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The
Loss of the USS Memphis on 29 August 1916 - Was a Tsunami Responsible?
Analysis
of a Naval Disaster
George Pararas-Carayannis
Copyright © 2005.
All Rights Reserved
 On the 29th of August in 1916,
while anchored off Santo Domingo (Ciudad Trujillo) harbor in
the Dominican Republic, the large 14,500-ton displacement armored
cruiser USS Memphis was unexpectedly struck broadside by an unusual
series of large waves.
A short time later, a mammoth wave - measuring 70 feet or more
in height - slammed into her, driving her violently into the
rocks onshore.
What started as a
normal, routine day on board the USS Memphis had turned into
a major disaster for the U.S. Navy - in a little over an hour.
That fateful afternoon, forty-three people lost their lives and
204 more were injured.
The ship itself sustained
irrepairable damage. Though she appeared to be nearly normal
in appearance above the water, the USS Memphis was a total
loss. Her bottom was driven in, her hull structure was badly
distorted and her boilers had exploded. Her 23,000 horsepower
steam power plant had been destroyed. The Memphis, would never
sail again. Although her guns and other components were eventually
salvaged, her punctured and twisted hull remained an abandoned
wreck on the cliffs of Santo Domingo for 21 years - before being
dismantled by ship breakers.
A subsequent Court
of Inquiry and the court-martial of the captain, erroneously
attributed the loss of the ship to a tsunami. A lot has been
written about the loss of the USS Memphis but none of the explanations
that have been given are correct.
To read more
about what really happened, you may purchase this document by
clicking on the "select" link below. (20
pages, fully illustrated in pdf format)
This present,
in-depth analysis of the disaster discusses in detail why the
loss of the ship was not due to a tsunami and unravels the long-standing
mystery surrounding the avoidable loss of the USS Memphis.
US Navy Photos
US Navy Photo
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