1946 — Feb 4, storm, steamship Yukon hits rocks, Johnstone Bay, SE of Seward, AK– 11
–11 AK Bur. Ocean Energy Mgmt., Reg., Enforce. Alaska’s Worst All Time Shipping Losses.
–11 Gottehrer. The Associated Press Stylebook for Alaska (Revised 2nd edition). 2000, p. 93.
–11 Morning Avalanche, Lubbock, TX. “To Fix Responsibility.” Feb 16, 1946, p. 11.)
Narrative Information
Alaska Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement: “Feb 4, 1946. Alaska Steamship passenger steamer. Yukon. Struck rocks. Off Johnstone Bay, 40 mi SE of Seward. 11 lost, 484 rescued.” (AK BOEMRE. Alaska’s Worst…Losses.)
Gottehrer: “The steamer Yukon, which had left Seward for Seattle, piled up at Cape Fairfield on the western side of Johnstone Bay, southeast of Seward. The ship carried 496, including a crew of 124 and many military and civilian passengers from Fort Richardson. All but 11 aboard were saved.” (Gottehrer. The Associated Press Stylebook for Alaska (Revised 2nd Ed.). 2000, p. 93.)
Newspapers
Feb 5, Associated Press: “Ketchikan, Alaska, Feb. 5 – (AP) – The Coast Guard cutter Onondaga arrived at Seward today with 47 women and children taken off the steamship Yukon after it smashed on the rocks in Johnstone Bay, southeast of Seward, during a heavy storm. It was bound from Seward to Seattle with approximately 500 men, women and children. Three men, landed earlier by the Army tug FS-241 after they were washed off the broken steamship, were hospitalized at Seward.
“The Coast Guard tender Cedar and the Navy salvage ship Curb began rescue work after the Onondaga steamed away with its survivors, and the freighter North Haven and Army transport Brig. Gen. M. G. Zalinski were standing by in Ellington Passage to take their turns at rescuing survivors. Seas were subsiding but there was a heavy snowstorm handicapping rescue work.
“Meantime the steamship Alaska, at Kodiak, was ordered to Seward to aid that little town in accommodating survivors and to bring them to Seattle.
20 UNACCOUNTED FOR
“The three men landed by the Army tug told interviewers at Seward that there were 20 men unaccounted for among the 496 passengers and crew aboard the Yukon. The Coast Guard and the Alaska Steamship Company, which operated the Yukon for the War Shipping Administration, had no word of casualties, and expressed doubts concerning the report.
“The three rescued from the 50-foot waves last midnight after they had been washed off the wreck and tossed against the rocks, were: Charles D. Scrivener, assistant purser of the Yukon… [unclear] Robert D. Bassette, storekeeper for the Yukon, Seattle, and Army Staff Sgt. Jack N. Reinhold, home address unlisted.
“Scrivener told an interviewer all aboard the Yukon might be safe, although a checkup after the ship broke in two indicated 20 to 30 possibly missing on the after part of the vessel, which floated free….Scrivener said 50-foot seas broke over the foundered Yukon but that passengers were calm.
“Later, it was reported here, some of the women and children became hysterical after they were taken aboard the Onondaga and it was decided to land them rather than stand by in view of the stricken ship and those still aboard.
“Several of the rescue ships had to spend the night at Latouche because of zero visibility, but sped to the scene at dawn.
“All B-17 Flying Fortresses equipped with power boats were ordered to assist in rescue efforts by Gen. Delos Emmons, commanding the Army’s Alaskan department….
“The 360-foot Yukon, built in Philadelphia in 1899, had been in the Alaska service for some 20 years. She went aground on the rocky shore 40 miles south of Seward, Alaska, early yesterday. As soon as her distress calls were heard – about 6 1.m. yesterday – all craft in the vicinity were ordered to her aid. The Onondaga reached her shortly before 3 p.m. Her captain is Chris P. Trondsen….” (Oakland Tribune. “87 Feared Lost…Storms Wreck Pacific Coast Ships.” 2.5.1946, p. 1.)
Feb 6: “Ketchikan, Alaska, Feb. 6. AP. The coast guard said tonight 31 persons were not accounted for when survivors of the wreck of the liner Yukon were landed at Seward. The report said rescue vessels had brought 465 people off the grounded and broken Yukon to Seward and that no more rescue craft were expected, but that a hope was held out that some small boats might arrive with some or all of those not yet accounted for. No bodies had been found, the coast guard said….
“Only a short time before, in Seattle, the army and the Alaska Steamship Co. reported the total number aboard was 497, including 191 civilian passengers, 186 military personnel and a crew of 120….” (AP. “31 Missing After Steamship Yukon Is Broken Up.” Galveston Daily News, TX. Feb 7, 1946, p. 1.)
Feb 15: “Seattle, Feb. 15. (AP) – Capt. Chris P. Trondsen of the steamship Yukon, which foundered on Cape Fairfield, with the loss of 11 lives during a severe storm February 4, testified today as a Coast Guard board started a closed hearing to fix responsibility for the wreck. Four hundred eighty five persons were saved.” (AP. “To Fix Responsibility.” Morning Avalanche, Lubbock, TX. 2-16-1946, p. 11.)
Sources
Alaska Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement. Alaska’s Worst All Time Shipping Losses. Accessed 7-18-2011 at: http://www.alaska.boemre.gov/ref/ships/
Associated Press. “31 Missing After Steamship Yukon Is Broken Up.” Galveston Daily News, TX. 2-7-1946, p. 1. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=46131125
Associated Press. “87 Feared Lost as Storms Wreck Pacific Coast Ships.” Oakland Tribune, CA. 2-5-1946, 1. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=32344609
Associated Press. “To Fix Responsibility” Morning Avalanche, Lubbock, TX. 2-16-1946, p. 11. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=107444560
Gottehrer, Dean M. The Associated Press Stylebook for Alaska (Revised and 2nd edition). Fairbanks, Alaska: Epicenter Press, 2000. Partially digitized by Google at: http://books.google.com/books?id=O53zwdFYTGEC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false