Witness History: #5 - USS Mississinewa 1944

USS Mississinewa sinking at the Ulithi Atoll on 20 November 1944

Todays picture captures the seen of the sinking USS Mississinewa, a American Cimarron-class oiler. It was sunk while anchoring off the coast of Mogmog Island, where it was waiting for further instructions.

The ship is said to have been hit by a Japanese manned torpedo of the "Kaiten" type. The pictures below come from the U.S Navy archives and were captured from nearby navy ships.

The first picture makes you think about a bomb rather than a burning ship that has been hit by a torpedo. That is, because four days before, the USS Mississinewa was filled up to full capacity, meaning that it carried roughly 404,000 US gallons of aviation gas, 9,000 barrels of diesel fuel, and 90,000 barrels of fuel oil. Upon burning, these quantities produce enormous amounts of pollution as well as a equally enormous trail of smoke.

Interestingly, the Mississinewa received 4 battlestars for her actions in WW2, although it only served for about 2 years. This means that it was quite busy during those two years. During this tragedy, 63 men died as well as the pilot of the Kaiten torpedo. The second picture shows the tanker as it overturns, merely a few minutes after it was hit.

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^{Smoke trail of the burning USS Mississinewa as seen from distance}

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^{The USS Mississinewa overturning roughly five minutes after the torpedo impact}

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Picture source (1&2): http://www.navsource.org/archives/
Information: wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Mississinewa

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