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ON April 9, 1942, the Hospital Ship Vi'ita was fifteen miles off and travelling in the opposite direction to H.M. Ships Hermes and Vampire when they were sunk by enemy dive-bombers. Two hours later Vita's boats were in the water piGking up survivors and casualties. T h e operation was completed about five hours after the action began. Out of a total of 595 survivors there were about 140 badly wounded, of whom 20 died within twelve hours. T h e wounds were of all types, including burns, but among them were a number of patients complaining of abdominal pain of varying severity, following injury to the abdomen by under-water explosion. These men had been in the vicinity of exploding depth-charges, and three were involved by the explosion of the destroyer's magazine. Some of these men gave a graphic description of how the explosion blew them right out of the water. There were no direct gunshot wounds of the abdomen in these patients, and it is the purpose of this paper to try to record the impressions gained at the bedside, at operation, and at post-mortem. .Particularly is it intended to record the management of these patients, for they present many interesting clinical problems. Unfortunately, detailed notes on the clinical findings and progress were frankly impossible. The majority were landed 48 hours later, and during that time the entire medical and sick-berth staff were actively engaged in feeding, nursing, and life-saving measures, so that there was little time for detailed note-taking. Operative findings were recorded.