Grass fire started by burning refuse from civilian trash
disposal area goes out of control at 1045 and ignites a quantity of
unserviceable ammunition at ASP#1, Da Nang. Fire spreads to main ammunition
storage and ammunition continues to explode until midnight when fire brought
under control. Over 39,000 tons of ammunition destroyed. US casualties are 1
killed and 14 injured. Value of ammunition destroyed is in excess of $103
million. Low casualties are due to prompt action by US forces to evacuate the
area. In USD in 2020, this represents a loss of over $700 million.
Shattering Blasts Jolt Da Nang
DA NANG, Vietnam — Hundreds of tons of bombs, shells and other
munitions went up in a shattering series of explosions Sunday when a
wind-blown grass fire touched off an ammo dump next to the huge Da Nang
air base.
Explosions were rocketing the entire area at midnight, nearly 14 hours after the first blast. No one was reported killed, but 11 U.S. Marines were reported injured — none seriously — and hundreds of civilians and military men were evacuated from threatened areas. Among them were about 250 Marine inmates and 50 Viet Cong prisoners of the Marine brig. Marine truck drivers and MPs made their way through showers of flaming shrapnel to extricate military men, civilians and the prisoners from the western side of the big base. The roofs of some hangars were crumpled by the titanic blasts, and parts of a two-story barracks were caved in. Damage to the airfield — the world's second busiest — was light. Source of the fire was traced to burning papers from a Vietnamese garbage pit on the base perimeter. The papers were swept across a road and ignited tinder-dry brush and grass. The changeable wind quickly pushed the brush fire to the huge Force Logistics Command ammunition storage dump, where it ignited a stock of old ammo that was being prepared for destruction. The dump is at the base of "Freedom Hill" a 1,000-foot pile of rocky earth that rises just west of the base.
The ignition of the old ammo touched off a chain reaction. Fireballs shot into the air and all Da Nang was rocked by the thunderous explosions. Windows in downtown Da Nang, three miles away, were shattered by waves of concussion. The Marine recreation center, less than a mile from the dump, was abandoned in a hail of fiery debris and shrapnel. Flaming shards fell on smaller ammo storage areas in the vicinity and touched off new waves of explosions, though the biggest blasts were still coming from the main dump at near midnight. Fresh grass fires, result of far-spread sparks and fiery shrapnel, were quickly contained by Vietnamese and U.S. military firemen. The Marines' III MAF headquarters, though near the recreation center, was sheltered from the blasts by small hills and was hardly touched. Marine officers credited fast, valiant work by the MPs and the 1st Marine Div. 5th and 7th Transport units with keeping casualties to a minimum. The transport men drove 20 to 50 truckloads of Vietnamese and Americans to safety through falling debris. The Marine policemen went into nearby villages — including the "dog patch" shantytown less than 1,000 yards from the ammo dump to extricate frightened Vietnamese civilians. This was the third time in little more than two months that an ammo supply area has exploded in the Da Nang area. A Vietnamese army dump was destroyed by enemy rockets Feb. 23, and last month a dockside LST ramp loaded with ammo was hit by enemy rocket fire.
Explosions were rocketing the entire area at midnight, nearly 14 hours after the first blast. No one was reported killed, but 11 U.S. Marines were reported injured — none seriously — and hundreds of civilians and military men were evacuated from threatened areas. Among them were about 250 Marine inmates and 50 Viet Cong prisoners of the Marine brig. Marine truck drivers and MPs made their way through showers of flaming shrapnel to extricate military men, civilians and the prisoners from the western side of the big base. The roofs of some hangars were crumpled by the titanic blasts, and parts of a two-story barracks were caved in. Damage to the airfield — the world's second busiest — was light. Source of the fire was traced to burning papers from a Vietnamese garbage pit on the base perimeter. The papers were swept across a road and ignited tinder-dry brush and grass. The changeable wind quickly pushed the brush fire to the huge Force Logistics Command ammunition storage dump, where it ignited a stock of old ammo that was being prepared for destruction. The dump is at the base of "Freedom Hill" a 1,000-foot pile of rocky earth that rises just west of the base.
The ignition of the old ammo touched off a chain reaction. Fireballs shot into the air and all Da Nang was rocked by the thunderous explosions. Windows in downtown Da Nang, three miles away, were shattered by waves of concussion. The Marine recreation center, less than a mile from the dump, was abandoned in a hail of fiery debris and shrapnel. Flaming shards fell on smaller ammo storage areas in the vicinity and touched off new waves of explosions, though the biggest blasts were still coming from the main dump at near midnight. Fresh grass fires, result of far-spread sparks and fiery shrapnel, were quickly contained by Vietnamese and U.S. military firemen. The Marines' III MAF headquarters, though near the recreation center, was sheltered from the blasts by small hills and was hardly touched. Marine officers credited fast, valiant work by the MPs and the 1st Marine Div. 5th and 7th Transport units with keeping casualties to a minimum. The transport men drove 20 to 50 truckloads of Vietnamese and Americans to safety through falling debris. The Marine policemen went into nearby villages — including the "dog patch" shantytown less than 1,000 yards from the ammo dump to extricate frightened Vietnamese civilians. This was the third time in little more than two months that an ammo supply area has exploded in the Da Nang area. A Vietnamese army dump was destroyed by enemy rockets Feb. 23, and last month a dockside LST ramp loaded with ammo was hit by enemy rocket fire.
Pacific Stars & Stripes, Tuesday, April 29, 1969
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