USN
Tons
1,174
Dementions
314 / 31 / 21
Crew
19 (2 KIA)
Armament
40mm Bofors
20 mm cannons
50 cal machine guns
via Don Fetterly
1942
Don Fetterly 1994
Sunk March 28, 1943
Ship History
The Masaya was originally one of a large number of four funnel
flush deck destroyers built for the United States Navy during and immediately
after the first world war. The vessel was built by the fore river shipbuilding
corporation, Quincy, MA.The shipyard was later to become the Bethlehem
Shipbuilding Company, and the Masaya was christened there on the 16th
February 1920 as the USS Dale DD 290.
After 10 years of service The Dale was decommissioned on the 1st May 1930 and sold to the standard fruit company of New Orleans and converted to banana carriers. It was after this conversion she was renamed Masaya and used as a fast fruit carrier between New Orleans and Central America where her shallow draft enabled her to go up rivers to plantations thus eliminating rail transportation. Manned by a crew of 19men, they could carry some 25,000 stems of fruit and her 16 knots eliminated the need for refrigeration but had air forced into the holds to keep the fruit cool.
The Masaya toiled away un-noticed until World War II when the situation on Corregidor became desperate. Early in 1942, General MacArthur asked for blockade runners directly from the United States. The three surviving banana boats were despatched under the U.S. Army transport bareboat charter, they were given army gun crews and an array of armament, loaded with sullies and send on their way. Masaya departed New Orleans on the 3rd March for Corregidor, via the Panama Canal, Los Angeles, and Honolulu, with a cargo of ammunition aviation gas, medical supplies and mail. While in Honolulu the Philippines surrendered and the Masaya was diverted to Australia where she was remained with an Australian crew and she be became an interisland transport for General MacArthur.
Sinking History
At 0916 hrs on the March 24, 1943,
the Masaya sailed from Milne Bay Papua New Guinea carrying troops and
cargo bound for Tufi on Cape Nelson were she took on additional cargo
belonging to the P.T. Boat base and sailed again for the Flotilla's
new base at Douglas Harbour on Cape Ward Hunt.
The Masaya left Tufi on 28th March for her forward supply base at Oro Bay some 45 nautical miles away where she was to take on 50 troops as a local defense force for the new base at Douglas Harbour. The plan called for the Masaya to offload her drums of avgas, portable radios, spare parts and general cargoes as well as troops at Douglas Harbour and set up a forward PT Boat Base there.
The Masaya had a made up crew, an Australian captain, officers and crew to operate the vessel and a U.S. Army gun crews providing defense. When the Masaya was still 6 miles from Oro Bay, a flight of 18 Val dive bombers and 40 fighters flew over to raid Oro Bay. Seeing the old banana boat with her navel lines, 5 dive bombers broke off from the formation to attack her. Six bombs were dropped, three beaming a direct hit on the stern section.
The Masaya sunk stern first at 1313 hrs and hit the bottom hard. Lost with the Masaya were 500 drums avgas, portable radios spare parts and other equipment, in fact equipment was now so scarce for the PT Boat Boats that it would be another month before enough parts could be reassembled to try again. This delay in establishing a base at Douglas Harbour made it less desirable site as the front had moved further north to Morobe.
Wreck Today
The S.S.Masaya now rests on her starboard
side in 165 ft of water. Visibility can be from poor to 60 ft her stern
has extensive bomb damage as well as damage from hitting the bottom.
Over the past 50 or so years the sea has done major damage to her thin
plates but there is still plenty to see. Damage caused by the bombing
and impact with the seabed are clearly visible just forward of the
stern. The hull is buckled, the stern deck area and associated internal
works are smashed. The deck with the houses attached has broken free
of the hull, has slid down several feet towards the starboard side,
and now rests on the sand. The deck is detached from the stern to a
point forward of no 1 hatch where it remains attached to the hull detachment
of the deck has opened up the internal spaces of the ship and should
make penetration much easier and safer.
Don
Fetterly recalls:
"The exact position of Masaya is restricted because of the cargo she
was carrying and the pristine nature of the wreck, we want to keep
it that way. There is another reason due to the depth 175 feet it is not
a dive that should be undertaken by most divers. The wreck is unstable
and has many places where a diver can get trapped. On the second dive of the
wreck in 1996 we nearly lost a diver who did not follow instructions. He became
trapped inside the wreck with a silt out and escaped by removing all his gear
a squeezing between the roof beams. In the process he lost his new Sony video
camera and housing which has not been found. He then had to perform a blue water
staged decompression while low on air as he could not locate the assent line."
165' - 175'
Shipwreck Dive Site
Saga of the SS Masaya
by Don Fetterly
