SS V. A. Fogg
History | |
---|---|
United States | |
Name |
|
Owner |
|
Operator |
|
Builder | Alabama Dry Dock & Shipbuilding Co., Mobile, Alabama |
Yard number | 268 |
Launched | 21 December 1943 |
Completed | 26 January 1944 |
In service | 29 January 1944 |
Identification | Official number: 244971 |
Fate | Exploded and sank, 1 February 1972 |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Modified Type T2-SE-A1 tanker |
Tonnage | |
Length |
|
Beam |
|
Propulsion | Turbo-electric , 6,000 shp (4,474 kW) |
Speed | 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph) |
Range | 12,600 nmi (23,300 km; 14,500 mi) |
Troops | 29 Naval Armed Guard |
Armament |
|
SS V.A. Fogg was a modified T2 tanker built in 1943, as SS Four Lakes. After service in World War II, she was eventually sold into private ownership. She was renamed V.A. Fogg in 1971, shortly before she exploded and sank off Freeport, Texas.
Service history
Construction
The ship was built by the
World War II
Like most other merchant ships during the war, Four Lakes was fitted with a defensive armament. This consisted of a
The Four Lakes was operated under charter on behalf of the War Shipping Administration by War Emergency Tankers and sailed from Mobile on her maiden voyage on 29 January 1944, commanded by Captain Elmer O. Wolfe. She arrived at Galveston, Texas, the following day to take aboard a cargo of kerosene, which she delivered to New York on 9 February. She then sailed to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to take on a cargo of gasoline, before returning to New York, where she joined a convoy bound for Liverpool, England, arriving there on 12 March. Four Lakes returned to New York, for another cargo of gasoline in April and made two further trans-Atlantic round trips in May and June, often with an additional cargo of aircraft on her deck. On 1 July she sailed in convoy to Casablanca, French Morocco, carrying fuel and aircraft. After offloading she sailed to Gibraltar, and was promptly placed in quarantine for 10 days, because of a suspected outbreak of bubonic plague in Casablanca. After three weeks she joined a convoy bound for New York, arriving there on 3 August. Four Lakes sailed on two further convoys between the U.S. and the U.K. in August and September, before taking a cargo of gasoline from New York to Naples, Italy, in October. On 23 November she sailed in convoy from New York to Swansea, Wales, with a cargo of aviation fuel, returning to Baltimore, Maryland, on 23 December.[3]
On 19 January 1945, following a refit Four Lakes sailed independently from New York to
Post-war
In February 1946, the Four Lakes was rechartered to the American Petroleum Transport Corporation, and in July, carried a cargo from Texas City, Texas, to Baltimore, Maryland. She was again chartered to the American Petroleum Transport Corp. in 1947, but otherwise remained as part of the Reserve Fleet at Mobile, Alabama.[3]
She was finally sold in 1956 to Tanker Four Lakes, Inc. of Wilmington, Delaware, and was operated under a bareboat charter by Texas City Refinery, Inc. (later renamed Texas City Tankers, Inc.) on routes between the Gulf Coast and the East Coast, transporting a variety of petrochemical products.[4]
In 1959 the ship was extended by the
Sinking
In 1971 Four Lakes was sold to Ithaca Corporation of Wilmington, Delaware, and was renamed V.A. Fogg on 11 August.[4]
On 1 February 1972, the ship, commanded by Captain John Edward Christy Sr., sailed from
On 1 February, a large smoke cloud was reported by a NASA pilot and a commercial airliner. A Coast Guard aircraft flew to the cloud and investigated it. Due to lack of light it stopped searching after two hours but returned the next morning. Nothing was spotted after nearly three hours. Later that day the company notified the Coast Guard that the tanker was overdue leading to the smoke being associated with the tanker. Two aircraft together with surface vessels were dispatched to search.
The Coast Guard carried out aerial and surface searches over ten days finding some debris. These searches were chiefly to the southwest of the ship's actual position. The ship was found by MV Miss Freeport using sidescan sonar. Divers positively identified the wreck on 13 February.
A private charter hired by family members, found the vessel, from the coordinates of a NASA pilot who saw a mushroom cloud in the Gulf, and a person off the Galveston jetties who saw a ball of fire. The private charter took those two coordinates and went directly to V. A. Fogg. A search found the ship lying in 100 feet (30 m) of water in two sections, at position 28°35′36.6″N 94°48′44.937″W / 28.593500°N 94.81248250°W.[6]
An examination revealed that the cargo section was almost totally destroyed by the explosion, and the engine order telegraph still registering "full ahead". All of V.A. Fogg's crew members lost their lives. However, the chief radio officer, William A. Shaw, had left the ship for an emergency medical procedure only a few hours before the ship exploded.[4]
The Coast Guard investigation revealed a lack of proper training by the crew or contractors in venting and cleaning benzene, which can explode if residual fumes come in contact with an electrical charge; such a charge may have come from a "red devil" blower, a device used to ventilate spaces. Witnesses had seen red devil blowers lowered into the holds by the crew in the past, and one was recovered from the wreckage, in the hold and rigged to be used.[4]
Within a year of her sinking, V. A. Fogg was subject to the writings of various Bermuda Triangle authors, some contending that no bodies were recovered except that of the captain, who was found sitting in his cabin still holding a coffee cup. The explanations were easily refuted by official United States Coast Guard records and photographs, as well as the recovery of several bodies.[7] John Wallace Spencer (author of Limbo of the Lost) claimed the incident had "paranormal" connections, for which he was widely ridiculed by fellow researchers and skeptical writers alike.[8] In fact, three bodies were recovered (only two, including the captain, were identified),[4] and it was not even close to the Bermuda Triangle.
Currently, the wreckage of V.A. Fogg shares space with a number of sunken
Memorial
An anchor from V. A. Fogg is on display outside the Texas City Museum, Texas City, with a plaque commemorating the 39 men lost aboard her.[9]
References
- ^ a b Colton, Tim (2013). "Alabama Dry Dock & Shipbuilding Company". shipbuildinghistory.com. Archived from the original on 27 January 2013. Retrieved 15 March 2013.
- ^ Visser, Auke (2013). "Four Lakes". aukevisser.nl. Retrieved 15 March 2013.
- ^ a b c d Arnold, J. Barto; Goloboy, Jennifer L.; Hall, Andrew W.; Hall, Rebecca A.; Shively, J. Dale (December 1998). "Texas' Liberty Ships : From World War II Working-class Heroes to Artificial Reefs" (PDF). Bulletin (99–1). Austin, Texas: Texas Parks and Wildlife Department: 31–37. Retrieved 15 March 2013.
- ^ a b c d e "U.S. Coast Guard Marine Investigation Report" (PDF). United States Coast Guard. March 1974. Retrieved 15 March 2013.
- ISBN 978-0715360361. Retrieved 15 March 2013.
- ^ a b "Freeport Liberty Ship Reef: World War II Heritage for Divers, Anglers and the Public" (PDF). Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. 2006. Retrieved 15 March 2013.
- ^ Bharathi, Amudha (29 October 2012). "The Mystery Of Bermuda Triangle". mutiny.in. Archived from the original on 4 January 2013. Retrieved 15 March 2013.
- ISBN 978-5530824319.
- ^ "V. A. Fogg anchor". waymarking.com. 2013. Retrieved 15 March 2013.
External links
- US Coast Guard Report on loss of V.A.Fogg pdf file accessed 16 November 2016
- "Delores Alston Smith v. Ithaca Corporation & Texas City Tankers Corp". United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit. 22 February 1980. Archived from the original on 15 May 2010.
- Texas Parks and Wildlife (Ships to Reefs)
- Sketch of the wreck of the V.A.Fogg