This need not have happened. -November 1943, the battleship USS Mississippi, while shelling Makin Island in World War II, had an explosion in turret No. But it soon became apparent that the World War II-era battleships required too much time, money, and manpower to be overhauled, Carroll said. "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. 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. Then-Navy Secretary John Lehman fell in love with the idea of using battleships to build strike groups, easing the strain on aircraft carriers, according to retired Cmdr. Second, it is to showcase "USS Mississippi (BB-41, later AG . "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. The hand of a dead crewman in the number two turret accidentally hit the firing switch for the port gun, firing it. "We stand by the results of the investigation," Coles said. 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. 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. Mississippiwas a heavily armed battleship by the standards of the day. The explosion in the center gun room killed 47 of the turret's crewmen and severely damaged the gun turret itself. Seaman First Class Fidler was just seventeen years old when the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor brought the U.S. fully into the war. During the mid-1950s, she was test ship for the Navy's first surface-to-air guided missile, the "Terrier". During World War II, in November 1943, while bombarding the Makin Islands in the Pacific, it experienced another flareback, when the gas-ejection system was turned off and reloaded too soon. Naval officers in dress uniforms stood in front as 1200 sailors in dress blues stood on the sides of the coffins. 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. 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). Required fields are marked *. Two major investigations were underta The MISSISSIPPI was once again with the Pacific Fleet. -1924, the battleship USS Mississippi, the same ship, had an explosion in turret No. Fearing that the same might happen with the remaining gun, the captain moved the MISSISSIPPI outside the breakwater. Almost instantly, forty-five men and three officers were dead from asphyxiation. On the clear, crisp, windy afternoon of June 12, 1924, a few minutes before noon, the 7-year-old vessel, was involved in intense mock warfare maneuvers 40 miles south of Los Angeles with two other Pacific Fleet battleships, the Tennessee and the Idaho. It was responsible for designing and building the guns for Navy ships during the first half of the century. Naval shore leaves were immediately canceled, and every attempt was made to keep news of the accidental discharge of the gun from leaking out. Luckily, the fire did not set off the powder bags in the other two guns. Forty-three sailors died. Was on board 1943-45. . Mississippi steamed to Australia on a U.S. Fleet good will tour in mid-1925. The gunners on all three battlewagons were competing for a $20 prize that Congress had voted to award the fleets most proficient naval marksman. 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. 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. 1919-1940, by Harvey M. Beigel. The 1943 incident was virtually identical, and the Bureau of Ordnance . On 20 November the Mississippi suffered an explosion in a main turret, killing 43 men. On April 16, 1989 there was an explosion in a gun turret on the U.S.S. 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. Despite her forty years of service, Mississippi was bound to tragedy, experiencing two major accidents in the same turret, in the same gun, twenty years apart. Despite knowing how to solve the problem, the same accident happened two times over 20 years. The Americans have bombed Tokio and our bombers have reported sending a Japanese battleship to the bottom. 2 aboard the Mississippi resulted from either the presence of a burning ember left in the barrel "or from friction of the powder bags against the moving rammer" that pushed the propellant and projectile into position. An explosion in the No. Several salvos were fired by each ship, but then there was trouble with "Missy's" number two turret. 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. She was present in Tokyo Bay on 2 September 1945, when Japan formally surrendered and returned to the United States soon thereafter. RSS. Forty-two sailors were killed and another sixteen wounded. Iowa's turret two on fire immediately following the explosion. According to Truitt, Hartwig first told him about the insurance policy two years before the explosion as the Iowa was preparing for a six-month combat deployment to deter Libya from attacking merchant ships. The Case of the U.S.S. No names were provided so can not verify but I researched the ship photo and am pretty confident that it is the USS Mississippi. Two major investigations were undertaken into the cause of the explosion, one by the U.S. Navy and then one by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and Sandia National Laboratories. The military looks for scapegoats when people die rather than admit their mistakes or acknowledge that accidents are even possible, Truitt said. The explosion in the center gun room killed 47 of the turret's crewmen and severely damaged the gun turret itself. Seconds before Turret No. USS Mississippi was decommissioned from service. National Security. 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. Am trying to find information of awards/medals that might have been awarded. "He died in my arms.". 43 killed, 19 injured. . As a battleship, theMississippiwasheavily armoredto slug it out with enemy ships. On 19 April 1989, the Number Two 16-inch gun turret of the United States Navy battleship USS Iowa (BB-61) exploded. All others are marked with an "X.". In the years since the blast, Carr has surmised what might have happened. I heard they are going to put up a telephone line from Portsmouth, Virginia, to Hvalfordur, Iceland, using the periscopes for poles. and provides links to, selected views concerning USS Mississippi (BB-41 and AG . If so, please consider supporting us on Patreon. The next shell was rammed into the gun and the four powder bags on the spanner tray were rammed into place behind it. US Battleship Turret Explosions 1904-1989. July 29, 2009 in EPHEMERA, PHOTOGRAPHS & MILITARY ARTWORK. Thanks for posting. During the latter operation, on 29 November 1943, Mississippi experienced another turret explosion, which took 43 lives . USS Mississippi (BB-41) was a New Mexico-class battleship that entered service in 1917 and saw service during World War II. Brotherton knew something was drastically wrong when he noticed brownish smoke coming from the No. 2 Turret was cold, meaning it hadn't been fired yet. 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 . That took place in 1943, when a turret explosion during the shelling of Makin Island, in the . The blast, which killed 47 men on five of the six levels inside the No. 2, Senior Chief Reginald Ziegler, told him that ripped bags of propellant were not always discarded as required by Navy safety rules. Bipartisan. US MILITARIA FORUM - COLLECTORS PRESERVING HISTORY Powered by Invision Community, USS MISSISSIPPI (BB-41) 1924 Turret Explosion, US MILITARIA FORUM - COLLECTORS PRESERVING HISTORY. 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. I collect yard longs - mostly army or armored WWII but do have some Navy. 24 were killed. 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. 3 other similar ships, the USS New Jersey, the USS Wisconsin, and the USS Missouri were built at the same time. Repulse have gone down. The deck was armored to 3.5 inches and the conning tower to sixteen inches. He justified his role by saying his men would have wanted to have a word from the old man more than anyone else. 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. At the time of her commissioning in 1943, the USS Iowa was one of the world's most formidable war machines. The Navy Bureau of Ordnance is considered authoritative on both weapons. 13 June 1924 In 1943, the big battleship was off the coast of Makin Island, providing naval gunfire support to a . "That's sort of what started the whole thing.". siege1863, 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 gun turret, left two fully loaded gun barrels in the same . From the Washington Naval Treaty to the end of the Second World War. C. Peter Chen of Lava Development, LLC. Then they found two sailors who had been blown from the turret onto the deck. She also featured twelve 5-inch/51 caliber guns, eight 3-inch anti-aircraft guns and two submerged 21-inch torpedo tubes. The ship was built at the Newport News Shipbuilding Company of Newport News, Virginia, from her keel laying in April 1915, her launching. Don't worry about collecting. She returned to the Pacific in October 1934 to resume her earlier pattern of regular exercises, Fleet Problems and training. The USS Mississippi is home to one of the most intriguing naval coincidences of all time. While at Navy Federal, bankers told Hartwig that buying an extra life insurance policy would only cost $4 per month. 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. I met my life-long friend Dave Welch, got to experience Fleet Week in NYC, and lived through the turret 2 explosion. You're 19, I'm 23, it's going to be a while.' Sounding the fire alarm, Brotherton shouted orders to cut electric power, flood the magazines and stop the ship. Truitt was in the magazine below the No. Sign up for a new account in our community. On 19 April 1989, the Number Two 16-inch gun turret of the United States Navy battleship USS Iowa (BB-61) exploded. The 14-inch/50 caliber gun was plagued with technical issues, a major problem considering it was the primary armament on the majority of serving U.S. Navy battleships. "We all knew each other rather intimately.". 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. US National Archives and Records Administration. The Senator from Michigan has asked for a Court Martial of leading admirals and in the 14th Naval District. 1943 - 1943: 9: My father, A.A. Frye was an anti-aircraft gunner's mate on the starboard side. Navy officials said this week the report on the Mississippi was authentic, but pointed out that it was later overruled by higher-ranking investigators. W.D. Following the explosion, the MISSISSIPPI returned to anchorage at San Pedro to transfer the dead and wounded to the hospital ship USS RELIEF. 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. Fire in center gun, turret 2. And while growing that fleet, Lehman wanted to bring back some of the elegance and esprit that had . At 0059, an in-bore explosion, caused by a defective projectile, tore through the inside of Turret II, burned more than 700 pounds . "The gun where the explosion occurred had not fired" that day. Trying to contain it.'". Although investigators concluded that a faulty gas-ejection system prevented one of the guns breech plugs from closing securely, thereby permitting a jet of flame to spurt back into the powder-filled room when a salvo was fired, the Mississippis skipper, Brotherton, still faced the Navys unforgiving notions of a commanders accountability. Two hundred sailors of each battleship of Battleship Division 4 were present. USS Mississippi, a 32,000 ton New Mexico class battleship, was built at Newport News, Virginia. Leaving Norfolk in early January 1942, she then transited the Panama Canal and arrived at San Francisco Harbor two weeks later. By the way, my uncle's name was Francis Zacharias. 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 19 April 1989.The explosion in the center gun room killed 47 of the turret's crewmen and severely damaged the gun turret itself. If anyone knows how to trace yard long personnel to the the active units assigned please let me know thanks. Undergoing repairs, Mississippi returned to action in January 1944 when it provided fire . The hand of a dead crewman in the number two turret accidentally hit the firing switch for the port gun, firing it. H.M.S. and useful information about WW2. Gunners mate Kendall L. Truitt, one of the 12 sailors who escaped the No. 1. The investigation's findings, contained in a formerly classified document, said that the friction theory was still valid. Sandia investigators asked if two similar explosions on the battleship USS Mississippi could be related to the Iowa explosion. The closing of the hatch sealed the fate of any others who might have survived the blast, trapping them in the toxic, flaming gas cloud created by the explosion. A Marine rifle squad fired three volleys. However, what he writes on December 10 and 11, 1941, tells the story well. 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. A news report about the USS Iowa gun turret explosion in 1989. Then came the blast, which was so strong that it ripped the headphones right off Carr's head. 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. Similar ships, the same time 3 other similar ships, the battleship USS Mississippi ( and. 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