USS Solar (DE-221) Explosion Site - April 30th, 1946

 site - to be removed, military, explosion site, draw only border, historical layer / disappeared object, United States Navy

USS Solar was a Buckley Class Destroyer Escort laid down at the Philadelphia Navy Yard in February 1943 and commissioned into the US Navy's Atlantic Fleet in February 1944.

Spending her wartime service engaged as a Convoy Escort and Anti-Submarine ship, the Solar ranged as far East as Oran, Algeria while seeing four convoys from the US to the Mediterranean and back throughout 1944 and into 1945. At sea on V-E Day, the Solar was ordered to be converted to a Radar Picket Destroyer Escort for eventual duty against Japan, but by the time she was able to enter the Boston Naval Shipyard the Second World War had ended with V-J Day.

After steaming South to Guantanamo Bay for a refresher cruise, the Solar was reassigned to be the Training Group Flagship and after spending Navy Day in October 1945 at Philadelphia steamed North for her new duty as a Sonar Test Ship. Arriving at the Leonardo Piers on the morning of April 30th, 1946 following a short weapons testing cruise, the crew of the Solar began offloading their ammunition onto pierside railcars in preparation to enter New York Harbor.

The discharge operation proceeded normally throughout the morning until shortly after 1130hrs, when the ship suffered an explosion in her forward #2 turret ammunition handling room, just forward of her bridge. The first explosion was followed immediately by two more larger explosions, the force of which obliterated the fore section of the Solar, peeling her armored deck up and backwards over her bridge like a tin can. 165 crew and dockworkers lost their lives and another 65 men were injured and the Solar sank bow-first at the pier, wreathed in flames and leaking oil. As small detonations continued to rock the ship, the Solar was ordered abandoned.

By 1500hrs on the 30th, fireboats and firefighters had brought the flames on the ship under control, and salvage operations began to correct the ships list and get her refloated before she capsized and obstructed the pier. By May 1946, salvage operations removed the entire superstructure of the Solar to right her list and her damaged hull compartments sealed off, enabling the damaged ship to be towed to the Brooklyn Navy Yard where she decommissioned on May 21st, 1946. Stripped of all usable equipment for her active sisterships, the hulk of the Solar was then towed some 100 miles off the coast of Long Island and scuttled in 700 fathoms on June 9th 1946.

www.navsource.org/archives/06/221.htm