USN
Ashtabula Class
Auxiliary Oiler
Tons
24,400
Dimensions
553' length
75' beam
Crew
Capt. Philip G. Beck
20 officers
278 enlisted men
1944
Simon Harris
November 20, 1944
Chip Lambert 2001
Ship History
Comissioned May 18, 1944.
Wartime History
USS. Mississinewa refueled ships in the South Pacific during
WWII.
Kaiten Mannded Torpedo Attack
On November 20, 1944 the ship had 440,000 gallons of aviation
gasoline and a full load of fuel oil in Urushi Anchorage at Ulithi.
Aviation fuel had been pumped from the #3 wing and centerline tanks
and bow wing tanks #1 and #2. On orders from the captain, these tanks
had not been purged (filled with seawater).
At 04:54AM a (No 3) Kaiten manned torpedo piloted by Ensign Imanishi is launched from I-36 off the Ulithi Anchorage. At 5:45AM, the Kaiten explodes against the USS Mississinewa. A secondary explosion, presumably the 5-inch ammunition magazine, occurred at 6:05 AM.
Rescue efforts
63 men (3 officers and 60 enlisted men) died in the attack, most in the
compartments forward of the bridge, and forward crew berthing when it was consumed
with flames. Narby ships, a Kingfisher aircraft and the fleet tug USS Munsee,
ATF-107, were involved in the rescue of her crew. As USS Munsee headed southwest
down the Urushi anchorage, Storekeeper 2nd Class Simon "Sid" Harris
photographed the rescue effort from the deck, and the buring, sinking ship.
Sinking History
By 8:30 AM, the fires were extinguished, but her bow dipped
below the surface. Rescue efforts were abandoned, and the ship slowly
rolled to the port. It continued to roll as the stern rose, displaying
its twin, four-bladed screws and then disappeared. The ship was the
only US Navy ship sunk by Kaiten attack alone.
Veteran John
A. Mair recalls:
"I was awaked about 5:45 AM on the morning by a violent explosion forward
that shook the ship from bow to stern. The explosion threw me off the cot and
I landed on the well deck with a thud! My view forward was obscured by the
cargo deck over my head but I knew something terrible had happened! My first
thought was that a crew member had been smoking a cigarette over the forward
aviation gasoline storage tanks and caused a tremendous accident. I did not realize
that the explosion was a result of a Japanese attack!"
Shipwreck
After searching from March 27 to April 6 2001, the ship
was located - 57 years after its sinking by Americans Chip
and Pam Lambert, in 130' of water.
Search for Kaiten Wreckage
At this time, no confirmed
pieces of the kaiten has been identified. Jim
Delgado and Clive Cussler are devoting an International National
Geographic Sea Hunter show to this question. They looked extensively
for the kaiten but did not find any confirmed pieces. The
trip was shortened because of a typhoon.
Salvage of Oil
The 1.8 million gallons of
oil was barged back to Singapore where
it was sold for $0.50/gallon to help cover the $11 million salvage
costs. It was re-refined
and in use today.
The Hunt for the
Last Mystery Shipwreck
Veteran
John A. Mair
Official USS Mississinewa Website
