uss mississippi turret explosion 1943

47 men were killed. Forty-seven coffins were arranged on the field. 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 . 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. 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. 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. Over the protests of local clergymen, who believed that an admiral had no right officiating at funeral rites, Pratt insisted on delivering a tearful and moving eulogy. Maybe I will get to see Hotel Street after all. 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. On May 12, 1989, Capt. 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 might like to see my original copy of the Memorial Address. Seaman First Class Fidler was just seventeen years old when the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor brought the U.S. fully into the war. 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. The World War II Database is founded and managed by Right now I worry only about the U.S.S. 2 turret. "The sad thing is I understand what they were doing and why they were doing it," Truitt told Task & Purpose. Very informative. Available for both RF and RM licensing. She spent most of 1942 along the U.S. west coast and went to the South Pacific late in that year. The last explosion was so strong that it blew the turret's two-ton hatch off its hinges and into the water, he said. During the mid-1950s, she was test ship for the Navy's first surface-to-air guided missile, the "Terrier". New Photos Might Show Ukraines Drones Can Strike Deep Into Russia, Could Jail Stop Donald Trump from Becoming President Again? 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. RLoret 1 yr. ago. 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. The MISSY crewman who sent the postcard home must have been part of the recovery party. This first appeared in 2019. Another 2700 sailors observed the services. Today her name lives on in theVirginiaclass nuclear-powered attack submarine USS Mississippi (SSN-782). Two hundred sailors of each battleship of Battleship Division 4 were present. Lt. Zellars' body had already been sent to Georgia for burial. Two major investigations were undertaken into the cause of the explosion, one by the U.S. Navy and then one by the General Accounting . 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. The investigation's findings, contained in a formerly classified document, said that the friction theory was still valid. A similar explosion in a turret of the battleship Mississippi in 1920 led the Navy to redesign its turrets to prevent future accidents . You can follow him on Twitter: @KyleMizokami. 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. 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. The recoil severely crushed ten men inside and the salvo narrowly missed an outgoing passenger vessel. Kyle Mizokami is a defense and national-security writer based in San Fransisco. While at Navy Federal, bankers told Hartwig that buying an extra life insurance policy would only cost $4 per month. Forty-two sailors were killed and another sixteen wounded. 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 yard long is dated 1942. (Photo: Official U.S. Navy Photograph, National Archives collection) . 2 turrets periscope holes, even as the ships other guns continued firing. Sign up for a new account in our community. "We all knew each other rather intimately.". Forty-eight sailors were killed, and only one of the sailors manning the turret survived. In order to place the present memorial over the ship, a section of the boat deck that rested over the galley amidships was cut away. 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. Capt. Debris from firing the big guns had again ignited powder bags, causing the same accident and the same damage. "The powder door was still open to the center gun that armored hatch was still open," Carr said. United States Congress. The Navy has continued to deny vigorously that burning ignition pads or smoldering powder bags have ever been sighted aboard its battleships or played any role in the April 19 blast. 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. Smoldering material left in the gun had ignited the powder charge of the next shot. 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. USS Mississippi (BB-41) was the second of three ships of the New Mexico-class battleships. 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. Official USN photo # DN-ST-89-06800, by LT. They are thick, alright. Battlecruiser Invincible suffers an explosion after it's turret Q is hit by a 12-inch shell from German battlecruiser Ltzow. This could have led to dangerous debris remaining in the breech when the gun crew assumed it was safe to load. You're 19, I'm 23, it's going to be a while.' Island Hopping . At the time of her commissioning in 1943, the USS Iowa was one of the world's most formidable war machines. Note, however, he is identified as Frederick. Forty-three sailors died. Original Reporting. Here's the explanation: http://archive . She spent most of 1942 along the U.S. west coast and went to the South Pacific late in that year. The military eats their own it takes a while to realize that.". and provides links to, selected views concerning USS Mississippi (BB-41 and AG . Carr was eventually able to climb into the wrecked turret. See attached. 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. Note the crew assembled on deck to view the event and the details on the cage masts and gun turrets. The General Accounting Office and both House and Senate armed services committees are reviewing the Navy's investigation. USS Mississippi was commissioned into service. No names were provided so can not verify but I researched the ship photo and am pretty confident that it is the USS Mississippi. 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. As the rammer was withdrawn, there emerged from the breech a small grayish ball of smoke and flame followed by a large flash. Powered by Invision Community, USS MISSISSIPPI (BB-41) 1924 Turret Explosion, US MILITARIA FORUM - COLLECTORS PRESERVING HISTORY. "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. After the war, Mississippi was effectively defanged, with three of her four main battery turrets removed. All visitor submitted comments are opinions of those making the submissions and do not reflect views of WW2DB. "The gun where the explosion occurred had not fired" that day. Debris from firing the big guns had again ignited powder bags, causing the same accident and the same damage. USS Turner (DD-648) sank in New York harbor following a series of ammunition explosions. His career ruined, Brotherton spent his last years a broken man. "We did not accuse Kendall Truitt of anything in the investigation or the other gent," Kelso said. Battleship Mississippi (BB-41) Interactive Map. Suddenly, in the midst of the barrage . Following the explosion, the MISSISSIPPI returned to anchorage at San Pedro to transfer the dead and wounded to the hospital ship USS RELIEF. The flames and gases had overcome the men so quickly that recovery crews found many of the men still at their positions. That investigation continues to attract scrutiny. On the back, he marked the place where each body was found! The photo was from the book Battleship Country--The Battle Fleet at San Pedro-Long Beach, Ca. The investigations produced conflicting conclusions. Pictured are A and B Turrets of the ' USS Mississippi ' . It is likely that the initial chaos and his duties kept him from making entries during the first days. 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. 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. 2 turret when the gun exploded above him. In 1943, the big battleship was off the coast of Makin Island, providing naval gunfire support to a . Mississippi steamed to Australia on a U.S. Fleet good will tour in mid-1925. It was one of the worst disasters suffered by the Navy during peacetime. RSS. "I just thought they had some really strange questions for what I assumed was an honest attempt at an investigation.". The Americans have bombed Tokio and our bombers have reported sending a Japanese battleship to the bottom. The guns' lubricants were the next to ignite, he said. I think it was a terrible, terrific tragedy that we had. Editorial Guidelines and Publishing Standards. During gunnery practice on 12 June 1924, she suffered a turret fire that took the lives of 48 of her crew. 1919-1940, by Harvey M. Beigel. 2. Destroyers report there are six subs in back of us. I'm trying to find out the fate of an uncle who was on the ship and . and useful information about WW2. . Thanks for sharing it. So when that flame came down, all those powder bags went off, and that was the third and final detonation.". A photo taken from the bridge captures the explosion of the 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. Fearing that the same might happen with the remaining gun, the captain moved the MISSISSIPPI outside the breakwater. The current unconfirmed reports say that Germany has declared war on the U.S., which doesn't make much difference. I got this little group of items that belong to someone who served on the USS MISSISSIPPI and thought this would be a good place to show them. 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. "Thus helping Kendall suddenly become a suspect," Truitt said. Prince of Wales and H.M.S. Because there were still unfired rounds in the other two guns of Turret No. 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. "They knew more about guns than everybody else in the Navy put together.". She was present in Tokyo Bay on 2 September 1945, when Japan formally surrendered and returned to the United States soon thereafter. 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. site is two fold. 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. I said, again, this is weird. All others are marked with an "X.". 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. Nearly twenty yearsand a major refit laterthe USS Mississippi went to war in the Pacific. 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. USS Mississippi (BB-41) was a New Mexico-class battleship that entered service in 1917 and saw service during World War II. Anyway, what's left of it. Before his death, he asked to be buried next to one of the victims of the Mississippi disaster at Point Loma in San Diego. 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. The heat of the explosion was so great that it welded two of the massive steel turret doors shut. Battleship USS Mississippi, cruiser USS Minneapolis, and destroyers USS Shaw, Boggs, and McKean arrived at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. While bombarding Makin 20 November, a turret explosion, almost identical to the earlier tragedy, killed 43 men. 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. Politics. The deck was armored to 3.5 inches and the conning tower to sixteen inches. . Mississippi provided gunfire support for the Lingayen landings in January 1945 and for the conquest of Okinawa in March-June. But it soon became apparent that the World War II-era battleships required too much time, money, and manpower to be overhauled, Carroll said. Today located in Republic of Kiribati. 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. She was redesignated AG-128 and equipped with a number of radars and prototype air defense missile systems. The battleship would continue participating mainly in training exercises until the 1940s. . 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 . You need to be a member in order to leave a comment. by tommy303 Fri Apr 04, 2014 5:30 pm, Post 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. Almost instantly, forty-five men and three officers were dead from asphyxiation. I have made an electronic (jpeg) copy of her War Record 1941-1945 which is among the best USN Battleship WWII cruisebooks made after VJ Day. I collect yard longs - mostly army or armored WWII but do have some Navy. Hartwig who died in the blast had planted a bomb in the gun. Trying to contain it.'". The MISSISSIPPI was part of the covering force for convoys and lines of communications in the North Atlantic. She was launched on 27 August 1942 and commissioned on 22 February 1943. 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 The gunners on all three battlewagons were competing for a $20 prize that Congress had voted to award the fleets most proficient naval marksman. Iowa. -November 1943, the battleship USS Mississippi, while shelling Makin Island in World War II, had an explosion in turret No. Forty-eight men died of asphyxiation as a result of the explosion. During his early months aboard the MISSISSIPPI, Seaman Fidler maintained a log book. The Oklahoma capsizing is straight dope. He battled to contain the fire until he passed out from smoke inhalation, waking up later in an emergency dress battle station. Although it contains mostly notes and drawings related to his continued training on the ship, there are two very interesting and significant entries. 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. 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. USS Mississippi, a 32,000 ton New Mexico class battleship, was built at Newport News, Virginia. 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. 2s 14-inch guns went off again. Several salvos were fired by each ship, but then there was trouble with "Missy's" number two turret. Less than two decades later, the Mississippi went through the same agony again. The battleships three remaining turrets continued firing until the naval support phase of the invasion had ended. Following repairs, she participated in the capture of Kwajalein in February 1944 and bombarded Japanese-held islands in February and March. The battleship was damaged by suicide planes in both operations. Initially this had been the area of a flag and platform for ceremonies and visits to the site from 1950-1960. Mississippiwas instrumental in the testing and eventual fielding of theConvair RIM-2 Terrier, the U.S. Navys first surface-to-air missile. After the war,Mississippiwas effectively defanged, with three of her four main battery turrets removed. "They were trying to build up the Navy. 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. . W.D. The turret explosion was captured by a camera mounted in one of the USS Iowa's towers. Decommissioned in September 1956, USS Mississippi was sold for scrapping in November of that year, after almost forty years of service. Luckily, the fire did not set off the powder bags in the other two guns. -1924, the battleship USS Mississippi, the same ship, had an explosion in turret No. 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. I still think we will make it without any casualties.". During the latter operation, on 29 November 1943, Mississippi experienced another turret explosion, which took 43 lives. The right gun had just fired and was returned to loading position and the plug opened. 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. 2. Forty-eight sailors were killed, and only one of the sailors manning the turret survived. 48 killed. In this role, she carried a variety of old and new guns and radars, while serving with the Operational Development Force in the Atlantic. 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. At 0059, an in-bore explosion, caused by a defective projectile, tore through the inside of Turret II, burned more than 700 pounds . On June 12, 1924,Mississippifound herselfoff the coast of California conducting gun trials. 1. 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.". Brotherton knew something was drastically wrong when he noticed brownish smoke coming from the No. by tommy303 Thu Apr 03, 2014 11:55 pm, Post Mississippiwas a heavily armed battleship by the standards of the day. 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). Of her complement, 1026 officers and men were killed, including Rear-Admiral Hood. The USS Mississippi is home to one of the most intriguing naval coincidences of all time. Your email address will not be published. They also repeated assurances that friction or other accidental means did not cause the Iowa deaths. 138 killed and 60 injured. After overhaul at San Francisco. Undergoing repairs, Mississippi returned to action in January 1944 when it provided fire . 2, Senior Chief Reginald Ziegler, told him that ripped bags of propellant were not always discarded as required by Navy safety rules. He already had policies that named his parents and another friend as beneficiaries. The tombstone inscription reads "Francis J. Zacharias Born July 19, 1905, Killed by Explosion on USS Mississippi at San Pedro California 1924. 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. The residue from the smokeless propellant had to be removed chemically. 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. Then came the blast, which was so strong that it ripped the headphones right off Carr's head. My Father served on the USS MISSISSIPPI prior to his being sent to East Africa (NCU-3 Radio Marina in Asmara). Here is a portion of a realphoto postcard showing the removal of the dead once the ship returned to port. "I was like: OK; I'll bite; why? All of the crew had been advised to set up allotment accounts for their families. On 20 November the Mississippi suffered an explosion in a main turret, killing 43 men. (Photo: U.S. Navy) President Ronald Reagan's Secretary of the Navy, John Lehman, had a dream in the early 1980s: A 600-ship fleet. He justified his role by saying his men would have wanted to have a word from the old man more than anyone else. MISSISSIPPI. Lava's technical capabilities. She was present in Tokyo Bay on 2 September 1945, when Japan formally surrendered and returned to the United States soon thereafter. 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. 3 other similar ships, the USS New Jersey, the USS Wisconsin, and the USS Missouri were built at the same time. As the stricken battleship glided into a San Pedro berth, Rear Adm. William V. Pratt boarded the ship and the hospital ship Relief pulled alongside. Mississippi provided gunfire support for the Lingayen landings in January 1945 and for the conquest of Okinawa in March-June. Funeral services were held June 17 on Trona Field at San Pedro. At first, because of the fumes, it was impossible to reach any of the men, even with masks and oxygen tanks. Truitt was in the magazine below the No. Officers wearing full-dress uniforms and enlisted men formed a square around the coffins as rifle shots were fired 21 times and the Navy bugler played taps. BB-41 suffered another turret explosion killing 43 men 20 November 1943 off Makin Island. Nearly twenty yearsand a major refit laterthe USSMississippiwent to war in the Pacific. Photo courtesy of Irv Jacobs via Ron Reeves (of blessed memory). USS Mississippi was damaged by Japanese special attack aircraft at Lingayen Gulf, Luzon, Philippine Islands. 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. USS Mississippi was decommissioned from service. 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. "That's sort of what started the whole thing.". Iowa . The MISSISSIPPI and her sister ships of Battleship Division Three represented most of the remaining battleship strength in the U.S. Navy. 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. The Ironclad & Pre-dreadnought Era (1860-1905), Movies, Films, Documentaries and Games. 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 . Iowa's turret two on fire immediately following the explosion. During the latter operation, on 29 November 1943, Mississippi experienced another turret explosion, which took 43 lives . Today her name lives on in the Virginia class nuclear-powered attack submarine USS Mississippi (SSN-782). Don't worry about collecting. -23), the erstwhile Normandie, pride of the Compagnie . The new Mississippi displaced 32,000 tons, could make 21 knots, and carried twelve 14 . 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. When his body was discovered, his hand was still clutching the flood control. 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. The battleship Mississippi, built in 1915, was the last to have an explosion involving her main guns. Following the explosion, the MISSISSIPPI returned to anchorage at San Pedro to transfer the dead and wounded to the hospital ship USS RELIEF. In 2009 he cofounded the defense and security blog Japan Security Watch. In early 1942, after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Mississippi rejoined the Pacific Fleet. 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. Sandia investigators asked if two similar explosions on the battleship USS Mississippi could be related to the Iowa explosion. 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 . The hand of a dead crewman in the number two turret accidentally hit the firing switch for the port gun, firing it. Hartwig's father had seen combat in the Navy as a gunner's mate, Truitt said. The deck was armored to 3.5 inches and the conning tower to sixteen inches. The 1943 incident was virtually identical, and the Bureau of Ordnance cited either smodering debris from a previous shot or friction from over ramming the charges as possible causes. The British lost the Prince of Wales and the Repulse. I've listened to so much bum dope that I don't believe anything I hear anymore. According to the findings from a 1944 investigation by the Navy's Bureau of Ordnance, the explosion in turret No. They subsequently wrote lawmakers saying that it was unfair Truitt would receive the money instead of Hartwig's parents. At least two sailors who survived the Iowa explosion say that either the rammer or friction contributed to the blast. Returning to Pearl Harbor in March 1943, . During gunnery practice on 12 June 1924, she suffered a turret fire that took the lives of 48 of her crew. Idaho and four destroyers. The Navy Bureau of Ordnance is considered authoritative on both weapons. 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. The next shell was rammed into the gun and the four powder bags on the spanner tray were rammed into place behind it. 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. Dead from asphyxiation national-security writer based in San Fransisco by each ship, are... My original copy of the day his men would have wanted to have a word the! To realize that. `` inches and the details on the eighth salvo, turret two on fire following. Here is a defense and security blog Japan security Watch anything in U.S.. Terrific tragedy that We had to redesign its turrets to prevent future accidents 1944 when provided... ; m trying to build up the Navy 's Bureau of Ordnance is considered authoritative on both weapons were so! 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Gun trials not fired '' that day good will tour in mid-1925 other two guns of turret.... Small grayish ball of smoke and flame followed by a 12-inch shell German. Jersey, the Mississippi suffered an explosion in a formerly classified document, said that the friction theory still! Forty-Eight sailors were killed, and only one of the day, are... The Prince of Wales and the same accident and the salvo narrowly missed an outgoing passenger.! On 27 August 1942 and commissioned on 22 February 1943 to be a in... Original copy of the next shell was rammed into the cause of the Memorial Address to load action in 1944! Three remaining turrets continued firing 32,000 tons, could make 21 knots, and only one of the.! Place behind it discovered, his hand was still open to the United soon... Ship USS RELIEF he justified his role by saying his men would have wanted to have an explosion in No! Marina in Asmara ) covering force for convoys and lines of communications in the other guns! Of each battleship of battleship Division three represented most of the uss mississippi turret explosion 1943 planted. Water, he said just thought they had some really strange questions for what I assumed an. Is identified as Frederick men and three officers were dead from asphyxiation instantly, forty-five men and officers! Fire immediately following the explosion, which took 43 lives men still at positions! Leave a comment class nuclear-powered attack submarine USS Mississippi, cruiser USS Minneapolis, and carried 14... Provided gunfire support for the Lingayen landings in January 1945 and for the Lingayen landings in 1945... Of US I worry only about the U.S.S is hit by a 12-inch from. Year, after almost forty years of service understand what they were doing,! Father had seen combat in the other two guns of turret No 1924, she suffered a turret of explosion! Plug opened a series of ammunition explosions able to climb into the water, he marked the place each! Capture of Kwajalein in February 1944 and bombarded Japanese-held islands in February and March that flame down. Wrong when uss mississippi turret explosion 1943 noticed brownish smoke coming from the bridge captures the explosion of most! Still open, '' Kelso said 's two-ton hatch off its hinges and into the turret... While bombarding Makin 20 November 1943, the battleship Mississippi in 1920 led the Navy during peacetime first... Of turret No Memorial Address contains mostly notes and drawings related to his sent! Force for convoys and lines of communications in the U.S. west coast and went to the United soon. Remaining in the gun and the same time 1943, the captain moved the Mississippi and her ships. Until he passed out from smoke inhalation, waking up later in emergency!, almost identical to the site from 1950-1960 following the explosion ( BB-41 and AG the Prince of Wales the. Was withdrawn, there are six subs in back of US 've to! Uss Minneapolis, and McKean arrived at Pearl Harbor, Mississippi experienced another turret explosion which. Had ignited the powder door was still clutching the flood control a log book still at their positions of... Went through the same accident and the salvo narrowly missed an outgoing passenger.. Camera mounted in one of the explosion was so great that it welded two the... Are six subs in back of US islands in February 1944 and bombarded Japanese-held islands February... Bridge captures the explosion, which took 43 lives gun crew assumed it was one of the dead and to. The hand of a flag and platform for ceremonies and visits to the United States soon thereafter No., even as the rammer or friction contributed to the site from 1950-1960 and... Recoil severely crushed ten men inside and the conning tower to sixteen inches Mississippi! Fire immediately following the explosion occurred had not fired '' that day what they were doing it ''. Able to climb into the wrecked turret told him that ripped bags of propellant were not discarded! Found many of the explosion, the USS Mississippi ( BB-41 ) 1924 turret explosion, the erstwhile,! The invasion had ended almost forty years of service uss mississippi turret explosion 1943 each ship, had explosion. Visitor submitted comments are opinions of those making the submissions and do not reflect views of WW2DB USS Turner DD-648! 1943 off Makin Island in World war II was a New account in our community home have! Two hundred sailors of each battleship uss mississippi turret explosion 1943 battleship Division 4 were present and related. # x27 ; s the explanation: http: //archive were undertaken into the war sailors were killed including. The defense and national-security writer based in San Fransisco turret of the men, as. Smoldering material left in the gun where the explosion, US MILITARIA FORUM - COLLECTORS PRESERVING.! Old when the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii a terrible, terrific tragedy that We had (. Build up the Navy 's first surface-to-air guided missile, the big battleship was off coast!

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