1944 — July 17, Munitions Ships Explosion, Pier 1, Naval Mag., Port Chicago, CA –320-325

lornajarrettblanchard July 17, 1944

–320-325 Blanchard estimate.*

— 325 Moran. Explosive Accident Summary: [WW] II. DoD Explosives Safety Board, 1992, 118.
— 322 History.com. This Day in History, Disaster, July 17, 1944, “Port Chicago Disaster.”
— 322 National Fire Protection Association, Key Dates in Fire History, 1996.
— 322 NFPA. U.S. Unintentional Fire Death Rates By State.” December 2008.
— 320 History.com. Shockwave, “Explosion at Post Chicago”) ; Collins 2003, p. 184.
— 320 National Park Ser. Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial. Accessed 5-17-2020.
— 320 US Dept. Navy. “Casualties: US Navy…Marine Corps Personnel Killed and Injured…”
— 300+ National Fire Protect. Assoc. Spreadsheet on Large Loss of Life Fires (as of Feb 2003).
–>300 Oakland Tribune. “300 Die in Bay Arms Ship Blast. Port Chicago Razed…” 7-18-1944.

Merchant Marine Liberty ship E. A. Bryan.
–44 (31 crew and 13 Armed Guard) AMMW. Chronological List of U.S. Ships Sunk or Damaged…
Merchant Marine Victory ship Quinault Victory
–53 (36 crew and 17 Armed Guard) AMMW. Chronological List of U.S. Ships Sunk or Damaged…

*While it appears to us that the death toll was 320 (as noted, for example by the National Park Service), we are reluctant to dismiss as inaccurate other sources noting a higher death toll – especially Moran’s notation of 325 deaths in his study for the Explosives Safety Board of the Department of Defense.

Narrative Information

History.com: “An ammunition ship explodes while being loaded in Port Chicago, California, killing 332 people on this day in 1944. The United States’ World War II military campaign in the Pacific was in full swing at the time. Poor procedures and lack of training led to the disaster.

“Port Chicago, about 30 miles north of San Francisco, was developed into a munitions facility when the Naval Ammunition Depot at Mare Island, California, could not fully supply the war effort. By the summer of 1944, expansion of the Port Chicago facility allowed for loading two ships at once around the clock. The Navy units assigned to the dangerous loading operations were generally segregated African-American units. For the most part, these men had not been trained in handling munitions. Additionally, safety standards were forgotten in the rush to keep up frenetic loading schedules.

“On the evening of July 17, the SS Quinault Victory and SS E.A. Bryan, two merchant ships, were being loaded. The holds were being packed with 4,600 tons of explosives–bombs, depth charges and ammunition. Another 400 tons of explosives were nearby on rail cars.

“Approximately 320 workers were on or near the pier when, at 10:18 p.m., a series of massive explosions over several seconds destroyed everything and everyone in the vicinity. The blasts were felt as far away as Nevada and the resulting damage extended as far as San Francisco. Every building in Port Chicago was damaged and people were literally knocked off their feet. Smoke and fire extended nearly two miles into the air. The pilot of a plane flying at 9,000 feet in the area claimed that metal chunks from the explosion flew past him.

“Nearly two-thirds of the people killed at Port Chicago were African-American enlisted men in the Navy–15 percent of all African-Americans killed during World War II. The surviving men in these units, who helped put out the fires and saw the horrors firsthand, were quickly reassigned to Mare Island. Less than a month later, when ordered to load more munitions, but still having received no training, 258 African-American sailors refused to carry out the orders. Two hundred and eight of them were then sentenced to bad conduct discharges and pay forfeiture. The remaining 50 men were put on trial for general court martial. They were sentenced to between eight and 15 years of hard labor, though two years later all were given clemency. A 1994 review of the trials revealed race played a large factor in the harsh sentences. In December 1999, President Clinton pardoned Freddie Meeks, one of only three of the 50 convicted sailors known to be alive at the time.

“The Port Chicago disaster eventually led to the implementation of far safer procedures for loading ammunition. In addition, greater emphasis was put on proper training in explosives handling and the munitions themselves were altered for greater safety. There is now a national memorial to the victims at the site.” (History.com. This Day in History, Disaster, July 17, 1944, “Port Chicago Disaster.”)

History.com: “As segregated African-American naval units had been assigned the dangerous work — without much in the way of training–nearly two-thirds of the people killed at Port Chicago were African-American enlisted men, 15 percent of all African-Americans killed during World War II.” (History.com. Shockwave, “Explosion at Post Chicago”)

Moran: “The most disastrous events in the history of chemical explosives involve ships. The most significant explosive accident in this country during World War II occurred at NAD Port Chicago (Concord, California) when 3.75 million pounds of HE detonated in railcars, on the dock and aboard the USS E.A. Bryan, killing 325 and injuring 392. No one inside of 1,000 feet survived, and no one outside that distance perished. Damage was carefully documented by Bob Herman in DDESB Technical Paper 6 (AD 223344). Many of the current DoD Q-D standards are based on this report.” (Moran, Edward P. Jr. Explosive Accident Summary: World War II. DoD Explosives Safety Board, Aug 1992, p. 118.)

US Dept. Navy: “Munitions explosion on Pier #1 at US Naval Magazine, Port Chicago CA. 241 Navy, 1 Marine, 5 Coast Guard and 73 civilians killed; 390 injured including 233 African-American Navy personnel. 17 Jul. 1944.” (US Dept. Navy. “Casualties: US Navy…Marine Corps Personnel Killed and Injured…”)

Newspapers

July 18: “More than 300 men were killed and hundreds of men and women were injured last night in a terrific explosion that destroyed two ammunition ships loading near Port Chicago, and shook homes and business buildings throughout the Bay area.

“The Navy, taking count of the tragedy today, found that at least two merchant ships were sunk, two Coast Guard picket boats probably went down, a fireboat was missing and an oil tanker was damaged. More than 10,000 tons of explosives were set off by the blast. The force of the explosion, which shook residents out of their beds and broke windows 50 miles away, centered in the two vessels loading shells at the dock between Avon and Port Chicago, in Contra Costa County.

“No cause for the blast was given officially, and the Navy said there was nothing to indicate sabotage. A sailor from one of the ships, though, said it was possible that a heavy shell or bomb had been dropped on the steel deck to touch off what amounted to two arsenals.

“The- Navy warned that “casualties will be heavy” as it investigated what probably will prove to be one of the worst disasters in American wartime history. At least 130 of the victims were believed to be civilians.

“Several hours later local authorities called for Army demolition experts to disarm a shell lying in a Port Chicago street. The soldier engineers were ordered out from Camp Stoneman, at Pittsburg, to take care of the shell.

“At the same time, farmers reported they were finding unexploded shells scattered throughout the countryside. They said they were fearful there might be further explosions and loss of life if the shells were not picked up immediately.

“The first of the ships was identified as the Quinault Victory, built in the Portland yards of the Oregon Shipbuilding Corporation, and delivered just a week ago. It was sponsored by the workers in the mould loft of the yard as part of the Fifth War Loan drive.

“The other vessel was the E. A. Bryan of the Oliver J. Olson Lines, built at Richmond and launched last February 29.

“The shock of the original double blast was so terrific it woke up sleepers in Oakland, more, than 20 miles away hurled 200-pound chunks of metal a mile and a half, and almost flattened the town of Port Chicago, more than a mile from the scene.

“Residents of Martinez, five miles from the dock, were awakened at 10:19 p.m. by a great sheet of white fire that flashed across the sky. An instant later, the first of the two explosions knocked them from their beds. All spectators were dazed by the terror of the explosions, but all agreed that there were two blasts. The first apparently sank one ship and the second accounted for the other.

“Observers this morning found pieces of jagged metal more than a mile from the scene, and one farmer reported that he had picked up a five-inch shell two miles away.

“Both merchant ships sank at their pier and the subsequent explosions and fire sent the Coast Guard rescue vessels to the bottom.

“The scene of carnage along the wharf was so bad today that Navy officers were reluctant to permit civilian photographers on the scene. However, observers got into the yards later this morning and found one of the ships completely sunk and the other showing only its stern above water. It looked, they said, like a hurricane had hit the area, with only the stumps of piling poking out of the bay and freight cars blown asunder on land. “It looks,” one of the men said, “as though there never had been a pier there.” Special guards stood by scattered shells with red flags, warning to passersby that they were treading in dangerous territory.

“At the same time, Dr. W. A. Powell, county health officer, and State Sanitary Inspector Thomas McMorrow warned residents of Port Chicago by loudspeaker system that they must watch for broken mains. “Every store in the town was shot to hell,” one reporter said, “and it didn’t look to me as if a man could live there.”

“The San Francisco-Disaster Relief organization set up headquarters in the grammar school as soon as word of the catastrophe was learned….

“Within seconds after the blast, the Navy called for every available service and civilian doctor and nurse in the area. It repeated its pleas until 1 a.m., when local radio stations were notified they could stop their broadcasts. By that time, though, the highways to Martinez and Port Chicago were jammed, and the medical men trying to reach the magazine depot were unable to make their way through. Sixty doctors from Mare Island alone answered the call. They were joined by hundreds of others in this area for the week-end. Greyhound busses were ordered to run special trips to the depot, but they were stopped far short of their destination by the traffic over the highways….

“In addition to the depot’s personnel, two men were missing from Coast Guard picket boats, two were injured, and two were missing from the fireboat’ that answered the first alarm….

“John Miller, former sheriff of Contra Costa County, now civilian defense coordinator for the area, estimated that at least 200 civilians were injured when the ships blew up. They were treated at hospitals throughout the county and by private physicians…

“The ammunition magazine, a comparatively new installation one mile out of Port Chicago, was a shambles when the first spectators reached it. Buildings were collapsed and hearses were carrying a procession of bodies out of the reservation.

“Officers declined to tell what had happened in the stockade, but it was apparent that the explosion blasted buildings to the ground without spreading the detonations. It was possible that block-buster bombs were mixed with the ammunition that exploded.

“Force of the explosion was so great that it knocked the needle off the seismograph at the University of California and led people in Oakland to think they had been bombed by the Japanese….

“The Red Cross was alerted and prepared to take care of as many as 1500 persons from Port Chicago. The little town virtually was evacuated, and between 150 and 200 homes appeared to be uninhabitable. Not a single building in the town escaped damage, and most were described as “complete losses.” Thousands of dollars more damage was done in Martinez, but it apparently confined itself largely to broken windows….

“Shells were hurled as far as Walnut Creek….

“The Navy said that the two ammunition ships did not blow to bits, but it was obvious that everything above the waterline on both vessels had been torn to pieces.

“Glass and debris littered streets in most of Contra Costa County, and at an early hour today men, women and children were walking the streets wearing bloody bandages. Military police and shore patrol helped them to dressing stations, where nurses and doctors gave first aid.

“Volunteer workers poured in from all parts of Alameda. Solano and Contra Costa counties, but the Army and Navy took over the situation and conducted operations after the first hour….

“A double line of vehicles, principally ambulances and hearses, was parked bumper to bumper for more than a mile west of the scene….

“Worse Than ’06 Quake”

“….Undertaking parlors as far away as Stockton received bodies before they could call in attendants. Identification at first was virtually impossible….

“Every type of vehicle, from taxicabs to trucks, was pressed into service to move the dead and injured. The cars formed a steady parade through the depot gates, which were flood-lighted to aid the sentries….” (Oakland Tribune, CA. “300 Die in Bay Arms Ship Blast. Port Chicago Razed by 2-Ship Explosion.” 7-18-1944, pp. 1-2.)

July 18: “Pittsburg, Calif., July 18 – At least two-thirds of the plate glass windows in downtown area stores were blown out by the concussion of the Port Chicago munitions blast last night. Port Chicago is about four miles from here….

“A short time after the explosion, authorities saw a man attempting to steal a watch from a jewelry store window. To prevent such looting, Chief of Police Sal Jimmo [unclear] called out his auxiliary police force and asked the Army to send armed troops from Camp Stoneman to help guard the stores. Merchants then were summoned, and all of the display windows were cleaned out early today….

“A large number of Pittsburg residents were treated for cuts received from flying glass at the time of the explosion…” (Oakland Tribune, CA. “Pittsburg Hit Hard by Blast.” 7-18-1944, p. 2.)

Sources

American Merchant Marine at War. Chronological List of Ships Sunk or Damaged during 1944. Accessed 6-2-2021 at: http://www.usmm.org/sunk44.html#anchor412649

Cornell, James. The Great International Disaster Book (Third Edition). New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1982.

History.com. Shockwave. “Explosion at Port Chicago.” Accessed at: http://www.history.com/minisite.do?content_type=Minisite_Generic&content_type_id=56904&display_order=3&mini_id=56902

History.com. This Day in History, Disaster, July 17, 1944. “Port Chicago Disaster.” Accessed 12/7/2008 at: http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&displayDate=07/17&categoryId=disaster

Moran, Edward P. Jr. Explosive Accident Summary: World War II. DoD Explosives Safety Board, Aug 1992. Accessed 4-19-2013: http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ADA507027

National Fire Protection Association. Key Dates in Fire History. 1996. Accessed 2010 at: http://www.nfpa.org/itemDetail.asp?categoryID=1352&itemID=30955&URL=Research%20&%20Reports/Fire%20statistics/Key%20dates%20in%20fire%20history&cookie%5Ftest=1

National Fire Protection Association. Spreadsheet of 10+ Fatality Fires, as of 3-15-2013. Email attachment to Wayne Blanchard.

National Fire Protection Association (John Hall, Jr.). U.S. Unintentional Fire Death Rates by State. Quincy, MA: NFPA, 31 pages, December 2008.

National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial (webpage). Accessed 5-17-2020 at: https://www.nps.gov/poch/index.htm

Oakland Tribune, CA. “300 Die in Bay Arms Ship Blast. Port Chicago Razed by 2-Ship Explosion.” 7-18-1944, pp. 1-2. http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=33943639&sterm

Oakland Tribune, CA. “Pittsburg Hit Hard by Blast.” 7-18-1944, p. 2. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=33498545&sterm=port+chicago

United States Department of the Navy, Naval Historical Center. See “Casualties: US Navy and Marine Corps Personnel Killed and Injured in Selected Accidents and Other Incidents Not Directly the Result of Enemy Action.” Washington, DC: Washington Navy Yard. Accessed at: http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/NHC/accidents.htm