S.S. El Estero & the Manhattan Disaster (that almost happened)

[Story]

This came up in a news feed
http://www.fox17online.com/videogallery/70368239/News/Hidden-History-SS-El-Estero-06-08

The SS El Estero was an antiquated freighter of Panamanian registry that was kept in service carrying war supplies from the United States to Europe during World War II, including participation in Convoy PQ 13 in March 1942. On April 24, 1943, she had completed taking on 1,365 tons of ammunition and bombs when a fire broke out in her engine compartment.[2] Two other loaded ammunition ships were tied up near her at Caven Point pier 40.6815°N 74.067°W[3] in Bayonne, New Jersey, across the New York Harbor from Manhattan and Brooklyn. Including loaded railroad cars that were on the pier, over 5000 tons of explosives, comparable to a tactical nuclear weapon, could have been detonated in a potential explosion and flattened everything in a 5-mile radius.[4]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_El_Estero

See also
The El Estero Fire and How the United States Coast Guard Helped Save New York Harbor

http://www.coastguardchannel.com/spclFeatures/cghistory/events/ElEstero.shtml

Note that the John J. Harvey fireboat also was pulled out of museum status on 11 September 2001
http://www.fireboat.org/

 

[Stearmen]

The Black Tom munition explosion of WWI may interest you! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Tom_explosion estimated to be equivalent to a magnitude 5.0 earthquake. Another WWII disaster was Port Chicago explosion. July 17, 1944 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_Chicago_disaster 320 were killed in that explosion. Only 51 bodies could be identified.

 

[Otter]

Thanks for the links, I knew about Port Chicago but not aabout the El Estero, as the article said, one heck of a first day on the job for John Stanley!

 

[Shangas]

Read up on the Halifax Explosion of 1917. Until Hiroshima, it was the biggest explosion in the world.

To this day, it remains the biggest accidental exposion.

 

[Miss Moonlight]

Thank you so much for posting this. I hadn't heard of it. And I find that the Coast Gaurd are so often the unsung heroes of the military. I don't think people have any idea about how much they do, and have done.

 

[RHY]

To get an idea of what a disaster could have been in this case, take some time to look at the West Lock Disaster on Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Loch_Disaster