sinks, ~NY Harbor–138-139

lornajarrettblanchard January 3, 1944

— 139 USN, Judge Advocate Gen. USS Turner Investigation report 1-23-1944, 40 pages, p. 8.
— 15 commissioned officers [all the officers and enlisted men are noted as “missing.”
–124 enlisted men
— 138 Nash, Jay Robert. Darkest Hours. 1977, 792 p. 702.
— 138 USN, Naval Hist. “Casualties: US Navy…Marine Corps Personnel Killed and Injured…”
–>130 AP. “Mystery revisited in deadly sinking of USS Turner off Sandy Hook.” 2-12-2017.

Narrative Information

Berg: “The U.S.S. Turner was a Bristol class destroyer built in Kearny, New Jersey, in November, 1942, Commissioned on April 15, 1943, she was 350 feet by 36 feet by 36 feet and weighed 1,700 tons. Her armament consisted of 4 five inch guns, 10 torpedo tubes and both 20 mm and 40 mm anti-aircraft guns.

“On January 3, 1944, at 6:18 AM, while sitting at anchor about four miles off shore, an explosion tore a tremendous hole in her port side up near the bow. At the same time, the explosion’s force brought down the ship’s mast destroying all communications and killing all or most of her officers….

“Back on shore at the Coast Guard station in Sandy Hook, New Jersey, Coxswain F. Williams happened to witness the destroyer’s explosion. He set off the general quarters’ alarm and within minutes an 83 foot sub chaser, a 77 foot CGR Boat and a pilot boat were all on their way for the rescue mission. When the rescuers arrived, they all worked heroically under exploding artillery shells which were set off by fires on the Turner. Soon after, all survivors, totaling 163 men, were removed. The Turner exploded a second time. This explosion was so tremendous that its concussion broke house windows up and down the New Jersey and Long Island coasts. Moments later, with a sudden hissing sound, the Turner sank beneath the surface.

“Although the death toll was never announced because of war time restrictions, there must have been about 30 to 40 lives lost. The Turners official cause of sinking was listed as ‘Due to defective ammunitions,” but it is believed she was most likely torpedoed by a German submarine.” (p. 159)

Nash: “1944 Jan. 3 Turner 138 [deaths]
“The U.S. destroyer caught fire & exploded off Ambrose Lightship, N.Y. ”

USN, Judge Advocate General, Third Naval District, NYC, 23 Jan 1944, Nineteenth Day:
“The court met at 9 a.m. ….
“The record of proceedings of the eighteenth day of the inquiry was read and approved.

“The court, having thoroughly inquired into all the facts and circumstances connected with the allegations contained in the precept and having considered the evidence adduced, finds as follows:

FINDING OF FACTS

“1. That, at about 0800, 3 January 1944, the U.S.S. Turner (DD 648), while at anchor, capsized and sank as a result of underwater damage sustained during a series of internal explosions in that vessel.

“2. That the first explosion occurred at about 0617, 3 January 1944.

“3. That the point of origin of the first explosion was in the vicinity of No. 2 Upper Handling Room and the Anti-Submarine Projector Ready Stowage Room.

“4. That the exact cause of the first explosion is not determined.

“5. That the first explosion was followed immediately by an intense fire in the ship from about frame 35 to about frame 70, and that, thereafter, there followed a series of explosions which culminated in the sinking of the U.S.S. Turner.

“6. That, at about 0705, all personnel of the U.S.S. Turner had abandoned ship, with the exception of those who were beyond possibility of rescue.

“7. That the final and most violent explosion occurred at about 0750, 3 January 1944.

“8. That the spaces named in Fact 3 contained 50 rounds 5″-38 caliber ammunition and 49 fuzed rounds Mark 22 Projector ammunition, respectively.

“9. That the first explosion blew a triangular hole (apex down) in each side of the ship, from just below the forecastle deck to just above the water-line; ruptured the forecastle deck plating from side to side, just abaft 5″-38 caliber Gun No. 1; demolished the rear portion of the shield of 5″-38 caliber Gun No. 1; and distorted the entire bridge structure in such a manner that it inclined aft and slightly to starboard of its normal position.

“10. That, after the first explosion, that portion of the ship forward of the fire was without water and electric services and there was no direct means of access to or communication with the other portion of the ship.

“11. That no attempt was made to flood the forward magazines.
….
“15. That all fire and flushing and all fire and bilge pumps were connected to the fire main but no effective steps were taken to segregate the damaged section thereof.

“16. That no effective steps were taken to flood the after magazines.

“17. That a number of small isolated fires were found in the after portion of the ship and were extinguished by members of the crew before they abandoned ship.

“18. That, after ‘abandon ship,’ the fire spread aft rapidly to such an extent that the entire after portion of the ship was ultimately in flames.
….
“20. That, at the time of the first explosion, the U.S.S. Turner was preparing to get underway at 0715 to proceed to an anchorage in Gravesend Bay, New York.

“21. That, upon anchoring in Gravesend Bay, the following ammunition was to have been transferred from the U.S.S. Turner to the U.S. Naval Magazine, Fort Lafayette, Brooklyn, New York.
….
(d) all Mark 22 Projector ammunition;
….
“22. That no preparations for landing this ammunition had been made prior to the time that the U.S.S. Turner anchored.

“23. That fuzes were to be removed from fuzed Mark 22 Projector ammunition prior to landing ammunition.
….
“26. That the torpedo personnel of the U.S.S. Turner were charged with preparing Mark 22 Projector ammunition for service and with disassembling it for storage or transfer.

“27. That none of the torpedo personnel attached to the U.S.S. Turner on 3 January 1944, ever had disassembled Mark 22 Projector ammunition prior to that date.

“28. That, on 3 January 1944 [name blacked out] while enroute to breakfast, discussed Mark 22 Projector ammunition with a shipmate and that he…after breakfast, informed [name blacked out], in the forward mess hall, that he was going to defuse the ready Mark 22 Projector ammunition, in No. 2 Handling Room; whereupon…left the mess hall.

“29. That, within a short period of time after…departure from the mess hall, the first explosion occurred.
….
“30. That examination by divers of the wreck of the U.S.S. Turner reveals the following:
….
(c) in the after section, the starboard side of the hull is blown out from about frame 130 to
about frame 180;
(d) in the after section, in the port side a large hole, which extends partially into the main
deck plating, is blown out in the general vicinity of No. 4 boiler;
….
….
“32. That, at the time the U.S.S. Turner anchored, the U.S.S. Stevenson, U.S.S. Thorn, U.S.S. Stockton, U.S.S. Stanton, U.S.S. Inch and U.S.S. Swasey were also at anchor in that vicinity.
….
“36. That the U.S.S. Stevenson and the U.S.S. Thorn, during the period they were at anchor, maintained a continuous all around underwater sound search.

“37. That, up to the time of the first explosion in the U.S.S. Turner, no unusual nor abnormal conditions had been noted in the ship.
….
“46. That, upon the order of the Senior Officer Present [on the Stevenson] two destroyers conducted a search for enemy craft.

“47. That the searches found in Fact 36 and Fact 46 failed to disclose the presence of other than friendly vessels.
….
“51. That the Commanding Officer of the USCG 83306, the first Coast Guard craft to arrive on the scene, laid his vessel alongside the port bow of the U.S.S. Turner with her stern abreast the blazing section and successfully removed an undetermined number of survivors, estimated to be about forty, who were isolated on the forecastle of the U.S.S. Turner.

“52. That the U.S.S. Turner was commanded by Commander [name blacked out], U.S. Navy, and had on board, when she anchored, 17 officers and 276 enlisted men.

“53. That as a result of the explosion, fire, and sinking of the U.S.S. Turner, fifteen commissioned and one hundred twenty-four enlisted men of various ratings are missing. The names, rank or rating, and serial number of missing personnel are:
[All the names are blacked out, leaving only the Ranks and Ratings.]

“54. That it is reasonable to infer that the officers and men listed in Fact 53 lost their lives either as a result of the explosion and fire, or as the result of drowning in the sea.
….
OPINION
….
“3. That the first explosion was not the result of enemy action.

“4. That the first explosion was not the result of sabotage.
….
“6. That explosions subsequent to the first were caused by the spread of fire to spaces not originally affected.
….
“8. That, had the U.S.S. Turner been swung and held in a position across wind soon after the first explosion, and had her crew, utilizing all of her available equipment6, fought the fire intelligently, and had these efforts been augmented by other vessels in the vicinity, the fire in the U.S.S. Turner could have been brought under control.

“9. That, as a result of the first explosion, all officers attached to the U.S.S. Turner with the exception of two young reserve ensigns, were either killed or immediately incapacitated.
….
“11. That the decision of Ensign [name blocked out] U.S. Naval Reserve, to abandon the U.S.S. Turner, was influenced by an officer apparently senior in rank and experience whom he considered to be in a better position to analyze correctly the over-all situation, by the absence of obvious determined effort from outside his ship toward any other end than rescue, and by the fact that a ready avenue of escape was at hand for his already stunned and injured crew.
….
“16. That the loss of approximately ninety percent of the officers of the U.S.S. Turner and the isolation forward of all line chief petty officers of the U.S.S. Turner was due to a great extent to their being quartered and messed in one part of the ship.
….”

USN, Naval History and Heritage Command: “USS Turner (DD-648) sank in New York harbor following a series of ammunition explosions. 138 killed and 60 injured. 3 Jan. 1944.” (US Dept. Navy. “Casualties: US Navy…Marine Corps Personnel Killed and Injured…”)

Sources

Associated Press. “Mystery revisited in deadly sinking of USS Turner off Sandy Hook.” 2-12-2017. Accessed 6-12-2021 at: https://www.nj.com/news/2017/02/mystery_of_uss_turner_sinking_off_sandy_hook.html

Berg, Daniel. Wreck Valley Vol. II: A Record of Shipwrecks off Long Island’s South Shore and New Jersey. Wahoo Edition. East Rockaway, NY: Aqua Explorers, Inc. 1990.

Nash, Jay Robert. Darkest Hours – A Narrative Encyclopedia of Worldwide Disasters from Ancient Times to the Present. New York: Pocket Books, Wallaby, 1977, 792 pages.

United States Navy, Judge Advocate Generals Corp., Headquarters Third Naval District, New York, NY. Nineteenth Day [of Hearings]. Headquarters, Third Naval District, Federal Office Building, 90 Church Street, New York, N.Y., Sunday, 23 January 1944, 40 pages. Accessed 6-11-2021 at: https://www.jag.navy.mil/library/investigations/USS%20TURNER%20BASIC.pdf

United States Navy. Casualties: US Navy and Marine Corps Personnel Killed and Injured in Selected Accidents and Other Incidents Not Directly the Result of Enemy Action (website). Naval History and Heritage Command, 11-3-2020. Accessed 6-11-2021 at: https://www.history.navy.mil/research/library/online-reading-room/title-list-alphabetically/c/casualties-usnavy-marinecorps-personnel-killed-injured-selected-accidents-other-incidents-notdirectly-result-enemy-action.html#1940