Seven four-stack World War I era destroyers ran aground on the evening of 8 September 1923 resulting in the US Navy' largest peacetime loss. Honda Point, or Point Pedernales, is north of Santa Barbara California off Point Arguello.
Twenty-three sailors of Destroyer Squadron Eleven (DesRon 11) died at the end of a speed run from San Francisco to San Diego. Heavy fog and faulty navigation resulted in the loss of seven of fourteen Clemson-class destroyers. Two additional ships grounded but were able to maneuver off the rocks.
A disaster like this seems inconceivable in this day of GPS and radar but these innovations were decades away. Radio direction finding (RDF) was in its infancy and was not trusted by navigators. A few radio transmitting stations were set up along the coast that allowed ships to calculate their positions by triangulating the angle to two or more stations. RDF was the basis for Loran-C that was the dominant navigation system for decades until GPS replaced it.
This site is off Vandenberg Space Force Base and is one of the most challenging dive sites on the Pacific Coast. I traded sea stories with a few divers from The California Wreck Divers in the early 1980s who managed to recover a few brass fittings from the collapsed debris field but were skunked by weather 4 out of 5 times they attempted to reach the site.
The government declared all seven ships a total loss ships on the rocks after removing a small amount of equipment. Salvage rights were sold to Robert J. Smith of Oakland, California for $1,035. Salvage operations were thwarted by high seas and the remote location. None of the wrecks are above the surface today.
The squadron commander, Captain E. H. Watson, accepted full responsibility, effectively ending his naval career in as a captain in November 1929. He was on the fast track for admiral.
Other reading
California Wreck Divers: The Tragedy at Honda
US Naval Institute, Naval History Magazine
Tragedy at Honda by by Charles A. Lockwood
Destroyers On The Rocks: Seven Ships Lost by Spencer Duckworth
Twenty-three sailors of Destroyer Squadron Eleven (DesRon 11) died at the end of a speed run from San Francisco to San Diego. Heavy fog and faulty navigation resulted in the loss of seven of fourteen Clemson-class destroyers. Two additional ships grounded but were able to maneuver off the rocks.
Ships Lost
- USS Delphy (DD-261) was the squadron's flagship, 3 men lost.
- USS S. P. Lee (DD-310)
- USS Young (DD-312), 20 men lost.
- USS Woodbury (DD-309)
- USS Nicholas (DD-311)
- USS Fuller (DD-297)
- USS Chauncey (DD-296)
A disaster like this seems inconceivable in this day of GPS and radar but these innovations were decades away. Radio direction finding (RDF) was in its infancy and was not trusted by navigators. A few radio transmitting stations were set up along the coast that allowed ships to calculate their positions by triangulating the angle to two or more stations. RDF was the basis for Loran-C that was the dominant navigation system for decades until GPS replaced it.
This site is off Vandenberg Space Force Base and is one of the most challenging dive sites on the Pacific Coast. I traded sea stories with a few divers from The California Wreck Divers in the early 1980s who managed to recover a few brass fittings from the collapsed debris field but were skunked by weather 4 out of 5 times they attempted to reach the site.
The government declared all seven ships a total loss ships on the rocks after removing a small amount of equipment. Salvage rights were sold to Robert J. Smith of Oakland, California for $1,035. Salvage operations were thwarted by high seas and the remote location. None of the wrecks are above the surface today.
The squadron commander, Captain E. H. Watson, accepted full responsibility, effectively ending his naval career in as a captain in November 1929. He was on the fast track for admiral.
Other reading
California Wreck Divers: The Tragedy at Honda
US Naval Institute, Naval History Magazine
Disaster at Honda Point, The U.S. Navy's Largest Peacetime Loss of Ship
Tragedy at Honda by by Charles A. Lockwood
Destroyers On The Rocks: Seven Ships Lost by Spencer Duckworth
