I was reading recently about a distant cousin who served on USS Mauna Loa throughout her wartime service.
Was it really naval practice to name ammunition ships after volcanoes? Black humor there…
Do they still have designated ammo ships, or is that practice obsolete now?
The Mauna Loa ran into danger twice in her service. First, while loading USS Pennsylvania, excess bags piled on the Pennsylvania's forward deck led to one bag catching fire, with sparks exploding into the air (some landing in the Mauna Loa's hold!). Fortunately, someone got a hose on it quickly.
Later, they thought it was safe to unload ammo at night (presumably with lights on) to a warship. But "an unknown aircraft" strafed the Mauna Loa, so they never did that again!
The Mauna Loa was eventually used to replenish warships at sea rather than in harbor, and in one five month period, replenished 99 ships.
My relative was a sheet-metal worker pre-war, and served in the Navy as MSMTH2 (metalsmith 2nd class), later 1st class.
