Torpedo loose in Brooklyn, NY in Spring 1946

Since 04-10-05

From: Boies Coppinger [mailto:boiesc@earthlink.net]
Sent: Friday, April 08, 2005 6:09 PM
To: J. R. Santos
Subject: Torpedo story

In the Spring of 1946, I was a third class torpedoman stationed at NASNY (Floyd Bennett Field) doing overhaul and repair on Mark 13s. With the war over, we were told to begin sending our torpedoes to the Brooklyn Navy Yard. We were about 10 miles away, separated by the most congested and populated section of the Borough of Brooklyn.

Several semi-trailers with no tops were sent to the Torpedo Shop and a crane began putting the torpedoes three abreast in the trailers. The stack was 3 or 4 high, and 2 deep, so we had 18 or 24 fish on each trailer. A tarp was placed over the top and the doors of the trailer were locked. It was required by Bureau of Ordnance that we stop every mile and open the doors to be sure the load was secure. That was my job -- hop out of the cab, walk to the back, open the doors, look in, shut the doors, and get back in the cab.

At about the fourth stop, I opened the doors and one of the top "fish" began to slide down, twin props first. I tried to shut the door, but the fish was too heavy and it landed, tail first on Flatbush Avenue in front of hundreds of people. The configuration was airflask plus afterbody, so there was no danger, but that didn't stop people from taking pictures and the next day a picture did appear in the NEW YORK DAILY NEWS, with the caption, "Live torpedo lands in street in Brooklyn."

It took a couple of hours for a crane from NAS to arrive, but once there, it put the torpedo back in the top rack, and we finally arrived at the Navy Yard with no further mishap.

We all got a good laugh over the incident and were grateful that no one was hurt, except our feelings.

Boies Coppinger.