50 Years Ago Today, Mullinnix Experiences First Fire!
(Excerpt from “The Last Gun Ship - History of USS Mullinnix DD-944” - A Historical Novel By Frank A. Wood)
Yet another Mullinnix first was experienced at 1800 on 16 September when FN Harrell reported a fire in the aft engine room. Fire party was called away, fire department on base alerted, as well as the base commander per Navy regulations. The ‘canvas and rag’ fire at the bottom of the ladder was put out by fire party two minutes after the base fire department arrived on the pier. No apparent damage was caused nor the cause.
This fire ‘drill’ was witnessed by COMCARDIV 18 and the crew of the USS Leyte CVS-32 from a nearby pier. Unbeknownst to these ‘witnesses’, their battle-hardened ship would be decommissioned the following May. The Leyte, a 27,100-ton Ticonderoga class aircraft carrier was built at Newport News, Virginia and commissioned in April 1946. She operated off Korea from October 1950 into January 1951, providing nearly 4000 aircraft sorties to support UN forces ashore. During this cruise, one of her aviators, LTJG Thomas J. Hudner, Jr., performed an act of heroism for which he was awarded the Medal of Honor.
Five years earlier, on 16 October 1953, while in the same Boston Naval Shipyard undergoing conversion, she suffered an explosion and fire that killed 37 men. She was decommissioned in May 1959, and simultaneously reclassified as an aircraft transport, with the new hull number AVT-10. She would remain in the reserve fleet for another decade and was sold for scrapping in September 1970.
To be continued…
Cheers,
Woody
Yet another Mullinnix first was experienced at 1800 on 16 September when FN Harrell reported a fire in the aft engine room. Fire party was called away, fire department on base alerted, as well as the base commander per Navy regulations. The ‘canvas and rag’ fire at the bottom of the ladder was put out by fire party two minutes after the base fire department arrived on the pier. No apparent damage was caused nor the cause.
This fire ‘drill’ was witnessed by COMCARDIV 18 and the crew of the USS Leyte CVS-32 from a nearby pier. Unbeknownst to these ‘witnesses’, their battle-hardened ship would be decommissioned the following May. The Leyte, a 27,100-ton Ticonderoga class aircraft carrier was built at Newport News, Virginia and commissioned in April 1946. She operated off Korea from October 1950 into January 1951, providing nearly 4000 aircraft sorties to support UN forces ashore. During this cruise, one of her aviators, LTJG Thomas J. Hudner, Jr., performed an act of heroism for which he was awarded the Medal of Honor.
Five years earlier, on 16 October 1953, while in the same Boston Naval Shipyard undergoing conversion, she suffered an explosion and fire that killed 37 men. She was decommissioned in May 1959, and simultaneously reclassified as an aircraft transport, with the new hull number AVT-10. She would remain in the reserve fleet for another decade and was sold for scrapping in September 1970.
To be continued…
Cheers,
Woody
posted by Frank A. Wood at 10:24
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