Unluckiest Ship in US Navy History

Weatherman2020

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USS William D. Porter (DD-579)


On 12 November 1943, she departed Norfolk to rendezvous with the Battleship USS Iowa which was carrying President FDR. Her anchor tore the railing and lifeboat mounts off a docked sister destroyer while maneuvering astern.

The next day a depth charge fell off the deck of William D. Porter and fell into the rough sea and exploded, causing Iowa and the other escort ships to take evasive maneuvers under the assumption that the task force had come under attack by German U-boats.

The day after that at the request of FDR, a simulated torpedo attack was made against the Iowa. Porter, along with the other escort ships, took part. This drill suddenly went awry when a torpedo from mount #2 aboard William D. Porter discharged from its tube and headed toward Iowa. With the President on board. At first Porter attempted to warn Iowa using lights to send the message. However, the destroyer first misidentified the direction of the torpedo and then relayed the wrong message, informing Iowa that Porter was backing up, rather than that a torpedo was in the water. Radio silence then had to be broken to warn the Iowa. Fortunately for all they were able to take successful evasive action when the torpedo exploded in the wake of Iowa. Rumor has it the Iowa aimed her guns at Porter believing they were attempting to assassinate FDR.

Porter was then ordered to Bermuda for a hearing on the Iowa incident. The Captain kept his ship and the torpedo man was sentenced to hard labor. FDR intervened because it was an accident in his view.

Porter was then transferred to Alaska where there was limited possibility to kill a President.

Here in the Pacific she earned four battle stars.

Her end came just as luck would have it. On 6/10/45 a kamikaze dropped out of the clouds right above her during the Battle of Okinawa. The destroyer managed to evade the suicide plane, and it splashed down nearby her. Somehow, the explosive-laden plane ended up directly beneath Porter before it exploded. Suddenly, the warship was lifted out of the water and then dropped back again due to the force of the underwater blast. She lost power and suffered broken steam lines. A number of fires also broke out. For three hours, her crew struggled to put out the fires, repair the damage, and keep the ship afloat. The crew's efforts were in vain; and 12 minutes after the order to abandon ship went out, William D. Porter heeled over to starboard and sank by the stern.

Miraculously, her crew suffered no fatal injuries when she sank.
 
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Holy cow that was a bad luck ship. I am very surprised the captain kept his ship after launching that torpedo. FDR intervening is the only thing that makes sense.


Granted early in the War the US torpedoes were far from reliable. Submariners said the worst sound was hearing that clang when a torpedo would actually launch, actually run, actually maintain correct depth, and they'd hear a clang as it hit the side of a ship and didn't detonate. Also amazing that the crew survived her sinking.
 
Holy cow that was a bad luck ship. I am very surprised the captain kept his ship after launching that torpedo. FDR intervening is the only thing that makes sense.


Granted early in the War the US torpedoes were far from reliable. Submariners said the worst sound was hearing that clang when a torpedo would actually launch, actually run, actually maintain correct depth, and they'd hear a clang as it hit the side of a ship and didn't detonate. Also amazing that the crew survived her sinking.
Off hand I forget what year they finally by-passed the Naval Ordinance Department who had claimed it was the all sub captain's fault and proved to the high brass the detonator pins were at fault and harder pins were installed in the torpedoes. That was after finally fixing the torpedo running problems.
 
View attachment 257276
USS William D. Porter (DD-579)


On 12 November 1943, she departed Norfolk to rendezvous with the Battleship USS Iowa which was carrying President FDR. Her anchor tore the railing and lifeboat mounts off a docked sister destroyer while maneuvering astern.

The next day a depth charge fell off the deck of William D. Porter and fell into the rough sea and exploded, causing Iowa and the other escort ships to take evasive maneuvers under the assumption that the task force had come under attack by German U-boats.

The day after that at the request of FDR, a simulated torpedo attack was made against the Iowa. Porter, along with the other escort ships, took part. This drill suddenly went awry when a torpedo from mount #2 aboard William D. Porter discharged from its tube and headed toward Iowa. With the President on board. At first Porter attempted to warn Iowa using lights to send the message. However, the destroyer first misidentified the direction of the torpedo and then relayed the wrong message, informing Iowa that Porter was backing up, rather than that a torpedo was in the water. Radio silence then had to be broken to warn the Iowa. Fortunately for all they were able to take successful evasive action when the torpedo exploded in the wake of Iowa. Rumor has it the Iowa aimed her guns at Porter believing they were attempting to assassinate FDR.

Porter was then ordered to Bermuda for a hearing on the Iowa incident. The Captain kept his ship and the torpedo man was sentenced to hard labor. FDR intervened because it was an accident in his view.

Porter was then transferred to Alaska where there was limited possibility to kill a President.

Here in the Pacific she earned four battle stars.

Her end came just as luck would have it. On 6/10/45 a kamikaze dropped out of the clouds right above her during the Battle of Okinawa. The destroyer managed to evade the suicide plane, and it splashed down nearby her. Somehow, the explosive-laden plane ended up directly beneath Porter before it exploded. Suddenly, the warship was lifted out of the water and then dropped back again due to the force of the underwater blast. She lost power and suffered broken steam lines. A number of fires also broke out. For three hours, her crew struggled to put out the fires, repair the damage, and keep the ship afloat. The crew's efforts were in vain; and 12 minutes after the order to abandon ship went out, William D. Porter heeled over to starboard and sank by the stern.

Miraculously, her crew suffered no fatal injuries when she sank.
Also while on patrol in the Aleutians someone accidentally fired off a 5" shell which landed in the Commandant's yard on one of the islands.......
Finally in the war itself in the Pacific they did a magnificent job shooting down many Japanese aircraft...... and 3 American planes....... Those who greeted the ship’s crew often joked, “Don’t shoot, we’re Republicans!
 
I'm shocked that this guy's story wasn't made into a movie. The "luckiest" man in WW2.

 

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