View source for Honda Point disaster

{{short description|Largest peacetime loss of U.S. Navy ships}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2025}}
{{Infobox news event
|image=[[Image:NH 66721 Honda Point.gif|300px]]
|caption=[[Aerial view]] of the seven destroyers lost to the disaster: {{USS|Nicholas|DD-311|2}} and {{USS|S. P. Lee|DD-310|2}} at top left; {{USS|Delphy|DD-261|2}}, capsized and broken in the small cove at left; {{USS|Young|DD-312|2}}, capsized at top center; {{USS|Chauncey|DD-296|2}}, upright ahead of ''Young''; {{USS|Woodbury|DD-309|2}} on the rocks at right center; and {{USS|Fuller|DD-297|2}} on the rocks at lower right.
|date=September 8, 1923
|time=21:05 local<!--PST/PDT Timezone and status of daylight savings unknown-->
|place=[[Honda, California|Honda]] (Pedernales) Point, near [[Lompoc, California]], U.S.
|coordinates= {{Coord|34|36|11|N|120|38|43|W|type:event_region:US-CA|display=inline,title}}
|casualties1=23 dead<ref name="NHC2002">{{cite web|publisher=Naval History and Heritage Command, Department of the Navy (USA)|year=2015|title=Honda (Pedernales) Point, California, Disaster, 8 September 1923|url=https://www.history.navy.mil/research/library/online-reading-room/title-list-alphabetically/h/honda-pedernales-point-california-disaster-8-september-1923.html |access-date=7 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170428134948/https://www.history.navy.mil/research/library/online-reading-room/title-list-alphabetically/h/honda-pedernales-point-california-disaster-8-september-1923.html |archive-date=28 April 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref>
|casualties2=100+ injured<ref name=Tragedy/>
}}

The '''Honda Point disaster''' was the largest [[peace]]time loss of [[U.S. Navy]] ships in history.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Witzenburg |first1=Frankie |title=Disaster at Honda Point |url=https://www.usni.org/magazines/naval-history-magazine/2020/october/disaster-honda-point |magazine=Naval History |volume=34 |number=5 |access-date=29 September 2023 |date=October 2020}}</ref> On the foggy night of September 8, 1923, seven [[destroyer]]s traveling at 20 [[knot (unit)|knots]] (37&nbsp;km/h) [[ran aground]] and [[shipwreck|wrecked]] at [[California]]'s '''Honda Point''' (also known as '''Point Pedernales''', with offshore outcroppings known as '''Devil's Jaw'''). The location was several miles north of the [[Santa Barbara Channel]], the ships' intended route. Two other destroyers grounded, but were able to maneuver free off the rocks. Twenty-three sailors died; 745 were rescued.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.vandenberg.spaceforce.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/3520224/vandenberg-commemorates-100th-anniversary-of-honda-point-shipwreck-tragedy/ |title=Vandenberg Commemorates 100th Anniversary of Honda Point Shipwreck Tragedy |first=Teah |last=Gibson |publisher=Vandenberg Space Force Base |date=September 8, 2023 |access-date=June 1, 2025}}</ref>

[[Navigational]] errors, compounded by unusual ocean currents attributed to [[Japan]]'s [[Great Kantō earthquake]], were the likely cause. A [[court-martial]] board convicted the squadron's commander [[Edward H. Watson]] and the acting [[navigator]] Donald T. Hunter, and stripped them of [[Seniority#In armed forces|seniority]] for any future promotions.

==Geography==
{{gallery | title=Government maps/charts including Point Pedernales and Point Arguello | align=left | height=200 | mode=packed 
| File:USGS quadrangle Guadalupe 1904 1 125,000 crop.jpg | USGS (1904)
| File:USGS 7.5-minute image map for Point Arguello, California 20150323.jpg | USGS (2015)
| File:Point Pedernales nautical chart NOAA 18720.jpg | NOAA (2023)
|}}
{{clear}}
Honda Point, also called Point Pedernales,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.offshore-mag.com/business-briefs/company-news/article/16773992/pipeline-repairs-to-shut-in-point-pedernales-field-off-california |title = Pipeline repairs to shut in Point Pedernales field off California |work=Offshore| date=19 September 2001 }}</ref> is just north of [[Point Arguello]], along the [[Gaviota Coast]] of [[Santa Barbara County, California]]. The sea at Honda Point includes a series of outcroppings known collectively today as Woodbury Rocks, one of which is named Destroyer Rock on navigational charts. Nicknamed the Devil's Jaw by [[History of California to 1899|Spanish explorers]] in the 16th century, the area has been a navigational hazard ever since.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia| url = https://www.encyclopedia.com/science/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/devils-jaw| title = Devil's Jaw |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia.com}}</ref><ref name=Rasmussen>{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-oct-07-me-54430-story.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230930204831/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-oct-07-me-54430-story.html|title=Love on the Rocks: a Haunted Coast Story|last=Rasmussen|first=Cecilia|date=2001-10-07|website=[[Los Angeles Times]]|url-status=live|archive-date=2023-09-30}}</ref> It is a few miles north of the entrance to the heavily trafficked [[Santa Barbara Channel]], which was the intended route of the destroyers involved in the disaster. [[Honda, California|Honda]] took its name from the local [[Cañada Honda Creek]], Spanish for "deep little canyon".<ref>{{cite book |last=Gudde |first=Erwin G. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ibMwDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA169 |title=California Place Names: The Origin and Etymology of Current Geographical Names |date=1998 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-26619-3 |page=169}}</ref> To the south of Honda, [[Point Arguello Light]] and [[Point Conception Light]] marked the coast.<ref name=Tragedy/>

===Honda Point today===
[[File:Commemoration of the Honda Point Disaster Plaque.JPG|thumb|Plaque commemorating the disaster]]
Honda Point now is part of [[Vandenberg Space Force Base]], near the city of [[Lompoc, California]]. There is a plaque and a memorial to the disaster at the site. The memorial includes a [[ship's bell]] from USS ''Chauncey''. A [[propeller]] and a propeller shaft from USS ''Delphy'' are on display outside the Veterans' Memorial Building, in Lompoc.<ref name=museum>{{cite web |url=https://venturamuseum.org/research-library-blog/disaster-in-the-devils-jaw/ |title=Disaster in the Devil's Jaw |first=Andy |last=Ludlum |publisher=Museum of Ventura County |date=August 28, 2023 |access-date=June 1, 2025}}</ref>

==Incident==
===Squadron exercise===
On September 8, 1923, fourteen ships of [[Destroyer squadron#List of US destroyer squadrons|Destroyer Squadron Eleven]] (DesRon 11) were steaming south from [[San Francisco Bay]] at 20&nbsp;knots (37&nbsp;km/h) in a column led by {{USS|Delphy|DD-261|6}} as flagship. All were {{sclass|Clemson|destroyer|2}}s, less than five years old, heading toward the Santa Barbara Channel that night and then to [[San Diego Bay]], on a 24-hour exercise from northern to southern California.<ref name=Blackmore2004>Blackmore, David. (2004). ''Blunders and Disasters at Sea''. Barnsley: Pen & Sword Maritime. {{ISBN|1-84415-117-4}}</ref>

[[Captain (naval)|Captain]] [[Edward H. Watson]], an 1895 graduate of the [[United States Naval Academy]] (USNA) and the son of an admiral, commanded the squadron. He was assigned as its [[Commodore (United States)|commodore]] in July 1922, his first time as a squadron commander.<ref name=McKee1960>McKee, Irving (1960). "Captain Edward Howe Watson and the Honda Disaster". ''Pacific Historical Review'', 29 (3), pp. 287–305.</ref>

===Navigational errors===
The flagship ''Delphy'' had the primary responsibility for navigation. [[Lieutenant commander (United States)|Lieutenant Commander]] Donald T. Hunter was its captain and was also acting as the squadron's [[navigator]], overriding his ship's navigator, [[Lieutenant (junior grade)]] Lawrence Blodgett. As the ''Delphy'' traveled south parallel to the California coast, poor visibility led Hunter to rely on the age-old technique of [[dead reckoning]], estimating positions based on compass headings and approximate speeds, after last sighting land that morning.<ref name=NHC2002/><ref name=Tragedy>{{cite book |last1=Lockwood |first1=Charles A. |author-link1=Charles A. Lockwood |last2=Adamson |first2=Hans Christian |author-link2=Hans Christian Adamson |title=Tragedy at Honda |url=https://archive.org/details/tragedyathonda01lock |edition=Revised |orig-year=orig. 1960 |year=1997 |pages=33–36, 44, 156, 216 |publisher=Valley Pioneer Publishers |location=Clovis, California |isbn=978-0-9655527-2-1 |access-date=2023-08-25}}</ref><ref name=Rasmussen/>

The squadron did have [[radio direction finding]] (RDF) equipment, and exchanged multiple signals with a station at Point Arguello. However, RDF was still new in 1923, and Hunter dismissed most of the radio [[bearing (navigation)|bearings]] he received, believing them to be unreliable.<ref name=PHR2006/>

The crew did not use its fathometer line to take [[depth sounding]]s for navigation, as this would have required the ships to slow down for the measurements. The ships were performing an exercise that simulated wartime conditions, and Captain Watson wanted the squadron to make a fast passage to San Diego. So, he reportedly overruled Blodgett's request to slow for soundings.<ref name=Tragedy/><ref name=PHR2006/>

Despite the high speed and heavy coastal fog, Watson ordered all ships to travel in close formation. Based on Hunter's dead reckoning calculations, Watson ordered him to turn east to course 095 at 21:00, supposedly heading into the Santa Barbara Channel. In hindsight, the radio bearings proved generally correct that the squadron was several miles northeast of where Watson and Hunter thought they were. Turning east too soon at the head of the column, within minutes, the ''Delphy'' ran aground at Honda Point and six other ships followed immediately and sank. Another two destroyers also hit the rocks but survived.<ref name="NHC2002" /><ref>Baker, Gayle (2003). ''Santa Barbara''. HarborTown Histories, Santa Barbara, CA, p. 76 {{ISBN|978-0971098411}} (print) {{ISBN|978-0987903815}} (online)</ref>

USS ''Kennedy'' had intercepted radio bearings from Point Arguello to the ''Delphy'' and to the ''Stoddert''. Commander Walter Roper, in charge of Division 32 at the rear of the column (''Kennedy'', ''Paul Hamilton'', ''Stoddert'', ''Thompson''), correctly feared that the squadron was too far north and that Watson would be unreceptive to last-minute debate. When the ''Kennedy'' reached the turning point, Roper ordered his ships to slow down and then to stop, and avoided running aground.<ref name=PHR2006/>

===Ocean conditions===
The squadron's acting navigator Hunter later told investigators that "abnormal currents caused by the Japanese earthquake" might have contributed to the large error in his dead reckoning calculations. The magnitude-8 [[Great Kantō earthquake]] had destroyed most of [[Tokyo]] and [[Yokohama]] on September 1 in Japan, which was August 31 in California, eight days before the Honda disaster. Unusually large [[swell (ocean)|swells]] and strong [[current (ocean)|currents]] occurred off the coast of California and persisted for a number of days, unrelated to any known windstorms, as hundreds of significant [[aftershock]]s continued around Japan's Pacific coast. Before and after Destroyer Squadron Eleven reached Honda Point, several other ships encountered navigational problems as a result of the abnormal currents. Earlier the same day, the mail steamship {{SS|Cuba|1920|6}} ran aground nearby.<ref name=PHR2006>{{cite web | first1=Stanley | last1=Golowski | first2=June | last2=Golowski | work=Point Honda Memorial | year=2006 | title=Point Honda Research | url=http://www.pointhondamemorial.org/research/ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161111231103/http://www.pointhondamemorial.org/research/ | archive-date=11 November 2016 | url-status=dead | access-date=23 April 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1923/09/05/archives/twentyfoot-waves-hit-california-coast-huge-swells-are-thought-to-be.html |title=Twenty-Foot Waves Hit California Coast; Huge Swells Are Thought to Be Due to Earthquake in Japan |work=The New York Times |date=September 5, 1923 |access-date=June 3, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1923/09/14/archives/changes-in-pacific-noted-in-california-shifting-currents-and-tidal.html |title=Changes in Pacific Noted in California; Shifting Currents and Tidal Waves May Necessitate Recharting of the Coast |work=The New York Times |date=September 14, 1923 |access-date=June 7, 2025}}</ref>

As the destroyers ran their exercise down the California coast, they made their way through these swells and currents. The navigators were unable to take into account the unusual sea condition, and their estimations of speed and bearing used for dead reckoning were being affected. As a result of what the Navy now calls "a combination of abnormally strong currents ... and navigational complacency", the entire squadron was off course and positioned near the rocky coast of Honda Point instead of the open ocean of the Santa Barbara Channel. Once the error in navigation occurred, the strong currents and swells were coupled with windy weather, moonless darkness, and thick coastal fog, quickly leading the ships into the rocks.<ref name=NHC2002/>

===Ships involved===
[[File:USS Delphy (DD-261).jpg|thumb|right|{{USS|Delphy|DD-261|6}} prior to grounding]] 
[[File:Point Honda wrecks, vessel. - NARA - 295528.jpg|thumb|USS ''Delphy'' (foreground) broken in half at Honda Point]]

[[File:USS S. P. Lee (DD-310).jpg|thumb|right|{{USS|S. P. Lee|DD-310|6}} prior to grounding]] 
[[File:Point Honda wrecks, vessels - NARA - 295529.tiff|thumb|The capsized {{USS|Young|DD-312|6}} (center) at Honda Point.]]
[[File:Point Honda shipwreck site September 8, 1923, Santa Barbara Co., California. Section 2, U.S.S. Woodbury on beach. - NARA - 295445.jpg|thumb|right|{{USS|Woodbury|DD-309|6}} on beach]]
[[File:USS Nicholas (DD-311).jpg|thumb|{{USS|Nicholas|DD-311|6}}]]
[[File:Point Honda shipwreck site September 8, 1923, Santa Barbara Co., California. U.S.S. Chauncey as she stands today.... - NARA - 295449.jpg|thumb|right|{{USS|Chauncey|DD-296|6}}]]

The lost destroyers were:<ref name="NHC2002"/><ref name=Tragedy/>
* {{USS|Delphy|DD-261}}, the flagship of the squadron. She ran aground on the shore at {{convert|20|kn|km/h}} and then sounded her siren, which helped some of the later ships in the column avoid grounding. Three of her crew died. [[Eugene Dooman]], a [[United States Department of State|State Department]] expert on Japan, who survived, was aboard as a civilian guest of Captain Watson, whom he had met in Japan.
* {{USS|S. P. Lee|DD-310}}, flagship of Destroyer Division 33 under Captain Robert Morris, USNA Class of 1900. She was following a few hundred yards behind the ''Delphy''. She saw the ''Delphy'' suddenly stop, and turned to port (left) in response, but still ran aground on the coast.
* {{USS|Young|DD-312}}, commanded by future admiral [[William L. Calhoun (admiral)|William Calhoun]], made no move to turn. She tore her hull open on submerged rocks, and the inrush of water quickly [[capsized]] her onto her starboard (right) side. Twenty men died.
* {{USS|Woodbury|DD-309}} turned to starboard, but struck an offshore rock.
* {{USS|Nicholas|DD-311}} turned to port and also hit a rock.
* {{USS|Fuller|DD-297}} stuck next to ''Woodbury''.
* {{USS|Chauncey|DD-296}} ran aground while attempting to rescue sailors from the capsized ''Young''.

Minor damage was recorded by:<ref name="NHC2002"/><ref name=Tragedy/>
* {{USS|Farragut|DD-300}}, flagship of Destroyer Division 31 under [[Commander]] [[William S. Pye]], USNA Class of 1901. Sixth in the squadron formation, between ''Nicholas'' and ''Fuller'', she ran aground but was able to extricate herself and was not lost.
* {{USS|Somers|DD-301|6}} (DD-301) was lightly damaged.

The remaining five ships avoided the rocks:<ref name="NHC2002"/><ref name=Tragedy/>
* {{USS|Percival|DD-298}}
* {{USS|Kennedy|DD-306}}, flagship of Destroyer Division 32 under Commander Walter G. Roper, USNA Class of 1898.
* {{USS|Paul Hamilton|DD-307}}
* {{USS|Stoddert|DD-302}}
* {{USS|Thompson|DD-305}}

==Rescue efforts==
Rescue activity promptly followed the accident, and was widely commended for preventing an even higher death toll. Local ranchers, who were alerted by the noises of the disaster, rigged up [[breeches buoy]]s from the surrounding clifftops and lowered them to the ships that had run aground. Fishermen nearby who had seen or heard the tragedy picked up crew members from USS ''Fuller'' and USS ''Woodbury''.<ref name=Blackmore2004/>

Surviving crew members of the capsized ''Young'' were able to climb to safety on the nearby USS ''Chauncey'' via a lifeline.<ref name=Blackmore2004/> The squadron's five destroyers that avoided running aground were also able to contribute to rescue efforts, by picking up sailors who had been hurled into the oil-coated surf and jagged rocks, and by assisting those who were stuck aboard the wreckage of other ships. Emergency trains along the coastal railroad also evacuated sailors, starting with the worst injured.<ref name=PHR2006/>

After the disaster, the government did not attempt to [[marine salvage|salvage]] any of the seven wrecks at Honda Point, due to the nature of the damage each ship sustained. The wrecks themselves, along with the equipment that remained on them, were sold to a scrap merchant for a total of $1,035.<ref name=Blackmore2004/> The wrecked ships seemingly were still not moved by {{nowrap|August 1929}}, when they appeared in film footage taken from the German [[airship]] {{ship|LZ 127|Graf Zeppelin||2}} on her [[circumnavigation]] of the globe; the footage is used in the semi-documentary film ''Farewell'' (2009).<ref>{{cite AV media |first=Ditteke |last=Mensink |date=2009 |title=Vaarwel |trans-title=Farewell |language=nl |type=motion picture |publisher=[[Omroep NTR|NTR]] |minutes=66}}</ref>

==Court martial==
[[Image:Edward H Watson.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Edward H. Watson]], 1915]]
The seven-officer [[Judge Advocate General's Corps (United States)|Navy court-martial board]], led by [[Vice Admiral]] [[Henry A. Wiley]], commander battleship divisions of the [[Battle Fleet]],<ref>{{cite news |title=Confer on Sea Crash Trial |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |date=November 2, 1923 |page=12 |id={{ProQuest|161535246}} }}</ref> ruled that the disaster was the fault of the squadron's commander Watson and the flagship's acting navigator Hunter. The board assigned partial blame to the captain of each ship that ran aground, following the tradition that a captain's first responsibility is to his own ship, even when in formation. Eleven [[military officer|officers]] involved were brought before general [[courts-martial]] on charges of [[negligence]] and [[Dereliction of duty#Proving dereliction|culpable inefficiency to perform one's duty]].<ref name=PHR2006/> This was the largest single group of officers ever court-martialed in the U.S. Navy's history.<ref name=Tragedy/>

The unusual public trial proceedings started quickly and concluded in November 1923. The court ruled that the Honda Point disaster was "directly attributable to bad errors of judgment and faulty navigation".<ref name=McKee1960/> Captain Watson and navigator Hunter were found guilty and stripped of their [[Seniority#In armed forces|seniority]] for any future promotions. The other nine court-martialed officers were [[acquitted]], one after the fleet commander overturned a conviction.<ref name=museum/> The Navy left numerous inconsistencies unresolved,<ref name=PHR2006/> and President [[Calvin Coolidge]] himself remarked: "Court martial has been very lenient with everybody."<ref name=Tragedy/>

Captain Watson, who had been defended by future admiral [[Thomas Tingey Craven (US Navy admiral)|Thomas Tingey Craven]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Craven, Thomas T. (Thomas Tingey), 1873–1950 |work=Social networks and archival context project |publisher=University of Virginia |url=http://socialarchive.iath.virginia.edu/xtf/view?docId=craven-thomas-t-thomas-tingey-1873-1950-cr.xml |archive-url=https://archive.today/20131212204604/http://socialarchive.iath.virginia.edu/xtf/view?docId=craven-thomas-t-thomas-tingey-1873-1950-cr.xml |url-status=dead |archive-date=2013-12-12}}</ref> was commended by his peers and the government for assuming full responsibility for the disaster. He could have tried to blame a variety of causes, but instead, he set an example by accepting the responsibility entirely on his shoulders.<ref name=McKee1960/>

A Court of Inquiry led by Rear Admiral [[William V. Pratt]], aided by future admirals [[George C. Day]] and [[David F. Sellers]], recommended Commander Roper for a Letter of Commendation for successfully turning his division away from danger.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_armed-forces-journal_1923-11-03_61_10/mode/1up |title=Report of Court of Inquiry on Wrecked Destroyers: Bad Judgment and Faulty Navigation Charged |date=1923-11-03 |volume=LXI |issue=10 |pages=217, 221, 233 |newspaper=Army and Navy Journal |access-date=2023-08-25}}</ref>

The Honda disaster and its aftermath further eroded the reputation of Navy Secretary [[Edwin Denby (politician)|Edwin Denby]], who was already entangled in the [[Teapot Dome scandal]]. In February 1924, five months after the shipwrecks, he resigned and formally disapproved of the court-martial acquittals.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.usni.org/magazines/naval-history-magazine/2023/october/honda-point-remembered |first1=Kenneth |last1=Braithwaite |author-link1=Kenneth Braithwaite |first2=Charles |last2=Robbins |title=Honda Point Remembered |magazine=Naval History |volume=37 |number=5 |date=October 2023 |access-date=June 2, 2025}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Scilly naval disaster of 1707]] – loss of four British warships upon rocks in the Celtic Sea

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* Hice, Charles. ''The Last Hours of Seven Four-Stackers'' (1967).
* Overshiner, Elwyn. ''Course 095 to Eternity'' (1980).
* [[Antony Preston|Preston, Antony]]. ''Destroyers'' (1977).
* Ray, Michael Corbin; Vannier, Therese. ''Dead Reckoning'' (2020).
* Silva, Joe. ''Honda Left Turn 095'' (1986).

==External links==
{{Commons category|Honda Point Disaster}}
* {{cite web |url=https://www.naval-history.net/WW1z07Americas.htm |first=Gordon |last=Smith |title=United States Navy's Disaster at Point Honda 1923 |website=Naval-History.net}}
* {{cite web |url=https://www.hazegray.org/features/honda/ |first=Andrew |last=Toppan |title=Disaster at Honda |website=[[Haze Gray and Underway]]}}
* {{cite magazine |url=https://www.usni.org/magazines/naval-history-magazine/2010/february/naval-tragedys-chain-errors |first=Noah Andre |last=Trudeau |author-link=Noah Andre Trudeau |title=A Naval Tragedy's Chain of Errors |magazine=Naval History |date=February 2010 |volume=24 |number=1}}

{{1923 shipwrecks}}

[[Category:Deaths due to shipwreck]]
[[Category:Ship groundings]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks of the California coast]]
[[Category:Military history of California]]
[[Category:History of Santa Barbara County, California]]
[[Category:1923 in California]]
[[Category:1923 disasters in the United States]]
[[Category:September 1923 in the United States]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1923]]
[[Category:Non-combat naval accidents of the United States]]
[[Category:Clemson-class destroyers|*]]
[[Category:United States Navy in the 20th century]]
[[Category:Events that led to courts-martial]]
[[Category:1923 Great Kantō earthquake]]
[[Category:Vandenberg Space Force Base]]