Port Chicago Naval Magazine
National Memorial
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Learn the story of the Port Chicago Naval Magazine explosions that resulted in the largest domestic loss of life during World War II—320 civilians and mostly African American sailors. They caused the largest naval mutiny in US history, and the subsequent trial led to desegregation of the US Navy.
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Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial, located northeast of San Francisco, memorializes the Port Chicago disaster of World War II, which killed 320 sailors and led to the largest naval mutiny in US history. Constructed in 1942 following the attack on Pearl Harbor, Port Chicago Naval Magazine was the largest ammunition transshipment facility on the West Coast and was essential to the success of the war effort in the Pacific Theater. On July 17, 1944, a munitions explosion killed 320 men and injured 400 more. Most victims were African American sailors serving in newly established, racially segregated work units—they were subjected to unequal treatment and had not received any training for the dangerous work of loading ammunition onto ships. More than 250 surviving sailors refused to return to work, protesting unsafe working conditions and racial discrimination. The efforts of these soldiers and the legacy of those who died contributed greatly to the desegregation of all the US armed forces.
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