SSV. A. Fogg

History
United States
Name	Four Lakes(1944–1971) V. A. Fogg(1971–1972)
Owner	U.S. War Shipping Administration (1944–46) U.S. Maritime Commission (1946–56) Tanker Four Lakes, Inc. (1956–71) Ithaca Corp. (1971–72)
Operator	War Emergency Tankers(1944-45) American Petroleum Transport Corp. (1946-47) Texas City Tankers, Inc. (1956-72)
Builder	Alabama Dry Dock & Shipbuilding Co., Mobile, Alabama
Yard number	268
Launched	21 December 1943
Completed	26 January 1944
In service	29 January 1944
Identification	Official number:244971
Fate	Exploded and sank, 1 February 1972
General characteristics
Class and type	ModifiedType T2-SE-A1tanker
Tonnage	As built: 10,448GRT 16,613DWT After 1959: 12,569GRT 19,902DWT
Length	As built: 523 ft (159 m) After 1959: 572 ft (174 m)
Beam	As built: 68 ft (21 m) After 1959: 75 ft 4 in (22.96 m)
Propulsion	Turbo-electric,6,000 shp (4,474 kW)
Speed	15knots(28 km/h; 17 mph)
Range	12,600 nmi (23,300 km; 14,500 mi)
Troops	29Naval Armed Guard
Armament	1944–45 1 ×5 "/38-caliberdual-purpose gun 1 ×3 "/50-caliberdual-purpose gun 8 ×20 mmanti-aircraft guns

SSV.A. Foggwas a modifiedT2 tankerbuilt in 1943, asSSFour Lakes.After service in World War II, she was eventually sold into private ownership. She was renamedV.A. Foggin 1971, shortly before she exploded and sank offFreeport, Texas.

Service history

Construction

The ship was built by theAlabama Dry Dock & Shipbuilding Companyin Mobile, Alabama, as aType T2-SE-A1tanker for theU.S. Maritime Commission.She was launched on 21 December 1943and completed by 26 January 1944.

World War II

Like most other merchant ships during the war,Four Lakeswas fitted with a defensive armament. This consisted of a5 "/38 caliberdual-purpose gunat the stern, a3 "/50 caliberdual-purpose gun in the bows, and eight 20 mm anti-aircraft guns. These were operated by a crew of 29 men of theNaval Armed Guard;alieutenant,25 gunners and three signalmen.

TheFour Lakeswas operated under charter on behalf of theWar Shipping AdministrationbyWar Emergency Tankersand sailed from Mobile on her maiden voyage on 29 January 1944, commanded byCaptainElmer O. Wolfe. She arrived atGalveston, Texas,the following day to take aboard a cargo ofkerosene,which she delivered to New York on 9 February. She then sailed toBaton Rouge, Louisiana,to take on a cargo of gasoline, before returning to New York, where she joined a convoy bound forLiverpool,England, arriving there on 12 March.Four Lakesreturned to New York, for another cargo of gasoline in April and made two further trans-Atlantic round trips in May and June, often with an additional cargo of aircraft on her deck. On 1 July she sailed in convoy toCasablanca,French Morocco,carrying fuel and aircraft. After offloading she sailed toGibraltar,and was promptly placed inquarantinefor 10 days, because of a suspected outbreak ofbubonic plaguein Casablanca. After three weeks she joined a convoy bound for New York, arriving there on 3 August.Four Lakessailed on two further convoys between the U.S. and the U.K. in August and September, before taking a cargo of gasoline from New York toNaples,Italy, in October. On 23 November she sailed in convoy from New York toSwansea,Wales, with a cargo ofaviation fuel,returning to Baltimore, Maryland, on 23 December.

On 19 January 1945, following a refitFour Lakessailed independently from New York toMadras,India, via theSuez Canal,with a cargo of 100-octane fuel and 12 military aircraft on deck. She arrived at Madras on 20 February, unloaded and then sailed via Calcutta forAbadan, Iran,at the northern end of thePersian Gulf,to take on a cargo of 80-octane gasoline. She transited the Suez Canal, and arrived at Naples on 7 April to unload. She then sailed for New York, arriving on 23 April. The next day she joined another convoy, which arrived in theThames Estuaryon 5 May, two days before theGerman surrender.Four Lakessailed fromSouthend,Essex, on 8 May, and although the war in Europe was officially over, the normal wartime routine was maintained, with the ship sailing in convoy with a naval escort, and arriving at New York on 19 May. On 4 June, following a refit with a cargo of 100-octane gasoline andP-51 Mustangfighters as deck cargo, she sailed for Madras, India, arriving there on 4 July. She then sailed to Abadan to take on a load of diesel oil, before proceeding independently toDarwin, Australia.From Darwin she sailed with two other merchant vessels, escorted by three warships, to the Philippines, arriving atManilaon 22 August. Following thesurrender of Japanon 2 September,Four Lakessailed across the Pacific, and in late October, carried diesel fuel from thePanama Canal ZonetoSan Pedro, California.She then sailed through the Panama Canal, and arrived atHouston, Texas,on 19 November. In December, she sailed toHamburg,Germany.

Post-war

In February 1946, theFour Lakeswas rechartered to theAmerican Petroleum Transport Corporation,and in July, carried a cargo fromTexas City, Texas,to Baltimore, Maryland. She was again chartered to the American Petroleum Transport Corp. in 1947, but otherwise remained as part of theReserve Fleetat Mobile, Alabama.

She was finally sold in 1956 to Tanker Four Lakes, Inc. ofWilmington, Delaware,and was operated under abareboat charterby Texas City Refinery, Inc. (later renamed Texas City Tankers, Inc.) on routes between theGulf Coastand theEast Coast,transporting a variety ofpetrochemicalproducts.

In 1959 the ship was extended by theMaryland Shipbuilding and Drydock Companyby cutting the hull in half and inserting a new midsection, built by the American Bridge Division ofOrange, Texas,part of theU.S. SteelCorporation. This increased the length of the ship from 523 feet (159 m) to 572 feet (174 m), and increased her size from 10,448 to 12,569gross register tons(GRT).

Sinking

In 1971Four Lakeswas sold to Ithaca Corporation of Wilmington, Delaware, and was renamedV.A. Foggon 11 August.

On 1 February 1972, the ship, commanded by Captain John Edward Christy Sr., sailed fromFreeport,Texasto a point 50 miles (80 km) offshore to clean its cargo tanks of remainingbenzeneresidue, before sailing toGalvestonto load a cargo ofxylene.The ship exploded during the cleaning operation, sending up a column of smoke over 10,000 feet (3,000 m) in height.

On 1 February, a large smoke cloud was reported by a NASA pilot and a commercial airliner. A Coast Guard aircraft flew to the cloud and investigated it. Due to lack of light it stopped searching after two hours but returned the next morning. Nothing was spotted after nearly three hours. Later that day the company notified the Coast Guard that the tanker was overdue, leading to the smoke being associated with the tanker. Two aircraft together with surface vessels were dispatched to search.

The Coast Guard carried out aerial and surface searches over ten days, finding some debris. These searches were chiefly to the southwest of the ship's actual position. The ship was found by MVMiss Freeportusing sidescan sonar. Divers positively identified the wreck on 13 February.

A private charter hired by family members found the vessel, from the coordinates of a NASA pilot who saw a mushroom cloud in the Gulf, and a person off the Galveston jetties who saw a ball of fire. The private charter took those two coordinates and went directly toV. A. Fogg.A search found the ship lying in 100 feet (30 m) of water in two sections, at position28°35′36.6″N94°48′44.937″W.

An examination revealed that the cargo section was almost totally destroyed by the explosion, and theengine order telegraphstill registering "full ahead". All ofV.A. Fogg's crew members lost their lives. However, the chief radio officer, William A. Shaw, had left the ship for an emergency medical procedure only a few hours before the ship exploded.

The Coast Guard investigation revealed a lack of proper training by the crew or contractors in venting and cleaning benzene, which can explode if residual fumes come in contact with an electrical charge; such a charge may have come from a "red devil" blower, a device used to ventilate spaces. Witnesses had seen red devil blowers lowered into the holds by the crew in the past, and one was recovered from the wreckage, in the hold and rigged to be used.

Within a year of her sinking,V. A. Foggwas subject to the writings of variousBermuda Triangleauthors, some contending that no bodies were recovered except that of the captain, who was found sitting in his cabin still holding a coffee cup. The explanations were easily refuted by officialUnited States Coast Guardrecords and photographs, as well as the recovery of several bodies.John Wallace Spencer (author ofLimbo of the Lost) claimed the incident had "paranormal" connections, for which he was widely ridiculed by fellow researchers and skeptical writers alike.In fact, three bodies were recovered (only two, including the captain, were identified),and it was not even close to the Bermuda Triangle.

Currently, the wreckage ofV.A. Foggshares space with a number of sunkenLiberty shipsand barges in what has since been called the Freeport Liberty Ship Reef Site, anunderwater parkcatering to scuba enthusiasts and fishermen.

Memorial

An anchor fromV. A. Foggis on display outside the Texas City Museum,Texas City,with a plaque commemorating the 39 men lost aboard her.

External links

• US Coast Guard Report on loss of V.A.Fogg pdf file accessed 16 November 2016
• "Delores Alston Smith v. Ithaca Corporation & Texas City Tankers Corp".United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit. 22 February 1980. Archived fromthe originalon 15 May 2010.
• Texas Parks and Wildlife (Ships to Reefs)
• Sketch of the wreck of the V.A.Fogg