menu-header-menu

Follow Us

Follow us   

The United States Navy Memorial

Navy Memorial Honoring the Men & Women of the Sea Services

Donate

Houston

Ship Designation: 
CA-30
Date Lost: 
Sunday, March 1, 1942
Battle at Sunda Strait
Houston in company with HMAS Perth and HMS Exeter depart Priok and at 2300 in the vicinity of Sunda Strait encounter a Japanese landing force taking them under fire and causing wide spread damage to 4 loaded Japanese transports. Japanese battle force comprised of two heavy cruisers, one light cruiser and 10 destroyers close in on the Houston force. ... One of 8 torpedoes launched from the Japanese forces strikes Houston. At 0015 Japanese heavy cruiser Mikuma finds Houston with its 8” guns ripping into the after engine room killing the entire engine room crew. ... Turret 2 hit by enemy gunfire which starts fire in magazine; fire progresses to small arms magazine and to Turret magazine. At 0033 with the ship sinking, the order to abandon ship is given. While abandoning ship Japanese continue to shell and send torpedoes into her hull. At 0045 Houston sinks. ... Of the crew less than half make it into the water in Sunda Strait. Many of Houston’s survivors were captured and interred in Japanese prisons until the conclusion of WWII

Lost At Sea Log

Number of sailors in this log: 632

Name Service Branchsort descending
MM 2c Robert Bassett USN
MM 2c Merton Boothe USN
Sea 1c Joseph Bubnis USN
F 1c Thomas Cantril USN
Sea 1c William Chay USN
BM 1c Shelton Clymer USN
MM 2c Marion Curnutte USN
MM 2c Virgle Martin USN
Sea 2c Donald Lewis USN
Sea 2c Fredrick Mills USN
Sea 2c Robert Johnson USN
M 2c George Husek USN
EM 2c Frederick Lamm USN
Matt 3c Ah Koo USN
HA 2c Raymond Hall USN
MM 3c Herbert Holm USN
Cdr Richard Gingras USN
WT 1c Olindo Felice USN
Cox Wilson Frost USN
Sea 1c Thomas Davidson USN

Pages

Prepared by CAPT R.O. Strange USN (Ret.)