US WWII USN Sailors Knife, USS Cape Esperance & USS Piedmont
This item is listed for historical interest only. It was listed on our site previously but has been sold and is no longer available for purchase.
Sold for: $225.00

Original era manufacture. Commercial made bone handle knife with a wonderful aluminum reinforced leather scabbard. The sailor evidently served aboard the USS Cape Esperance & USS Piedmont and proudly displayed their names on the scabbard throat. The USS Cape Esperance (CVE-88)was a Casablanca class Escort Carrier and served in the Pacific during WWII. The USS Piedmont (AD-17)was a Dixie Class US Destroyer Tender. She also saw service in the Pacific during WWII. On November 10 1944, while moored in Seeadler harbor, Maunas, Admiralty Islands, the USS Piedmont and her crew bore witness to the explosion and disintegration of the ammunition ship USS Mount Hood. The Mount Hood, loaded with a cargo of 3500 tons of ordnance, exploded, instantly killing her entire crew and damaging or sinking 22 other small ships moored nearby. The crew of the USS Piedmont rendered aid to the stricken USS Mindinao which moored only 300 yards from the Mount Hood, lost 82 men in the explosion. The explosion of the Mount Hood created a trench in the ocean floor which was 1000 yards long, 200 feet wide and 30-40 feet deep. The largest piece recovered from the Mount Hood was a section of the hull which measured 16x10 feet. Her entire crew of 350 men (save for a small party ashore collecting the mail) were killed in the explosion.