Mustard Disaster at Bari

W.G.Ewald · Dec 15, 2013

Bari lies along the Adriatic Sea at the top of the heel of the boot of Italy (See Figure 1). During World War II, the port of Bari was under the jurisdiction of the British and was the main supply base for General Montgomeryâ€™s Eighth Army as well as the headquarters for the American Fifteenth Air Force which was activated in November 1943. Foggia, about 35 miles further north along the coast was the main operating base of the Fifteenth Air Force.
Click to expand...

In addition to the usual war material, ships moored at Bari harbor carried aviation fuel for the Fifteenth Air Force. Totally absorbed in getting the Fifteenth Air Force off the ground, the Allies gave little thought to the possibility of a German Air Raid on Bari.

The Germans needed to stop the northward advance of the Allied Army and suppress the Fifteenth Air Force. The port of Bari was critical to the supply line supporting the Allied Armies. By bombing and destroying the port of Bari, the Germans hoped to stall the Allied advance and suppress the Fifteenth Air Force.

During every campaign there was always the threat of the Germans using poison gas. By the end of 1943, the strategic initiative in the war had passed to the allies. The allies feared that Hitler could use poison gas to redress the strategic balance. While the United States condemned the use of poison gas, President Roosevelt pledged that the US would reply in kind if the Germans used poison gas first. In support of this pledge, the Liberty ship, John Harvey was selected to convey a shipment of mustard gas to Italy to be held in reserve.

The John Harvey was loaded with two thousand M41-A1 100 lb mustard bombs at the Baltimore cargo port. The John Harvey sailed for Norfolk on October 15, 1943 and then onto Oran, Algeria by convoy arriving on November 2, 1943. From Oran, it proceeded in convoy to Augusta, Sicily and then to Bari arriving at Bari on November 28, 1943.

In late November 1943, the harbor at Bari was extremely crowded and busy. All the berths in the inner harbor were full or not ready for unloading. The John Harvey was ordered to berth at Pier 29 on the East jetty (outer mole) until there was a berth free in the inner harbor where she could unload her cargo. The East jetty was extremely crowded. The Liberty ship John Motley was moored on her starboard side while the British ships Testbank and Fort Athabaska as well as the Liberty ship Joseph Wheeler were on her port side.

The John Harvey was still waiting to unload on December 2, 1943. Since secrecy was paramount and few people knew of the mustard gas on board, the John Harvey was not given priority to unload its cargo of mustard bombs.

The German attack on Bari began at 7:20 in the evening on December 2, 1943. The planes flew in from the east. The docks were brilliantly lit and the East jetty was packed with ships. There was no time for the ships in the harbor to get underway.

The Joseph Wheeler took a direct hit and exploded. Several other ships were hit and exploded. The John Harvey remained intact sustaining no direct bomb damage but caught fire when showered by flaming debris from a nearby damaged ship. The situation was extremely serious because of the mustard bombs on board. Without warning, the John Harvey blew up. Everyone on board was killed instantly and pieces of the ship and her cargo were hurled into the air. Mustard released from the broken bombs mixed with the oil on the waters surface and with billowing clouds of smoke.
Click to expand...

Mustard Disaster at Bari - Medical Countermeasures

Ads Master

Mustard Disaster at Bari

W.G.Ewald Defence Professionals/ DFI member of 2 Defence Professionals

Ads Master

Share This Page

ABOUT US

AFFILIATE FORUMS

INDIAN ARMED FORCES

CONTACT US

Mustard Disaster at Bari

W.G.Ewald Defence Professionals/ DFI member of 2 Defence Professionals

Ads Master

Share This Page

Useful Searches