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1953 USS Leyte aircraft carrier explosion.....
1953 USS Leyte aircraft carrier explosion.....
Item # 721294
October 17, 1953
MINNEAPOLIS MORNING TRIBUNE, October 17, 1953
* USS Leyte explosion fire disaster
* United States Navy Aircraft Carrier
The front page has a banner headline: "BLAST ON AIRCRAFT CARRIER KILLS 30" with subheads and a few related photos. (see images)
Complete with 20 pages, light toning and a little wear at the margins, generally nice.
AI notes: On October 16, 1953, the USS Leyte (CV‑32), then undergoing conversion to an anti-submarine aircraft carrier at the Boston Naval Shipyard, suffered a catastrophic explosion in its port catapult machinery room, a compartment beneath the hangar deck. The blast, caused by the accidental ignition of high-pressure hydraulic fluid used in the catapult system, immediately triggered a massive fire that raged for over four hours, belching flames approximately 25 feet above the hangar deck. The disaster claimed the lives of 37 men, including both Navy personnel and civilian workers, and injured 28 others, marking it as one of the deadliest peacetime naval accidents on the Boston waterfront. The ship sustained significant damage, delaying its conversion, but was eventually repaired and returned to service. The incident highlighted the extreme hazards of shipyard work, particularly when dealing with pressurized systems and flammable materials, and remains a largely underrecognized but tragic event in U.S. naval history.
Category: The 20th Century
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