammo ships.
Excellent video.
Just found your videos thanks 😊
I am greatly pleased by your use of lackadaisical.
If you haven't already been suggested the idea, you should definitely do a video on the USS Indianapolis, or-the slightly less depressing-MV New Carissa
Well organized presentation of an incident that's largely forgotten. I'd read about this years ago, in a US Navy history book. It's not surprising that not much has changed in terms of "most likely cause." The reasons for it being anchored where it was were pretty well understood. Someone chose to prioritize "faster" and "easier" over "safety."
Not all causalities of war are the result of direct enemy action.
I'm curious about the word choice of "infamous" being applied to Admiral Nimitz.
Interesting fact:
As history shows, ships with a "Hood" in a name of it, aren't very lucky in terms of ammo-explosion related incidents 🤔
Some love to read significance into totally random things. Luck is what you make of chances. Stuff will always find a way to happen.
I got trained to handle ammo and explosives during my time in the Bundeswehr. One of the things I learned was that you do not keep explosives or large quantities of ammo near any barracks or other places you don't want to get shredded. Super scary, what happened to the USS Mount Hood.
My uncle was there, he was in a small craft boat and helped pull dead bodies from the water.
Loved it. I had to subscribe
It's nice there's not a ton of stock photos or random videos so I can just listen while I work and not feel I'm missing out for not watching it also.
Found out today my dad saw this ship disintegrate. Explains alot.
Ugh how awful. I remember hearing about this one before, but I wasn't reading closely when I clicked the link, and I thought this was going to be on HMS Hood that blew up in the Batttle of Jutland. Not Mount Hood, but still, I don't think I could serve on any vessel called Hood. I suppose every name carried by multiple ships in the US & Royal Navies eventually accrues a number of harrowing war stories.
Hood wasnt sunk at Jutland, that was WWI, it was during the "Denmark Strait" battle vs Bismarck...
@@wheels-n-tires1846 That doesn't mean that a Hood wasn't sunk at Jutland. It's just that the Hood in question was a person, not a ship :P
@@naverilllang I see what you did there...🤔
As already corrected HMS Hood (Admiral class) wasn't lost at Jutland but both HMS Invincible (Invincible class) & HMS Indefatigable (Indefatigable class) where lost to magazine detentions at Jutland.
The dangers of Battlecruisers was the light armour which resulted in some of their destruction if a projectile it it's mark on a magazine.
Speaking of these ships lucky a Courageous class Large Light Cruiser was never field for those only had 3 inches of armour yet carried some of the largest cannons (notable HMS Furious with it's 18 inch BL Mk.I cannon/cannons, While HMS Courageous & HMS Glorious with 15 inch BL Mk.I cannons).
If possible, i would like to see a video on the Halifax Explosion, where the SS Mont-Blanc and the SS Imo resulting in one of, if not the largest non-nuclear explosion in history. I learned about it in history class, but the detail of the research and history of the ships you put into your videos far exceeds what I learned in class, and I would like to learn more.
Very well put together video. Thank you.
This is pretty similar to the Halifax Explosion in 1917, which also involved a munition ship, French freighter Mont Blanc, exploding in harbour, in this case due to a fire caused by a collision with another vessel the Imo. It was the largest man-made explosion in history until the atomic bombs were dropped on Japan, and to this day remains a contender for the largest, non-nuclear man-made explosion ever. Almost half the city of Halifax was just annihilated, either by the blast or the resulting tsunami, damage ranging many kilometers away. An 1140 ib chunk of Mont Blanc's anchor was found almost 3 miles away from the epicenter, and remains there with a mounted memorial.
I am always amused by the quiet military humor of customarily naming ammunition ships after volcanoes.
new sub great topic!
if you ever come across anything about the USS Nashville from the 1940s I would love to see it. My dad was in the navy & served on that ship. thanks.
Mostly well done. But, why did you refer to Adm Nimitz as being “infamous”???
I think I must have misspoke, I didn't catch that in my editing process. Admiral Nimitz had a stirling legacy. Though his callus and indifference in that quote is a bit off-putting.
Thanks for the comment, shipmate.
@@MaritimeHorrors I think he wasn't being deliberately callous. When you receive casualty reports seven days a week, 52 weeks a year, you cannot let yourself get all boo-hooty about the numbers. He had to, as the British say. Keep Calm and Carry On. And, an officer is expected to set an example. He did.
Once again, a completely foreseeable and avoidable catastrophic incident due to recklessly negligent judgement!
Mercifully, the majority of those killed would have died instantly so that they had no knowledge of it, and suffered no fear or pain.
That there was literally not a trace of hundreds of men foretold the effects of the nuclear devastation inflicted on Hiroshima and Nagasaki...
WONDERFUL!
Thank you so much!
I’m sure most people would be very surprised to hear of the particulars of the epic struggle between the New Zealand corvettes Kiwi and Moa and the very large Japanese I-1 at Guadalcanal…
As a civilian I delivered supplies to Navy ships when in port. In the 1970s Port Chicago was on my route. Yikes!
Can you do a video on the kms Bismarck
That's on my list, but it'll take a good bit of research and time. That's a well read topic and I want to do it well.
Can we get the measurements and units in metric/SI in the future? Thank you :)
Wow, imagine talking with your mates one second then having your whole existence erased the next.
excellent video
Glad you enjoyed it!
I watched three of these ship stories on this channel. The Carl D Bradley, Edmund Fitzgerald and this one. Is it just a coincidence that all three disasters just happened to happen during the month of November
America, can we have HMS hood explosion!
America: we have hood explosion at home
Hood explosion at home:
If you know anything about physics, you know for a fact 1300lbs landing on just 1 ship a fair distance away is a LOT.
Most of the debris went in other directions, most of the debris in that exact direction had a small target, and undershot and overshot it.
So the fact that 1300lbs landed on its deck alone shows exactly how much went into the air, probably at least 10,000x of that amount.
Very similar to the SS Paul Hamilton explosion off Morocco, & the Port Chicago & West Loch Disasters. Also the USS Mississinewa (AO-59)., an oiler; blew up after a Japanese suicide boat rammed it
This sounds alot like the Halifax Explosion from the SS Mont Blanc in Halifax Harbor on December 6th, 1917 after it collided with the SS Imo. It eventually killed 1,782 people and injured over 9,000 both on and off shore.
Came across this channel while browsing UA-cam and after watching a couple of videos, subscribed. Fantastic content! I grew up learning about WWII, my dad was a veteran of the European Theater. From about the 4th Grade on, I read about the war constantly. My dad and I built tons of models, WWII ships, planes, tanks, etc. Despite growing up like that and devouring so much information, I'd never heard about the USS Mount Hood disaster. What a horrible tragedy. Reminds me of the other major munitions catastrophe of the war. Sadly, too many Americans have no idea that this one happened, right here in the US. ua-cam.com/video/DaIphGJt5NU/v-deo.html
You made a mistake
Mount Hood had been anchored in about 114 feet (35 m) of water.[6] The initial explosion caused flame and smoke to shoot up from amidships to more than masthead height. Within seconds, the bulk of her cargo detonated with a more intense explosion. Mushrooming smoke rose to 7,000 ft (2,100 m), obscuring the ship and the surrounding area for a radius of approximately 500 yd (460 m). Mount Hood's former position was revealed by a trench in the ocean floor 300 ft (91 m) long, 50 ft (15 m) wide, and 30-40 ft (9-12 m) deep.[7] The largest remaining piece of the hull was found in the trench and measured no bigger than 16 by 10 ft (5 by 3 m).
You have the wrong information on her depth of water when anchored, and wrong information on the trench , and the largest piece found
Could you do a video on the Halifax explosion?
1st Mistake: Naming a ship after a volcano....
At least they didn't name it Mt Saint Helens
That's one hell of a way to be pardoned for your accused crimes.
Can you do a video on USS Iwo Jima LPH-2?