The SS ''Quinault Victory'' was the thirty-first Victory ship built by Oregon Shipbuilding Corporation in Portland, Oregon under the auspices of the Emergency Shipbuilding Program in support of America's involvement in World War II. Laid-down on 3 May 1944 and launched on 17 JuneOregon Journal June 19, 1944 final edition.), ''Quinault Victory'' was delivered to the War Shipping Administration and subsequently leased to the United States Lines Company.

Port Chicago, California

On July 11, 1944 ''Quinault Victory '' sailed from Portland arriving at the Shell Oil Company's Martinez, California refinery on July 17, 1944 where she took on a partial load of

fuel oil Fuel oil is any of various fractions obtained from the distillation of petroleum (crude oil). Such oils include distillates (the lighter fractions) and residues (the heavier fractions). Fuel oils include heavy fuel oil, marine fuel oil (MFO), bun ...

. Some of the oil taken aboard was of a type that released light hydrocarbon gas on agitation, heating, or standing. This could have resulted in formation of an explosive mixture in the confined air space above the oil in the tanks. Prior to being sent to Martinez for a pre-loading inspection was made by the Port Director's officers and the Captain of the Port's office, and no defects were noted. Port Chicago disaster, pier diagram

Upon leaving Martinez she sailed up Suisun Bay to Port Chicago Naval

Magazine A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...

, California arriving approximately 6:00 PM (Pacific War Time) in preparation for her maiden voyage. Some difficulty was experienced in mooring her due to winds and tides. She was moored on the starboard side headed east at the outboard berth across from the SS ''E.A. Bryan'', a Liberty ship. Upon arrival at Port Chicago, California both the loading officer and his assistants visited the ship, gave copies of pertinent

magazine A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...

orders to the master, inspected some of the holds and saw that the ship was being properly rigged for loading. The number 5 cargo hold was not being rigged, as it was not to be loaded that night. As a new ship, this was the first time the ''Quinault Victory'' had been rigged for loading. Trouble was experienced with

shackle A shackle (or shacklebolt), also known as a gyve, is a U-shaped piece of metal secured with a clevis pin or bolt across the opening, or a hinged metal loop secured with a quick-release locking pin mechanism. The term also applies to handcuffs ...

s and preventer guys as they were non-standard. Winding on some of the winches were on backwards and had to be corrected. Loading normally have started at midnight. Dunnage

ammunition Ammunition (informally ammo) is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. Ammunition is both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines) and the component parts of other weap ...

and loaded railcars were parked on the pier for loading to the ships. The railcars slated for ''Quinault Victory'' contained 253 tons of

bomb A bomb is an explosive weapon that uses the Exothermic process, exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy. Detonations inflict damage principally through ground- and atmosphere-t ...

s and 5 inch projectiles for

5"/25 caliber gun The 5"/25 caliber gun (spoken "five-inch-twenty-five-caliber") entered service as the standard heavy anti-aircraft (AA) gun for United States Washington Naval Treaty cruisers commissioned in the 1920s and 1930s. The goal of the 5"/25 design was ...

s. Across the pier the ''E.A. Bryan'' was already loaded with 6,064 tons of ammunition and had an additional 176 tons on the pier, including 60 tons of incendiary clusters, to be loaded before departing.

Port Chicago disaster

On July 17, 1944, at 10:18 p.m., two major

explosion An explosion is a rapid expansion in volume associated with an extreme outward release of energy, usually with the generation of high temperatures and release of high-pressure gases. Supersonic explosions created by high explosives are known ...

s occurred 6 seconds apart in what became known as the Port Chicago disaster. The detonation of 4,600 tons of munitions being loaded onto the ''Quinault Victory'' and ''E.A. Bryan'', registered at a magnitude of 3.4 on the

seismograph A seismometer is an instrument that responds to ground noises and shaking such as caused by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and explosions. They are usually combined with a timing device and a recording device to form a seismograph. The output ...

at the University of California, Berkeley, some 20 miles away. The force of the explosions lifted the ''Quinault Victory'' out of the water, and she landed away upside-down and facing the opposite direction. The ''E.A. Bryan'' was essentially vaporized, as there were no identifiable remains of her following the explosions. 320 sailors and dockworkers were killed and 390 were injured, making it the worst U.S. home front disaster of World War II. The span of only twelve weeks between the ship's keel being laid and the disaster may make ''Quinault Victory'' the most short-lived of all the Victory ships. The names of those killed aboard ''Quinault Victory'' are listed at the Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial which was dedicated in 1994. RedOakVictory-2013-07-20

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Quinault Victory, SS Victory ships Ships built in Portland, Oregon Merchant ships of the United States United States Merchant Marine 1944 ships World War II auxiliary ships of the United States World War II merchant ships of the United States 1944 disasters in the United States Industrial fires and explosions in the United States History of Contra Costa County, California Transportation disasters in California Maritime incidents in July 1944 20th-century military history of the United States Non-combat naval accidents Ship fires World War II shipwrecks in the Pacific Ocean

Port Chicago, California

Port Chicago disaster

See also

References