Maritime Injury Lawyers

Shipping Disasters: Explosion at Port Chicago

Following the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the United States entered World War II. Unlike many of the Allies, the United States was fighting wars in two theaters, the European and the Pacific. One of the main sources of ammunition for use in the Pacific Theater was the Naval Ammunition Depot at Port Chicago in California.

Port Chicago was located on a portion of San Francisco Bay roughly 30 miles to the northeast of Oakland and San Francisco. The town, at the time of the War, had a population of roughly 1,500 people and was located about a mile and a half from the pier.

A mere two days after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, authorization for the construction of Port Chicago was given. The Port started operating in November of 1942. Prior to its use as an ammunition depot, the Port was used as a shipyard during World War I. It was served by the Santa Fe, Southern Pacific, and Western Pacific railroads.

On July 17 of 1944, there were two ships that were in the process of being loaded; the Liberty Ship SS E.A. Bryan and the SS Quinault Victory. The Bryan had been in port for four days and had roughly 4,600 tons of ammunition and explosives on board. There were roughly 100 enlisted men still loading the ship. In addition, there were 31 U.S. Merchant Marine crew and 13 Naval Armed Guard members on board.

Having arrived just that day, the Victory was being loaded for its maiden voyage. It had 36 crew and 17 Armed Guard on board. There was also a Coast Guard fire barge moored at the pier. In addition to the 430 tons of bombs waiting to be loaded, the pier was also host to a locomotive and 16 boxcars, as well as the crew.

At 10:18 p.m., an Army Air Force plane flying at an elevation of 9,000 feet was witness to pieces of metal, some the size of houses, flying up. According to the plane’s co-pilot, the “fireworks display” went on for about a minute. The explosion that caused the fireworks could be heard for 200 miles.

When the boats exploded, the Miahelo, a Coast Guard boat, was 1,500 feet from the pier. The force of the explosion destroyed the wheelhouse, almost capsized the boat, and wounded the man at the pier. The explosion also caused a 30 foot high wall of water.

The entire wooden pier, the locomotive, the boxcars, the Bryan, and 320 people were all gone. The 67 crew and 30 Armed Guard members on the ships died instantly. There were 390 military and civilians injured in the explosion. The Bryan, all 25 million pounds of ship and ammunition disappeared completely. The stern of the Quinault Victory ended up capsized roughly 500 feet from where it started. The other half of the ship was scattered in pieces.

There has never been a cause identified for the explosion.

If you or a loved one has been injured in a shipping accident or on board a ship, contact the maritime injury lawyers of Williams Kherkher at 1-800-220-9341 to discuss your case and to determine your legal options.