1941 — March 24, oil tanker Cities Service Denver explosion and fire, off  coast of NC —     20

Compiled by Wayne Blanchard; last edit 9-24-2024 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/

–20  Berman, Bruce D.  Encyclopedia of American Shipwrecks. 1972, p. 112.

–20  Haddock. (Rep. of Congress of Ind. Organizations, Maritime Committee). “Statement.” Congress.

–20  Jones, Laura T. Generations: 1891-1940, Living on the Islands of Boston Harbor. 2011, 51.

–20  Lowell Sun (MA). “Survivor Says Dead Seamen Were Hopelessly Trapped,” 3-26-41,77.

–20  Yust, Walter. 10 Eventful Years: A record of events…years…1937…1946, Vol. 2. 1947.

–19  NFPA. Quarterly, “Fires…Loss of Life, Second Quarter, 1941,” V35/1, July 1941, 95.

Narrative Information

Berman: Steel steamer Cities Service Denver; 9,316 tons; built 1921; Mar 24, 1941; burned; 130 miles east of Charleston, S.C. Steel vessel. 20 lives lost (out of 40).  (Berman 1972, 112.

Haddock: “On March 24, 1941, the tanker Denver, of the Cities Service Co., exploded and burned off the Carolina coast en route from Port Arthur to Boston. The ship sank after burning for 2 days. A Government investigating board inquiry, conducted from March 28 to April 1, revealed that 20 seamen had lost their lives through the fire, which had probably been caused by the ignition of combustible gas which had accumulated at the forward end of the ship below the crew’s quarters.

“The Denver was a 20-year-old ship. One of the major unsafe elements was the fact that the water main was so constructed that if any portion of it was broken no pressure could be obtained anywhere on the ship. The hearing revealed that the condition of the valves was a violation of the Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation rules, which required that all smothering valves leading to the different compartments be open at all times. In addition, lifeboats which were available were located amidship and aft. The seamen quartered in the forward art of the ship had no chance whatsoever to escape the terrific blast of fire which caused such unnecessary loss of life.”

National Fire Protection Association: “March 25, 1941, at sea. Nineteen men lost their lives in an explosion and fire which swept the oil tanker Cities Service Denver. The explosion occurred when the ship was about 80 miles south of Cape Lookout, N.C.[1] The origin of the explosion was not determined.” (NFPA. “Fires in Which There was Loss of Life, Second Quarter, 1941.” Quarterly of the National Fire Protection Association, Vol. 35, No. 1, July 1941, p. 95.)

Newspapers

March 25: “New York, March 25 (AP) — Nineteen seamen were reported missing today after an explosion and fire struck the 9316-ton oil tanker Cities Service Denver 80 miles south of Cape Lookout, N.C.  The tanker Pan-New York reported she had rescued 17 officers and men and said a third tanker, the W. W. Bruce, had picked up five other survivors.  The Coast Guard picked up a later radio report which indicated a Coast Guard boat had rescued five more members of the stricken vessel’s crew… The Cities Service Denver, the Coast Guard said, was a ‘flaming mass.’

“The missing men were believed to have been in the forward part of the Denver when the explosion occurred at 11 p.m. E.S.T. last night, the Pan-New York said.

“Five Coast Guard craft were dispatched to the scene, about 100 miles offshore, the W.W. Bruce was standing by the stricken 468-foot vessel.  Coast Guard planes were poised at Elizabeth City, N.C. awaiting daybreak to start for the Denver’s side, and another plane was being readied at Floyd Bennett field here for a possible rescue flight…..”  (Lowell Sun (MA). “10 Mass. Men Missing as Oil Ship Explodes off NC,” 3-25-1941, p. 1.)

March 26: “Morehead City, N.C., March 26 (AP) — A survivor expressed belief today that 19 seamen died in the blazing forecastle of the 9136-ton oil tanker Cities Service Denver, which exploded and caught fire Monday night about 100 miles southeast of here.  Carl Matthews of Charleston, S.C., assistant engineer, said that although flames were leaping 75 to 100 feet into the air, all survivors remained on deck until certain there was no hope for the 19 trapped men. ‘They were dead all right,’ he declared  ‘There couldn’t have been anything left of them.’

“Oscar Degerstedt of Two Harbors, Minn., one of 17 survivors picked up from life boats by the tanker Pan-New York and brought here, died of injuries in a hospital last night….

“The explosion occurred directly under the forecastle where Degerstedt, Campbell and 19 others were listening to cowboy ballads played on a banjo and sung by Charles and Irvin Frazier, brothers, of Braintree, Mass.” (Lowell Sun (MA). “Survivor Says Dead Seamen Were Hopelessly Trapped,” Mar 26, 1941, 77.)

March 27: “New York, March 27. (AP) — The tanker Cities Service Denver, which exploded and burned off the North Carolina coast Monday night, sank while being towed by the cutter Shoshone last night, coast guard headquarters said today.  Officers said the ship went down about 40 miles south of Diamond Shoals Lightship, North Carolina….” (Galveston Daily News, TX. “Cities Service Tanker Sinks While Being Towed,” 3-28-1941, p. 23.)

Sources

Berman, Bruce D. Encyclopedia of American Shipwrecks. Boston: Mariners Press Inc., 1972.

Galveston Daily News, TX. “Cities Service Tanker Sinks While Being Towed,” Mar 28, 1941, p. 23. At: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=45240114

Haddock, Hoyt S. “Statement of Hoyt S. Haddock, Legislative Representative of the Congress of Industrial Organizations, Maritime Committee.” P. 30  Hearing before the Committee on the Merchant Marine and Fisheries, House of Representatives, Seventy-Seventh Congress, First Session, July 1, 1941. Washington: US Gov. Printing Office, 1941. Accessed 9-24-2024 at: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Hearings/fTLVAAAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=cities+service+denver+explosion+march+24+1941&pg=PA30&printsec=frontcover

Jones, Laura T. Generations: 1891-1940, Living on the Islands of Boston Harbor. AuthorHouse. 2011. Partially Google digitized. Accessed 12-12-2012 at: http://books.google.com/books?id=oDutMr8r0X8C&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

Lowell Sun. MA. “10 Mass. Men Missing as Oil Ship Explodes off NC,” 25Mar1941, pp. 1&4.  Accessed at:  http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=56790727

Lowell Sun, MA. “Survivor Says Dead Seamen Were Hopelessly Trapped,” March 26, 1941, p. 77. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=56790790

National Fire Protection Association. “Fires in Which There was Loss of Life, Second Quarter, 1941.” Quarterly of the National Fire Protection Association, Vol. 35, No. 1, July 1941, p. 95.

Yust, Walter. 10 Eventful Years: A record of events of the years preceding, including and following World War II, 1937 through 1946, Volume 2. Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1947.

[1] It is about 135 miles, driving distance, between Cape Lookout, NC and Wilmington, NC.to the south. It is about 195 miles to North Myrtle Beach is about 6-7 miles to the south of the SC bord4r with NC. This means that the explosion apparently took place off the coast of North Carolina.