Digital Extra: The Journal's 175th Anniversary

07.21.2004

1954. 103 perish in Bennington blast

The deadliest fire in Rhode Island history was touched off on May 26, 1954, when a hydraulic cylinder powering a catapult on the aircraft carrier Bennington exploded as the ship prepared to enter Narragansett Bay on its way to dock at Quonset Point.

The fire would kill 103 and injure more than 200 others.

The Journal's front page the next morning was dominated by a six-column photo of body bags arranged on the carrier's hangar deck and by a two-line headline in large bold type: "91 Killed as Explosions and Flames Ravage Inbound USS Bennington."

The lead story began:

"Three shattering explosions and roaring flames turned the aircraft carrier Bennington into a floating funeral pyre yesterday as she steamed under quiet skies toward her home port at Quonset.

"The Navy counted 91 known dead and 201 injured some 12 hours after the blasts had made forward compartments of the 32,000-ton carrier a smoke-filled shambles."

The first-day coverage included two pages of photographs taken aboard the stricken warship and ashore at Quonset Point and one sailor's story of talking by intercom with a group of men trapped below deck as their air ran out and they died.

The death toll stood at 91 in the May 27 paper. It rose to 93 in the May 28 paper and 99 in the paper of May 29. On May 31, Memorial Day, The Journal reported the 100th victim had died. In the ensuing days and weeks, three more names were added to the list of the dead.

A Journal reporter was present June 4 when the court of inquiry heard pivotal testimony from a junior officer whose quarters were directly above the catapult room. He awoke at 6 a.m. the day of the fire when jet launching operations began, 11 minutes before the disaster.

He noticed a strange whine coming from the pumps that run the catapult mechanism, then heard a voice coming up through the steel floor: "This thing is going to blow. Let's get out of here."

He wrapped a towel around himself and ran for it, suffering a gash to the head, a leg injury and flash burns in the explosion that destroyed his quarters. When he finally reached the flight deck, he was covered in hydraulic oil.