USS YF-415

{{Short description|A covered lighter in service with the United States Navy during World War II}} {{Infobox ship |section1={{Infobox ship/image |image=YF-415.jpg |image_caption= }}

|section2={{Infobox ship/career |hide_header= |country=United States |flag={{USN flag|1943}} |name=''YF-415'' |ordered= |builder=American Shipbuilding Company, Buffalo, New York |laid_down= |launched= |sponsor= |namesake= |christened= |completed= |acquired= |commissioned= |decommissioned= |in_service=30 September 1943 |out_of_service=11 May 1944 |struck=16 May 1944 |reinstated= |homeport=Boston, Massachusetts |motto= |nickname= |honors= |fate={{ubl |Sunk following explosion of munitions |{{coord|42|24|N|70|36|W|display=title,inline}} |Wreck discovered in 2002 }} |notes= }}

|section3={{Infobox ship/characteristics |hide_header= |header_caption= |class=Self-propelled covered lighter |displacement= |length={{convert|132|ft|m|abbr=on}} |beam={{convert|32|ft|m|abbr=on}} |draft={{convert|12|ft|m|abbr=on}} |depth= |hold_depth= |propulsion={{ubl |Twin 300 hp Union diesel engines |Twin screws }} |speed= |range= |complement=17 |armament= |armor= |notes=<ref name=navsource>{{cite web |title=YF-415 |url=https://www.navsource.net/archives/14/43415.htm |website=NavSource |access-date=6 April 2020}}</ref><ref name=NADiveYF-415>{{cite web |title=USS YF-415 |url=https://northernatlanticdive.com/shipwrecks/yf-415/ |website=Northern Atlantic Dive Expeditions |access-date=6 April 2020}}</ref> }} }} '''''YF-415''''' was a self-propelled covered lighter in service with the United States Navy during World War II. It was accidentally sunk on May 11, 1944, while disposing of surplus explosive ordnance approximately {{convert|14|mi|km}} northeast of Boston Harbor.

==Early career== ''YF-415'' was built at the American Shipbuilding Company in Buffalo, New York. She was completed and placed in service in September 1943. She was {{convert|132|ft|m}} long and could carry cargo up to 250 tons.<ref name=navsource/> She operated in and around Boston, Massachusetts.<ref name=NADiveYF-415/>

==Loss== On May 10, 1944, ''YF-415'' sailed to the Hingham Naval Ammunition Depot in Hingham, Massachusetts, a few miles south of Boston on the south shore of Cape Cod Bay. She was commanded by Chief Boatswain's Mate Louis Brunswick Tremblay. Her mission was to pick up surplus ordnance and dispose of it in deep water. She was loaded with 150 tons of {{convert|5|in|cm|adj=on|spell=in}} and {{convert|3|in|cm|adj=on|spell=in}} projectiles and other ordnance. There were 30 sailors on board—14 of her regular crew and 16 African-American sailors from the naval ammunition depot to assist in the disposal of the munitions.<ref name=NADiveYF-415/>

At 11:30{{nbsp}}a.m. on May 11, the crew began to dispose of the ordnance about {{convert|14|mi|km}} northeast of Boston Harbor.<ref name=page1/> About two-thirds of the ordnance was disposed without incident. The next group of munitions were rockets; safety regulations required that the matches attached to the rockets be removed first, in order to ensure they would not be accidentally ignited. Apparently, the crew of ''YF-415'' was not briefed on this procedure.

At 12:30{{nbsp}}p.m., there was an explosion, caused by one of the rockets detonating, which engulfed the port side of the ship in flames which began to spread throughout the vessel. The sailors on board ''YF-415'' quickly abandoned ship and clung to floating debris. A total of 14 men, one of whom later died of his injuries, were rescued by the patrol yacht USS ''Zircon'', with 16 being lost with ''YF-415''.<ref name=NADiveYF-415/>

The loss of ''YF-415'', although not named as such, was front-page news in ''The Boston Globe'' on May 12.<ref name=page1>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-boston-globe-1-dead-15-missing-13/157600498/ |title=1 Dead, 15 Missing, 13 Rescued in Ship Explosion 14 Miles Off Boston |newspaper=The Boston Globe |page=1 |date=May 12, 1944 |accessdate=October 22, 2024 |via=newspapers.com}}</ref> The ''Globe'' published a list of personnel, both lost and rescued, the following day.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-boston-globe-blast-contd/157600683/ |title=Blast (cont'd) |newspaper=The Boston Globe |page=2 |date=May 13, 1944 |accessdate=October 22, 2024 |via=newspapers.com}}</ref>

==Later events== An investigation of the incident yielded a report dated June 8, 1944, which called for improved safety protocols, including having similar missions conducted by a towed barge and making life preservers more readily accessible.<ref name=NADiveYF-415/>

The wreck of what turned out to be ''YF-415'' was discovered on November 3, 2002, visited by divers on July 20, 2003, and identified shortly thereafter.<ref name=NADiveYF-415/><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-boston-globe-sunken-warship-offers-p/157600158/ |title=Sunken warship offers peek at heroic legacy |first=Beth |last=Daley |page=B6 |newspaper=The Boston Globe |date=November 9, 2003 |accessdate=October 22, 2024 |via=newspapers.com}}</ref> It lies at a depth of approximately {{convert|240|ft|m}}.<ref name=NADiveYF-415/>

On May 12, 2012, a ceremony was held in Hingham honoring the sailors who died on ''YF-415''.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Rose |first1=Jim |title=Remembering a deadly explosion off Hingham 68 years later |url=https://www.patriotledger.com/story/news/2012/05/03/remembering-deadly-explosion-off-hingham/64155222007/|access-date=4 February 2024 |date=3 May 2012|work=The Patriot Ledger|location=Quincy, MA}}</ref> There is a memorial stone and flagpole located in Bare Cove Park in Hingham memorializing the crew.<ref>{{cite web |title=Hingham's Military, Veteran and War Memorials |url=https://www.hingham-ma.gov/982/Hinghams-Military-Veteran-and-War-Memori |publisher=Hingham Town Hall |access-date=5 February 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Rose |first1=Jim |title=75th Anniversary of Depot Tragedy |journal=Friends of Wompatuck |date=2019 |issue=51 |url=https://files.wompy.org/newsletters/FOW51.pdf |access-date=October 22, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=2012: JB Mills memorializes crew from 1944 depot tragedy |url=https://hinghamunity.org/2012-ussyf-415-memorial/ |publisher=Hingham Unity Council |access-date=5 February 2024 |date=30 January 2021}}</ref>

==References== {{reflist|30em}}

==External links== *[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-r7ldVP8Ts USS YF-415 Memorial Service, 12 October 2004] via YouTube

{{DISPLAYTITLE:USS ''YF-415''}} {{DEFAULTSORT:YF-415}} Category:1943 ships Category:Hingham, Massachusetts Category:Maritime incidents in May 1944 Category:Ships built in Buffalo, New York Category:Ships sunk by non-combat internal explosions Category:Shipwrecks of the Massachusetts coast Category:Wreck diving sites