USS Leahy Grounding Incident Tokyo Japan - September 1978 Shipmate rememberances and photos............
USS Leahy Grounding Incident
Tokyo Japan - September 1978
Shipmate rememberances and photos............
The Below Sequence Of Photos (In Drydock) Shot At Yokosuka, Japan - Taken By Dan Day I don't remember the date of the wreck (it is in the WestPac Cruisebook). We were leaving the harbor to go to Honk Kong, at about 8 or 9 at night, and beyond. From what I heard, we ran over a pile of rocks marked in the harbor. We were going fast enough to run over them. That's how the screws were torn up. The great crew that we had stopped the flood- ing, and kept the ship from sinking right there. There was one forward hatch between us and the bottom. We had to wait until they got a drydock ready for us, which was later the next day. It took a little over 2 months for repairs, and the Navy paper said it cost $17-20 million to get us back in the water. Dan Day BT3 30 April 2003
The Below Sequence Of Photos (In Drydock) Shot At Yokosuka, Japan - Taken By Dan Day
I don't remember the date of the wreck (it is in the WestPac Cruisebook). We were leaving the harbor to go to Honk Kong, at about 8 or 9 at night, and beyond. From what I heard, we ran over a pile of rocks marked in the harbor. We were going fast enough to run over them. That's how the screws were torn up. The great crew that we had stopped the flood- ing, and kept the ship from sinking right there. There was one forward hatch between us and the bottom. We had to wait until they got a drydock ready for us, which was later the next day. It took a little over 2 months for repairs, and the Navy paper said it cost $17-20 million to get us back in the water.
Dan Day BT3 30 April 2003
(Click on any image to enlarge)
The Below Sequence Of Photos Shot At Yokosuka, Japan - Taken By Ben Siebels
Here are several photos taken right after the Leahy was damaged in Tokyo Bay from colliding with the underwater concrete ruins of an old gun fort during the evening of 21 SEP 1978. This accident sheared off the sonar dome and created several large holes in the forward third of the ship. The ship sustained other collision damage all the way back to the screws! It was decided the ship should towed backwards to the Ship Repair facility at the Yokuska Naval Base. There was a concern that towing the ship forward might cause increased water pressure and result in even more progressive flooding if additional bulkheads and hatches started to leak. Once moored at the Ship Repair Facility, a diving barge was brought alongside so divers and SRF experts could use video equipment to determine the full extent of damage. Some large pieces of jagged hull plating and the remains of the sonar dome were cut away by the divers in preperation for dry-docking. Some of that debris can be seen on the pier in photos you already have on this web page! Another item of interest in these photos......You'll notice a number of round steel beams up forward along each side of the ship in the drydock photos. These had be welded to the ship to provide structural support for the bow section while in dry-dock. There simply was no keel remaining up forward to sit on the keel blocks. Ben Siebels EMCS 29 September 2003
Click on the news clipping image: The text is here
The Below Sequence Of Photos Shot At Yokosuka, Japan - Taken By Chuck Thunnell
Chuck Thunnell RMC 22 June 2004
1978-1979 WestPac Cruisebook Photos
(Click on either image to enlarge) Photos and Commentary Courtesy of: Charles Warzyn, former JO1
(Click on either image to enlarge)
Photos and Commentary Courtesy of:
Charles Warzyn, former JO1
Russ Killingsworth Remembers.... We were steaming out of Yokosuka on the afternoon of September 21, 1978. We must have been far enough out into Tokyo Harbor, as we were assigned to line 5, yet we were all down in the compartment watching TV. All of a sudden, there was a huge rocking and shuddering, followed by a scraping. Then all was silent. We stood looking at each other, then finally sprinted to GQ. There was a long silent period from the bridge until they finally sounded GQ. We were 3 decks above the sonar dome in our berthing compartment, and it was mostly sheared off. Not a lot of flooding damage overall, but both screws were shot. Anyway, we were towed uncerimoniously backward into Yokosuka by a couple of Navy tugs, with our hind end riding VERY high. No loss of life, but we heard that the CO and the NAV Boss got punished by getting desk jobs in Washington, D.C. The rest of us got 7 more weeks in Japan..... Russ Killingsworth FTM1 9 May 2003
Russ Killingsworth Remembers....
We were steaming out of Yokosuka on the afternoon of September 21, 1978. We must have been far enough out into Tokyo Harbor, as we were assigned to line 5, yet we were all down in the compartment watching TV. All of a sudden, there was a huge rocking and shuddering, followed by a scraping. Then all was silent. We stood looking at each other, then finally sprinted to GQ. There was a long silent period from the bridge until they finally sounded GQ. We were 3 decks above the sonar dome in our berthing compartment, and it was mostly sheared off. Not a lot of flooding damage overall, but both screws were shot. Anyway, we were towed uncerimoniously backward into Yokosuka by a couple of Navy tugs, with our hind end riding VERY high. No loss of life, but we heard that the CO and the NAV Boss got punished by getting desk jobs in Washington, D.C. The rest of us got 7 more weeks in Japan.....
Russ Killingsworth FTM1 9 May 2003
Ed Wagner Remembers.... I was serving on board as an FTM1 when we hit the rock in Tokyo Bay. We were due to leave early in the afternoon, but due to "social priorities " we didn't leave till after dark. We got behind a freighter at 5 knots, and worried about "missing a committment", the Captain ordered an illegal pass at above 20 knots. The rest is history. Admiral Sinclair was not happy. Ed Wagner FTM1 28 July 2003 Voce Moody Remembers.... I was onboard when the "leakyboat" hit the rocks in Yokosuka. I was one of those that were hospitalized as a result of the crash. In fact I was injured to the point that my career ended and I am now 100% disabled. I was also stationed at 32nd street NLSO (Lim Du) as a "baliff" during Capt. Pearlman's fitness hearing. Voce Moody FTM3 29 July 2003 Greg James Remembers.... Following the grounding, we were towed to an emergency drydock. Because we needed immediate repairs, we bumped the USS Horn out of the drydock it was in. The Horn was scheduled to return to the USA in a couple of months when it's work was completed. As you can imagine, the crew of the Horn were not happy. This led to several incidents in bars around town in which the guys from the Horn were insulting the Leahy crew. Eventually it came to a head in a giant bar room fight at the local club. I received ten stitches in my head when someone hit me with a chair. Ouch! (but I got a couple of them first) Ken's Note: The above lingering bad feelings could also have been the result of the famous "drag race" between Leahy and Horn......
Ed Wagner Remembers....
I was serving on board as an FTM1 when we hit the rock in Tokyo Bay. We were due to leave early in the afternoon, but due to "social priorities " we didn't leave till after dark. We got behind a freighter at 5 knots, and worried about "missing a committment", the Captain ordered an illegal pass at above 20 knots. The rest is history. Admiral Sinclair was not happy. Ed Wagner FTM1 28 July 2003
Voce Moody Remembers....
I was onboard when the "leakyboat" hit the rocks in Yokosuka. I was one of those that were hospitalized as a result of the crash. In fact I was injured to the point that my career ended and I am now 100% disabled. I was also stationed at 32nd street NLSO (Lim Du) as a "baliff" during Capt. Pearlman's fitness hearing. Voce Moody FTM3 29 July 2003
Greg James Remembers....
Following the grounding, we were towed to an emergency drydock. Because we needed immediate repairs, we bumped the USS Horn out of the drydock it was in. The Horn was scheduled to return to the USA in a couple of months when it's work was completed. As you can imagine, the crew of the Horn were not happy. This led to several incidents in bars around town in which the guys from the Horn were insulting the Leahy crew. Eventually it came to a head in a giant bar room fight at the local club. I received ten stitches in my head when someone hit me with a chair. Ouch! (but I got a couple of them first)
Ken's Note: The above lingering bad feelings could also have been the result of the famous "drag race" between Leahy and Horn......
THE RACE
Greg James BMSN/QMSN
James Fisher Remembers.... Remember well Leahy's time in Yokosuka after '78 grounding. We (Lockwood FF-1064) were kicked out of the dry dock early. Those of us that lived there were getting as annoyed with you guys as you were with your extended stay. Found a Leahy jacket on my way to my apartment one night, used it for years as a work coat. J.M.Fisher (MM1/SW had enough after 12) John Kraft Remembers.... I was the MM2 on watch as "MMOW" in the aft engineroom when it happened. We had just gotten on turns for 20 knots when we hit. My chief (Joe Schaffer) had always said if we ever hit anything, to grab the "bell sheet" and don't give it to anyone but him! That's what I did. I have also enclosed an article from the San Diego Union, dated 15 November 1978. John Kraft MMCM(SW), Retired
James Fisher Remembers....
Remember well Leahy's time in Yokosuka after '78 grounding. We (Lockwood FF-1064) were kicked out of the dry dock early. Those of us that lived there were getting as annoyed with you guys as you were with your extended stay. Found a Leahy jacket on my way to my apartment one night, used it for years as a work coat. J.M.Fisher (MM1/SW had enough after 12)
John Kraft Remembers....
I was the MM2 on watch as "MMOW" in the aft engineroom when it happened. We had just gotten on turns for 20 knots when we hit. My chief (Joe Schaffer) had always said if we ever hit anything, to grab the "bell sheet" and don't give it to anyone but him! That's what I did. I have also enclosed an article from the San Diego Union, dated 15 November 1978. John Kraft MMCM(SW), Retired
Joe Shaffer Remembers.... On the evening of the grounding we were at "Sea Detail" and I was the Engineering Officer of the Watch (EOW). The Chief Engineer (Cheng) was on station with me. We got underway a little after 1900 hours, and were in line with a few other ships leaving port. Our Commanding Officer, Capt. Pearlman, evidently got antsy and rang up 20 knots. We normally never go over 12 knots in a channel. Then Cheng asked me what to do, and I told him we were answering the bell because we were not in charge. The Capt. was the one who gave the order and the ones who had the OOD, JOOD, never relinguished the watch. The end result was that the OPS Boss, The Ensign who was JOOD, the ships Navigator, and the Capt. were all relieved. The Capt. rang up 20 knots and turned to starboard to go around the other ships. This is when QM1 Durflinger told the Navigator about the lights they could see that showed where the underwater hazards were located. (From what I understand they were pillons that supported guns during WW 2.) When QM1 Durflinger finally convinced the CO he screwed up, the CO turned the rudder to port. As we swung to port we contacted one of the pillons and that's how we tore off the Sonar dome and transducer. There wasn't much of a jolt but we knew we had hit something. They never sounded collision or G.Q. The only thing I heard was to set Zebra. We went between two of the pillons, and that's how we tore up both screws Joseph P. Shaffer MMCM(SW), Retired Tony Latourette Remembers.... I was aboard the USS Leahy during its grounding, I agree mostly with all accounts, with the following exception. MMCM Shaffer reported that the OPs boss was relieved. The OPs boss, LCDR Dallas Bethea was not on the bridge when the incident happened, and was not relieved of his duties. LCDR Bethea went on to have a very successful career. I was in the first class mess when we hit - I felt the ship roll then shudder, I went to radio central where RMC Thunnell, myself and the excellent watch section brought up the appropiate radio circuits. RM1 Tony La Tourette USN (ret) 6 February 2005 Bob Burns Remembers.... Robert L. Burns FTM2 Michael Murphy Remembers.... Michael P. Murphy MM1 Mark Ahles Remembers.... As a Mess Specialist on board USS Leahy from 1975 to 1979 I happened to be standing next to my bunk in the forward most berthing compartment when the ship struck ground. I can still recall the screeching noise of twisting metal and the sound of water filling up the forward compartments. My first reaction was to be the first up the ladder and save my butt. Later the ships crew would be commended for saving the ship and sealing hatches. As a side note and before the incident, while in port in Japan, I happened to be the cook and server for Captain Pearlman’s onboard dinner with the Admiral. I recall Captain Pearlman telling the Admiral that “he feels like he is driving a sports car when at the helm of the Leahy”. A couple of days later the speedy sports car missed the apex of the turn and nearly sank. Mark Ahles MS3 14 September 2007 Paul E. Wolf Remembers.... During the Sea & Anchor detail, I was on duty at the after steering watch, sitting in a tilting back chair listening to the typical communication on the sound power phones. This message ended up being one I will never forget. We were leaving Yokosuka Japan's port one day early and at night in an attempt to relieve the USS Knox ahead of schedule and make an impression. I had heard talk that leaving Yokosuka port was not such a good idea given the high volume of traffic. Typicallly during a Sea & Anchor detail, the chat over the phones and machinery noise is routine, however this time things just didn't feel the same. I noticed that EM1 Lemon, well liked and at times a kidder, had the front starboard watch. After about a half hour or 45 minutes, I noticed the screws becoming louder indicating that the ships speed was increasing, which seemed odd… (Later I found we were attempting to go around a freighter). Then I heard EM1 Lemon very excited, saying we were getting very close to the light house marker and it looked like we were going to hit it. Unfortunately we did…hard! As the ship ran over the large rock the screws underneath me started elevating the rear of ship pitching me off the floor, nearly to the ceiling with each rotation. Immediately thereafter, (GQ) General Quarters was sounded and being part A-Gang and the fire fighting crew, I grabbed my gear and ran up to the forward part of the ship. The first thing I heard was all of the sounding tubes whistling loudly. Looking down the forward fire pump room hatch, all I saw was water rushing in. We then started dropping in the dewatering pumps and unfortunately the ship hit bottom and we found out later we were just recirculating the channel water. It took the divers a week to cut enough metal away so we could fit in the dry dock. We were in dry dock about 3.5 months with the Japanese shipyard working 24-hour shifts. The Japanese fixed the whole front of the ship with no leaks. Our hats were off to them for the quality job --- but all of the repairs measurements were painted in metric! Paul E. Wolf 13 November 2007 Mike Shetler Remembers.... I remember that night all to well......I was SKSN/SK3, at the time. Our famous Skipper? Pearlman.............. Because of our leader, we left late, but were able to make it back, only because of the CREW of the ship. We could have gone down in the bay. We were underway, happy to be leaving THAT Port, but too fast. What we ran over was a lighted rock jetty. I was in my bunk, happy to get some rest, looking forward to our next Port. (of course not before we had our next round of WAR GAMES). The CCTV was on, the movie on the Mess Deck was going, when we hit. I was thrown out of my bunk, to the deck. The compartment deck buckled and fuel oil started to come in. I, to this day, remember, NO panic. Everybody knew, something was bad. I can still hear all the hatches slamming closed and being dogged down. I was with SK2 Gale later that night, we were on the D.C. party, going through compartments forward. We went through the Deck compartment Forward, going to a SK Storeroom below. It was quite erie, because there were no lights except for the Battle Lanterns and our hand helds. We went below the Deck compartment, to one of the SK storerooms, in ankle deep water. The hatch was dogged, but you could see air bubbles coming from the side vent. We made sure it was good and dogged down, and left. If you see some of the photos, from the Dry Dock, one shows a pic. looking up into the ship, with a light still on, thats the storeroom we were checking on. Mike Shetler SK3 11 December 2007
Joe Shaffer Remembers....
On the evening of the grounding we were at "Sea Detail" and I was the Engineering Officer of the Watch (EOW). The Chief Engineer (Cheng) was on station with me. We got underway a little after 1900 hours, and were in line with a few other ships leaving port. Our Commanding Officer, Capt. Pearlman, evidently got antsy and rang up 20 knots. We normally never go over 12 knots in a channel. Then Cheng asked me what to do, and I told him we were answering the bell because we were not in charge. The Capt. was the one who gave the order and the ones who had the OOD, JOOD, never relinguished the watch. The end result was that the OPS Boss, The Ensign who was JOOD, the ships Navigator, and the Capt. were all relieved. The Capt. rang up 20 knots and turned to starboard to go around the other ships. This is when QM1 Durflinger told the Navigator about the lights they could see that showed where the underwater hazards were located. (From what I understand they were pillons that supported guns during WW 2.) When QM1 Durflinger finally convinced the CO he screwed up, the CO turned the rudder to port. As we swung to port we contacted one of the pillons and that's how we tore off the Sonar dome and transducer. There wasn't much of a jolt but we knew we had hit something. They never sounded collision or G.Q. The only thing I heard was to set Zebra. We went between two of the pillons, and that's how we tore up both screws Joseph P. Shaffer MMCM(SW), Retired
Tony Latourette Remembers....
I was aboard the USS Leahy during its grounding, I agree mostly with all accounts, with the following exception. MMCM Shaffer reported that the OPs boss was relieved. The OPs boss, LCDR Dallas Bethea was not on the bridge when the incident happened, and was not relieved of his duties. LCDR Bethea went on to have a very successful career. I was in the first class mess when we hit - I felt the ship roll then shudder, I went to radio central where RMC Thunnell, myself and the excellent watch section brought up the appropiate radio circuits.
RM1 Tony La Tourette USN (ret) 6 February 2005
Bob Burns Remembers....
Robert L. Burns FTM2
Michael Murphy Remembers....
Michael P. Murphy MM1
Mark Ahles Remembers....
As a Mess Specialist on board USS Leahy from 1975 to 1979 I happened to be standing next to my bunk in the forward most berthing compartment when the ship struck ground. I can still recall the screeching noise of twisting metal and the sound of water filling up the forward compartments. My first reaction was to be the first up the ladder and save my butt. Later the ships crew would be commended for saving the ship and sealing hatches.
As a side note and before the incident, while in port in Japan, I happened to be the cook and server for Captain Pearlman’s onboard dinner with the Admiral. I recall Captain Pearlman telling the Admiral that “he feels like he is driving a sports car when at the helm of the Leahy”. A couple of days later the speedy sports car missed the apex of the turn and nearly sank.
Mark Ahles MS3 14 September 2007
Paul E. Wolf Remembers....
During the Sea & Anchor detail, I was on duty at the after steering watch, sitting in a tilting back chair listening to the typical communication on the sound power phones. This message ended up being one I will never forget. We were leaving Yokosuka Japan's port one day early and at night in an attempt to relieve the USS Knox ahead of schedule and make an impression. I had heard talk that leaving Yokosuka port was not such a good idea given the high volume of traffic. Typicallly during a Sea & Anchor detail, the chat over the phones and machinery noise is routine, however this time things just didn't feel the same. I noticed that EM1 Lemon, well liked and at times a kidder, had the front starboard watch. After about a half hour or 45 minutes, I noticed the screws becoming louder indicating that the ships speed was increasing, which seemed odd… (Later I found we were attempting to go around a freighter). Then I heard EM1 Lemon very excited, saying we were getting very close to the light house marker and it looked like we were going to hit it. Unfortunately we did…hard! As the ship ran over the large rock the screws underneath me started elevating the rear of ship pitching me off the floor, nearly to the ceiling with each rotation. Immediately thereafter, (GQ) General Quarters was sounded and being part A-Gang and the fire fighting crew, I grabbed my gear and ran up to the forward part of the ship. The first thing I heard was all of the sounding tubes whistling loudly. Looking down the forward fire pump room hatch, all I saw was water rushing in. We then started dropping in the dewatering pumps and unfortunately the ship hit bottom and we found out later we were just recirculating the channel water. It took the divers a week to cut enough metal away so we could fit in the dry dock. We were in dry dock about 3.5 months with the Japanese shipyard working 24-hour shifts. The Japanese fixed the whole front of the ship with no leaks. Our hats were off to them for the quality job --- but all of the repairs measurements were painted in metric!
Paul E. Wolf 13 November 2007
Mike Shetler Remembers....
I remember that night all to well......I was SKSN/SK3, at the time. Our famous Skipper? Pearlman..............
Because of our leader, we left late, but were able to make it back, only because of the CREW of the ship. We could have gone down in the bay.
We were underway, happy to be leaving THAT Port, but too fast. What we ran over was a lighted rock jetty.
I was in my bunk, happy to get some rest, looking forward to our next Port. (of course not before we had our next round of WAR GAMES).
The CCTV was on, the movie on the Mess Deck was going, when we hit. I was thrown out of my bunk, to the deck. The compartment deck buckled and fuel oil started to come in.
I, to this day, remember, NO panic. Everybody knew, something was bad. I can still hear all the hatches slamming closed and being dogged down.
I was with SK2 Gale later that night, we were on the D.C. party, going through compartments forward. We went through the Deck compartment Forward, going to a SK Storeroom below. It was quite erie, because there were no lights except for the Battle Lanterns and our hand helds. We went below the Deck compartment, to one of the SK storerooms, in ankle deep water. The hatch was dogged, but you could see air bubbles coming from the side vent. We made sure it was good and dogged down, and left.
If you see some of the photos, from the Dry Dock, one shows a pic. looking up into the ship, with a light still on, thats the storeroom we were checking on.
Mike Shetler SK3 11 December 2007
R. J. Carson Remembers.... The Wreck Of The U.S.S. Leahy In the evening's twilight we lit out for fame and glory, "Let us be the first" we said and so we ever were, the sad and not forgotten, almost the first and only U.S. fighting ship to sink beneath the waters of the wide and spacious harbor that leads to Tokyo We heard the water flowing within her hull where it shouldn't ever be and suddenly we knew her beautiful grey skin had been ruptured, even as we heard her tortured screams and manned our duty stations and filled with hope we prayed, Lord let us be strong today and save our best gal on this worst of ever nights Four hours of toil and labor we so bravely gave, even as we listened to that most horrible of sounds that which we as sailors do not even speak the water rushing in from an ocean full And so with a slight angle and some helpfull tugs, sheepishly we crept through our darkest night back to Yokosuka and away from destiny's plan that we should be the first U.S. man of war to ever sink beneath the surface of the calm and gentle waters of Tokyo Bay Naval Captains like to brag about what their ships and crews can do and Captain Pearlman was no different. We were set to rendevous with a large task force for an operation, and everyone wanted to be the first to station bravo. So we set out of, argueably, the busiest port in the world at 6:00 p.m. the night before the operation. I was never prouder of the crew and my fellow shipmates than on that night. I was a Radar Guy (not on watch that night- btw), not a fixer of ships. I have the upmost respect for those who can and do. If certain hatches had not been closed within 3 minutes of the accident, then fort # 3, built to repel foriegn invaders, would have claimed another victim. We were in drydock for 7 weeks and couldn't go off base for the last 4 weeks because the word had gone out that we were in drydock without unloading our weaponry. Protesters lined up and we found ourselves in the middle of a very ugly firestorm. But who could blaim them, they had every right to be angry. A few months later, we visited Nagasaki and it was a healing time for all. Standing in the middle of Peace Park, it all comes crystal clear. About a year later, and with a different Captain, Navagator and First Officer (Oh yes,always a price to pay), the Sea of Japan would come even closer to taking the U.S.S. Leahy down to Davey Jones' Locker. I mostly stick to dry land these days. http://archive.li/3xK2m#selection-891.0-901.1 M.J.Carson 5-14-2007 Ronny Murray Remembers.... What a day to be on Sea & Anchor....... I was in the forward fireroom, on the upper level, watching the water levels in the Boilers, and sittin on a Alum. trash can. Noticing we had a change of bells, the Boilers came to life, along with the Forced Draft Blowers speeding up, and the Lady started increasing in speed. Seeing everything was going fine (as always), I was sitting facing the port side of the hull. Out of nowhere, the ship started rising up, like going up a hill, and I had to grab the hand rail to keep from falling off the trash can. You could hear metal tearing, and I just knew my time had come. I kept looking at the hull waiting for the end of my life at a young age. We then powered down, and about 20 minutes later we got to go see what happened. Fortunatlly for me, I was married to a Japanese girl and had an apartment off base. Boy was i lucky. lol While we were in drydock, we use to have "Quarters" in the morning on the fantail. We had fruit from the mess decks, and when we would see the Captain in the drydock, we would throw oranges and apples at him. (Never hit him though.) We in B division had all already agreed, that we would NOT sail another nautical mile with the Captain at the wheel. I shit you not ! It was sad leaving Yokosuka for me, but sure did enjoy the time there. Great to see others stories..... Ronny Murray BT2 04 February 2008 Earl H. Moreo Remembers.... I was an OS3 on board USS Knox (FF-1052). My station that day was the Operations visual navigation logger. We were departing port ahead of Leahy, and it was still daylight. We had made our turn into the outbound high speed lanes in Tokyo Bay, and come up to 15 kts, which is the speed limit in Tokyo Bay, and one of the visual Nav stations remarked that Leahy was turning very early and picking up speed. Another lookout said she was heading right for Fort # 3, one of our main visual nav points for that part of the nav problem. Almost immeadiately there was a remark about just how quickly she stopped, as she had, apparently hit the fort dead on. When we got back to Yokosuka some time later, (Yokosuka was our home port) Leahy was already up on blocks in the large dry dock with the damage cut away and a temporary bow being installed. As far as I know the remains of Leahy's SQX-26 sonar is still buried in Fort # 3. It is curious that ANY ship should ever have hit that fort, since we, at least, picked it up as a visual nav point as soon as we turned into the traffic lane that leads from Yokosuka to the Main outbound traffic lanes, and kept it until we were well down the bay in the outbound lanes, so it had to be readily visible all over. One or the other of their forward looking visual nav spotters should have noticed that the fort was dead on the bow. For the rest of my time on Knox, the visual nav people reported the fort as "Leahy Shoals". Earl H. Moreo OS3 - USS Knox (FF-1052) 24 May 2008 Ken Klinge Remembers.... I was the 1JV phone talker on the bridge the night of the Yokuska grounding. LCDR Bethea who was the OPS boss at the time, kept telling Capt. Pearlman that we were turning too early and going way to fast to get out of the harbor. Capt. Pearlman would listen to none of it and gave the orders to go 20 knots when we were supposed to be going no faster than 8 knots out of the harbor. If not for the great crew we had onboard, we surely would have sunk right there in the harbor. I thank God for all the brave crewmembers for saving the ship and all the crew on that fateful night. Ken Klinge YN2 17 September 2008 Scott Cannon Remembers.... I was attached to the USS Francis Hammond (FF-1067), home ported in Yokosuka, Japan. Yokosuka, Japan. I remember going to see the USS Leahy in it's dry dock. The scuttlebutt about what had happened was pretty much was has been said at this site; the CO ignored warnings, from CIC, and the quartermaster, ordered an unsafe course and speed change. I use to stand bridge watches and used Fort# 3 ("Fort Leahy") for shooting bearings. (I looked it up, and see that Fort# 3 has been removed). I also remember hearing about a bar brawl with the Leahy crew, and I remember a drink being served on the Yokosuka Ginza at the time, being called "Leahy on the Rocks". Scott Cannon QM3 12 December 2009 Tony Schmidt Remembers.... I was messenger of the watch on the bridge at the time. Remember the captain issuing the order to steer right with a speed of flank. That brought us right out of the channel . I can remember clear as day the man on the sound powered phones over powering the bridge with "aft look out reports rocks in the water" at a glace out the starboard door there were rocks and a buoy. what couldn't have been a second latter a loud crushing sound. The sound metal makes when its being ripped off a ship . We tore of the sonar dome off followed by frames 000 to 071. That is a lot of metal and one hell of an impact. it is a sound like no other. If not for the fact that we slid up on the rocks (it was a wwll under water ammo dump) and held in place there is a very good probability we would have sunk. The forward hatch was not set at all when getting underway. I was asked to go to our birthing area by one of the shipmates. On the way down I was assigned to flood watch. Given a battle lantern as I watched the hatch spun closed over my head. The stuffing tubes were spraying sea water with a mix of JP5. About 20min latter plus 10 in more water and JP5 my shipmate Red that was also on watch with me decided he wanted a smoke. Took his zippo out and sure enough fired her right up. Now there's a bit of info no one knew but Red and myself. Could have made a bad day a lot worse. I stopped breathing ... And yes the smoking lamp was out LOL. They towed us backward as I can remember 7 miles. The inner walls of the ship that were now the outer hull could not with stand the pressure going forward. Can also remember japan not liking the fact that a man of war ship was going to be in their dry docks.They wanted us shipped off to the Philippines. A lot of the crew liked that idea. We were just too damaged. A couple months latter of non stop 24 a day of work she was topped off with a new coat of paint. We were on our way again. Minus one... Our captain. He was relieved and so was a lot of the crew. Bad Day for Sammy TOO. The reason for the crash? The captain was trying to beat some ships out of the channel. That's one race we didn't win. The rocks had another idea. There was a bar drink named after the event "Leahy on the rocks". Did notice afterward when she would dive deep in a wave there was a slight vibration that was not there before in the forward berthing areas. SN Tony Schmidt (USS Leahy 1978-81) 20 July 2014 Bob Philbrook Remembers.... I remember this well. I stayed aboard and ran the guard force during the shipyard period then took leave for Christmas. Never came back. Got a telegram from the ship saying something to the effect that the Halsey needed an the Halsey needed an FTMC and I lost by a vote of 5 to 0 with one absent(me). So I went to San Diego. As I remember it, the bridge never did call GQ, it was called from DC central by the XO. The FTM3 that was injured was hurt by somebody behind him pushing him up the ladder with a hand in the middle of his back. I have always thought that this happened because a very smart captain who had no business commanding a ship at sea was punching his “ticket” for admiral. It didn’t help that the navigator was hanging around waiting to be forced out. I was told that he never took the boarding packet out of his stateroom. That would have had all the necessary info in it like the radio channels that the Japanese had up. As I remember, Tokyo Bay had one of the first traffic control systems using radar and they were reportedly calling us on the radio telling us that we were standing into danger. Anyway, they let the captain put the ship back together and relieved him before the ship came out of dry dock.
R. J. Carson Remembers....
The Wreck Of The U.S.S. Leahy
In the evening's twilight we lit out for fame and glory, "Let us be the first" we said and so we ever were, the sad and not forgotten, almost the first and only U.S. fighting ship to sink beneath the waters of the wide and spacious harbor that leads to Tokyo We heard the water flowing within her hull where it shouldn't ever be and suddenly we knew her beautiful grey skin had been ruptured, even as we heard her tortured screams and manned our duty stations and filled with hope we prayed, Lord let us be strong today and save our best gal on this worst of ever nights Four hours of toil and labor we so bravely gave, even as we listened to that most horrible of sounds that which we as sailors do not even speak the water rushing in from an ocean full And so with a slight angle and some helpfull tugs, sheepishly we crept through our darkest night back to Yokosuka and away from destiny's plan that we should be the first U.S. man of war to ever sink beneath the surface of the calm and gentle waters of Tokyo Bay
Naval Captains like to brag about what their ships and crews can do and Captain Pearlman was no different. We were set to rendevous with a large task force for an operation, and everyone wanted to be the first to station bravo. So we set out of, argueably, the busiest port in the world at 6:00 p.m. the night before the operation. I was never prouder of the crew and my fellow shipmates than on that night. I was a Radar Guy (not on watch that night- btw), not a fixer of ships. I have the upmost respect for those who can and do. If certain hatches had not been closed within 3 minutes of the accident, then fort # 3, built to repel foriegn invaders, would have claimed another victim. We were in drydock for 7 weeks and couldn't go off base for the last 4 weeks because the word had gone out that we were in drydock without unloading our weaponry. Protesters lined up and we found ourselves in the middle of a very ugly firestorm. But who could blaim them, they had every right to be angry. A few months later, we visited Nagasaki and it was a healing time for all. Standing in the middle of Peace Park, it all comes crystal clear. About a year later, and with a different Captain, Navagator and First Officer (Oh yes,always a price to pay), the Sea of Japan would come even closer to taking the U.S.S. Leahy down to Davey Jones' Locker. I mostly stick to dry land these days.
http://archive.li/3xK2m#selection-891.0-901.1
M.J.Carson 5-14-2007
Ronny Murray Remembers....
What a day to be on Sea & Anchor.......
I was in the forward fireroom, on the upper level, watching the water levels in the Boilers, and sittin on a Alum. trash can. Noticing we had a change of bells, the Boilers came to life, along with the Forced Draft Blowers speeding up, and the Lady started increasing in speed. Seeing everything was going fine (as always), I was sitting facing the port side of the hull. Out of nowhere, the ship started rising up, like going up a hill, and I had to grab the hand rail to keep from falling off the trash can. You could hear metal tearing, and I just knew my time had come. I kept looking at the hull waiting for the end of my life at a young age. We then powered down, and about 20 minutes later we got to go see what happened. Fortunatlly for me, I was married to a Japanese girl and had an apartment off base. Boy was i lucky. lol While we were in drydock, we use to have "Quarters" in the morning on the fantail. We had fruit from the mess decks, and when we would see the Captain in the drydock, we would throw oranges and apples at him. (Never hit him though.) We in B division had all already agreed, that we would NOT sail another nautical mile with the Captain at the wheel. I shit you not ! It was sad leaving Yokosuka for me, but sure did enjoy the time there.
Great to see others stories.....
Ronny Murray BT2 04 February 2008
Earl H. Moreo Remembers....
I was an OS3 on board USS Knox (FF-1052). My station that day was the Operations visual navigation logger. We were departing port ahead of Leahy, and it was still daylight. We had made our turn into the outbound high speed lanes in Tokyo Bay, and come up to 15 kts, which is the speed limit in Tokyo Bay, and one of the visual Nav stations remarked that Leahy was turning very early and picking up speed. Another lookout said she was heading right for Fort # 3, one of our main visual nav points for that part of the nav problem. Almost immeadiately there was a remark about just how quickly she stopped, as she had, apparently hit the fort dead on. When we got back to Yokosuka some time later, (Yokosuka was our home port) Leahy was already up on blocks in the large dry dock with the damage cut away and a temporary bow being installed. As far as I know the remains of Leahy's SQX-26 sonar is still buried in Fort # 3.
It is curious that ANY ship should ever have hit that fort, since we, at least, picked it up as a visual nav point as soon as we turned into the traffic lane that leads from Yokosuka to the Main outbound traffic lanes, and kept it until we were well down the bay in the outbound lanes, so it had to be readily visible all over. One or the other of their forward looking visual nav spotters should have noticed that the fort was dead on the bow.
For the rest of my time on Knox, the visual nav people reported the fort as "Leahy Shoals".
Earl H. Moreo OS3 - USS Knox (FF-1052) 24 May 2008
Ken Klinge Remembers....
I was the 1JV phone talker on the bridge the night of the Yokuska grounding. LCDR Bethea who was the OPS boss at the time, kept telling Capt. Pearlman that we were turning too early and going way to fast to get out of the harbor. Capt. Pearlman would listen to none of it and gave the orders to go 20 knots when we were supposed to be going no faster than 8 knots out of the harbor. If not for the great crew we had onboard, we surely would have sunk right there in the harbor. I thank God for all the brave crewmembers for saving the ship and all the crew on that fateful night.
Ken Klinge YN2 17 September 2008
Scott Cannon Remembers....
I was attached to the USS Francis Hammond (FF-1067), home ported in Yokosuka, Japan. Yokosuka, Japan. I remember going to see the USS Leahy in it's dry dock. The scuttlebutt about what had happened was pretty much was has been said at this site; the CO ignored warnings, from CIC, and the quartermaster, ordered an unsafe course and speed change. I use to stand bridge watches and used Fort# 3 ("Fort Leahy") for shooting bearings. (I looked it up, and see that Fort# 3 has been removed). I also remember hearing about a bar brawl with the Leahy crew, and I remember a drink being served on the Yokosuka Ginza at the time, being called "Leahy on the Rocks".
Scott Cannon QM3 12 December 2009
Tony Schmidt Remembers....
I was messenger of the watch on the bridge at the time. Remember the captain issuing the order to steer right with a speed of flank. That brought us right out of the channel . I can remember clear as day the man on the sound powered phones over powering the bridge with "aft look out reports rocks in the water" at a glace out the starboard door there were rocks and a buoy. what couldn't have been a second latter a loud crushing sound. The sound metal makes when its being ripped off a ship . We tore of the sonar dome off followed by frames 000 to 071. That is a lot of metal and one hell of an impact. it is a sound like no other. If not for the fact that we slid up on the rocks (it was a wwll under water ammo dump) and held in place there is a very good probability we would have sunk. The forward hatch was not set at all when getting underway. I was asked to go to our birthing area by one of the shipmates. On the way down I was assigned to flood watch. Given a battle lantern as I watched the hatch spun closed over my head. The stuffing tubes were spraying sea water with a mix of JP5. About 20min latter plus 10 in more water and JP5 my shipmate Red that was also on watch with me decided he wanted a smoke. Took his zippo out and sure enough fired her right up. Now there's a bit of info no one knew but Red and myself. Could have made a bad day a lot worse. I stopped breathing ... And yes the smoking lamp was out LOL. They towed us backward as I can remember 7 miles. The inner walls of the ship that were now the outer hull could not with stand the pressure going forward. Can also remember japan not liking the fact that a man of war ship was going to be in their dry docks.They wanted us shipped off to the Philippines. A lot of the crew liked that idea. We were just too damaged. A couple months latter of non stop 24 a day of work she was topped off with a new coat of paint. We were on our way again. Minus one... Our captain. He was relieved and so was a lot of the crew. Bad Day for Sammy TOO. The reason for the crash? The captain was trying to beat some ships out of the channel. That's one race we didn't win. The rocks had another idea. There was a bar drink named after the event "Leahy on the rocks". Did notice afterward when she would dive deep in a wave there was a slight vibration that was not there before in the forward berthing areas.
SN Tony Schmidt (USS Leahy 1978-81) 20 July 2014
Bob Philbrook Remembers....
I remember this well. I stayed aboard and ran the guard force during the shipyard period then took leave for Christmas. Never came back. Got a telegram from the ship saying something to the effect that the Halsey needed an the Halsey needed an FTMC and I lost by a vote of 5 to 0 with one absent(me). So I went to San Diego. As I remember it, the bridge never did call GQ, it was called from DC central by the XO. The FTM3 that was injured was hurt by somebody behind him pushing him up the ladder with a hand in the middle of his back. I have always thought that this happened because a very smart captain who had no business commanding a ship at sea was punching his “ticket” for admiral. It didn’t help that the navigator was hanging around waiting to be forced out. I was told that he never took the boarding packet out of his stateroom. That would have had all the necessary info in it like the radio channels that the Japanese had up. As I remember, Tokyo Bay had one of the first traffic control systems using radar and they were reportedly calling us on the radio telling us that we were standing into danger. Anyway, they let the captain put the ship back together and relieved him before the ship came out of dry dock.
Some supporting photos and documentation.....
(Click on images to enlarge)
Bob Philbrook FTMC (SW) 25 September 2014 James Jenkins Remembers.... I reported aboard the Blue Ridge (LCC-19) in 1983, which was homeported in Yokosuka. There were all kinds of stories about what had happened to the Leahy less than five years before. The story I heard is that the collision happened in broad daylight. In all honesty, we could not figure out what the hell happened. Human beings make mistakes, so..... I did not realize the extent of the damage or that there was some danger of the Leahy going down. I will also add that the Japanese authorities monitor the ship traffic in Tokyo Harbor very closely. Once, our skipper ordered us to two knots above the speed limit----a few minutes later we got a rather terse message telling us to slow down. I apologize if I missed it, but where was the Navigator? For the record, the Blue Ridge was also involved in a collision, I believe in 1985. It was in some exercise and we pretended to have taken a missile hit. Our boilers really were shut down. A destroyer, whose name I can not remember, did a 180 to do a port-to-port passage to practice putting the "fires" out on the Blue Ridge. Well, the other ship (USS Francis Hammond (FF-1067). The date was 5 Nov 1985) swung a bit too wide and sideswiped us. The damage was not serious. Luckily only one person on the other ship was injured, the skipper himself. There were three rather solid antennas aft on either side of the helo deck. During flight ops, they were lowered to a horizontal position, sticking out at a 90 degree angle. These antenna raked the other ship as she passed down our port side. One of them hit the other captain and it was amazing no else was injured. (I think they were antennas---it has been thirty years.) I am not sure of the consequences for the other captain. LT. James Jenkins 05 January 2016 LTjg. Craig Gillette Remembers.... I At the time of the grounding, I was the EMO/EWO of the USS Lockwood FF-1064, one of the frigates homeported in Yokosuka. We were underway at the time, in Sagami Wan, the bay to the west of Tokyo Bay. If I recall correctly it was evening but don’t recall just what time. I was on watch as JOOD when the grounding occurred and as we had the local radio circuits up, we heard the traffic. I notified our Captain of what we’d heard and we kept an ear out to keep up with the activity. Tokyo Bay was/is environmentally (and politically) sensitive so the reports of spilling fuel into the bay was given some attention and comment, too. I don’t recall exactly when we returned to homeport but it was probably the next morning. We were a little curious to see if there were signs of the fuel spill or clean-up activity but it seemed pretty well gone as went through the area. As others have noted, the traffic in the bay is intense and in the designated lanes, controlled as to speed. Smaller vessels sometimes operate out of the lanes but as is painfully apparent, there were and are some serious obstacles to be dealt with in the area. Leaving Yokosuka is somewhat less difficult as one can usually merge fairly easily into the outward bound traffic. Entering/returning to Yokosuka, the vessels have to try safely cross the outbound traffic lane to get to the Naval Base. On at least one occasion we proceeded farther up the bay and then reversed back into the outbound lane and then eased across to the exit points because we thought it would have been unsafe to complete the turn and cross all the traffic in one movement. Apparently at some point after I left the Lockwood, they did have a collision crossing the lanes and the damage pictures I’ve seen look quite similar to those of the recent USS Fitzgerald accident. It was in reading up/discussing that incident that I came across this site. One thing I hadn’t seen mentioned was that on a couple of occasions we took advantage of their availability and borrowed one or more crew men to augment our crew. It’s been a while but I know one if not more ETs or EWs might have sailed with us for a few shorter operations. I remember getting one guy a couple of times and then when he asked for another temp duty, that just happened to include Hong Kong and Subic, that the request to both assist, get operational experience and take advantage of the varied cultural and educational experiences available, that “they” decided he was taking advantage of the opportunity/situation and denied it. I’m not sure if any of the other Ops, Engineering or Weapons types also augmented us at the time. Eventually I ended up working at Hughes Aircraft in Fullerton, CA. At the time, the relieved/retired Captain (Pearlman) of the Leahy was working in Program Management at Hughes Aircraft and while he was pointed out to me, the “opportunity” to share stories about being in Yokosuka at the same time never really came up. Interesting coincidence. I’d expect we have rather different memories of the times. LTjg. Graig Gillette (USS Lockwood FF-1064) 21 July 2017 Don Tonkin Remembers.... I was the diver who made the initial survey of the damage incurred on the night of the grounding, after the ship was towed stern-first into drydock 6 in Yokosuka. That night I was sleeping in the diving locker on the couch when my supervisor woke me up and said to get my gear to the boat for an emergency dive on the USS Leahy - She had run aground and had just been towed into drydock 6.. I would be the diver. He then got on the phone and started to recall the rest of the guys. This was somewhere around 1 AM. When most everyone arrived, we set out for drydock 6 on the diving boat. I jumped in off the bow to commence my inspection. I was in scuba on a signaling line. I was using a handheld flashlight. I went down the stem forward, and then damn near accidently almost swam into the sonar done, or anyway what was left of it on the hull. The steel sonar dome had been torn off the hull. There were transducers and wires hanging down all over the place. I then swam around the hull up forward and ran into a strip of metal about two feet wide that had been ripped back and corkscrewed from each side. It was sticking out at 90 degrees from the side of the ship. There was one sticking out from both the port and starboard sides. As this was my first ship ever seeing this kind of damage….I was a bit overwhelmed by it all. I decided to go to the back of the sonar dome and follow the opening in the hull and to see where it took me. I even seen a white glove hanging part ways out of what I took to be a supply compartment. There were brand new swabs up inside that I could see. When the crack finally ended, I had lost track as to how far I had traveled…..I decided to surface and get my bearings before continuing. When I surfaced, I yelled up to the guys onboard, “What frame is this?” They were yelling back at me about what I had seen. I told them, “I asked first.” They told me it was frame 34. I then told them the ship was ‘open to the sea’ from here forward and that the crack ended here. My supervisor, a very professional and task oriented individual then told me to continue. I was on the starboard side. I went down and continued. Next I found the bilge keel to be flattened against the side of the ship in its entirety. With my flashlight getting dim, and my air a little low, we concluded our dive, for now. The next morning (about 2-3 hours later) we were right back alongside. This time we used surface supplied air and had an underwater tv unit with us. We continued the inspection and discovered that both props had approximately 6 “ chewed off of most of the blades. During the following week, we went to Fort 3 (obstruction that the USS Leahy encountered) out in the channel, and recovered lost transducers, and some of the screw brass. We also had to cut those two pieces of ripped hull up forward prior to the ship entering drydock. Don Tonkin - US Navy Diver 3 June 2019 Paul F. Shippnick remembers.... I was onboard USS Leahy (CG-16) September 1978 at the time of the grounding. The ensign (photo in cruise book) told me the dry dock rent was $85,000, he showed me the invoice. Paul Frederick Schippnick PACE instructor March 2021 Frank J. Yontz remembers.... I was a 2nd class HT the night we hit the rock. I was heading to DCC to assume the watch, I was on the mess decks when we hit. I screamed : “Everyone get to their GQ stations NOW!” I contacted Main Control and asked MM1 Shafer ( I was On Scene leader for Rep 5) if the pits we OK. He said they were. I went to Rep. 2 to assist. In the fwd. Bos’n locker there was a hatch that we opened to drop the electrical submersible pumps down (4) to TRY and keep up with the water coming in. Water was pouring into the ship, we could see it and hear it. There is/was a peak tank man hole in the fwd. part of the ship. I volunteered to take a bag of large box wrenches in a canvas bag and check the nuts holding down the tank cover. If that cover were to start leaking we really would have lost the old girl. I crawled through the interior fish frames till I found the tank cover. Please keep in mind that water is flooding in, I’m in a space with electrical pumps running and it’s dark as hell. I was so dam scared, seriously I pissed myself twice. Still don’t know if I was that scared or I just wanted something to warm me up. I was 21 or 22 and probably 40-50 pounds lighter but the ship really needed me, she needed us ALL. I ensured that the tank covering was intact and got the hell out of there! Yea I left the bag of wrenches. We fought the situation like we trained for it, WE were in automatic! That experience is just ONE reason Leahy crew members were so tight. We (the repair party) were up @ 36-40 hours. After we were safe in drydock, tired, wet and stressed out as we were we didn’t hit our racks. Oh Hell no, we all went and got S’faced and celebrated saving the ship and being alive to tell about it. Frank J. Yontz October 2021 Chuck Warzyn remembers.... I was the journalist assigned to the USS Leahy during the 1978-79 Westpac when it ran aground. I was allowed to devote a two-page spread in the cruisebook to the incident (see 1978-1979 WestPac Cruisebook Photos above). I also wrote a parody of the wreck based on Gordon Lightfoot's Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, called "The Wreck of the USS Leahy". I recall being present at the change of command when Captain Pearlman took over from Captain Sinclair, and at the change of command when Captain Ulrich relieved Captain Pearlman of command. As you can imagine, the second change of command was far less fancy than the first one. Chuck Warzyn, former JO1 April 2022
Bob Philbrook FTMC (SW) 25 September 2014
James Jenkins Remembers....
I reported aboard the Blue Ridge (LCC-19) in 1983, which was homeported in Yokosuka. There were all kinds of stories about what had happened to the Leahy less than five years before. The story I heard is that the collision happened in broad daylight. In all honesty, we could not figure out what the hell happened. Human beings make mistakes, so..... I did not realize the extent of the damage or that there was some danger of the Leahy going down.
I will also add that the Japanese authorities monitor the ship traffic in Tokyo Harbor very closely. Once, our skipper ordered us to two knots above the speed limit----a few minutes later we got a rather terse message telling us to slow down.
I apologize if I missed it, but where was the Navigator? For the record, the Blue Ridge was also involved in a collision, I believe in 1985. It was in some exercise and we pretended to have taken a missile hit. Our boilers really were shut down. A destroyer, whose name I can not remember, did a 180 to do a port-to-port passage to practice putting the "fires" out on the Blue Ridge. Well, the other ship (USS Francis Hammond (FF-1067). The date was 5 Nov 1985) swung a bit too wide and sideswiped us. The damage was not serious. Luckily only one person on the other ship was injured, the skipper himself. There were three rather solid antennas aft on either side of the helo deck. During flight ops, they were lowered to a horizontal position, sticking out at a 90 degree angle. These antenna raked the other ship as she passed down our port side. One of them hit the other captain and it was amazing no else was injured. (I think they were antennas---it has been thirty years.) I am not sure of the consequences for the other captain.
LT. James Jenkins 05 January 2016
LTjg. Craig Gillette Remembers....
I At the time of the grounding, I was the EMO/EWO of the USS Lockwood FF-1064, one of the frigates homeported in Yokosuka. We were underway at the time, in Sagami Wan, the bay to the west of Tokyo Bay. If I recall correctly it was evening but don’t recall just what time. I was on watch as JOOD when the grounding occurred and as we had the local radio circuits up, we heard the traffic. I notified our Captain of what we’d heard and we kept an ear out to keep up with the activity. Tokyo Bay was/is environmentally (and politically) sensitive so the reports of spilling fuel into the bay was given some attention and comment, too. I don’t recall exactly when we returned to homeport but it was probably the next morning. We were a little curious to see if there were signs of the fuel spill or clean-up activity but it seemed pretty well gone as went through the area. As others have noted, the traffic in the bay is intense and in the designated lanes, controlled as to speed. Smaller vessels sometimes operate out of the lanes but as is painfully apparent, there were and are some serious obstacles to be dealt with in the area. Leaving Yokosuka is somewhat less difficult as one can usually merge fairly easily into the outward bound traffic. Entering/returning to Yokosuka, the vessels have to try safely cross the outbound traffic lane to get to the Naval Base. On at least one occasion we proceeded farther up the bay and then reversed back into the outbound lane and then eased across to the exit points because we thought it would have been unsafe to complete the turn and cross all the traffic in one movement. Apparently at some point after I left the Lockwood, they did have a collision crossing the lanes and the damage pictures I’ve seen look quite similar to those of the recent USS Fitzgerald accident. It was in reading up/discussing that incident that I came across this site. One thing I hadn’t seen mentioned was that on a couple of occasions we took advantage of their availability and borrowed one or more crew men to augment our crew. It’s been a while but I know one if not more ETs or EWs might have sailed with us for a few shorter operations. I remember getting one guy a couple of times and then when he asked for another temp duty, that just happened to include Hong Kong and Subic, that the request to both assist, get operational experience and take advantage of the varied cultural and educational experiences available, that “they” decided he was taking advantage of the opportunity/situation and denied it. I’m not sure if any of the other Ops, Engineering or Weapons types also augmented us at the time. Eventually I ended up working at Hughes Aircraft in Fullerton, CA. At the time, the relieved/retired Captain (Pearlman) of the Leahy was working in Program Management at Hughes Aircraft and while he was pointed out to me, the “opportunity” to share stories about being in Yokosuka at the same time never really came up. Interesting coincidence. I’d expect we have rather different memories of the times. LTjg. Graig Gillette (USS Lockwood FF-1064) 21 July 2017
Don Tonkin Remembers....
I was the diver who made the initial survey of the damage incurred on the night of the grounding, after the ship was towed stern-first into drydock 6 in Yokosuka.
That night I was sleeping in the diving locker on the couch when my supervisor woke me up and said to get my gear to the boat for an emergency dive on the USS Leahy - She had run aground and had just been towed into drydock 6.. I would be the diver. He then got on the phone and started to recall the rest of the guys. This was somewhere around 1 AM. When most everyone arrived, we set out for drydock 6 on the diving boat. I jumped in off the bow to commence my inspection. I was in scuba on a signaling line. I was using a handheld flashlight. I went down the stem forward, and then damn near accidently almost swam into the sonar done, or anyway what was left of it on the hull. The steel sonar dome had been torn off the hull. There were transducers and wires hanging down all over the place. I then swam around the hull up forward and ran into a strip of metal about two feet wide that had been ripped back and corkscrewed from each side. It was sticking out at 90 degrees from the side of the ship. There was one sticking out from both the port and starboard sides. As this was my first ship ever seeing this kind of damage….I was a bit overwhelmed by it all. I decided to go to the back of the sonar dome and follow the opening in the hull and to see where it took me. I even seen a white glove hanging part ways out of what I took to be a supply compartment. There were brand new swabs up inside that I could see. When the crack finally ended, I had lost track as to how far I had traveled…..I decided to surface and get my bearings before continuing. When I surfaced, I yelled up to the guys onboard, “What frame is this?” They were yelling back at me about what I had seen. I told them, “I asked first.” They told me it was frame 34. I then told them the ship was ‘open to the sea’ from here forward and that the crack ended here. My supervisor, a very professional and task oriented individual then told me to continue. I was on the starboard side. I went down and continued. Next I found the bilge keel to be flattened against the side of the ship in its entirety. With my flashlight getting dim, and my air a little low, we concluded our dive, for now. The next morning (about 2-3 hours later) we were right back alongside. This time we used surface supplied air and had an underwater tv unit with us. We continued the inspection and discovered that both props had approximately 6 “ chewed off of most of the blades. During the following week, we went to Fort 3 (obstruction that the USS Leahy encountered) out in the channel, and recovered lost transducers, and some of the screw brass. We also had to cut those two pieces of ripped hull up forward prior to the ship entering drydock.
Don Tonkin - US Navy Diver 3 June 2019
Paul F. Shippnick remembers....
I was onboard USS Leahy (CG-16) September 1978 at the time of the grounding. The ensign (photo in cruise book) told me the dry dock rent was $85,000, he showed me the invoice.
Paul Frederick Schippnick PACE instructor March 2021
Frank J. Yontz remembers....
I was a 2nd class HT the night we hit the rock. I was heading to DCC to assume the watch, I was on the mess decks when we hit. I screamed : “Everyone get to their GQ stations NOW!” I contacted Main Control and asked MM1 Shafer ( I was On Scene leader for Rep 5) if the pits we OK. He said they were. I went to Rep. 2 to assist. In the fwd. Bos’n locker there was a hatch that we opened to drop the electrical submersible pumps down (4) to TRY and keep up with the water coming in. Water was pouring into the ship, we could see it and hear it. There is/was a peak tank man hole in the fwd. part of the ship. I volunteered to take a bag of large box wrenches in a canvas bag and check the nuts holding down the tank cover. If that cover were to start leaking we really would have lost the old girl. I crawled through the interior fish frames till I found the tank cover. Please keep in mind that water is flooding in, I’m in a space with electrical pumps running and it’s dark as hell. I was so dam scared, seriously I pissed myself twice. Still don’t know if I was that scared or I just wanted something to warm me up. I was 21 or 22 and probably 40-50 pounds lighter but the ship really needed me, she needed us ALL. I ensured that the tank covering was intact and got the hell out of there! Yea I left the bag of wrenches. We fought the situation like we trained for it, WE were in automatic! That experience is just ONE reason Leahy crew members were so tight. We (the repair party) were up @ 36-40 hours. After we were safe in drydock, tired, wet and stressed out as we were we didn’t hit our racks. Oh Hell no, we all went and got S’faced and celebrated saving the ship and being alive to tell about it.
Frank J. Yontz October 2021
Chuck Warzyn remembers....
I was the journalist assigned to the USS Leahy during the 1978-79 Westpac when it ran aground. I was allowed to devote a two-page spread in the cruisebook to the incident (see 1978-1979 WestPac Cruisebook Photos above). I also wrote a parody of the wreck based on Gordon Lightfoot's Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, called "The Wreck of the USS Leahy".
I recall being present at the change of command when Captain Pearlman took over from Captain Sinclair, and at the change of command when Captain Ulrich relieved Captain Pearlman of command. As you can imagine, the second change of command was far less fancy than the first one.
Chuck Warzyn, former JO1 April 2022
I am still looking for additional information regarding this incident!! If you have info to add - mail me at: kengems@ussleahy.com
I am still looking for additional information regarding this incident!!
If you have info to add - mail me at: kengems@ussleahy.com