USS Mississinewa (AO-59)

The USS Mississinewa (AO-59) was the first of two U.S. Navy ships of the name Mississinewa. She was a T3-S2-A3 Auxiliary Oiler of the United States Navy, laid down 5 October 1943 by the Bethlehem Sparrows Point Shipyard, Inc., Sparrows Point, Maryland; launched 28 March 1944; sponsored by Miss Margaret Pence; and commissioned 18 May 1944, The "Mississinewa" was commanded by Captain Philip G. Beck.

World War II

USS "Mississinewa" began her brief but active wartime service 18 June 1944. Having completed shakedown in the Chesapeake Bay, she sailed for Aruba, Netherland West Indies, to take on her first cargo. Filling her cargo tanks 23 and 24 June she continued on to the Pacific Ocean, arriving Pearl Harbor 10 July. As a unit of ServRon 10, she then steamed to Eniwetok where she first fueled ships of the 3d Fleet. On 25 August she got underway for Manus where she supplied fuel and stores and delivered mail to ships of TF 38, the fast carrier force, 32 and 31 during the assault and occupation of the Palaus.

Returning to Manus 30 September, she replenished her tanks and again headed north to refuel TF 38 as that force struck at Japanese shipping and shore installation in the Philippines, on Taiwan, and in the Ryukyus in preparation for the Philippine campaign. On 19 October, having emptied her tanks into ships scheduled to take part in the landings at Leyte, she sailed to Ulithi, her new base. Thence in early November USS "Mississinewa" sailed her last fueling at sea assignment, returning on the 15th.

The next day she replenished her cargo tanks, filling them almost to capacity with 404,000 gallons af aviation gas, 9,000 barrels of diesel oil, and 90,000 barrels of fuel oil. Four days later, 20 November, she was still anchored in berth No. 131. At 0547, shortly after reveille, a heavy explosion rocked the oiler. Massive flames immediately burst from midship forward. Fanned by a light wind, the fire spread aft quickly. A few minutes after the first explosion, the fires reached the after magazine and another explosion, heavier than the first, tore through the ship. The ship was abandoned and soon enveloped in flames over 100 feet high. At about 0900 the ship slowly turned over and disappeared. Fifteen minutes later the fire on the water was out and Ulithi anchorage was again quiet. This ship was the first to be hit by a Japanese manned Kaiten torpedo The ship sank with a loss of 63 hands as well as the Japanese torpedo pilot.

Of the five kaiten sent against US ships, only one was successful, but the explosion and fire from the USS "Mississinewa" was so great that the Japanese Naval Command back in Tokyo were erroneously informed that three aircraft carriers were hit. This resulted in an expansion of the kaiten program, yet it would not significantly affect the war. The USS "Mississinewa" was hit in the front starboard bow area, the kaiten probably released by Japanese mother sub I-36 just outside Ulithi Lagoon, Palau.

"Mississinewa" received four battle stars for World War II service.

Recent history

On April 6, 2001, after a search, the hulk of the ship was found again. It is now treated as a memorial for over 50 sailors whose remains are still there. A full narrative of the wreck's discovery, with details of the ship's loss and photographs of the initial exploration dives, is documented on the website [http://bentprop.org/mis/mis01.htm Bentprop.org] .

Later in 2001, in response to concerns voiced by the local government about oil being released from the site, the U.S. Navy led a survey dive to determine the status of the wreck and the potential for environmental damage from the deteriorating hulk. Divers confirmed that the potential for a large release of the tanker's cargo fuel made a recovery attempt necessary. A report from that survey expedition is posted on the at [http://www.supsalv.org/00c2_posseA0_59.asp?destPage=00c2 Supervisor of Salvage and Diving] website

In February 2003, a US Navy salvage team led an expedition to recover as much oil as possible. Divers used "hot taps" to drill into the oil tanks and removed all accessible oil, nearly 2 million gallons, thus rendering the wreck safe once more. This final expedition is also documented on the [http://www.supsalv.org/ SupSalv] website and is available [http://www.supsalv.org/essm/ppt/MISS_Web_Summary.ppt#1 here] .

References

*DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/m12/mississinewa-i.htm
* Mair, Michael "Oil, Fire and Fate: The Sinking of the USS Mississinewa AO-59 in WWII by Japan's Secret Weapon" ©2007. Seven Locks Press, Santa Ana, California. ISBN 978-0-9790950-1-6

External links

* [http://www.navsource.org/archives/09/19059.htm navsource.org: USS "Mississinewa"]
* [http://www.ussmississinewa.com/home.html U.S.S. Mississinewa, AO-59 Web Site]
* [http://navy.memorieshop.com/Mississinewa/WWII.html On November 20, 1944, at Ulithi Atoll, the Mississinewa was sunk]
* [http://bentprop.org/mis/mis01.htm Report of the initial wreck dives in April 2001 on Bentprop.org]
* [http://www.supsalv.org/00c2_posseA0_59.asp?destPage=00c2 Report of U.S. Navy survey dive expedition in August 2001]
* [http://www.supsalv.org/essm/ppt/MISS_Web_Summary.ppt Report of U.S. Navy oil recovery dives in February 2003]