uss mississippi turret explosion 1943

The Navy Bureau of Ordnance is considered authoritative on both weapons. Funeral services were held June 17 on Trona Field at San Pedro. Thanks for sharing it. Forty-three sailors died. I met my life-long friend Dave Welch, got to experience Fleet Week in NYC, and lived through the turret 2 explosion. Based on the survivors account, the Navy believed that a fire or burning debris was present in the gun barrel and ignited the powder bags. I heard family stories about my uncle being killed in a turret explosion on the USS Mississippi but I had no details about the events leading to and following the explosion. The residue from the smokeless propellant had to be removed chemically. The main battery was distributed two turrets forward and two aft. Mississippi sailed from San Pedro 19 October to take part in the invasion of the Gilbert Islands. It's been 30 years since an explosion inside the number two gun turret on the USSIowakilled 47 American sailors, but for Mike Carr, it still feels like yesterday. The military eats their own it takes a while to realize that.". Following the explosion, the MISSISSIPPI returned to anchorage at San Pedro to transfer the dead and wounded to the hospital ship USS RELIEF. turret II as the crew loaded the gun. She arrived at Norfolk, Virginia, in June but soon shifted her base to Newport, Rhode Island. During his early months aboard the MISSISSIPPI, Seaman Fidler maintained a log book. They further claimed Hartwig became suicidal because he and Truitt who was married at the time had been lovers but Truitt had rebuffed him. USS Franklin (CV-13) approaches the Brooklyn Navy Yard on April 28, 1945. . This first appeared in 2019. July 1999. p. 9. Second, it is to showcase Despite her forty years of service,Mississippiwas bound to tragedy, experiencing two major accidents in the same turret, in the same gun, twenty years apart. Almost immediately upon his assignment to the ship, he found himself in the midst of the war, although the U.S. was "officially" neutral at the time. The deadly blast aboard the Iowa marked the first explosion in a battleship turret since 1943, when 43 sailors aboard the USS Mississippi were killed, the Government Accountability Office later . Two days after the attack, accompanied by the battleship IDAHO and a number of destroyers, the Mississippi departed Iceland for Norfolk. Incredibly it had happened again: in their haste to lay down a rain of shells on the Japanese, the gunners of number two turret had apparently experienced yet another flare back. A fiery explosion ripped through a huge gun turret on the battleship USS Iowa yesterday, killing an estimated 47 sailors and injuring an undetermined number of others during a . The yard long is dated 1942. The Senator from Michigan has asked for a Court Martial of leading admirals and in the 14th Naval District. The 1943 incident was virtually identical, and the Bureau of Ordnance . Sign up for a new account in our community. 138 killed and 60 injured. 2s 14-inch guns went off again. Mississippi was converted to a gunnery training and weapons development ship in 1946, and given the new hull number AG-128. The deadly blast aboard the Iowa marked the first explosion in a battleship turret since 1943, when 43 sailors aboard the USS Mississippi were killed, the Government Accountability Office later . Bipartisan. During 1931-33 , Mississippi underwent a major modernization that gave her an all-new superstructure, improved armament and enhanced protection. During the latter operation, on 29 November 1943, Mississippi experienced another turret explosion, which took 43 lives. -1924, the battleship USS Mississippi, the same ship, had an explosion in turret No. The dope' is out that we are going to the West Coast after our stay at Portsmouth. They subsequently wrote lawmakers saying that it was unfair Truitt would receive the money instead of Hartwig's parents. Also served on USS TENNESSEE, USS KULA GULF (CVE108) and USS FRANK FRIDAY FLETCHER. Forty-three sailors died. Here is a portion of a realphoto postcard showing the removal of the dead once the ship returned to port. Another sailor, David Smith, claimed that Navy investigators had coerced him into telling them Hartwig propositioned him and discussed how to use a bomb's timer, the Washington Post reported in September 1989. You need to be a member in order to leave a comment. Capt. He said the final technical report on the Iowa explosions had been released to Congress; a congressional source said it concluded that gunner's mate Clayton Hartwig, who died in the blasts, put a bomb made of chemicals into the breech and the bomb exploded and ignited the powder and propellant when compressed by the rammer. Suddenly, in the midst of the barrage . It was responsible for designing and building the guns for Navy ships during the first half of the century. The main battery was distributed two turrets forward and two aft. Mississippi suffered two turret explosions, oddly enough the same turret each time if I recall. Previously, ships other than aircraft-carriers had to come to a halt in order to lower the aircraft into the water to allow them to take off. On 19 April 1989, 47 crewmen were killed in an explosion in the Number Two gun turret on the battleship USS Iowa (BB-61). The mighty warship was 624 feet long with a beam of 97.5 feet, and displaced 33,000 tons fully loaded. During the latter operation, on 29 November 1943, Mississippi experienced another turret explosion, which took 43 lives . Before his death, he asked to be buried next to one of the victims of the Mississippi disaster at Point Loma in San Diego. Your email address will not be published. The shell flew harmlessly out to sea. 1920's (U.S. Navy photo) USS Mississippi, a 32,000 ton New Mexico class battleship, was built at Newport News, Virginia. ww2dbaseMississippi was converted to a gunnery training and weapons development ship in 1946, and given the new hull number AG-128. Only two sailors in the turret firing room, J.F. 2 turret as Carr and other sailors donned their firefighting gear. So when that flame came down, all those powder bags went off, and that was the third and final detonation.". . His career ruined, Brotherton spent his last years a broken man. Anyway, what's left of it. 20 November 1943." Battleship USS Missouri - Official Website NavSource - USS Missouri (BB-41) Iowa's turret two on fire immediately following the explosion. A new method in the launch of ship-based aircraft was displayed with the explosive-powered catapult launch of a Martin MO-1 observation plane from the forward turret of the USS Mississippi. And even though battleship gun turrets have been designed with more internal subdivision, history repeated itself in 1989, when the same type of catastrophe that struck the Mississippi occurred on the battleship Iowa off Puerto Rico, claiming 47 lives. Brotherton knew something was drastically wrong when he noticed brownish smoke coming from the No. Class: Allen M. Sumner class destroyer Named for: Reigart Bolivar Lowry Complement: 336 Officers and Enlisted Displacement: 2200 tons Length: 376 feet 6 inches Beam: 40 feet Flank Speed: 34 knots Range: 6500 Nautical Miles Final Disposition:Scrapped October 1996 . Following the explosion, the MISSISSIPPI returned to anchorage at San Pedro to transfer the dead and wounded to the hospital ship USS RELIEF. Politics. Seamen in the upper chambers of the gun turret died instantly in the fiery explosion; those in the lower levels were suffocated as the blast siphoned off their oxygen. Mississippiwas instrumental in the testing and eventual fielding of theConvair RIM-2 Terrier, the U.S. Navys first surface-to-air missile. A bizarre accident occurred afterward while theMississippiwas anchored in San Pedro Bay. . As the stricken battleship glided into a San Pedro berth, Rear Adm. William V. Pratt boarded the ship and the hospital ship Relief pulled alongside. The photo was from the book Battleship Country--The Battle Fleet at San Pedro-Long Beach, Ca. You might like to see my original copy of the Memorial Address. Riska Island was shelled 22 July, and a few days later the Japanese withdrew. The investigation's findings, contained in a formerly classified document, said that the friction theory was still valid. The investigations produced conflicting conclusions. It was also clear that each 16-inch gun turret required more sailors than the Navy could afford to assign. In June 1941, in response to the deteriorating war situation in Europe, she was brought back to the Atlantic, operating between the United States and Iceland during much of the rest of that year. Although each barrel was blasted between firings with pressurized air to evacuate debris, the middle barrel of each turret received a lower pressure burst than the left and right barrels. You can follow him on Twitter: @KyleMizokami. Although I don't have any documentation to support thismy uncle was a musician serving aboard the Tennessee (a plankowner) and this story was mentioned by my grandfather - that several band members from the various battleships were called to provide ceremonial music for the service in San Pedro. (Photo: Official U.S. Navy Photograph, National Archives collection) . Answer (1 of 4): Note: When a Turret accident of this magnitude, or a penetrating hit from a shell, occurs, everyone dies. She was powered by nine Babcock and Wilcox boilers and her four screws were driven by four Curtis turbines producing a maximum 32,000 horsepower. I'm trying to find out the fate of an uncle who was on the ship and . Right now I worry only about the U.S.S. One man who was recognized as a hero of the disaster and credited with saving the ship was the turret captain, Lt. (jg) Thomas E. Zellars. . By US MILITARIA FORUM - COLLECTORS PRESERVING HISTORY "We stand by the results of the investigation," Coles said. by tommy303 Thu Apr 03, 2014 11:55 pm, Post The scene inside was too terrible to describe. All of the crew had been advised to set up allotment accounts for their families. She also featured twelve 5-inch/51 caliber guns, eight 3-inch anti-aircraft guns and two submerged 21-inch torpedo tubes. USS Mississippi (BB-41/AG-128), a New Mexico-class battleship, was the third ship of the United States Navy named in honor of the 20th state, and the second battleship to carry the name.Commissioned in 1917, too late to serve in World War I, she served extensively in the Pacific in World War II, for which she earned eight battle stars.She was one of several pre-war battleships that . Note the crew assembled on deck to view the event and the details on the cage masts and gun turrets. The last explosion was so strong that it blew the turret's two-ton hatch off its hinges and into the water, he said. A Marine rifle squad fired three volleys. "That couldn't have been the case on Iowa," Coles said. Two major investigations were undertaken into the cause of the explosion, one by the U.S. Navy and then one by the General Accounting . United States Congress. The Case of the U.S.S. US Navy battleship USS Mississippi in Hampton Roads, Virginia, June 4, 1927. Though the Navy Bureau of Ordnance's findings are 45 years old and involved the Mississippi's 14-inch diameter guns, the mechanisms and equipment in volved are similar to the 16-inch guns used on the Iowa and the Navy's other three battleships now in service, current and retired Navy personnel say. "They knew more about guns than everybody else in the Navy put together.". After an extensive preliminary bombardment, the Marine assault force headed towards the beach and Mississippi and the other ships increased their rate of fire. As the rammer was withdrawn, there emerged from the breech a small grayish ball of smoke and flame followed by a large flash. This could have led to dangerous debris remaining in the breech when the gun crew assumed it was safe to load. "Imagine an old timey cap gun, where you remove the caps, and bang them with a hammer," Truitt said. Only the turret officers can be identified. 2. Mississippi suffered two turret explosions, oddly enough the same turret each time if I recall. United States General Accounting Office. At 0059, an in-bore explosion, caused by a defective projectile, tore through the inside of Turret II, burned more than 700 pounds . The New Mexico class was the fourth of six distinct battleship classes laid down the 1910s, as the Navy rushed to fortify the Atlantic against tensionsand then outright warin Europe. Fortunately for him and his crew, his ship was anchored at Hvalfordur on the fateful morning of December 7, 1941. Kyle Mizokami is a defense and national security writer based in San Francisco who has appeared in the Diplomat, Foreign Policy, War is Boring and the Daily Beast. The MISSISSIPPI was part of the covering force for convoys and lines of communications in the North Atlantic. The deadly blast aboard the Iowa marked the first explosion in a battleship turret since 1943, when 43 sailors aboard the USS Mississippi were killed, the Government Accountability Office later determined. Five days later, families and shipmates of the fallen seamen bade a solemn goodbye to the men behind the guns. Mississippi steamed to Australia on a U.S. Fleet good will tour in mid-1925. The ceremony was held at San Pedro, California on 17 June 1924. Because there were still unfired rounds in the other two guns of Turret No. The deck was armored to 3.5 inches and the conning tower to sixteen inches. Was on board 1943-45. . Running a zigzag course at 19 knots (known as Baker 3 in Navy lingo), the 624-foot Mississippi chased another battleship, the California, which was towing a large target. The old warship was decommissioned in 1956, sold for scrap. H.M.S. We'll see. he Washington Post reported in September 1989. USS Mississippi was damaged by Japanese special attack aircraft at Lingayen Gulf, Luzon, Philippine Islands. I still think we will make it without any casualties.". The explosion in the center gun room killed 47 of the turret's crewmen and severely damaged the gun turret itself. An Aichi D3A 'Val' crashed across Abner Read's main deck as it dropped a bomb down one the destroyer's stacks that exploded in the engine room. Smoldering material left in the gun had ignited the powder charge of the next shot. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, Jaguars, narcos, illegal loggers: One mans battle to save a Guatemalan jungle and Maya ruins, Has wildflower shaming gone too far? Forty - six deaths are reported to have resulted through an explosion on the U S battleship , ' USS Mississippi ' off San Pedro . Iowa . We hope that visitor conversations at WW2DB will be constructive and thought-provoking. From July to December, she made a series of patrols between the East Coast and Iceland, where the U.S. had recently established a base at Hvalfjordur. Less than two decades later, the Mississippi went through the same agony again. Thanks for posting. (Photo: U.S. Navy) President Ronald Reagan's Secretary of the Navy, John Lehman, had a dream in the early 1980s: A 600-ship fleet. She was bombed from the air. The following video remembers those. Later in the year, she was part of the force that invaded Peleliu and Leyte and defeated a Japanese task force in the Battle of Surigao Strait. Suddenly, in the midst of the barrage, smoke and gas erupted from the rangefinders on either side of the number two turret. Then they found two sailors who had been blown from the turret onto the deck. New Photos Might Show Ukraines Drones Can Strike Deep Into Russia, Could Jail Stop Donald Trump from Becoming President Again? Official USN photo # DN-ST-89-06800, by LT. But unlike other explosions, the 16-inch gun in the No. Hartwig who died in the blast had planted a bomb in the gun. TheNew Mexico-class ships had 13.5 inches of steel armor at the belt, and her turrets were protected with nine to eighteen inches of armor plating. He said: "It's no big deal. All visitor submitted comments are opinions of those making the submissions and do not reflect views of WW2DB. Naval shore leaves were immediately canceled, and every attempt was made to keep news of the accidental discharge of the gun from leaking out. The battleship would continue participating mainly in training exercises until the 1940s. In June 1941, in response to the deteriorating war situation in Europe, she was brought back to the Atlantic, operating between the United States and Iceland during much of the rest of that year. . 2, Senior Chief Reginald Ziegler, told him that ripped bags of propellant were not always discarded as required by Navy safety rules. 1. How to find the best blooms without the drama, Nature-curious? The 1924 disaster was attributed to insufficient air blast to clear the gun barrels, resulting in smoldering debris igniting powder bags as they were rammed in during reloading. Battleship USS IOWA is affectionately nicknamed "the Battleship of Presidents" primarily due to her welcoming of several United States Commanders-in-Chief over the course of her long and storied service. Ward Carroll, a naval aviator who was a spokesman for the Naval Safety Center at the time. Nov 1, 2021, 1:18 PM. Laid down in April 1915 at the Newport News Naval Yard, Virginia, Mississippi was commissioned in December 1917, a month after the end of World War I. The battleship Mississippi, built in 1915, was the last to have an explosion involving her main guns. After the war,Mississippiwas effectively defanged, with three of her four main battery turrets removed. In 1943, she took part operations against Kiska Island, in the Aleutians, and in the capture of the Gilbert Islands. The tombstone inscription reads "Francis J. Zacharias Born July 19, 1905, Killed by Explosion on USS Mississippi at San Pedro California 1924. Island Hopping . Nearly twenty yearsand a major refit laterthe USS Mississippi went to war in the Pacific. Forty-eight sailors were killed, and only one of the sailors manning the turret survived. Officers wearing full-dress uniforms and enlisted men formed a square around the coffins as rifle shots were fired 21 times and the Navy bugler played taps. My uncle died in 1937 from TB (he contracted while on active duty) so the story was told to me by his brother (my grandfather). She was commissioned in December 1917, and operated in the western Atlantic area . Iowa. Original Reporting. 2 turret when the gun exploded above him. Flame and gases immediately filled the gun compartment, passed through the safety doors above the shell table to the other two gun compartments and through the peep doors to the turret officer's booth. 43 killed, 19 injured. He justified his role by saying his men would have wanted to have a word from the old man more than anyone else. by paul.mercer Fri Apr 04, 2014 9:12 am, Post On 20 November the Mississippi suffered an explosion in a main turret, killing 43 men. I'm looking for any information on a Lt (jg) Millay who served aboard the USS Mississippi (BB-41) during it's WWII Pacific Tenure (1942-1945) He was at the Pearl Harbor Naval Barracks Dec 7, 1941 . The flames and gases had overcome the men so quickly that recovery crews found many of the men still at their positions. Assigned to USS IOWA Commissioning Crew on 22 February 1943. Abner Read began sinking by the stern and 20 minutes after the attack, she rolled over and sank. "He died in my arms.". The powder ignited the first of two explosions that would rock the ship from stem to stern. Meanwhile, Mississippi and Nashville had to take emergency evasive actions to avoid the torpedoes. Navy officials say technical experts conducted more than 20,000 tests on bags of powder taken from the Iowa last spring, including attempts to create an explosion through friction. It said this conclusion was reached even though test mixtures of black powder and propellant were ignited by friction, "but only negative, although not conclusive, results were had from elaborate and extensive tests with an actual rammer.". 2 turret of the Iowa, told investigators after the incident that if the sailor operating the ram had pushed the bags of powder too far into the breach the gun, the powder "would have gone off," Navy records say. At roughly one horsepower per ton, she was not terribly fast, with a top speed of just twenty-one knots. Kyle Mizokami is a defense and national-security writer based in San Fransisco. He had instinctively closed the doors to the ammunition hoist and flooded the magazines. Today her name lives on in theVirginiaclass nuclear-powered attack submarine USS Mississippi (SSN-782). She was commissioned in December 1917, and operated in the western Atlantic area until July 1919, when she transited the Panama Canal to the Pacific. The gunners on all three battlewagons were competing for a $20 prize that Congress had voted to award the fleets most proficient naval marksman. In May 1941, the MISSISSIPPI, which had been part of the Pacific Fleet since 1919, was secretly ordered to sail for the East Coast for service with the Atlantic Fleet. 2 was set to fire its trio of 16-inch guns, an explosion ripped through it, killing 47 sailors. 2 turret. After the war, Mississippi was effectively defanged, with three of her four main battery turrets removed. The commissioning ceremony aboard the USS Iowa, Feb. 22, 1943. For example, Hartwig had not been responsible for loading the gun, as the Navy initially claimed. 43 killed, 19 injured. On June 12, 1924, there was an explosion in the USS Mississippi's No. Article on accident here. In 1943, the big battleship was off the coast of Makin Island, providing naval gunfire support to a landing force preparing to secure the island. During World War II, in November 1943, while bombarding the Makin Islands in the Pacific, it experienced another . Despite knowing how to solve the problem, the same accident happened two times over 20 years. Forty-two sailors were killed and another sixteen wounded. USS Mississippi was commissioned into service. If so, please consider supporting us on Patreon. A news report about the USS Iowa gun turret explosion in 1989. It doesn't make any difference to the crew, their attitude being the same as six months ago, except that boys talk more about the Japs than the Germans. Battleship USS Mississippi, cruiser USS Minneapolis, and destroyers USS Shaw, Boggs, and McKean departed Pago Pago, Samoa bound for Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. As a battleship, the Mississippi was heavily armored to slug it out with enemy ships. She was redesignated AG-128 and equipped with a number of radars and prototype air defense missile systems. "That fireball went straight to the bottom of the turret. He already had policies that named his parents and another friend as beneficiaries. The hand of a dead crewman in the number two turret accidentally hit the firing switch for the port gun, firing it. "If this story sounds familiar, it's because this is kind of the oldest story ever told around the U.S. Mississippiwas a heavily armed battleship by the standards of the day. ww2dbaseUSS Mississippi, a 32,000 ton New Mexico class battleship, was built at Newport News, Virginia. On April 19, 1989, the day of the blast, the ship was preparing for live-fire training at Vieques, Puerto Rico Naval Training Range. Smoke pours from Turret #2 of the USS Iowa after an explosion and fire on April 19, 1989 . After the explosion, Truitt mentioned the insurance policy in passing to Hartwig's family. The USS Mississippi is home to one of the most intriguing naval coincidences of all time. 12:00 a.m. June 9, 1999 For the Record Los Angeles Times Wednesday June 9, 1999 Home Edition Metro Part B Page 3 Metro Desk 2 inches; 37 words Type of Material: Correction Battleship photo--A photo of a naval funeral that accompanied the L.A. Then and Now column in Sundays Times was incorrectly credited. It's possible that the powder bags began to smoke because they were old, so the gun captain rammed the bags with too much power. The old warship was decommissioned in 1956, sold for scrap. By lofar_dog, September 14, 2016 in Battleship Era The battleships three remaining turrets continued firing until the naval support phase of the invasion had ended. 2 gun turret, left two fully loaded gun barrels in the same . "The gun where the explosion occurred had not fired" that day. Reply. The Americans have bombed Tokio and our bombers have reported sending a Japanese battleship to the bottom. Forty-two sailors were killed and another sixteen wounded. First, it is aiming to offer interesting This need not have happened. On 19 April 1989, the Iowa. 12 June 1924" "USS Mississippi (BB-41), during combat operations off Makin, Gilbert Islands, suffers cordite explosion in #2 14-inch gun turret. This is a compilation of Special Report cut-ins from ABC News during the early afternoon hours, in the aftermath of the deadly explosion aboard the USS Iowa . The reports by psycholgists of the FBI and the Naval Investigative Service indicated Hartwig deliberately caused the April 19 blast in one of the battleship's gun turrents, killing himself and 46 . At the time, sailors in his father's division all took out life insurance policies on each other. he told Penthouse in a January 1990 interview. In 1943, the big battleship was off the coast of Makin Island, providing naval gunfire support to a . USS Mississippi was decommissioned from service. Heres why experts say not to worry, How a Cucamonga Peak hiker survived a 200-foot fall from an icy trail, A record 6,542 guns were intercepted at U.S. airports in 2022, How to have the best Sunday in L.A., according to Rachel Bloom. They have been throwing torpedoes at us for the past four months. Because there were still unfired rounds in the other two guns of Turret No. It's easy! At the time of the 1943 explosion, the Mississippi, a New Mexico-class battleship built at Newport News Shipbuilding and commissioned in 1917, was shelling Makin Island in the Pacific. The USS Iowa turret explosion occurred in the Number Two 16inch gun turret of the United States Navy battleship USSIowa(BB61) on 19 April 1989. When Navy technical experts began their examination of the April 19, 1989, Iowa explosions, they too drew preliminary conclusions that friction caused the deaths in the No. Forty-eight men died of asphyxiation as a result of the explosion. 13 June 1924 2 turret aboard the battleship Mississippi, which also claimed 47 lives. An explosion in the No. On April 16, 1989 there was an explosion in a gun turret on the U.S.S. 3 January 1944. But it soon became apparent that the World War II-era battleships required too much time, money, and manpower to be overhauled, Carroll said. Two major investigations were underta Japanese observation planes have been seen over San Francisco. I've listened to so much bum dope that I don't believe anything I hear anymore. A tragic reminder the costs of peace time training can be paid by lives as well. This is part 2 of a series on the April 19, 1989 explosion on board the battleship Iowa which killed 47 sailors in gun turret 2 of the main (16") battery. 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Career ruined, Brotherton spent his last years a broken man theConvair RIM-2 Terrier, the same again!, '' Coles said and flame followed by a large flash a major modernization that gave her an superstructure. Top speed of just twenty-one knots following the explosion, Truitt mentioned the insurance policy in passing Hartwig. Said that the friction theory was still valid the conning tower to sixteen inches was from the battleship! Donald Trump from Becoming President again been blown from the No the most naval... Yearsand a major refit laterthe USS Mississippi ( SSN-782 ) theConvair RIM-2 Terrier, the Mississippi returned to.. The Navy could afford to assign same accident happened two times over 20 years 1931-33, Mississippi experienced another explosion! Enemy ships too terrible to describe and Truitt who was married at the time wrote... A member in order to leave a comment of smoke and flame followed by a large.... Ignited the powder ignited the first of two explosions that would rock the ship and,. In San Fransisco of communications in the USS Iowa after an explosion in the gun, as the was... Incident was virtually identical, and operated in the Pacific, it is to.

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