If Germany has declared war on the U.S., they should be bombing Iceland soon.". Unfortunately, Fidler never made any other entries although he served aboard the MISSISSIPPI until March 1943. The USS Mississippi is home to one of the most intriguing naval coincidences of all time. Available for both RF and RM licensing. 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. She was launched on 27 August 1942 and commissioned on 22 February 1943. The U.S.A. is now at war with Germany, Japan, and Italy. 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. "USS Mississippi (BB-41) cordite fire in the #2 14-inch gun turret. Caviezel and Robert McAvin, escaped, by diving down through a 40-foot hatchway that closed automatically behind them. The turret explosion was captured by a camera mounted in one of the USS Iowa's towers. He passed away in 2010. 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. Prewar and during the Pacific War located in the Gilbert Islands. Bipartisan. Your email address will not be published. In 1943, she took part operations against Kiska Island, in the Aleutians, and in the capture of the Gilbert Islands. At the time of her commissioning in 1943, the USS Iowa was one of the world's most formidable war machines. USS Turner (DD-648) sank in New York harbor following a series of ammunition explosions. 138 killed and 60 injured. During 1931-33 , Mississippi underwent a major modernization that gave her an all-new superstructure, improved armament and enhanced protection. When we're doing a shot with more than three shells, you would stage powder bags inside the powder flats. 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. Later, the Navy would honor Zellars by naming a destroyer after him. Hartwig who died in the blast had planted a bomb in the gun. 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. The 1943 incident was virtually identical, and the Bureau of Ordnance . I said, again, this is weird. The Oklahoma capsizing is straight dope. "They knew more about guns than everybody else in the Navy put together.". 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. 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. The battleships three remaining turrets continued firing until the naval support phase of the invasion had ended. 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. "That's sort of what started the whole thing.". Article on accident here. 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. I was on active duty at that time. The battleships three remaining turrets continued firing until the naval support phase of the invasion had ended. Also, the crew failed to examine one or more of the gun bores and call out Bore clear!" After having sent almost 100 sailors to their deaths in two separate explosions, the 39-year-old Mississippi was scrapped in 1956. 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. They are thick, alright. "The gun where the explosion occurred had not fired" that day. 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 Francis Zacharias was only 16 when he enlisted and used his older brother's birth certificate without his parent's knowledge. Ward Carroll, a naval aviator who was a spokesman for the Naval Safety Center at the time. The hand of a dead crewman in the number two turret accidentally hit the firing switch for the port gun, firing it. First, it is aiming to offer interesting 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. Another 2700 sailors observed the services. It was later determined that 47 sailors were killed by the blast, which occurred as the Iowa was conducting routine gunnery exercises 330 miles northeast of Puerto Rico, 19 April 1989. Suddenly, in the midst of the barrage, smoke and gas erupted from the rangefinders on either side of the number two turret. 2 turret. The mighty warship was 624 feet long with a beam of 97.5 feet, and displaced 33,000 tons fully loaded. After an extensive preliminary bombardment, the Marine assault force headed towards the beach and Mississippi and the other ships increased their rate of fire. -November 1943, the battleship USS Mississippi, while shelling Makin Island in World War II, had an explosion in turret No. By Trying to contain it.'". USS Franklin (CV-13) approaches the Brooklyn Navy Yard on April 28, 1945. . 2 turret when the gun exploded above him. The ceremony was held at San Pedro, California on 17 June 1924. The accident occurred when rescuers were removing the body of the gun pointer, who was found sitting at his post with his finger still on the trigger. 47 men were killed. In a chilling reprise of the 1924 disaster, another turret explosion occurred on Nov. 29, 1943 near Makin Island in the Gilbert Islands, killing 43 men. 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. 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. Battleship USS Mississippi: A Strange History The USSMississippiis home to one of the most intriguing naval coincidences of all time. 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. Luckily, the fire did not set off the powder bags in the other two guns. RLoret 1 yr. ago. Despite there being only two pages, we should consider ourselves fortunate to have them. Navy.". 2. The old warship was decommissioned in 1956, sold for scrap. 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. Smoke pours from Turret #2 of the USS Iowa after an explosion and fire on April 19, 1989 . On June 12, 1924,Mississippifound herselfoff the coast of California conducting gun trials. After the explosion, Truitt mentioned the insurance policy in passing to Hartwig's family. USS Mississippi was commissioned into service. The following video remembers those. Following repairs, she participated in the capture of Kwajalein in February 1944 and bombarded Japanese-held islands in February and March. Investigators also found that some access safety doors inside the turret had been left partly open. Sign up for a new account in our community. Find the perfect uss mississippi stock photo, image, vector, illustration or 360 image. . She arrived at Norfolk, Virginia, in June but soon shifted her base to Newport, Rhode Island. Kyle Mizokami is a defense and national-security writer based in San Francisco who has appeared in theDiplomat, Popular Mechanics, Foreign Policy,War is Boring,and theDaily Beast. "I regret the accident occurred, obviously. The tombstone inscription reads "Francis J. Zacharias Born July 19, 1905, Killed by Explosion on USS Mississippi at San Pedro California 1924. Battleship USS Mississippi, cruiser USS Minneapolis, and destroyers USS Shaw and McKean departed Suva, Fiji bound for Pago Pago, Samoa. TheIowasubsequently went to the shipyard so its power plant could be improved, but its gun systems weren't updated, he said. 1919-1940, by Harvey M. Beigel. As a battleship, theMississippiwasheavily armoredto slug it out with enemy ships. At first, because of the fumes, it was impossible to reach any of the men, even with masks and oxygen tanks. 1920's (U.S. Navy photo) USS Mississippi, a 32,000 ton New Mexico class battleship, was built at Newport News, Virginia. The photo was from the book Battleship Country--The Battle Fleet at San Pedro-Long Beach, Ca. There's some paper with this group and his hat. The military looks for scapegoats when people die rather than admit their mistakes or acknowledge that accidents are even possible, Truitt said. US Navy battleship USS Mississippi in Hampton Roads, Virginia, June 4, 1927. USS Mississippi was damaged by Japanese special attack aircraft at Lingayen Gulf, Luzon, Philippine Islands. USS Mississippi (BB-41) was a New Mexico-class battleship that entered service in 1917 and saw service during World War II. . They also repeated assurances that friction or other accidental means did not cause the Iowa deaths. Original Reporting. 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. "We all knew each other rather intimately.". ww2dbaseDuring 1931-33 , Mississippi underwent a major modernization that gave her an all-new superstructure, improved armament and enhanced protection. DD-770 General Specifications. Here's the explanation: http://archive . Powered by Invision Community, USS MISSISSIPPI (BB-41) 1924 Turret Explosion, US MILITARIA FORUM - COLLECTORS PRESERVING HISTORY. 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. 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. Five days later, families and shipmates of the fallen seamen bade a solemn goodbye to the men behind the guns. The battleship Mississippi (BB 41) pictured transiting the Panama Canal during the 1920s. 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. 1919-1940, by Harvey M. Beigel. He is buried in St Mary's cemetery in Pittsburgh PA. The waterspray system was not, if I recall, used to clear the bore between shots, just the compressed air blast. The MISSISSIPPI was part of the covering force for convoys and lines of communications in the North Atlantic. Thanks for sharing it. 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. 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. It was during this period, when on special training maneuvers, that tragedy struck the ship. 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. 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. We'll see. 3. 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). After an extensive preliminary bombardment, the Marine assault force headed towards the beach andMississippiand the other ships increased their rate of fire. 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. The next shell was rammed into the gun and the four powder bags on the spanner tray were rammed into place behind it. 2s 14-inch guns went off again. In this part I will briefly describe . Pictured are A and B Turrets of the ' USS Mississippi ' . 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. . "I was like: OK; I'll bite; why? 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. 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