18 Dead, 19 Missing On Hospital Ship Sunk In Collision

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23343, 28 August 1950, Page 5

18 Dead, 19 Missing On Hospital Ship Sunk In Collision

(11 a.m.) SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 26. When the United States Navy hospital ship Benevolence sank four miles oft San Francisco after a collision with the freighter Mary Luckcnbach in dense fog late on Friday 18 persons lost their lives and ID are still unaccounted for.

The navy announced tonight that its count of those aboard the Benevolence was 524 of whom 487 survivors had been identified. Eighteen bodies had been recovered.

The Mary Luckenbach, of 8162 tons, struck the Benevolence, of 15,400 tons, amidships. The hospital ship’s plates were ripped wide open and she sank in less than 15 minutes.

The Benevolence went down so fast that only one lifeboa t could be launched. Rafts put over the side saved many.

The freighter had her bows smashed but suffered no casualties. Fog and darkness hampered the efforts of more than 50 rescue vessels. One of the first rescue ships on the scene was from the Coast Guard. It immediately radioed for help because there were more survivors, than it could handle. One of the dead was a woman nurse who expired in the water a few minutes before rescuers reached her.

On Trial Run

The Benevolence was on a trial run before sailing for the Far East. It was recently withdrawn from the “mothball fleet” for war service.

The Mary Luckenbach, which was outward bound, carried a crew of 49.

Captain Bartn Bacon, aged 49, the commanding officer of the Benevolence, said: “We were returning to San Francisco from the trial and Captain Havens, the civilian harbour pilot, was piloting. He said to me: ‘I heard a whistle.’ Captan Havens then ordered full stop and full right rudder. Then a ship appeared while we were making the turn and it hit us.” Captain Bacon floated -free as the ship sank. He was in the water for two hours before being picked up.

“Terrific Crash”

Most of the crew of the hospital ship were having a meal when the collision occurred with a terrific crash.

Ronald Badkirk, a carpenter, said: “I ran up on deck and jumped into the water and swam to a raft. There were 20 people clinging to the raft when a boat picked us up. I was on the raft for two days at Guadalcanal but this 75 minutes in cold water seemed twice as long.”

Engineman Robert White was kept afloat by a lifejacket and part of the ship’s railing for one hour. “I was two decks down when tho ship hit us, but I did not take long to reach the main deck,” he said.

Lieutenant Gail Matthews, recuperating in hospital, said: '‘Eleven of _us were roped together by our chief medical officer. Then the ship rolled over on her side. We walked off the bottom into the water.”