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t 0625 on 16 December 1922, the USS Bainbridgec (DD-246) was under way at 16 knots in the Sea < Marmara on her way back to her Turkish base in Constantinople.
The Bainbridge had been on an uneventful patrol of ^ Eastern Mediterranean for several days. During this Pe' riod, the captain, Lieutenant Commander W. A. Edwards* kept his crew busy with lifeboat, fire, and abandon ship drills.
The U. S. fleet, together with the naval forces of Gre3’ Britain, France, and Italy, was in Constantinople because of the Greco-Turkish War. The Turks had been victorious' The Allied forces were there to maintain peace in the d®' militarized zone of Constantinople and to keep the D3f' danelles open for free passage to the Black Sea.
stern
on a parallel course.
Helmsman
rudder.”
captain entered the chart room and, noting the
ship
in„ ' Poshion, quickly wrote a message: “S.O.S. Burn- by yCSSc' off Stephano Light. U.S.S. Bainbridge standing ra<j: ‘§ned W. A. Edwards, Captain. ” He handed it to the
■0 Operator r—
. .Sparks,
off.1 0638 the Bainbridge was on true course 048°. The r (lcer'°f-the-watch, Lieutenant Conrad Ridgeway, was urning to the bridge from the chart room when he was aitled to see a brilliant flash of light on the horizon, off t^ j^ip’s port quarter. Another flash of light, larger than ■ lrsL followed a few seconds later. Through his binoc- 1 rs’ Lieutenant Ridgeway saw a faint silhouette of a §e steam vessel about five miles off the Bainbridge's
Ridgeway shouted. “Give me hard left
l ^arci left rudder. Aye, Sir,” the helmsman echoed as spun the ship’s wheel.
e lieutenant spoke to the engine room. “Emergency, engines full ahead. Flank speed.”
Aye, Sir, all engines full ahead flank.” ce destroyer careened hard to port as her speed in- „eased to 25 knots. As Lieutenant Ridgeway sounded the era^ alarm, he shouted, “Orderly, alert the captain and the boatswain to assemble the crew.” e captain was sleeping in the emergency cabin that thr C .uP°n the bridge. The abrupt change of course ate]W ™IT1 a§ainst the side of the bunk. He awoke immedi- paj. and dressed hastily, putting his uniform on over his T’heI|'as- Grabbing his binoculars, he strode to the bridge. ward I*01*11® vessel was clearly visible now. On the for- to PaecL, hundreds of passengers and crew had gathered ,,^aPe the heat and smoke.
to rV Ridgeway,” the captain said, “Notify all officers ator P0rt to the bridge at once. Orderly, tell the radio oper-
Want to see him immediately.”
1 ----------------------- \ __________
said V—“’ this message off right away,” the captain
°n th uCn turned to his officers who were assembled and 6 °r'^§e’ “Gentlemen, make all preparations for fire y0,.rrescue- There is no time to be lost. I’m counting on At o°°d Jfdgoaent.”
direct' destroyer’s lifeboats were lowered, with
P°ss h|)nS t0 Proceecl to the burning vessel and render all tend iC ass'stance. Minutes later, fire hoses were ex- sinn a'0n8 the deck, water pumps inspected, and colli- In n!atS made ready.
br0b£e stcL bay, the hospital steward and corpsmen had p|jesrLout cots, sheets, blankets, and extra medical sup- alreaw° ship’s cooks, aided by several volunteers, had l°ns ^ started to make hundreds of sandwiches and gal- As0thSouP and coffee for their expected guests, on tjj 16 destroyer drew closer to the ship, the passengers cheere f°recastle waved frantically and gave a rousing f°g h-hich was followed by two long blasts of the ship’s
to Cj the screws turning slowly, the Bainbridge began WhCn u s*t‘P while the captain assessed the situation.
Oar,-^ e reached her stern, he noted her French flag and
ship uT^e Vinh-Long, a French military transport. The as en route from the French port of Bizerte in North
Tunisia to Constantinople. She was carrying nearly 500 passengers and crew, some of whom were families of French naval officers. The Vinh-Long was heavily loaded with munitions for the French fleet in Constantinople and carried numerous containers of highly explosive hydrogen for a French dirigible there.
The Bainbridge had just cleared the Vinh-Long's stem when a violent explosion in the area of the after well deck rocketed the mainmast high in the air. It narrowly missed the destroyer as it slammed into the sea. A shower of steel and wood fragments and other debris covered the Bainbridge and the surrounding sea. One sailor was badly cut on the cheek by a piece of shrapnel from an exploding shell. He was the destroyer’s only casualty. The explosion caused dozens of the passengers on the Vinh-Long to panic and jump into the sea. The air temperature was 52°, and the sea was probably not much warmer. Had they not been quickly picked up by the destroyer’s lifeboats they would not have lasted long in the bone-chilling water.
It is an axiom of all seafarers knowledgeable in good seamanship that one never lays his ship alongside any ship in danger of sinking. To do so would risk his own vessel’s safety. A roaring, fast-moving fire with flames 20 feet high was now licking the forward superstructure. Captain Edwards made his decision. “Mr. Ridgeway, order the deck force to stand by their lines. We’re going alongside the Vinh-Long to take passengers over the side.”
At 0700, lines were run to the ship and the Bainbridge made ready to receive the passengers. At 0703, a terrific explosion, more violent than the first, erupted amidship on the Vinh-Long. The stern mooring lines parted. The Bainbridge swung out and away from the transport and was now at right angles to her. The bow lines snapped and the destroyer floated free. The Vinh-Long's oil tanks had ruptured and huge oil patches were ablaze on the surrounding waters.
For several moments, Captain Edwards and others on the bridge were rendered speechless by the concussion following the explosion. By the time the captain regained his faculties, the ships were a few yards apart.
Captain Edwards was a compassionate man. He could easily see the anxious faces of the frightened passengers at the rails of the transport above him and could imagine his own family among them. He had assessed all possible means of rescue, and it was obvious that the only way was over the bow of his ship—but how?
The seas were moderate, with four- to five-foot waves, much less on the lee side of the Vinh-Long, and there was little wind. He knew, however, that it would take master steering and engine control to hold his bow against the transport’s side, and then it would be for only a moment or two. The ship was burning furiously and there were more than 300 passengers on the forecastle. There would not be time. Captain Edwards knew there was only one solution— to ram the Bainbridge into the side of the transport between her bow and superstructure.
He ordered his gunnery officer to go to the bow with a megaphone and shout to the Vinh-Long’s crew and passengers that the destroyer was going to ram their ship and to move back from the railings and brace themselves for a violent impact. The signalman was told to wigwag the same information. There was no time to be lost; in a few hours the transport would be gone.
“Helmsman,” Captain Edwards ordered. “Line her up for a ram.” To the engine room, “All engines slow astern.”
The Bainbridge slowly backed away until she was 100 yards or so from the Vinh-Long. “Stop all engines.” It was eerily quiet on the bridge as the ship lay dead in the water.
To the engineering officer, Captain Edwards phoned, “We are going to ram the transport. All engines full ahead for one minute, then all engines stop.”
“Aye, Aye, Skipper.”
The destroyer leaped forward. The engines stopped as planned. A moment later, there was a horrendous crash followed by piercing shrieks of tearing metal. Ten feet o the destroyer’s bow disappeared into the Vinh-Long s belly. The Bainbridge came to a jolting stop.
“Boatswain,” the captain shouted, “get 20 men up f°r' ward and prepare to take passengers over the bow. Tell the transport crew to drop a cargo net over the side and secure your free end to the ship!” This would prevent anyone from falling into the sea, and the passengers could clutch the net as they lowered themselves to the outstretched arms of the destroyer’s crew waiting eight feet below-
By 0730, all passengers and crew had been removed from the bow. Life boats and rafts, including those ol the Vinh-Long, had come alongside. Their wet and shiverin' passengers were quickly pulled aboard and taken beloW-
Meanwhile, flames had reached the transport’s bridSej The captain and remaining officers on board had depart^ the ship by steam launch after the last living person
was
no"'
safely on board the Bainbridge. The launch was standing by.
An examination of the destroyer’s bow below decks vealed no leaking plates. The captain was ready. It vV time to pull out.
“All hands stand by to back away.”
“Helmsman, center your rudder.” f
“Engine room, all engines full astern.” The whine
The
captain was staring straight ahead. “Good Lord she’s pulling free!” Slowly at first, foot by b0w,then s^e moved faster until the destroyer’s entire
foot
jn ,Was exposed. Tons of sea water gushed into the gap- = ole she had left in the transport’s side.
(jo0af>ta'n Edwards could see that the Vinh-Long was she me^ un*ess something—and soon. Perhaps if
Tw 7ere towed to shoal water, she could be salvaged, •nak lneS Were run out t0 the transport, but they could not that6 an^ headway- At 0930, the captain was informed died°ne t^le surv'vors’ a French Army corporal, had aba a ^ exPosure and shock. Captain Edwards decided to °ced t°n ^Urt*1er attemPts to tow the transport and to pro
Ufgent
to port with the survivors, some of whom were in
need of medical attention. sPo °Ut dme, the British destroyer Sepoy, ir bef(Se l° the ^OS the Bainbridge had sent several hours the arr'ved °n the scene. Captain Edwards informed reestroyer by megaphone that all survivors had been Sav®d from the Vinh-Long and no assistance was neces- tyjU' sent the following signal to the Sepoy: “If you Wil] e leve me and take charge of the salvage operations, I Proceed to port.” He received an affirmative reply. stan er way at 20 knots, the Bainbridge headed for Con- lnople. At 1045, she moored to buoy no. 2 in the
in re-
naval anchorage. Captain Edwards had radioed earlier that he was coming in, and several small boats from the French flagship Walkek Rousseau were awaiting his arrival. The commander of this ship, Rear Admiral Dumesnil, was the first to come on board. After hugging Captain Edwards and kissing him on both cheeks, he spotted a woman passenger dressed in an ill-fitting middie and too-tight dungarees given to her by the Bainbridge's crew. With a whoop of joy, he rushed to her and took her in his arms. After kissing her affectionately, he turned to Captain Edwards and said, “This is Madame Grand Clement, wife of my superior, Vice Admiral Grand Clement.”
A happy crew helped the passengers onto the French Navy boats alongside. The crew members had been embraced by the men and hugged and kissed by the women and children in the enthusiastic way the French show their affection.
After the last French motor-sailer loaded with survivors pulled away from the Bainbridge, Captain Edwards turned to Lieutenant Ridgeway and said, “Please have all officers and crew assemble on the foredeck immediately.” A few moments later, when the ship’s complement was lined up in three ranks before him, the captain spoke, “Gentlemen, we have all been through a strenuous and extremely hazardous experience. Individually and collectively, you have worked loyally, intelligently, and courageously. Each of you, regardless of station, has done his duty.”
The captain continued, “I have just received a radio dispatch which I would like to read to you.”
To:—The U.S.S. Bainbridge
From:—Flag Pittsburgh
Via:—Fourteenth Destroyer Squadron
Constantinople, 11:00 A. M. December 16, 1922. Congratulations to the officers and crew of the U.S.S. Bainbridge for a job well done.
Signed: Commanding Officer
Naval Levant Operations Flagship U.S.S. Pittsburgh
Commander Edwards was presented the Medal of Honor for heroism in the rescue mission by President Calvin Coolidge at the White House on 2 February 1924.
Panic in Beantown
During my tour as commanding officer of the O'Bannon (DD-987), my request to make a port visit to Boston, my hometown, was granted. To celebrate, I invited a large group of friends to tour the ship before we went out to dinner in the city.
Proudly, I led the tour of the new destroyer. Then, leaving my guests in the wardroom, I returned to my cabin to change into civilian clothes. While changing, I called the quarterdeck to notify the watch officer that 1 was going ashore.
When I returned to the wardroom, my guests were gone. I went to the quarterdeck. The watch- standers told me that the group had left in a great hurry, and was now standing on the pier.
The mystery ended when I rejoined the group. The watch officer had jumped the gun, and the word, “O’BANNON, DEPARTING,” had been passed over the 1MC before I actually crossed the quarterdeck.
Fearing the ship was getting under way, my guests fled.
Captain W. Scott Slocum, U. S. Navy (Retired)