The SS ''Charles Henderson'' was a

Liberty ship Liberty ships were a class of cargo ship built in the United States during World War II under the Emergency Shipbuilding Program. Though British in concept, the design was adopted by the United States for its simple, low-cost construction. Mass ...

built during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. It was destroyed in an ammunition explosion on 9 April 1945.

Namesake

One source states that the vessel was named for

Charles Richmond Henderson Charles Richmond Henderson (1848–1915) was an American Baptist minister and sociologist. After being a pastor for nearly 20 years in Terre Haute and Detroit, he took an appointment as an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Ch ...

(1848–1915), a Baptist clergyman and sociologist. Another source claims that it was named for

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

Governor Charles Henderson.

Service

The vessel was operated for the

War Shipping Administration The War Shipping Administration (WSA) was a World War II emergency war agency of the US government, tasked to purchase and operate the civilian shipping tonnage the United States needed for fighting the war. Both shipbuilding under the Maritime Co ...

by the Mississippi Shipping Company, New Orleans, from 1943. On 21 January 1944, the ''Charles Henderson'' collided with the coastal tanker MV ''Plattsburgh Socony'' near

Cape Henlopen Cape Henlopen is the southern cape of the Delaware Bay along the Atlantic coast of the United States. It lies in the state of Delaware, near the town of Lewes, where the Delaware Bay meets the Atlantic Ocean. Off the coast on the bay side are two ...

, Delaware. The tanker caught fire as a result. "Fourth Naval District officers said one of the ships burst into flames after the collision and was abandoned an hour later." One seaman was reported missing and four suffered burns. "A navy picket boat drew alongside the burning tanker – and 'stayed despite the danger of the ship exploding at any moment' – to rescue four crewmen marooned on the bow. Other survivors escaped in a lifeboat." Loading in June 1944, the ''Charles Henderson'' was one of many vessels at

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

for the

invasion of Europe Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 (D-Day) with the Norm ...

. The ship sailed from

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

on 25 February 1945, bound for

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

, Virginia. There it loaded 6,675 tons of aircraft bombs in its holds. With loading complete, it steamed for

Bari Bari ( , ; nap, label= Barese, Bare ; lat, Barium) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia region, on the Adriatic Sea, southern Italy. It is the second most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy a ...

, Italy on 9 March, but returned the same day to repair its condenser's main induction valve. The ship waited five days for the next Mediterranean-bound convoy, UGS-80. Upon arriving at

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

, the ''Charles Henderson'' proceeded independently to Bari, via Augusta, Sicily, arriving 5 April.

Fate

In one of the largest ammunition disasters of World War II, the ''Charles Henderson'' was being unloaded at berth 14 at

, in

Southern Italy Southern Italy ( it, Sud Italia or ) also known as ''Meridione'' or ''Mezzogiorno'' (), is a macroregion of the Italian Republic consisting of its southern half. The term ''Mezzogiorno'' today refers to regions that are associated with the peop ...

, on 9 April 1945, when she was destroyed in a high order explosion. "This detonation caused by andling500 pound 30 kgbombs loaded with

Composition B Composition B, colloquially Comp B, is an explosive consisting of castable mixtures of RDX and TNT. It is used as the main explosive filling in artillery projectiles, rockets, land mines, hand grenades and various other munitions. It was also use ...

, killed 542 and injured 1,800. It is believed the bombs were hooked and dragged to the well, then lifted without mats. The crew may have hurried because the contract paid by number of items lifted. Buildings along the waterfront were destroyed for 2,000 feet 10 m Ships were severely damaged to 2,100 feet 40 m"file:///C:/Users/customer/Downloads/ADA507027.pdf Bari Explosion 1

Thirty-nine crew and 13 Armed Guard were killed in the explosion. The only survivor was the chief engineer, who was ashore at the time of the blast. The wreck remained in Bari until 1948, when it was sold for scrap.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Charles Henderson, SS Liberty ships Ships built in New Orleans 1943 ships World War II merchant ships of the United States Standard ship types of the United States

Namesake

Service

Fate

See also

References