The Honda Point Disaster

USA / California / Lompoc /
 military, place with historical importance, shipwreck, destroyer (ship), interesting place, draw only border, United States Navy
On September 8th, 1923 the worst peacetime loss of US Navy Ships occurred here at Honda Point when 10 US Destroyers ran head-on into the coast at 20 knots.

The ships were operating as part of Destroyer Squadron 11 and were undergoing simulated wargame exercises when the incident occurred. Of the 10 ships to hit the rocks, 7 were total losses with 23 crewmen dead, along with numerous injuries. The USS Young suffered 20 casualties when the ship capsized almost immediately after hitting the rocks. The ships were written off as total losses shortly after the groundings and were stripped of all valuable material before being sold to scrappers. Due to the difficult location of the wrecks and the effects of the pounding pacific surf on the ships hulls, no scrapping was ever performed and the ships were left to their fate.

Several factors have been blamed for the disaster, ranging from poor navigation and failure to take proper precautions to abnormally strong currents caused by a earthquake in Tokyo. Ultimately, a Navy court ruled it was the fault of the Captains and Navigators on each ship, several of whom were court martialed.

Today, the site is marked with a memorial and the remains of each ship are still onsite.

Ships Lost:
USS Delphy (DD-261)
www.navsource.org/archives/05/261.htm
USS Chauncey (DD-296)
www.navsource.org/archives/05/296.htm
USS Fuller (DD-297)
www.navsource.org/archives/05/297.htm
USS Woodbury (DD-309)
www.navsource.org/archives/05/309.htm
USS S.P. Lee (DD-310)
www.navsource.org/archives/05/310.htm
USS Nicholas (DD-311)
www.navsource.org/archives/05/311.htm
USS Young (DD-312)
www.navsource.org/archives/05/312.htm


www.history.navy.mil/photos/events/ev-1920s/ev-1923/hon...

www.pointhondamemorial.org/

www.hazegray.org/features/honda/
Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_Point_Disaster
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   34°36'18"N   120°38'39"W

Comments

  • The offshore outcropping that the Woodbury grounded on is known today as Woodbury Rock on nautical charts.
This article was last modified 12 years ago