A press blackout was enforced and naval personnel
were ordered not to talk about the incident. The
disaster was classified until 1960 and is therefore not well known.
Posted on 05/21/2019 6:47:12 AM PDT by Bull Snipe
1944: During preparations for the invasion of Saipan, accidental ordnance blasts on LST 353 at West Loch, Pearl Harbor, kills 163 and injures 396. Six tank landing ships, three tank landing craft, and 17 track landing vehicles are destroyed in explosions and fires.
One of the Japanese mini submarines that entered Pearl on Dec 7 was un-accounted for. One theory is that the sub was scuttled by it’s crew near the location of the explosions. It hull was tore up in the explosions and was unrecognizable when the damaged ships were salvaged for scrap.
During the salvage and removal of the wrecks from West Loch, the U.S. Navy found remains of a Japanese midget submarine. Researchers now believe this to be the fifth Japanese midget submarine used in the attack in December 1941.
Thanks
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