NAVY'S HUSHED-UP TRAGEDY AT WEST LOCH

Sea Classics, Nov 2005 by Oliver, A Alan

A second explosion sent Hoyt sprawling, knocking him senseless for several minutes. When he came to, Hoyt somehow had stumbled across LST-39 and through the passageway of LST-43, noting that his steel helmet had been blown off. Still dazed, he moved among the men valiantly trying to fight the fires, but had difficulty recalling the exact order of events amid the chaos of the continuing explosions, which now included detonations of the Marine's .30-cal ammunition and phosphorus shells.

"...PANICKED SAILORS ABANDONED SHIP PREMATURELY"

Trying to gain some semblance of order as he made his way through the scorching Dante-like infernos, Hoyt noticed that LST-224 had managed to free itself and get underway, soon followed by LST-274 and LST-205 whose fires had been knocked down by the skilled handling of a fireboat which managed to force its stubby bow between them. Returning to LST-225, Hoyt now realized it had been virtually abandoned, but managed to get the fire boats to turn their hoses on its blazing deck, thereby saving both it and adjoining LST-205. By then, Hoyt claimed that now abandoned LST-39 had drifted down to Tare 9 out of control, its raging wind-driven fires also setting LST-480 aflame as it crossed its bow. Already sunk was LST-353, with three of the middle vessels at Tare 8 - blazing LSTs -179, -43 and -69 - also haplessly drifting in the stiff afternoon breeze into the remaining vessels moored at Tare 9. The swift intervention of several fearless tugs managed to move the drifting ships out of harm's way; avoiding further damage at Tare 9.

Concluding his testimony, Hoyt was extremely critical of those crews which, in his opinion, prematurely abandoned ship, or who in their panic made insufficient efforts to save their vessels. As proof of his contention, Hoyt cited the exemplary actions of LST-274 which was raked by more fires and damage than any other ship yet who managed to survive the maelstrom because of the crew's dedication to keep their stricken vessel afloat long enough to allow it to beach at Walker Bay along with his abandoned flagship, LST-225.

Before Hoyt's testimony concluded, the Court established several factors which in the final analysis proved to be key causes of the tragedy. The Court found that pre-loading of the ships with such dangerous cargoes could not be avoided in wartime. There simply was no other way or manner to store the necessary items aboard amphibious vessels packed to their limits with required ordnance and fuels. Gasoline was volatile regardless of where or how it was stored, as were explosive munitions. Under combat conditions, the Court was advised it was often necessary to compromise certain elements of safety. In the Court's findings, the same logic was applied to the crowded nesting of the ships at West Loch. Jammed as they were by virtue of the pre-invasion buildup, that was the only way the ships could be moored. In that regard, it was noted the bollards on the piers were of insufficient size and strength to keep the weight of the ships from breaking loose in the aftermath of the explosions. After a week of detailed testimony and cross examination by Judge Advocate Capt. Elmer Tarbutton, USN, the Court recommended in its carefully drawn deliberations that LSTs no longer be nested in order to avoid future disasters of this nature. However, in his later review of the Court's findings, Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz took great exception to their resolutions saying: "...facilities at Pearl Harbor were too limited and that nesting was absolutely necessary." To that statement, Nimitz adamantly added, "Such practices are a calculated risk that must be accepted [in wartime]."