Of her complement, 1026 officers and men were killed, including Rear-Admiral Hood. Black smoke poured out from the burning No. Here is one of my postings from another collecting forum. Australian news report on the USS . Warships, naval battles, technology, weapons, navies of all eras, modeling, etc. Joseph Miceli, who headed the technical aspects of the Navy's investigation of the Iowa deaths, issued an interim report that stated: "The most probable cause of the casualty appears at this time to be frictional or compressive forces acting on or within the" bags of powder as they were rammed into the breach. Politics. All comment submissions will become the property of WW2DB. Although it contains mostly notes and drawings related to his continued training on the ship, there are two very interesting and significant entries. The photo was from the book Battleship Country--The Battle Fleet at San Pedro-Long Beach, Ca. No doubt inspired by events, Fidler began to record the actions of the MISSISSIPPI and his sense of what was transpiring, following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. You're 19, I'm 23, it's going to be a while.' Sandia National Laboratories later determined that the powder had been rammed 24 inches too far, compressing the powder charge against the base of the dummy projectile before it ignited, the GAO report said. The investigation's findings, contained in a formerly classified document, said that the friction theory was still valid. He had instinctively closed the doors to the ammunition hoist and flooded the magazines. Suddenly, in the midst of the barrage . C. Peter Chen of Lava Development, LLC. 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. BB-41 suffered another turret explosion killing 43 men 20 November 1943 off Makin Island. 12 June 1924" "USS Mississippi (BB-41), during combat operations off Makin, Gilbert Islands, suffers cordite explosion in #2 14-inch gun turret. The blast, which killed 47 men on five of the six levels inside the No. After the explosion, Truitt mentioned the insurance policy in passing to Hartwig's family. "The gun where the explosion occurred had not fired" that day. 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. by paul.mercer Thu Apr 03, 2014 9:29 pm, Post 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 . After firing its seventh salvo, the Mississippis gun crew prepared to load silk bags of gunpowder into the magazines of the ships 14-inch guns in the No. Mississippi sustained a turret explosion that killed 43 people. This could have led to dangerous debris remaining in the breech when the gun crew assumed it was safe to load. ww2dbaseDuring 1931-33 , Mississippi underwent a major modernization that gave her an all-new superstructure, improved armament and enhanced protection. Ziegler told Dunn that "he used torn powder bags and merely scooped up the loose grains and threw them into the gun behind the bags, then closed the breach and fired," those records quote Dunn as telling Navy investigators. Mississippi sailed from San Pedro 19 October to take part in the invasion of the Gilbert Islands. I'll bet the Prince took something down with her. 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. 2 gun turret during a firing exercise on the big American battleship, killing more than 40 sailors and triggering an inquiry into how such an accident could . They also repeated assurances that friction or other accidental means did not cause the Iowa deaths. 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. RLoret 1 yr. ago. and provides links to, selected views concerning USS Mississippi (BB-41 and AG . On 19 April 1989, the Number Two 16-inch gun turret of the United States Navy battleship USS Iowa (BB-61) exploded. On May 12, 1989, Capt. That took place in 1943, when a turret explosion during the shelling of Makin Island, in the . I still think we will make it without any casualties.". TheNew Mexicoclass 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. She had a reputation of being the fastest firing and hardest hitting warship and she won the coveted "E" for excellence award for gunnery and engineering many times. He justified his role by saying his men would have wanted to have a word from the old man more than anyone else. 2, the ship was anchored just inside the breakwater. Following the explosion, the MISSISSIPPI returned to anchorage at San Pedro to transfer the dead and wounded to the hospital ship USS RELIEF. The Case of the U.S.S. 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. On June 12, 1924, the MISSISSIPPI, along with the battleships TENNESSEE and IOWA, was engaged in gunnery practice off San Clemente Island. Battleship USS Mississippi, cruiser USS Minneapolis, and destroyers USS Shaw, Boggs, and McKean departed Pago Pago, Samoa bound for Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The New 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. In 1943, she took part operations against Kiska Island, in the Aleutians, and in the capture of the Gilbert Islands. 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. 2 turret aboard the battleship Mississippi, which also claimed 47 lives. On August 17, 1942 at 3:30am two submarines USS Argonaut (SM-1) and USS Nautilus (SS-168) surfaced and deployed rubber rafts with outboard . WASHINGTON Friction, the cause initially considered for the explosions aboard the USS Iowa this year, was also thought by Navy gun experts to be a possible cause of a 1943 explosion aboard the battleship USS Mississippi that killed 42 sailors. The Navy's initial investigation also found that sailors aboard the Iowa had decided to experiment with using five bags filled with an unauthorized type of gun power for the test shoot when the explosion occurred, an August 1991 Government Accountability Office report found. This freed up the name USS Mississippi (BB-41) for one of twelve "standard type" battleships, designed with a similar armor scheme, speed, and main armament in order to operate together. Laid down in April 1915 at the Newport News Naval Yard, Virginia,Mississippiwas commissioned in December 1917, a month after the end of World War I. I'm trying to find out the fate of an uncle who was on the ship and . Funeral services were held June 17 on Trona Field at San Pedro. Also, the crew failed to examine one or more of the gun bores and call out Bore clear!" Abner Read began sinking by the stern and 20 minutes after the attack, she rolled over and sank. You need to be a member in order to leave a comment. Those people turned out to be Gunner's Mate 2nd Class Clayton Hartwig, whom the Navy had initially claimed had loaded the gun before it exploded, and his best friend, Gunner's Mate 3rd Class Kendall Truitt. This guy served on the USS MISSISSIPPI and USS NEVADA from 1917-1919. On June 12, 1924, there was an explosion in the USS Mississippi's No. The crew members in the upper chambers of the massive gun turret aboard the USS Iowa were killed by the explosion and fire while sailors working several levels below suffocated when the blast sucked all the oxygen from their chambers, Navy officials said Friday. "Thus helping Kendall suddenly become a suspect," Truitt said. By This could have led to dangerous debris remaining in the breech when the gun crew assumed it was safe to load. -November 1943, the battleship USS Mississippi, while shelling Makin Island in World War II, had an explosion in turret No. USS Turner (DD-648) sank in New York harbor following a series of ammunition explosions. It was during this period, when on special training maneuvers, that tragedy struck the ship. 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. 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. 3 other similar ships, the USS New Jersey, the USS Wisconsin, and the USS Missouri were built at the same time. The new Mississippi displaced 32,000 tons, could make 21 knots, and carried twelve 14 . Built while America was a neutral party in World War I, Mississippi sailed into the atomic age and later served as a massive test platform for surface-to-air missiles. ", Copyright 2023 Center for the National Interest All Rights Reserved. "The powder door was still open to the center gun that armored hatch was still open," Carr said. US National Archives and Records Administration. The flames and gases had overcome the men so quickly that recovery crews found many of the men still at their positions. Two major investigations were underta The dope' is out that we are going to the West Coast after our stay at Portsmouth. The exact date and number of casualties were not available. Less than two decades later, the Mississippi went through the same agony again. 1943 - 1943: 9: My father, A.A. Frye was an anti-aircraft gunner's mate on the starboard side. I was on active duty at that time. Did you enjoy this article or find this article helpful? Navy investigators allege that Hartwig, the captain of the gun, had encouraged the rammer that day to push the load that far. Out of commission? The Mississippi enjoyed a reputation for collecting gunnery awards, and the day before had hit 52 out of 55 targets. German dive bombers would sink both ships in the spring of 1941. Almost instantly, forty-five men and three officers were dead from asphyxiation. The mighty warship was 624 feet long with a beam of 97.5 feet, and displaced 33,000 tons fully loaded. At the time, sailors in his father's division all took out life insurance policies on each other. "I just thought they had some really strange questions for what I assumed was an honest attempt at an investigation.". Flash! 2 turrets periscope holes, even as the ships other guns continued firing. She was armed with a main battery of twelve 14-inch/50 caliber guns mounted in four turrets of three guns each, with each gun mounted in a separate sleeve. Looking for information/casualty list from the Nov 29,1943 turret explosion. The explosion in the center gun room killed 47 of the turret's crewmen and severely damaged the gun turret itself. RSS. Debris from firing the big guns had again ignited powder bags, causing the same accident and the same damage. Later, the Navy would honor Zellars by naming a destroyer after him. "We all knew each other rather intimately.". During the latter operation, on 29 November 1943, Mississippi experienced another turret explosion, which took 43 lives. The ships were simulating a chase, firing only their forward turrets at close range. I recently purchased a yard long photo with ship photo that the seller claimed were bought together at an estate sale in Lake George NY. He said: 'No, it's the same thing my dad did.". The Senator from Michigan has asked for a Court Martial of leading admirals and in the 14th Naval District. The aging battlewagon had served longer than most ships at the time, but it had also experienced two rare tragedies, in the same place, under similar circumstances. She was redesignated AG-128 and equipped with a number of radars and prototype air defense missile systems. Thanks for posting. 47 men were killed. However, what he writes on December 10 and 11, 1941, tells the story well. (Photo: Official U.S. Navy Photograph, National Archives collection) . The waterspray system was not, if I recall, used to clear the bore between shots, just the compressed air blast. During the latter operation, on 29 November 1943, Mississippi experienced another turret explosion, which took 43 lives . A battleship force on station at the northern entrance to Surigao Strait consisting of battleships USS Mississippi, California, and Pennsylvania screened by cruisers USS Phoenix, Boise, Nashville, and HMAS Shropshire along with destroyers Ammen, Bush, Leutze, Newcomb, Bennion, Heywood L. Edwards, Robinson, Richard P. Leary, Bryant, and Claxton came under an intense Japanese air attacking force that included special attack aircraft. 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 On 20 November the Mississippi suffered an explosion in a main turret, killing 43 men. Naval officers in dress uniforms stood in front as 1200 sailors in dress blues stood on the sides of the coffins. Battleship Mississippi (BB-41) Interactive Map. The Invasion of Lingayen Gulf (Filipino: Paglusob sa Golpo ng Lingayen), 6-9 January 1945, was an Allied amphibious operation in the Philippines during World War II.In the early morning of 6 January 1945, a large Allied force commanded by Admiral Jesse B. Oldendorf began approaching the shores of Lingayen from Lingayen Gulf, on the island of Luzon. 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. US MILITARIA FORUM - COLLECTORS PRESERVING HISTORY 1919-1940, by Harvey M. Beigel. I've listened to so much bum dope that I don't believe anything I hear anymore. Published April 02, 2018 09:40:36. Rather than admitting that the age of the battleship was over, Navy leaders cut corners on training, manpower, and maintenance to get theIowaback out to sea, he said. 2 was set to fire its trio of 16-inch guns, an explosion ripped through it, killing 47 sailors. USS Mississippi was damaged by Japanese special attack aircraft at Lingayen Gulf, Luzon, Philippine Islands. At first, because of the fumes, it was impossible to reach any of the men, even with masks and oxygen tanks. 2 turret of the battleship USS Mississippi in 1943 that killed 43 sailors was caused by a "flareback" when unexpelled gases from a previous round ignited powder bags. After an extensive preliminary bombardment, the Marine assault force headed towards the beach andMississippiand the other ships increased their rate of fire. 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.". April 20, 1989. The battleship would continue participating mainly in training exercises until the 1940s. 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. 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 . "That couldn't have been the case on Iowa," Coles said. Despite knowing how to solve the problem, the same accident happened two times over 20 years.
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