I last wrote about this ship January 26th and May 15th, 2008.
I am going through some old notebooks and covering items I wrote down back then that are of interest.
The USS Mount Hood (AE-11) exploded at Manus Island November 10, 1944, killing all officers and enlisted aboard along with sailors from many ships elsewhere in the harbor. It was one of the worst accidents in US Navy history. Altogether, nearly 1000 lost their lives in the event.
The Mount Hood was built by the North Carolina Shipbuilding Co. in Wilmington, one of 54 ships they built for the US Navy and was launched November 28, 1943.
Twenty-two small boats and landing craft were sunk, destroyed or damaged and 371 other sailors injured, Most of these withing 2000 yards. The repair ship Mindanao caught the explosion broadside and had 82 killed and almost a hundred injured. Everyone topside was immediately killed.
Manus Island is close to Papua New Guinea and a Mount Hood Cemetery has been established on it.
Along with the Port Chicago Explosion and the one that occurred at West Loch in Pearl harbor, these were the worst accidents to happen to US forces during World War II.
A Very Sad Story. --Cooter
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