View source for USS Mount Hood (AE-11)

{{short description|US Navy Mount Hood class ammunition ship in service 1944, exploded in New Guinea}}
{{redirect|SS Marco Polo|other ships|Marco Polo (disambiguation)}}
{{other ships|USS Mount Hood}}
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|Ship country=United States
|Ship flag={{USN flag|1944}}
|Ship name=USS ''Mount Hood'' (AE-11)
|Ship namesake=[[Mount Hood]]
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|Ship builder=*[[North Carolina Shipbuilding Co.]]
*[[Wilmington, North Carolina]]
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|Ship laid down=28 September 1943 as SS ''Marco Polo''
|Ship launched=28 November 1943
|Ship sponsor=Mrs. A. J. Reynolds
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|Ship acquired=28 January 1944
|Ship commissioned=1 July 1944
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|Ship struck=11 December 1944
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|Ship fate=Exploded on 10 November 1944
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|Ship class={{sclass|Mount Hood|ammunition ship|1}} {{nowrap|([[Type C2 ship|Type C2-S-AJ1]])}}
|Ship displacement={{convert|13910|LT|t|lk=on}}
|Ship length={{Mount Hood class ammunition ship length}}
|Ship beam={{Mount Hood class ammunition ship beam}}
|Ship draft={{Mount Hood class ammunition ship draught}}
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|Ship propulsion={{Mount Hood class ammunition ship propulsion}}
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|Ship capacity={{Mount Hood class ammunition ship capacity}}
|Ship complement={{Mount Hood class ammunition ship complement}}
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|Ship armament=*1 × [[5"/38 caliber gun|5"/38 caliber]] [[dual-purpose gun]]
*4 × [[3"/50 caliber gun|3"/50 caliber dual purpose gun]]s
*4 × [[Bofors 40 mm Automatic Gun L/60|40 mm]] [[Anti-aircraft warfare|AA]] guns (2x2)
*10 × [[Oerlikon 20 mm cannon|20&nbsp;mm]] AA gun mounts
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'''USS ''Mount Hood'' (AE-11)''' was the [[lead ship]] of [[Mount Hood class ammunition ship|her class]] of [[ammunition ship]]s for the [[United States Navy]] in [[World War II]]. She was the first ship named after [[Mount Hood]], a volcano in the [[Cascade Range]] in the US state of [[Oregon]]. On 10 November 1944, shortly after 18 men had departed for shore leave, the rest of the crew were killed when the ship exploded in [[Seeadler Harbor]] at [[Manus Island]] in [[Papua New Guinea]]. The ship was obliterated while also sinking or severely damaging 22 smaller craft nearby.

==Service history==
''Marco Polo'' was a cargo ship built under a [[United States Maritime Commission|US Maritime Commission]] contract (as MC hull 1356), by the [[North Carolina Shipbuilding Co.]], [[Wilmington, North Carolina]].

The ship was renamed ''Mount Hood'' on 10 November 1943; launched on 28 November 1943; sponsored by Mrs. A. J. Reynolds; acquired by the Navy on loan-charter basis on 28 January 1944; converted by the [[Norfolk Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co.]], [[Norfolk, Virginia]], and the [[Norfolk Navy Yard]]; and commissioned on 1 July 1944.

Following an abbreviated fitting out and shakedown period in the [[Chesapeake Bay]] area, ammunition ship ''Mount Hood'' reported for duty to ComServFor, Atlantic Fleet, on 5 August 1944. Assigned to carry cargo to the Pacific, she put into Norfolk, where her holds were loaded. On 21 August, as a unit of Task Group 29.6, she transited the [[Panama Canal]] on the 27th, and continued on, independently, via [[Finschafen]], [[New Guinea]]. ''Mount Hood'' arrived at [[Seeadler Harbor]], in [[Manus Island]] of the [[Admiralty Islands]], on 22 September. Assigned to [[South West Pacific Area|ComSoWesPac]], she commenced dispensing ammunition and explosives to ships preparing for the Philippine offensive.

===Disaster===
On 10 November, the ship was lying in Berth 380, in the central part of the harbor near the harbor entrance, instead of being moored well away from the main anchorage.<ref>Navy Board Report, pp. 9, 63.</ref> This was done for reasons of convenience, as it afforded her calmer water, shortened the boating distances for ammunition transfer, and allowed cruisers to come directly alongside her for munitioning.<ref>Navy Board Report, pp. 9–10.</ref>  She was loaded with an assortment of munitions, including {{convert|100|and|250|lb|kg}} bombs; {{cvt|5|,|6|,|8|, and |14|in|cm}} shells and powder charges; .30 cal., .50 cal machine-gun and 20&nbsp;mm cannon cartridges; aerial depth charges; and rocket projectiles and motors. In all, these comprised approximately 3,800 tons of ammunition.<ref name="Navy Board Report, p. 11">Navy Board Report, p. 11.</ref> The ship was surrounded by small craft, including several medium-sized LCM landing craft. All five of her hatches were open, and {{convert|500|lb|kg}} bombs were being loaded into #3 Hold.<ref>Navy Board Report, pp. 11–12, 142</ref> At 08:30 on 10 November 1944, a party consisting of communications officer, Lt. Lester H. Wallace, and 17 men left the ship and headed for shore to collect the ship's mail. At 08:55, while this party was walking on the beach, the explosion occurred. Even at a distance of {{convert|4600|yard|m}} from the ship,<ref>Navy Board Report, p. 142</ref> the force of the explosion knocked Wallace and most of his men from their feet. Scrambling back into their boat, they headed back to the ship, only to turn around again shortly thereafter as "There was nothing but debris all around...".

[[File:USS Mount Hood (AE-11) explodes at Seeadler Harbor on 10 November 1944.jpg|left|thumb|''Mount Hood'' explodes: the smoke trails are left by fragments ejected by the explosion.]]
''Mount Hood'' had been anchored in about {{convert|114|ft|m}} of water.<ref>Navy Board Report, pp. 11–12. Specifically, the U.S. Navy report cites "about 19 fathoms" of water under the ship.</ref> 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 {{cvt|7000|ft|m}}, obscuring the ship and the surrounding area for a radius of approximately {{cvt|500|yd|m}}. ''Mount Hood''{{'}}s former position was revealed by a trench in the ocean floor {{cvt|300|ft|m}} long, {{cvt|50|ft|m}} wide, and {{cvt|30|-|40|ft|m|0}} deep.<ref>Navy Board Report, p. 12.</ref> The largest remaining piece of the hull was found in the trench and measured no bigger than {{cvt|16|by|10|ft|m|0}}. No other remains of ''Mount Hood'' were found except fragments of metal which had struck other ships in the harbor and a few tattered pages of a signal notebook found floating in the water several hundred yards away. No human remains were recovered of the 350 men aboard ''Mount Hood'' or small boats loading alongside at the time of the explosion.<ref name="Gile, February 1963, p.89">Gile, February 1963, p. 89</ref> The only survivors from the ''Mount Hood'' crew were Lt. Wallace and the 17 enlisted men who had left the ship a short time before the explosion. Two of the crew were being transferred to the base brig for trial by court martial; and the remainder of the party were visiting the base chaplain or picking up mail at the base post office. Charges against the prisoners were dropped following the explosion.<ref>Gile, February 1963, pp. 89–90</ref>

The concussion and metal fragments hurled from the ship caused casualties and damage to other ships and small craft within {{cvt|2000|yd|m}}. The repair ship {{USS|Mindanao|ARG-3|2}}, which was broadside-on to the blast, was the most seriously damaged. All personnel topside on ''Mindanao'' were killed outright (including a crewman from ''Mount Hood'' who had been working on ''Mindanao'' at the time of the explosion—he was the only one of ''Mount Hood'''s deceased crew members who was positively identified).<ref>Navy Board Report, p. 142.</ref> Dozens more men were killed or wounded below decks as numerous heavy fragments from ''Mount Hood'' penetrated the side plating. Eighty-two of ''Mindanao''{{'}}s crew died.<ref name="Gile, February 1963, p.89"/> 22 small boats and landing craft were sunk, destroyed, or damaged beyond repair, while damage to other vessels required more than 100,000 man-hours to repair; a further 371 sailors from ships in the harbor were injured.

===Inquiry===

A board convened to examine evidence relating to the disaster was unable to ascertain the exact cause. However, the official Navy report noted that the vessel had a "relatively inexperienced crew," with a "lack of leadership among the officers, and lack of discipline among the crew," as well as "a general lack of posting safety regulations for handling ammunition, and instruction of the crew therein." As a result, the report noted, this lack of training "was reflected in rough and careless handling of ammunition and lack of enforcing prohibition of smoking in boats alongside the U.S.S. Mount Hood. The stowage condition of boosters, fuzes and detonators in number one hold was dangerous. In holds numbers two and three there were stowed broken rocket bodies from which some of the powder had spilled."<ref name="Navy Board Report, p. 11"/> The report further noted that "Pyrotechnics and napalm were stowed in an open temporary wood and tar paper hut on deck under hazardous conditions near the hatch to number four hold."<ref name="Navy Board Report, p. 11"/> This was also near the most likely source of the accident, as the initial explosion occurred "amidships near number three or four hold."<ref name="Navy Board Report, p. 11"/> As such, the report concluded that "the most likely cause of the explosion was careless handling of ammunition" aboard the ship.<ref>Navy Board Report, p. 7.</ref>

After only a little over four months' service, ''Mount Hood'' was struck from the Naval Register on 11 December 1944.

==List of ships damaged==
The following ships were damaged by the explosion of ''Mount Hood'':
{{div col|colwidth=15em}}
* {{USS|Abarenda|IX-131|2}}
* {{USS|Alhena|AKA-9|2}}
* {{USS|Argonne|AG-31|2}}
* {{USS|Aries|AK-51|2}}
* {{USS|Cacapon|AO-52|2}}
* {{USS|Cebu|ARG-6|2}}
* {{USS|Kyne|DE-744|2}}
* {{USS|Lyman|DE-302|2}}
* {{USS|Mindanao|ARG-3|2}}
* {{USS|Oberrender|DE-344|2}}
* {{USS|Petrof Bay|CVE-80|2}}
* {{USS|Piedmont|AD-17|2}}
* {{USS|Potawatomi|ATF-109|2}}
* {{USS|Preserver|ARS-8|2}}
* {{USS|Saginaw Bay|CVE-82|2}}
* {{USS|Talbot|APD-7|2}}
* {{USS|Walter C. Wann|DE-412|2}}
* {{USS|Young|DD-580|2}}
* {{USS|YF-681||2}}
* {{USS|YMS-1||2}}
* {{USS|YMS-140||2}}
* {{USS|YMS-238||2}}
* {{USS|YMS-243||2}}
* {{USS|YMS-286||2}}
* {{USS|YMS-293||2}}
* {{USS|YMS-319||2}}
* {{USS|YMS-335||2}}
* {{USS|YMS-340||2}}
* {{USS|YMS-341||2}}
* {{USS|YMS-342||2}}
* {{USS|YMS-39||2}}
* {{USS|YMS-49||2}}
* {{USS|YMS-52||2}}
* {{USS|YMS-71||2}}
* {{USS|YMS-81||2}}
* {{USS|YO-77||2}}
{{div col end}}
[[Image:Aerial view of USS Mindanao (ARG-3) after the explosion of USS Mount Hood (AE-11) at Seeadler Harbor on 10 November 1944.jpg|thumb|Explosion of ''Mount Hood'' in Seeadler Harbor, Manus, Admiralty Islands, 10 November 1944. Small craft gathered around {{USS|Mindanao|ARG-3|2}} during salvage and rescue efforts shortly after ''Mount Hood'' blew up about {{convert|350|yard|m}} away from ''Mindanao's'' port side. ''Mindanao'', and seven motor minesweepers (YMS) moored to her starboard side, were damaged by the blast, as were the {{USS|Alhena|AKA-9|2}} (in the photo's top left center) and {{USS|Oberrender|DE-344|2}}, (top right). Note the extensive oil slick, with tracks through it made by small craft.]]
In addition to the above ships, nine medium landing craft (LCM) and a pontoon barge moored alongside ''Mount Hood'' were also destroyed, and 13 small boats or landing craft were sunk or damaged beyond repair.

==See also==
* [[West Loch disaster]]
* {{USS|Serpens|AK-97}}
* [[Port Chicago disaster]]
* [[List of accidents and incidents involving transport or storage of ammunition]]

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
* {{DANFS|https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/m/mount-hood-i.html}}
* {{cite journal|url=https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/1963/february/mount-hood-explosion |author=Gile, Chester A. |title=The ''Mount Hood'' Explosion |journal = Proceedings | publisher=[[United States Naval Institute]] |date=February 1963}}
* {{cite report|author=Navy Board of Investigation |title=The Explosion of USS Mount Hood, Seeadler Harbor, Manus Is, 10 November 1944|publisher=[[United States Navy]] | date=6 June 1951}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|USS Mount Hood (AE-11)}}
* {{navsource|09/05/0511|Mount Hood}}
* [http://www.aesailors.com  AE Sailors Association]
* [http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/ships/logs/AE/ae11-Loss.html Selected documents relating to the loss of USS Mount Hood]
* [https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/search.html?q=Mount%20Hood%20(AE%2011)&ts=false Photos from NHHC]
* [http://www.maritimequest.com/daily_event_archive/2007/pages/nov/10_uss_mt_hood_ae_11.htm Roll of Honor]
* [http://www.jag.navy.mil/library/investigations/MT%20HOOD%20EXPLOSION%2010%20NOV%2044.pdf Navy Board of Investigation Official Report]

{{Mount Hood class ammunition ship}}
{{Type C2-S-AJ1 ships}}
{{November 1944 shipwrecks}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Mount Hood (AE-11)}}
[[Category:Mount Hood-class ammunition ships]]
[[Category:Ships built in Wilmington, North Carolina]]
[[Category:1943 ships]]
[[Category:World War II auxiliary ships of the United States]]
[[Category:Ships sunk by non-combat internal explosions]]
[[Category:World War II shipwrecks in the Pacific Ocean]]
[[Category:Explosions in 1944]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in November 1944]]