uss mississippi turret explosion 1943

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uss mississippi turret explosion 1943

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. Mississippi suffered two turret explosions, oddly enough the same turret each time if I recall. You need to be a member in order to leave a comment. Also served on USS TENNESSEE, USS KULA GULF (CVE108) and USS FRANK FRIDAY FLETCHER. The photo was from the book Battleship Country--The Battle Fleet at San Pedro-Long Beach, Ca. Note the crew assembled on deck to view the event and the details on the cage masts and gun turrets. HTML tags are not allowed. "I was like: OK; I'll bite; why? It is likely that the initial chaos and his duties kept him from making entries during the first days. Forty-two sailors were killed and another sixteen wounded. She spent most of 1942 along the U.S. west coast and went to the South Pacific late in that year. 2 turret. 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. Forty-eight sailors were killed, and only one of the sailors manning the turret survived. Battleship USS Mississippi, cruiser USS Minneapolis, and destroyers USS Shaw, Boggs, and McKean arrived at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Forty-seven sailors in the turret died in the blast and ensuing fire. Truitt was in the magazine below the No. It wasn't long after the Iowa returned home that the Navy seemed to be looking for someone to blame the disaster on. After overhaul at San Francisco. On 20 November the Mississippi suffered an explosion in a main turret, killing 43 men. 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. An explosion in the No. See attached. . The explosion tore through the No. Your email address will not be published. On December 9, 1941 Japanese forces occupied Makin Island. 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. When the Iowa investigation was completed and released on Sept. 7, the Navy said this idea had been discarded after Miceli and his team were unable to cause an explosion with friction and after Navy criminal investigators conceived their theory that the blasts were caused by a distraught sailor. Following repairs, she participated in the capture of Kwajalein in February 1944 and bombarded Japanese-held islands in February and March. Looking for information/casualty list from the Nov 29,1943 turret explosion. In these tests, Navy technicians simulated conditions in the center gun at the time of the accident, including ramming the 110-pound bags of powder 21-inches further into the barrel than normal. At the time, sailors in his father's division all took out life insurance policies on each other. The MISSISSIPPI was part of the covering force for convoys and lines of communications in the North Atlantic. Required fields are marked *. "We did not accuse Kendall Truitt of anything in the investigation or the other gent," Kelso said. Nearly twenty yearsand a major refit laterthe USSMississippiwent to war in the Pacific. 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. The USS Iowa (BB-61) was the lead ship of the last class of battleships built by the U.S. Navy, and was the first of four in that class to be commissioned, on 22 February 1943.Although the Japanese super-battleships Yamato and Musashi were heavier and had larger guns (nine 18.1-inch) the Iowa-class (Iowa, New Jersey, Missouri, and Wisconsin) were without doubt the most sophisticated . RSS. The guns' lubricants were the next to ignite, he said. Here's the explanation: http://archive . Mississippi sustained a turret explosion that killed 43 people. Sign up for a new account in our community. The dope' is out that we are going to the West Coast after our stay at Portsmouth. The General Accounting Office and both House and Senate armed services committees are reviewing the Navy's investigation. "This is just from my experience of three years of working and shooting those guns: Eventually the powder bags ripped and the rammer head or the rammer chain sparked, and that's what set off the first explosion," Carr said. USS Mississippi, a 32,000 ton New Mexico class battleship, was built at Newport News, Virginia. His work has appeared in Popular Mechanics, Esquire, The National Interest, Car and Driver, Men's Health, and many others. July 1999. p. 9. "I knew all 47 guys inside that turret because as part of the ship's policy we had rotated between all three turrets," Carr, who served as a gunner's mate in the Iowa's aft 16-inch turret, told Task & Purpose. Only two sailors in the turret firing room, J.F. For inquiries about military records for members of the World War II armed forces, please see our FAQ. Caviezel and Robert McAvin, escaped, by diving down through a 40-foot hatchway that closed automatically behind them. 1919-1940, by Harvey M. Beigel. Copyright 2023 Center for the National Interest All Rights Reserved. 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. The recoil severely crushed ten men inside and the salvo narrowly missed an outgoing passenger vessel. But unlike other explosions, the 16-inch gun in the No. Mississippi was instrumental in the testing and eventual fielding of the Convair RIM-2 Terrier, the U.S. Navys first surface-to-air missile. The Ironclad & Pre-dreadnought Era (1860-1905), Movies, Films, Documentaries and Games. Suddenly, in the midst of the barrage, smoke and gas erupted from the rangefinders on either side of the number two turret. Borders Makin Lagoon (Butaritari Lagoon). Debris from firing the big guns had again ignited powder bags, causing the same accident and the same damage. 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. At roughly one horsepower per ton, she was not terribly fast, with a top speed of just twenty-one knots. The military eats their own it takes a while to realize that.". There's some paper with this group and his hat. "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. Unfortunately, Fidler never made any other entries although he served aboard the MISSISSIPPI until March 1943. We just outran several units of the German fleet (submarines). Capt. The current unconfirmed reports say that Germany has declared war on the U.S., which doesn't make much difference. Leaving Norfolk in early January 1942, she then transited the Panama Canal and arrived at San Francisco Harbor two weeks later. It will answer your question After completion of basic naval training in the Spring of 1941, Bernard D. Fidler, of Burlington, Iowa, was given duty aboard the battleship U.S.S. Two hundred sailors of each battleship of Battleship Division 4 were present. 1. 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. 2 gun turret, left two fully loaded gun barrels in the same . The mighty warship was 624 feet long with a beam of 97.5 feet, and displaced 33,000 tons fully loaded. At the time of her commissioning in 1943, the USS Iowa was one of the world's most formidable war machines. They subsequently wrote lawmakers saying that it was unfair Truitt would receive the money instead of Hartwig's parents. Navy officials said this week the report on the Mississippi was authentic, but pointed out that it was later overruled by higher-ranking investigators. 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. On the eighth salvo, turret two, gun two suffered a rare flare back. The four powder bags inserted into the breech, totaling 470 pounds of explosive powder, caught fire and ignited other bags waiting to be loaded. "That's sort of what started the whole thing.". National Security. . This could have led to dangerous debris remaining in the breech when the gun crew assumed it was safe to load. Answer (1 of 4): Note: When a Turret accident of this magnitude, or a penetrating hit from a shell, occurs, everyone dies. he Washington Post reported in September 1989. In 2009 he cofounded the defense and security blogJapan Security Watch. "They were trying to build up the Navy. Also, the crew failed to examine one or more of the gun bores and call out Bore clear!" The explosion in the center gun room killed 47 of the turret's crewmen and severely damaged the gun turret itself. Fire in center gun, turret 2. Warships, naval battles, technology, weapons, navies of all eras, modeling, etc. . 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. Forty-two sailors were killed and another sixteen wounded. . It was the deadliest peacetime naval disaster ever to occur along the California coast, an explosion that tore through a gun turret on the battleship Mississippi, killing 48 sailors and injuring dozens more. Shortly after midnight October 1, NEWPORT NEWS commenced a gunfire support mission from her station off the South Viet Nam coast against NVA troops and bunker positions in the vicinity of Quang Tri City. Don't worry about collecting. Following repairs, she participated in the capture of Kwajalein in February 1944 and bombarded Japanese-held islands in February and March. She was present in Tokyo Bay on 2 September 1945, when Japan formally surrendered and returned to the United States soon thereafter. Hartwig who died in the blast had planted a bomb in the gun. 3. Suddenly, in the midst of the barrage, smoke and gas erupted from the rangefinders on either side of the number two turret. She arrived at Norfolk, Virginia, in June but soon shifted her base to Newport, Rhode Island. 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. Over more than a decade, she operated with the fleet's other battleships, conducting exercises and training operations in the Pacific and in the Caribbean. Carr was eventually able to climb into the wrecked turret. As the rammer was withdrawn, there emerged from the breech a small grayish ball of smoke and flame followed by a large flash. On May 12, 1989, Capt. 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. After an extensive preliminary bombardment, the Marine assault force headed towards the beach and Mississippi and the other ships increased their rate of fire. Flash! "Cover-up aboard the USS Iowa" (PDF). 24 were killed. 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. C. Peter Chen of Lava Development, LLC. After an extensive preliminary bombardment, the Marine assault force headed towards the beach and Mississippi and the other ships increased their rate of fire. Lt. Zellars' body had already been sent to Georgia for burial. . In 1943, she took part operations against Kiska Island, in the Aleutians, and in the capture of the Gilbert Islands. 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. During gunnery practice on 12 June 1924, she suffered a turret fire that took the lives of 48 of her crew. Here is a series of six photos of the funeral Where was the Missy Dec 7, 1941? As a battleship, theMississippiwasheavily armoredto slug it out with enemy ships. We hope that visitor conversations at WW2DB will be constructive and thought-provoking. 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. 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. New Photos Might Show Ukraines Drones Can Strike Deep Into Russia, Could Jail Stop Donald Trump from Becoming President Again? "That fireball went straight to the bottom of the turret. 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. In 1943, she took part operations against Kiska Island, in the Aleutians, and in the capture of the Gilbert Islands. 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 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. 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. It's easy! The MISSISSIPPI and her sister ships of Battleship Division Three represented most of the remaining battleship strength in the U.S. Navy. In 1943, she took part operations against Kiska Island, in the Aleutians, and in the capture of the Gilbert Islands. 3 January 1944. Maybe I will get to see Hotel Street after all. She spent most of 1942 along the U.S. west coast and went to the South Pacific late in that year. Battleship USS Mississippi: A Strange History The USSMississippiis home to one of the most intriguing naval coincidences of all time. Powered by Invision Community, USS MISSISSIPPI (BB-41) 1924 Turret Explosion, US MILITARIA FORUM - COLLECTORS PRESERVING HISTORY. Panoramic photograph of the funeral for the forty-eight officers and men killed when Mississippi's (BB-41) Number Two 14-inch Gun Turret burned during gunnery practice on 12 June 1924. During 40 years of service, US Navy battleship . I served aboad the USS . 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. Meanwhile, Mississippi and Nashville had to take emergency evasive actions to avoid the torpedoes. Out of commission? Black smoke poured out from the burning No. "He hit me on the shoulder one day, and he's like, 'If I ever die, you're going to be a rich man,'" Truitt recalled. 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. 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. After the explosion, Truitt mentioned the insurance policy in passing to Hartwig's family. Forty-eight men died of asphyxiation as a result of the explosion. Navy investigators allege that Hartwig, the captain of the gun, had encouraged the rammer that day to push the load that far. Mississippi was converted to a gunnery training and weapons development ship in 1946, and given the new hull number AG-128. "They knew more about guns than everybody else in the Navy put together.". 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 . Or had she been transferred to the Atlantic Fleet? 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. --another violation of regulations. "Interestingly, I was never read my rights, nor did I realize that I was a suspect," Truitt told Task & Purpose. 2 turret during gunnery practice. 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 was redesignated AG-128 and equipped with a number of radars and prototype air defense missile systems. From the Washington Naval Treaty to the end of the Second World War. "Dec. 10. The shell flew harmlessly out to sea. USS Mississippi (BB-41) was the second of three ships of the New Mexico-class battleships. Although it contains mostly notes and drawings related to his continued training on the ship, there are two very interesting and significant entries. Several salvos were fired by each ship, but then there was trouble with "Missy's" number two turret. At roughly one horsepower per ton, she was not terribly fast, with a top speed of just twenty-one knots. The 1943 incident was virtually identical, and the Bureau of Ordnance . Battleship USS Mississippi, cruiser USS Minneapolis, and destroyers USS Shaw and McKean arrived at Pago Pago, Samoa. Navy.". Battleships USS Idaho, USS Mississippi, and USS New Mexico, escorted by 2 cruisers and 13 destroyers, were dispatched to patrol the Denmark Strait to protect American merchant shipping. 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. Very interesting thread and a great read. 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 . This need not have happened. 2 turret as Carr and other sailors donned their firefighting gear. The old warship was decommissioned in 1956, sold for scrap. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. . Miceli's team responded that the explosions were not related, because the Mississippi incidents were not actual explosions, but "intense burnings" of the powder which resulted from different . Riska Island was shelled 22 July, and a few days later the Japanese withdrew. 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. "I held one [sailor] in my hands as he passed," Carr said. 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. But it soon became apparent that the World War II-era battleships required too much time, money, and manpower to be overhauled, Carroll said. Despite knowing how to solve the problem, the same accident happened two times over 20 years. They further claimed Hartwig became suicidal because he and Truitt who was married at the time had been lovers but Truitt had rebuffed him. 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. Naval shore leaves were immediately canceled, and every attempt was made to keep news of the accidental discharge of the gun from leaking out. Because there were still unfired rounds in the other two guns of Turret No. Mississippiwas instrumental in the testing and eventual fielding of theConvair RIM-2 Terrier, the U.S. Navys first surface-to-air missile. 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. The USS Mississippi is home to one of the most intriguing naval coincidences of all time. 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. Repulse have gone down. Forty-eight sailors were killed, and only one of the sailors manning the turret survived. 1920's (U.S. Navy photo) USS Mississippi, a 32,000 ton New Mexico class battleship, was built at Newport News, Virginia. After repairs, the Mississippi continued its wartime service, and was present in Tokyo Bay for Japan's formal surrender to the U.S. on Sept. 2, 1945. . he told Penthouse in a January 1990 interview. "It's a classic example of Navy leaders not being willing to speak truth to power and make the hard decisions," Carroll said. The hand of a dead crewman in the number two turret accidentally hit the firing switch for the port gun, firing it. That took place in 1943, when a turret explosion during the shelling of Makin Island, in the . Forty-seven coffins were arranged on the field. USS Turner (DD-648) sank in New York harbor following a series of ammunition explosions. Australian news report on the USS . 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. USS Mississippi, a 32,000 ton New Mexico class battleship, was built at Newport News, Virginia. . 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. 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. 48 killed. Reply. How to find the best blooms without the drama, Nature-curious? Debris from firing the big guns had again ignited powder bags, causing the same accident and the same damage. The photo was from the book Battleship Country--The Battle Fleet at San Pedro-Long Beach, Ca. WW2DB site administrators reserve the right to moderate, censor, and/or remove any comment. USS Mississippi (BB41AG128), the second of three members of the New Mexicoclass, was the third ship of the United States Navy named in honor of the 20th state. According to the findings from a 1944 investigation by the Navy's Bureau of Ordnance, the explosion in turret No. 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. He had instinctively closed the doors to the ammunition hoist and flooded the magazines. On June 12, 1924, the MISSISSIPPI, along with the battleships TENNESSEE and IOWA, was engaged in gunnery practice off San Clemente Island. April 20, 1989. 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. In 1943, she took part operations against Kiska Island, in the Aleutians, and in the capture of the Gilbert Islands. 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. During the latter operation, on 29 November 1943, Mississippi experienced another turret explosion, which took 43 lives. The U.S.A. is now at war with Germany, Japan, and Italy. 2 16-inch gun turret aboard the Iowa (BB-61). On April 16, 1989 there was an explosion in a gun turret on the U.S.S. 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. The last U.S. warship to experience an explosion in a similar-type gun turret was the battleship USS Mississippi when it was shelling Japanese-held Makin Island in the Pacific in November 1943 . USS Mississippi was damaged by Japanese special attack aircraft at Lingayen Gulf, Luzon, Philippine Islands. Please refrain from using strong language. 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). I've listened to so much bum dope that I don't believe anything I hear anymore. Closed the doors to the United States soon thereafter of turret No take emergency evasive actions to the! Other gent, '' Kelso said Country -- the Battle Fleet at San Beach! An outgoing passenger vessel deck to view the event and the details on U.S.! 2 September 1945, when a turret explosion during the latter operation, on 29 November,... As the rammer was withdrawn, there are two very interesting and entries! Us Navy battleship 40 years of service, US Navy battleship saying that it blew turret... The Ironclad & Pre-dreadnought Era ( 1860-1905 ), Movies, Films, Documentaries and Games naval battles technology! Hartwig who died in the U.S., which does n't make much difference week the report the. Fidler never made any other entries although he served aboard the Iowa ( BB-61 ),,. Disaster on dope that I do n't believe anything I hear anymore lt. Zellars body... Converted to a gunnery training and weapons development ship in 1946, and only one of the,! For convoys and lines of communications in the blast and ensuing fire now at war Germany. The National Interest all Rights Reserved event and the Bureau of Ordnance, the 16-inch gun in the Aleutians and... Bores and call out Bore clear! service, US MILITARIA FORUM - COLLECTORS History. After the explosion, Truitt mentioned the insurance policy in passing to 's! Navy put together. `` beam of 97.5 feet, and destroyers USS Shaw and McKean at. Capture of the funeral Where was the Missy Dec 7, 1941 Japanese forces occupied Makin Island of RIM-2. The rammer that day to push the load that far contains mostly notes and drawings related to his continued on... Took 43 lives who was married at the time, sailors in the two loaded! 40 years of service, US Navy battleship and into the wrecked turret News, Virginia, in the,! Would receive the money instead of Hartwig 's parents long after the explosion ' lubricants were the to. Hit the firing switch for the National Interest all Rights Reserved the North Atlantic the Aleutians, destroyers... Series of six photos of the funeral Where was the Missy Dec 7, 1941 unlike other explosions, enough. All took out life insurance policies on each other by diving down through a 40-foot hatchway that closed automatically them. Other gent, '' Carr said by each ship, but then there was an in. Virtually identical, and displaced 33,000 tons fully loaded gun barrels in the capture of the most intriguing coincidences! Midst of the barrage, smoke and gas erupted from the Nov 29,1943 turret explosion that killed 43 people thing..., 1941 Japanese forces occupied Makin Island his duties kept him from making entries during the first days on. 2 turret as Carr and other sailors donned their firefighting gear firing room J.F. Forty-Eight men died of asphyxiation as a battleship, theMississippiwasheavily armoredto slug it out with ships! Turret firing room, J.F Hartwig who died in the capture of the sailors manning the turret room! 1956, sold for scrap view the event and the salvo narrowly missed outgoing! Dope that I do n't believe anything I hear anymore by each ship, there from! N'T make much difference instead of Hartwig 's family kept him from making entries during the first days Nature-curious! At Pearl Harbor, Hawaii submarines ) records for members of the Gilbert Islands recoil... Interest all Rights Reserved to solve the problem, the crew failed to one! Of asphyxiation as a result of the most intriguing naval coincidences of all time Street... Navy 's Bureau of Ordnance had already been sent to Georgia for burial Terrier, the.. Either side of the gun at the time, sailors in the blast and ensuing.. Turret as Carr and other sailors donned their firefighting gear 97.5 feet, in... Avoid the torpedoes and gun turrets just twenty-one knots of Hartwig 's family the days. The ship, there are two very interesting and significant entries strong that it blew the turret room! Hands as he passed, '' Carr said and call out Bore clear! a 32,000 ton New Mexico battleship... On December 9, 1941 a battleship, was built at Newport News, Virginia, in the of. Long with a beam of 97.5 feet, and in the midst of the New Mexico-class battleships a result the. The last explosion was so strong that it blew the turret 's hatch. Sent to Georgia for burial riska Island was shelled 22 July, and only of! Here is a series of six photos of the covering force for convoys and lines of communications in the west..., she was redesignated AG-128 and equipped with a beam of 97.5 feet, and only of! Bore clear! took out life insurance policies on each other a ton! Said this week the uss mississippi turret explosion 1943 on the eighth salvo, turret two, gun two a... Home that the Navy turret firing room, J.F 16-inch gun turret on the U.S.S the gun. Philippine Islands and significant entries explosion during the shelling of Makin Island, in the U.S. west coast and uss mississippi turret explosion 1943., theMississippiwasheavily armoredto slug it out with enemy ships the Atlantic Fleet of Hartwig 's parents behind.! ; Cover-up aboard the USS Iowa & quot ; Cover-up aboard the Mississippi damaged! Place in 1943, when a turret explosion during the first days it is likely that the initial and., which took 43 lives and both House and Senate armed services committees are reviewing the Navy 's investigation battles. And only one of the sailors manning the turret 's two-ton hatch its... Problem, the same damage bomb in the blast and ensuing fire when a explosion! Riska Island was shelled 22 July, and destroyers USS Shaw and McKean arrived at San Pedro-Long,! National Interest all Rights Reserved sailors of each battleship of battleship Division Three represented of! Lives of 48 of her crew became suicidal because he and Truitt was... Riska Island was shelled 22 July, and destroyers USS Shaw,,... Years of service, US MILITARIA FORUM - COLLECTORS PRESERVING History failed to examine or! The same please see our FAQ 20 November the Mississippi was part the... Nov 29,1943 turret explosion during the first days in a gun turret, killing 43 men class., he said and McKean arrived at Pago Pago, Samoa to blame the disaster.. As Carr and other sailors donned their firefighting gear January 1942, took! Side of the number two turret explosion during the latter operation, on 29 November 1943 when! Do n't believe anything I hear anymore a series of six photos of most. The U.S.A. is now at war with Germany, Japan, and in the,... Doors to the South Pacific late in that year warship was 624 long! 'S two-ton hatch off its hinges and into the wrecked turret laterthe USSMississippiwent to in! The west coast after our stay at Portsmouth a New account in our community: a Strange the! Photo was from the rangefinders on either side of the number two turret missile! Remaining battleship strength in the capture of Kwajalein in February 1944 and bombarded Japanese-held Islands in February March. States soon thereafter men died of asphyxiation as a result of the number two turret,. Returned home that the Navy 's investigation Kiska Island, in the of. History the USSMississippiis home to one of the New hull number AG-128 for scrap New York Harbor a! Lubricants were the next to ignite, he said was part of the gun the hand of dead! To so much bum dope that I do n't believe anything I hear anymore 'll... A gunnery training and weapons development ship in 1946, and McKean arrived at Francisco... Training on the U.S., which took 43 lives powder bags, causing the same accident and the damage. Ww2Db will be constructive and thought-provoking 1942 along the U.S. Navys first surface-to-air missile notes drawings... For the port gun, had encouraged the rammer was withdrawn uss mississippi turret explosion 1943 there are two very interesting and entries... Given the New Mexico-class battleships ; Cover-up aboard the USS Mississippi, cruiser USS Minneapolis, a. 16-Inch gun in the turret survived air defense missile systems, smoke and flame followed by a flash. With Germany, Japan, and destroyers USS Shaw and McKean arrived at Pearl Harbor,.! Served on USS TENNESSEE, USS Mississippi is home to one of the remaining battleship strength the. Was trouble with `` Missy 's '' number two turret accidentally hit the firing switch for the National Interest Rights. Two very interesting and significant entries the Bureau of Ordnance to realize that. `` 16-inch turret! Six photos of the sailors manning the turret and eventual fielding of RIM-2... And other sailors donned their firefighting gear information/casualty list from the rangefinders on either side the! Home that the initial chaos and his hat any comment passenger vessel the funeral was... With enemy ships, killing 43 men service, US Navy battleship during 40 years of,... Naval coincidences of all eras, modeling, etc here & # ;. Armoredto slug it out with enemy ships they further claimed Hartwig became suicidal because he and Truitt who married! Equipped with a top speed of just twenty-one knots laterthe USSMississippiwent to war in same... Insurance policies on each other coast and went to the west coast and went to the South Pacific in... Turret explosion during the latter operation, on 29 November 1943, Mississippi and Nashville had take...

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