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Disaster At SeaBy Paul Gryniewicz
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| Forty-nine years
ago, April 26, 1952 tragedy struck the United States
Navy. That night the USS Noxubee was home bound from
Tripoli, Libya to Norfolk, Virginia following a nine
month long Med Cruise. She was just north of the Azores
Islands when during the mid-watch an urgent message from
Atlantic Fleet ordered Noxubee to rendezvous with the
aircraft carrier USS Wasp and render assistance.
The Wasp and her escorts were heading to the Med and were conducting flight operations. Shortly after 2300 hours Wasp turned into the wind and increased speed to 27 kts. to recover aircraft. One of the escorts, USS Hobson, DMS 26, was out of position and before anyone could do anything, she crossed under the Wasp's bow. The Wasp struck the Hobson just aft the number two stack and cut her in two. The Wasp and her escorts immediately went to work to rescue the crew and before she cleared the wreckage was picking up survivors. The Hobson sank quickly. In less then four minutes she was gone taking with her 176 men out of a crew of 237. Only 61 cold, oil-soaked survivors were rescued. The crash tore a huge, jagged 90 foot section from the Wasp's bow forcing her to steam backwards the entire 1200 miles back to New York. Because of the Wasp's steering difficulties and the winds picking up to 25 kts. the next day, Noxubee's orders were changed. She was directed to proceed directly to the Brooklyn Navy Yard and wait for the Wasp. The Wasp limped into port a few days latter. To everyone who saw her, including Noxubee Seaman Tom Hayes, she was a terrible sight. The first thing that Tom and everyone else in the Navy Yard noticed was that the 90 ft. gash in her bow was right about at the height of a destroyer's main deck. As soon as possible Noxubee went along side the Wasp and off loaded some 300,000 gallons of avgas and quickly departed for Norfolk. The Wasp then went into dry dock for repairs and in just a couple of weeks was back on her way to the Med. But a ship with 176 crewmen was on the bottom of the Atlantic and would never sail again. Tom Hayes sums it up best when he said, "It's really sad, all those guys killed like that and after a couple of years it's all forgotten about, except by the families , of course, who will never forget." --Story based on information provided by Tom Hayes. |
On Tuesday, November 15, 1955, the crew of the
U.S.S. Noxubee AOG-56 was enjoying a few days of
well-earned liberty in Barcelona, Spain, when
orders arrived to proceed immediately to Naples,
Italy. Preparations were made quickly, and the
ship was soon underway. Leaving Barcelona, the
weather was sunny and warm, the Mediterranean Sea
was calm and blue. But by nightfall, a fearsome
winter gale seemed to come out of nowhere to smack
the ship. Back in those days, weather reporting
was not nearly as accurate as it is today, so the
storm took everyone by surprise. The Med turned
nasty as the sea appeared to merge with the sky.
Twenty-foot waves and high winds pounded the ship.
As typical of an AOG, the Noxubee was soon rolling
from side to side, and waves were breaking across
the tank deck catwalk. The lower tank deck was
constantly swept by the waves with each new roll
of the ship.
Around breakfast time on Wednesday, a crewman
struggling to make his way aft across the catwalk
to the mess decks noted that the hoses stored on
the port side tank deck had broken free and were
adrift. Each new wave threatened to carry them
over the side. The bridge was notified, and they
in turn called down to the engine room to have
someone secure the loose hoses before they were
gone for good or worse yet fouled the screws.
Fully aware of the dangers to both the ship and
himself, Leo Evens EM 1, took on the job. Dressed
in full foul-weather gear he went down to the
hoses on the well deck, the ship rolled as a wave
swept the length of the deck and carried Evans
overboard. He did not even have a chance to grab
for one of the lifelines. One second he was there
and the next second he was gone.
Horrified crew members saw Evans as he was swept
over the side. "Man Overboard" sounded
throughout the ship. The OOD immediately took
appropriate action by swinging the ship around to
its reciprocal course and began making rescue pass
at Leo. Captain LT Richard Demondy and XO LTjg Jim
Full arrived on the bridge as soon as the alarm
sounded. The captain assumed the conn and all
stations reported manned and ready. Leo was
spotted on a crest of a wave and remained in view
for a full 15 minutes. During that time the ship,
in spite of the bad weather, made two passes at
Leo desperately trying to get a line to him. But
sadly time ran out and on a third pass several of
his shipamtes watched him vanish beneath the
waves.