The following is a representation of the headlines, photograph, and article announcing the infamous collision of the USS Wasp with the USS Hobson. The article appeared in the The Buffalo Evening News, Buffalo, New York.
The Buffalo Evening News (No Date)
_______________________________
Wasp Radar Failure Admitted,
First Hint of Carrier Trouble_______________________________________
By the United Press.
Bayonne, N.J., May 13. - The
commander of the Wasp testified
today that the aircraft carrier's
radar failed shortly before it
knifed into the destroyer-mine
sweeper Hobson, which sank with
a loss of 176 lives.Captain Burnham C. McCaffree told
a three-man naval board of inquiry
that the Wasp's radar failed just
after a watch officer reported the
Hobson 3100 yards away during a
simulated night attack in mid-
ocean on April 16.Capt. McCaffree said he was
forced to depend on visual observa-
tions from that time until the
crash, and that visual observation
was "extremely difficult" because
the ships were operating with only
"red truck lights."The skipper said he followed the
course of the destroyer through
binoculars and ordered "all en-
gines back emergency" when the
truck lights of the Hobson began
to move steadily closer. However,
the Hobson's lights "closed rapidly
and the ship passed across."Only Minute Elapsed
A portion of Capt. McCaffree's
testimony was taken behind locked
doors for security purposes.Counsel for the court, composed
of three rear admirals, asked the
soft-spoken skipper how much
time elapsed between his order to
back all engines and the collision."About one minute." Capt. Mc-
Caffree replied."And at the time you gave the
order, you knew the Hobson was
in dangerous proximity? Did it
occur to you to give a whistle si-
gnal?""Yes." Capt. McCaffree an-
swered.However, he went on to explain
that he felt the whistle signal
would be confusing because of the
nearness of the two ships. He said
he did not believe he would have
had time to sound the whistle three
times. One whistles he said sig-
nifies a right turn, two blasts a
left turn, and three blasts means
reverse the engines.Later, Capt. McCaffree, an An
napolis graduate, was asked who had
control of the Wasp at the time of
the collision and the skipper re-
plied: "I did.""Just Rained Lifejackets"
Failure of the radar aboard the
Wasp was the first hint of any
trouble on the giant carrier prior
to the collision.All earlier testimony had indi-
cated that Lieut. Commander Wil-
liam J. Tierney, captain of the
Hobson, had lapsed somewhere in
negotiating the night maneuver.After the collision, Capt. McCaf-
free said there was "no organized
search" immediately for survivors.
He said the passed practically
simultaneously with the collision
and it "just rained lifejackets."Capt. McCaffree, who testified
for 35 minutes, said the Wasp jet-
tisoned 59 inflated lifeboats to the
Hobson crew members, 1250 life-
jackets, and 11 lifeboats."There were so many people in
the water that there was no or-
ganized search," he said. "We just
picked up everyone we could."On Monday, the three-man board
heard a survivor of the Hobson
quote his dead captain as saying,
"somebody didn't change course,"
just before the collision.Saw Wasp Closing In
Seaman Peter A. Mahoney of
Providence said he ran to the chart
house when the bow of the Wasp
knifed into the Hobson and saw
Commander Tierney."The ship was listing badly but I
didn't think then we would sink."
Seaman Mahoney added. "I asked
him, 'What happened captain?'"He said 'somebody didn't
change course.' Then he was
washed away by the sea."Ensign Donald E. Lane of Bu-
uchanan, N.J., testified he was
watching the Hobson's radar screen
before the crash."I saw the distance between the
Wasp and the Hobson closing fast,"
he said. "When it shortened to
1240 yards, I called the bridge and
I asked them what the hell they
were doing with the range closing
so fast.""I asked them if they had missed
the signal (from the Wasp that it
was making a sharp right turn).
The said no, they were making the
turn now."_________________________
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