Navy Commemorates the sinking of USS San Diego
The US Navy commemorated the sinking of the USS San Diego (ACR 6), Pennsylvania-class armored cruiser, off the coast of New York a hundred years ago last week. The ship was in route to meet up with a convoy it was to escort to Europe when an explosion occurred on the port side near the port side engine and below the waater line.
The source of the explosion is still a mystery. The captain, Harley H. Christy, claimed that it was a torpedo from a German submarine, the Naval Court of Inquiry determined that it was a German mine that caused the explosion and sank the cruiser in 28 minutes.
According to Wiki, six sailors lost their lives, out of a crew of 80 officers 745 enlisted 64 Marines;
Two men were killed instantly when the explosion occurred, a crewman who had been oiling the port propeller shaft was never seen again, a man was killed by one of the smokestacks breaking loose as the ship capsized, one was killed when a liferaft fell on his head, and the sixth was trapped inside the crow’s nest and drowned.
There’s video of the ceremony at DVIDS;
The crew aboard the USNS Grasp (T-ARS-51) and Sailors assigned to Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit (MDSU) 2 participate in a wreath-laying ceremony to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the USS San Diego (ACR 6).
Category: We Remember
Fair winds and following seas forever, brave souls.
Black Shoe brethren, help the Airdale out. Thought it was bad luck to rename ships after commissioning.
https://www.caribbean-pirates.com/naming_and_denaming_a_ship.php
God rest them all well.
Almost a miracle with so few deaths with a ship of that size sinking so quickly. They must have trained well.
That’s what I was thinking. Almost 1,000 men aboard and only lost 6 to a complete loss of the ship.
Three days later, on 21 July 1918, a German U-boot submarine fired torpedos which hit in Orleans, MA. A recent article, ‘German U-boat brought WWI home to U.S’, in the “San Francisco Chronicle” about this event was published on 18 July 2018.
https://www.nps.gov/articles/wwi-caco.htm “The War Reaches Home: Attack on Cape Cod’
Fair winds and following seas to the 6 who died.
Missed this earlier. Late to the game. Sorry.
Also late to this one, due to yesterday being my daughter’s first birthday party. The San Diego Maritime Museum has exhibits on both cruisers named San Diego, ACR-6 and CL-53.