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Explosion aboard the SS Badger State

December 26, 1969

Fire on the deck of SS BADGER STATE on December 26, 1969. The bomb pallets broke loose during a stor
Fire on the deck of SS BADGER STATE on December 26, 1969. The bomb pallets broke loose during a stor
Fire on the deck of SS BADGER STATE on December 26, 1969. The bomb pallets broke loose during a storm in North Pacific, and a bomb exploded.

The SS Badger State, a civilian-owned 441-foot cargo vessel chartered by the U.S. Military Sea Transportation Service, encounters a storm in the middle of the North Pacific Ocean. It is carrying a cargo of munitions intended for delivery to South Vietnam. Several bombs in the hold break loose and explode. The explosion blows open the vessel’s side, and the 40 members of the crew abandon ship. When a merchant ship arrives 30 minutes after the explosion, it recovers only 14 survivors. A total of 26 crewmen die.1

“Marine Casualty Report: SS Badger State: Explosion Aboard and Eventual Sinking in the North Pacific Ocean, December 26, 1969,” U.S. Coast Guard Marine Board of Investigation Report and Commandant’s Actions (Washington, D.C.: National Transportation Safety Board, December 7, 1971), 1–9, http://www.uscg.mil/mwg-internal/de5fs23hu73ds/progress?id=7WZIfu+FVH (link is external) (accessed 9/25/14); William R. Benedetto, Sailing into the Abyss: A True Story of Heroism on the High Seas (New York: Citadel Press, 2005), xiii–xv.