US National Archives and Records Administration. Lava's technical capabilities. He braved the flames, smoke, and carnage inside the turret to turn on sprinklers so that bags of gunpowder would not go off, and he secured hatches so that the accumulating water would not sink the ship,he told Penthouse in a January 1990 interview. The hand of a dead crewman in the number two turret accidentally hit the firing switch for the port gun, firing it. The old warship was decommissioned in 1956, sold for scrap. USS Mississippi (BB-41, later AG-128), 1917-1956, DANFS - Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, Permitting Policy and Resource Management, The 9/11 Terrorist Attacks: 20 Years Later, "Ex Scientia Tridens": The U.S. On May 12, 1989, Capt. . The USS Iowa turret explosion occurred in the Number Two 16-inch gun turret of the United States Navy battleship USS Iowa (BB-61) on April 19, 1989. Unfortunately, Fidler never made any other entries although he served aboard the MISSISSIPPI until March 1943. Debris from firing the big guns had again ignited powder bags, causing the same accident and the same damage. I served aboad the USS . 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. USS Mississippi (BB-41), during combat operations off Makin, Gilbert Islands, suffers cordite explosion in #2 14-inch gun turret. Official USN photo # DN-ST-89-06800, by LT. He said the owners told him that the yard long was the crew of the ship but I figure that it contains the sailor that was assigned to the ship pictured. --another violation of regulations. United States General Accounting Office. Riska Island was shelled 22 July, and a few days later the Japanese withdrew. "That couldn't have been the case on Iowa," Coles said. A news report about the USS Iowa gun turret explosion in 1989. In this role, she carried a variety of old and new guns and radars, while serving with the Operational Development Force in the Atlantic. During his early months aboard the MISSISSIPPI, Seaman Fidler maintained a log book. 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. Battleship USS Mississippi, cruiser USS Minneapolis, and destroyers USS Shaw and McKean arrived at Pago Pago, Samoa. Please refrain from using strong language. "I regret the accident occurred, obviously. The military looks for scapegoats when people die rather than admit their mistakes or acknowledge that accidents are even possible, Truitt said. I'm trying to find out the fate of an uncle who was on the ship and . In its investigation of the explosion, the Navy concluded that the explosion was the result of a deliberate act and not a defect in the gun or propellant. 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. 2. No Way, Afghanistan: The Avoidable 20-Year Disaster, New Footage Shows Russias New T-90M Tank Going to War in Ukraine, The Collapse of Kamala Harris Is Nearly Complete. Prince of Wales and H.M.S. It was one of the worst disasters suffered by the Navy during peacetime. turret II as the crew loaded the gun. The firing rocked the whole harbor district, shattering windows and critically injuring four men who were caught behind the recoiling gun. Also, the crew failed to examine one or more of the gun bores and call out Bore clear!" Naval Academy, The Sullivan Brothers and the Assignment of Family Members, Historic Former U.S. Navy Bases and Stations, The African American Experience in the U.S. Navy, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the U.S. Navy, Contributions of Native Americans to the U.S. Navy, The World Cruise of the Great White Fleet, Navy Underwater Archaeology Return Program, Annual Navy History and Heritage Awards - Main, Research Permits for Sunken & Terrestrial Military Craft, Scanning, Copyright & Citation Information, Obtain Duplications of Records and Photos. United States Congress. They also repeated assurances that friction or other accidental means did not cause the Iowa deaths. 2 turret when the gun exploded above him. Battleship USS Mississippi, cruiser USS Minneapolis, and destroyers USS Shaw, Boggs, and McKean departed Pago Pago, Samoa bound for Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. 2 turret aboard the battleship Mississippi, which also claimed 47 lives. The accident has been a major influence on my life. While bombarding Makin 20 November, a turret explosion, almost identical to the earlier tragedy, killed 43 men. USS Mississippi and USS West Virginia departed Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, the latter after extensive repairs and modernization following damage received in the Pearl Harbor Attack. The explosion in the center gun room killed 47 of the turret's crewmen and severely damaged the gun turret itself. The deck was armored to 3.5 inches and the conning tower to sixteen inches. The residue from the smokeless propellant had to be removed chemically. "They were the real gun experts," said retired Rear Adm. Gene LaRocque, a former battleship captain and the founder of the Center for Defense Information in Washington. 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. TURRET TWO: DAMAGE CONTROL MEASURES FOLLOWING THE EXPLOSION . Note, however, he is identified as Frederick. Navy records show that Emett C. Dunn, Jr., a civilian employee of the Navy stationed in Charleston, S.C., told investigators that during a March visit to the Iowa the senior enlisted man in turret No. 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 . Even before the sailors caskets could be shipped to their hometowns, the court of inquiry was underway. On December 9, 1941 Japanese forces occupied Makin Island. Smoke pours from Turret #2 of the USS Iowa after an explosion and fire on April 19, 1989 . I imagine that the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor had a bit to do with us leaving Hvalfordur, but we sure got out of there in a hurry after the Japs started firing. She also featured twelve 5-inch/51 caliber guns, eight 3-inch anti-aircraft guns and two submerged 21-inch torpedo tubes. It was a foreseeable result of lack of training and the running . If anyone knows how to trace yard long personnel to the the active units assigned please let me know thanks. The explosion tore through the No. "At 10 minutes to 10 a.m., somebody came over the phones and said, 'We're having a problem, Turret 2, center gun,'" Carr recalled. Suddenly, in the midst of the barrage, smoke and gas erupted from the rangefinders on either side of the number two turret. Mississippi suffered two turret explosions, oddly enough the same turret each time if I recall. We hope that visitor conversations at WW2DB will be constructive and thought-provoking. The recoil severely crushed ten men inside and the salvo narrowly missed an outgoing passenger vessel. 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. I heard they are going to put up a telephone line from Portsmouth, Virginia, to Hvalfordur, Iceland, using the periscopes for poles. -23), the erstwhile Normandie, pride of the Compagnie . In November 1943 New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Idaho and Mississippi formed the Northern Attack Group (TG 52.2) under Rear Adm Griffin, and took part in the bombardment of Makin (part of Operation Galvanic, the invasion of the Gilbert Islands). Original Reporting. 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. Each of those visits was special, but a particularly unique one resulted in a perk rarely seen on a military vessel: in 1943 a bathtub was . Decommissioned in September 1956, USS Mississippi was sold for scrapping in November of that year, after almost forty years of service. His work has appeared in Popular Mechanics, Esquire, The National Interest, Car and Driver, Men's Health, and many others. The exact date and number of casualties were not available. After overhaul at San Francisco. . Returning to Pearl Harbor in March 1943, . There is also a picture of what I think is the USS MISSISSIPPI. Navy investigators allege that Hartwig, the captain of the gun, had encouraged the rammer that day to push the load that far. Built while America was a neutral party inWorld War I,Mississippisailed into the atomic age and later served as a massive test platform for surface-to-air missiles. by paul.mercer Fri Apr 04, 2014 9:12 am, Post During the latter operation, on 29 November 1943, Mississippi experienced another turret explosion, which took 43 lives . While at Navy Federal, bankers told Hartwig that buying an extra life insurance policy would only cost $4 per month. She was present in Tokyo Bay on 2 September 1945, when Japan formally surrendered and returned to the United States soon thereafter. Another sailor, Senior Master Chief Steven Skelly, told Milligan that "There has been account after account of all classes of battleship" where friction ignited ripped bags of powder as they were rammed into the gun. The military eats their own it takes a while to realize that.". ww2dbaseDuring 1931-33 , Mississippi underwent a major modernization that gave her an all-new superstructure, improved armament and enhanced protection. In this role, she carried a variety of old and new guns and radars, while serving with the Operational Development Force in the Atlantic. 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. HTML tags are not allowed. The Navy's investigation of this tragedy initially concluded that the explosion was caused by the suicidal acts of Gunner's Mate Clayton Hartwig, who was killed in the explosion. 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. Borders Makin Lagoon (Butaritari Lagoon). The General Accounting Office and both House and Senate armed services committees are reviewing the Navy's investigation. 2 turret as Carr and other sailors donned their firefighting gear. He is buried in St Mary's cemetery in Pittsburgh PA. At the time, sailors in his father's division all took out life insurance policies on each other. How to find the best blooms without the drama, Nature-curious? In 1924 and 1943, open breech explosions had occurred in the Turret Two center gun aboard Mississippi, each time killing most of the crewmen in the turret. ", Copyright 2023 Center for the National Interest All Rights Reserved. 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. I said, again, this is weird. Some, if not most ships had a waterspray system for helping clean the barrels after firing--necessary to clean out the salts accumulated from the primer compounds and the gunpowder igniter pads. and useful information about WW2. 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. . Repulse have gone down. You might like to see my original copy of the Memorial Address. US MILITARIA FORUM - COLLECTORS PRESERVING HISTORY 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. Mississippiwas a heavily armed battleship by the standards of the day. She was present in Tokyo Bay on 2 September 1945, when Japan formally surrendered and returned to the United States soon thereafter. The tombstone inscription reads "Francis J. Zacharias Born July 19, 1905, Killed by Explosion on USS Mississippi at San Pedro California 1924. If Germany has declared war on the U.S., they should be bombing Iceland soon.". 138 killed and 60 injured. Forty-three sailors died. The turret explosion was captured by a camera mounted in one of the USS Iowa's towers. Available for both RF and RM licensing. On 19 April 1989, 47 crewmen were killed in an explosion in the Number Two gun turret on the battleship USS Iowa (BB-61). Underwent a major modernization that gave uss mississippi turret explosion 1943 an all-new superstructure, improved armament enhanced. Either side of the day present in Tokyo Bay on 2 September 1945, when Japan surrendered!, however, he is identified as Frederick they should be bombing Iceland.! Pago, Samoa cruiser USS Minneapolis, and a few days later the Japanese withdrew decommissioned. 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