uss mississippi turret explosion 1943

Politics. Iowa . Following repairs, she participated in the capture of Kwajalein in February 1944 and bombarded Japanese-held islands in February and March. Facts later emerged that undermined the Navy's first investigation into the explosion, Truitt said. Of her complement, 1026 officers and men were killed, including Rear-Admiral Hood. . The recoil severely crushed ten men inside and the salvo narrowly missed an outgoing passenger vessel. According to the findings from a 1944 investigation by the Navy's Bureau of Ordnance, the explosion in turret No. . "That's sort of what started the whole thing.". Sandia investigators asked if two similar explosions on the battleship USS Mississippi could be related to the Iowa explosion. Even before the sailors caskets could be shipped to their hometowns, the court of inquiry was underway. 3 other similar ships, the USS New Jersey, the USS Wisconsin, and the USS Missouri were built at the same time. Today her name lives on in theVirginiaclass nuclear-powered attack submarine USS Mississippi (SSN-782). Debris from firing the big guns had again ignited powder bags, causing the same accident and the same damage. W.D. Navy officials said this week the report on the Mississippi was authentic, but pointed out that it was later overruled by higher-ranking investigators. 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. Battleship USS Mississippi, cruiser USS Minneapolis, and destroyers USS Shaw, Boggs, and McKean arrived at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. "They were trying to build up the Navy. Battleship Mississippi (BB-41) Interactive Map. 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. When his body was discovered, his hand was still clutching the flood control. At the time, sailors in his father's division all took out life insurance policies on each other. USS Mississippi and USS West Virginia departed Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, the latter after extensive repairs and modernization following damage received in the Pearl Harbor Attack. The 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. Mississippi suffered two turret explosions, oddly enough the same turret each time if I recall. Two major investigations were underta 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. by tommy303 Fri Apr 04, 2014 5:30 pm, Post United States Congress. You're 19, I'm 23, it's going to be a while.' by paul.mercer Thu Apr 03, 2014 9:29 pm, Post Published April 02, 2018 09:40:36. Also served on USS TENNESSEE, USS KULA GULF (CVE108) and USS FRANK FRIDAY FLETCHER. 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 flames and gases had overcome the men so quickly that recovery crews found many of the men still at their positions. He had instinctively closed the doors to the ammunition hoist and flooded the magazines. 1941- Enroute Hvalfordur, Iceland to Portsmouth, Va. At last we are steaming homeward in company with the U.S.S. TURRET TWO: DAMAGE CONTROL MEASURES FOLLOWING THE EXPLOSION . by tommy303 Thu Apr 03, 2014 11:55 pm, Post But when investigators learned that Hartwig had named Truitt the beneficiary of a $100,000 life insurance policy, they claimed thatHartwig who died in the blast had planted a bomb in the gun. "That couldn't have been the case on Iowa," Coles said. Following the explosion, the MISSISSIPPI returned to anchorage at San Pedro to transfer the dead and wounded to the hospital ship USS RELIEF. USS Mississippi, a 32,000 ton New Mexico class battleship, was built at Newport News, Virginia. U.S. Navy and Royal Australian Navy . Saturday, April 26, -(UP)An explosion in the forward turret of the U.S. heavy cruiser St. Paul killed 30 men Monday while the ship was firing on Communist targets in Korea, the Navy announced today. 1919-1940, by Harvey M. Beigel. 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 collect yard longs - mostly army or armored WWII but do have some Navy. As a battleship, the Mississippi was heavily armored to slug it out with enemy ships. Unfortunately, Fidler never made any other entries although he served aboard the MISSISSIPPI until March 1943. Undergoing repairs, Mississippi returned to action in January 1944 when it provided fire . RSS. Mississippi steamed to Australia on a U.S. Fleet good will tour in mid-1925. Note the crew assembled on deck to view the event and the details on the cage masts and gun turrets. No doubt inspired by events, Fidler began to record the actions of the MISSISSIPPI and his sense of what was transpiring, following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. He is the founder and editor for the blogs Japan Security Watch, Asia Security Watch and War Is Boring. 2s 14-inch guns went off again. By . She was present in Tokyo Bay on 2 September 1945, when Japan formally surrendered and returned to the United States soon thereafter. Nearly twenty yearsand a major refit laterthe USSMississippiwent to war in the Pacific. She was armed with a main battery of twelve 14-inch/50 caliber guns mounted in four turrets of three guns each, with each gun mounted in a separate sleeve. What's our Navy doing anyway? There is also a picture of what I think is the USS MISSISSIPPI. The New Mexico class 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. From the Washington Naval Treaty to the end of the Second World War. 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. 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. 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. HTML tags are not allowed. Trying to contain it.'". The following video remembers those. After an extensive preliminary bombardment, the Marine assault force headed towards the beach and Mississippi and the other ships increased their rate of fire. As the rammer was withdrawn, there emerged from the breech a small grayish ball of smoke and flame followed by a large flash. . The next shell was rammed into the gun and the four powder bags on the spanner tray were rammed into place behind it. 24 were killed. Suddenly, in the midst of the barrage, smoke and gas erupted from the rangefinders on either side of the number two turret. The reports by psycholgists of the FBI and the Naval Investigative Service indicated Hartwig deliberately caused the April 19 blast in one of the battleship's gun turrents, killing himself and 46 . "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. --another violation of regulations. Fire in center gun, turret 2. So when that flame came down, all those powder bags went off, and that was the third and final detonation.". 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. His career ruined, Brotherton spent his last years a broken man. During 1931-33 , Mississippi underwent a major modernization that gave her an all-new superstructure, improved armament and enhanced protection. He battled to contain the fire until he passed out from smoke inhalation, waking up later in an emergency dress battle station. 2 turret aboard the battleship Mississippi, which also claimed 47 lives. She also featured twelve 5-inch/51 caliber guns, eight 3-inch anti-aircraft guns and two submerged 21-inch torpedo tubes. On June 12, 1924,Mississippifound herselfoff the coast of California conducting gun trials. She was present in Tokyo Bay on 2 September 1945, when Japan formally surrendered and returned to the United States soon thereafter. Mississippi provided gunfire support for the Lingayen landings in January 1945 and for the conquest of Okinawa in March-June. The battleship was damaged by suicide planes in both operations. turret II as the crew loaded the gun. Naval Academy, The Sullivan Brothers and the Assignment of Family Members, Historic Former U.S. Navy Bases and Stations, The African American Experience in the U.S. Navy, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the U.S. Navy, Contributions of Native Americans to the U.S. Navy, The World Cruise of the Great White Fleet, Navy Underwater Archaeology Return Program, Annual Navy History and Heritage Awards - Main, Research Permits for Sunken & Terrestrial Military Craft, Scanning, Copyright & Citation Information, Obtain Duplications of Records and Photos. The Americans have bombed Tokio and our bombers have reported sending a Japanese battleship to the bottom. You need to play a total of 20 battles to post in this section. 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 . You might like to see my original copy of the Memorial Address. You can follow him on Twitter: @KyleMizokami. 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. Displayed at the Los Angeles Maritime Museum Navy Hall in San Pedro is a stone monument dedicated to the men who lost their lives in one of the nations greatest peacetime naval disasters. USS Mississippi (BB-41) was the second of three ships of the New Mexico-class battleships. 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. The last shell and charge was removed the next day. "The powder door was still open to the center gun that armored hatch was still open," Carr said. "USS Mississippi (BB-41, later AG . Decommissioned in September 1956, USS Mississippi was sold for scrapping in November of that year, after almost forty years of service. During the mid-1950s, she was test ship for the Navy's first surface-to-air guided missile, the "Terrier". The investigations produced conflicting conclusions. . 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. 2, Senior Chief Reginald Ziegler, told him that ripped bags of propellant were not always discarded as required by Navy safety rules. "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. Capt. The new Mississippi displaced 32,000 tons, could make 21 knots, and carried twelve 14 . Francis Zacharias was only 16 when he enlisted and used his older brother's birth certificate without his parent's knowledge. Post He passed away in 2010. 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 . Bipartisan. After the war, Mississippi was effectively defanged, with three of her four main battery turrets removed. This need not have happened. An explosion in the No. During the latter operation, on 29 November 1943, Mississippi experienced another turret explosion, which took 43 lives. 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. 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. 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. Lava's technical capabilities. -23), the erstwhile Normandie, pride of the Compagnie . 2 turret as Carr and other sailors donned their firefighting gear. Two hundred sailors of each battleship of Battleship Division 4 were present. Another 2700 sailors observed the services. The accident has been a major influence on my life. Required fields are marked *. All of the crew had been advised to set up allotment accounts for their families. 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. "The gun where the explosion occurred had not fired" that day. RSS. Each of those visits was special, but a particularly unique one resulted in a perk rarely seen on a military vessel: in 1943 a bathtub was . This cool kids outdoors club will introduce you to L.A.s best asset, Hong Kong will lift its mask mandate Wednesday, its last major COVID restriction, Before and after photos from space show storms effect on California reservoirs, 19 cafes that make L.A. a world-class coffee destination, Before and after photos from space show epic snow blanketing SoCal mountains, Shocking, impossible gas bills push restaurants to the brink of closures, Burbank aborted landing was latest close call for U.S. flights. Battleship USS Mississippi: A Strange History The USSMississippiis home to one of the most intriguing naval coincidences of all time. 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. Your IP address will be tracked even if you remain anonymous. Caviezel and Robert McAvin, escaped, by diving down through a 40-foot hatchway that closed automatically behind them. Your email address will not be published. He is buried in St Mary's cemetery in Pittsburgh PA. "We all knew each other rather intimately.". During this time she also conducted search operations for German "raiders" thought to be in the vicinity. ww2dbaseMississippi was converted to a gunnery training and weapons development ship in 1946, and given the new hull number AG-128. Skelly, who was considered an expert and was later disciplined for his participation in unauthorized gunnery experiments aboard the Iowa, said he had heard of "at least three or four accounts" involving battleships other than the Iowa where broken powder bags "had been viewed in a gun.". They also repeated assurances that friction or other accidental means did not cause the Iowa deaths. July 1999. p. 9. USS Mississippi (BB-41), during combat operations off Makin, Gilbert Islands, suffers cordite explosion in #2 14-inch gun turret. 2 16-inch gun turret aboard the Iowa (BB-61). Borders Makin Lagoon (Butaritari Lagoon). and provides links to, selected views concerning USS Mississippi (BB-41 and AG . Original Reporting. Hartwig's father had seen combat in the Navy as a gunner's mate, Truitt said. Truitt was in the magazine below the No. 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. 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. After taking the remainder of 1943 to complete shakedown and training activities, New Jersey then transited the Panama Canal and reported for combat operations at Funafuti in the Pacific. "Imagine an old timey cap gun, where you remove the caps, and bang them with a hammer," Truitt said. On May 12, 1989, Capt. 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 . The Invasion of Lingayen Gulf (Filipino: Paglusob sa Golpo ng Lingayen), 6-9 January 1945, was an Allied amphibious operation in the Philippines during World War II.In the early morning of 6 January 1945, a large Allied force commanded by Admiral Jesse B. Oldendorf began approaching the shores of Lingayen from Lingayen Gulf, on the island of Luzon. Forty-two sailors were killed and another sixteen wounded. The hand of a dead crewman in the number two turret accidentally hit the firing switch for the port gun, firing it. The main battery was distributed two turrets forward and two aft. The investigation's findings, contained in a formerly classified document, said that the friction theory was still valid. Investigators also found that some access safety doors inside the turret had been left partly open. 2 turrets periscope holes, even as the ships other guns continued firing. Despite knowing how to solve the problem, the same accident happened two times over 20 years. On June 12, 1924,Mississippi found herself off the coast of California conducting gun trials. 2. A similar explosion in a turret of the battleship Mississippi in 1920 led the Navy to redesign its turrets to prevent future accidents . 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. I'm sorry for anyone's personal grief or personal anguish over that.". 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. Please refrain from using strong language. 2 turret. 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. Technology. He said: "It's no big deal. Team Mighty. Debris from firing the big guns had again ignited powder bags, causing the same accident and the same damage. "I was like: OK; I'll bite; why? "We did not accuse Kendall Truitt of anything in the investigation or the other gent," Kelso said. She was launched on 27 August 1942 and commissioned on 22 February 1943. 3 January 1944. I served aboad the USS . The battleship Mississippi (BB 41) pictured transiting the Panama Canal during the 1920s. 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. 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. 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. "That fireball went straight to the bottom of the turret. 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. "If this story sounds familiar, it's because this is kind of the oldest story ever told around the U.S. 2. A photo taken from the bridge captures the explosion of the No. Am trying to find information of awards/medals that might have been awarded. The battleship Mississippi, built in 1915, was the last to have an explosion involving her main guns. The goal of this 2. USS Mississippi, a 32,000 ton New Mexico class battleship, was built at Newport News, Virginia. 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. Forty-eight sailors were killed, and only one of the sailors manning the turret survived. While at Navy Federal, bankers told Hartwig that buying an extra life insurance policy would only cost $4 per month. Nov 1, 2021, 1:18 PM. She spent most of 1942 along the U.S. west coast and went to the South Pacific late in that year. Following repairs, she participated in the capture of Kwajalein in February 1944 and bombarded Japanese-held islands in February and March. 2 turret during gunnery practice. Mississippi was converted to a gunnery training and weapons development ship in 1946, and given the new hull number AG-128. USS Ammen sustained a glancing blow from a Yokosuka P1Y 'Francis' that caused considerable topside damage and killed 5 men. Here is one of my postings from another collecting forum. The old warship was decommissioned in 1956, sold for scrap. Sandia National Laboratories later determined that the powder had been rammed 24 inches too far, compressing the powder charge against the base of the dummy projectile before it ignited, the GAO report said. It took the sailors eight hours to douse the blaze. In this role, she carried a variety of old and new guns and radars, while serving with the Operational Development Force in the Atlantic. Iowa. Answer (1 of 4): Note: When a Turret accident of this magnitude, or a penetrating hit from a shell, occurs, everyone dies. "They knew more about guns than everybody else in the Navy put together.". Very informative. WW2DB site administrators reserve the right to moderate, censor, and/or remove any comment. The heat of the explosion was so great that it welded two of the massive steel turret doors shut. Meanwhile, Mississippi and Nashville had to take emergency evasive actions to avoid the torpedoes. 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. Japanese observation planes have been seen over San Francisco. They are thick, alright. Almost instantly, forty-five men and three officers were dead from asphyxiation. All comment submissions will become the property of WW2DB. ww2dbaseUSS Mississippi, a 32,000 ton New Mexico class battleship, was built at Newport News, Virginia. The Oklahoma capsizing is straight dope. Was on board 1943-45. . In June 1941, USS Mississippi patrolled the North Atlantic. 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. Then they found two sailors who had been blown from the turret onto the deck. She arrived at Norfolk, Virginia, in June but soon shifted her base to Newport, Rhode Island. The guns' lubricants were the next to ignite, he said. Thank you. . The Iowa was commissioned in 1943. 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). The deck was armored to 3.5 inches and the conning tower to sixteen inches. Smoldering material left in the gun had ignited the powder charge of the next shot. Brotherton knew something was drastically wrong when he noticed brownish smoke coming from the No. 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. USS Franklin (CV-13) approaches the Brooklyn Navy Yard on April 28, 1945. . Very interesting thread and a great read. The battleship would continue participating mainly in training exercises until the 1940s. In 1961 the USS ARIZONA was altered once more. 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've listened to so much bum dope that I don't believe anything I hear anymore. Island Hopping . An inquiry found that there had been inadequate air pressure forced through the gun to expel the incandescent gases and other flammable residue after firing. 48 killed. That took place in 1943, when a turret explosion during the shelling of Makin Island, in the . This guy served on the USS MISSISSIPPI and USS NEVADA from 1917-1919. He already had policies that named his parents and another friend as beneficiaries. For example, Hartwig had not been responsible for loading the gun, as the Navy initially claimed. 47 men were killed. 2 aboard the Mississippi resulted from either the presence of a burning ember left . Kyle Mizokami is a defense and national security writer based in San Francisco who has appeared in the Diplomat, Foreign Policy, War is Boring and the Daily Beast. 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 Ironclad & Pre-dreadnought Era (1860-1905), Movies, Films, Documentaries and Games. Fearing that the same might happen with the remaining gun, the captain moved the MISSISSIPPI outside the breakwater. 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. He noted that the Navy ultimately discarded the Bureau of Ordnance's 1944 friction theory, deciding that a burning ember in the bore from a previously fired round had ignited the powder and caused the explosion. The MISSY crewman who sent the postcard home must have been part of the recovery party. Battlecruiser Invincible suffers an explosion after it's turret Q is hit by a 12-inch shell from German battlecruiser Ltzow. On April 16, 1989 there was an explosion in a gun turret on the U.S.S. Rather than admitting that the age of the battleship was over, Navy leaders cut corners on training, manpower, and maintenance to get theIowaback out to sea, he said. The commissioning ceremony aboard the USS Iowa, Feb. 22, 1943. Powered by Invision Community, USS MISSISSIPPI (BB-41) 1924 Turret Explosion, US MILITARIA FORUM - COLLECTORS PRESERVING HISTORY. 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 justified his role by saying his men would have wanted to have a word from the old man more than anyone else. Thanks for posting. They have been throwing torpedoes at us for the past four months. Despite there being only two pages, we should consider ourselves fortunate to have them. The battleships three remaining turrets continued firing until the naval support phase of the invasion had ended. Sounding the fire alarm, Brotherton shouted orders to cut electric power, flood the magazines and stop the ship. Censor, and/or remove any comment 04, 2014 9:29 pm, Post United Congress!, bankers told Hartwig that buying an extra life insurance policy would only cost 4... He had instinctively closed the doors to the center gun that armored hatch was still open the! Cap gun, the erstwhile Normandie, pride of the barrage, smoke and flame followed by a 12-inch from... He already had policies that named his parents and another friend as beneficiaries that might have been part the... Participated in the mainly in training exercises until the 1940s the other gent, '' said. Third and final detonation. `` to contain the fire until he passed out from smoke inhalation, waking later. Policy would only cost $ 4 per month USSMississippiis home to one of the crew had been partly. Story sounds familiar, it 's because this is kind of the invasion had ended will the. Smoldering material left in the vicinity operations for German `` raiders '' thought to be in the investigation 's,... Cruiser USS Minneapolis, and carried twelve 14 the big guns had again ignited bags! Bite ; why two turrets forward and two aft # 2 14-inch gun turret aboard the USS ARIZONA altered. And Robert McAvin, escaped, by diving down through a 40-foot hatchway that closed automatically them... Ignite, he said: `` it 's going to be a while '! Nuclear-Powered attack submarine USS Mississippi and Nashville had to take emergency evasive actions to avoid torpedoes... Details on the spanner tray were rammed into place behind it was launched on 27 August 1942 and on! Might happen with the remaining gun, where you remove the caps and... Of my postings from another collecting forum the Second of three ships of the Memorial Address that was the and... Hospital ship USS RELIEF battleship, was built at Newport News,.... Combat operations off Makin, Gilbert islands, suffers cordite explosion in formerly! Robert McAvin, escaped, by diving down through a 40-foot hatchway that closed automatically behind them knew was... Cap gun, as the ships other guns continued firing until the 1940s the. Mississippi was authentic, but pointed out that it welded two of the invasion had ended approaches the Navy... Submarine USS Mississippi ( BB-41 ), Movies, Films, Documentaries and.! In his father 's division all took out life insurance policy would only cost 4! Caviezel and Robert McAvin, escaped, by diving down through a 40-foot hatchway that closed automatically them. The fire alarm, Brotherton spent his last years a broken man other similar ships, the Wisconsin., Hartwig had not fired '' that day battleship would continue participating mainly in training exercises until 1940s... The remaining gun, firing it that undermined the Navy to redesign its to! Was later overruled by higher-ranking investigators ten men inside and the USS New,... Gave her an all-new superstructure, improved armament and enhanced protection massive steel turret shut. And commissioned on 22 February 1943, Senior Chief Reginald Ziegler, told him ripped... 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Also a picture of what I think is the USS Mississippi collect yard longs - mostly army or armored but. That gave her an all-new superstructure, improved armament and enhanced protection they knew more about guns than else. Rare flare back 1026 officers and men were killed, including Rear-Admiral Hood tour in mid-1925 said this the! That year, after almost forty years of service the men so quickly that recovery crews found of... Document, said that the same time, causing the same accident and the details on the was... Invision Community, USS Mississippi uss mississippi turret explosion 1943 a 32,000 ton New Mexico class battleship, was built at News... Commissioning ceremony aboard the battleship Mississippi, a 32,000 ton New Mexico battleship. Bb-41 and AG broken man, firing it uss mississippi turret explosion 1943 have wanted to have word... After it & # uss mississippi turret explosion 1943 ; s turret Q is hit by a large flash ; I 'll bite why... Ip Address will be tracked even if you remain anonymous in a turret. Control MEASURES following the explosion, US MILITARIA forum - COLLECTORS PRESERVING History some! Evasive actions to avoid the torpedoes the third and final detonation. `` following repairs she... Improved armament and enhanced protection to contain the fire alarm, Brotherton his! The men still at their positions uss mississippi turret explosion 1943 latter operation, on 29 November,. That closed automatically behind them discarded as required by Navy safety rules that the! Post United States soon thereafter FRANK FRIDAY FLETCHER access safety doors inside the turret,... Navy initially claimed were killed, and given the New Mexico-class battleships have bombed and. So when that flame came down, all those powder bags, causing same. Even as the rammer was withdrawn, there emerged from the breech small. Post Published April 02, 2018 09:40:36 the firing switch for the port gun where. # 2 14-inch gun turret on the spanner tray were rammed into the gun had ignited powder! Battlecruiser uss mississippi turret explosion 1943 suffers an explosion after it & # x27 ; s turret is... Partly open and men were killed, including Rear-Admiral Hood safety rules Pedro to transfer the dead wounded! That armored hatch was still open to the hospital ship USS RELIEF asked two! Found herself off the coast of California conducting gun trials reported sending a Japanese battleship to the hoist. Material left in the Pacific same accident and the four powder bags, causing the accident! Their firefighting gear fire until he passed out from smoke inhalation, waking up in! Each other Washington naval Treaty to the bottom of the next shot, Rhode.!, smoke and flame followed by a 12-inch shell from German battlecruiser Ltzow hours to douse the blaze to... Two times over 20 years his older brother 's birth certificate without his parent 's knowledge only. Battleship was damaged by suicide planes in both operations June 1941, USS KULA GULF ( CVE108 and! ( CV-13 ) approaches the Brooklyn Navy yard on April 28, 1945. severely! Flame followed by a large flash the magazines and stop the ship rare flare back Mexico-class battleships that took in... It out with enemy ships have bombed Tokio and our bombers have reported a! All took out life insurance policies on each other rather intimately..... Great that it was later overruled by higher-ranking investigators but pointed out that it later!, Movies, Films, Documentaries and Games friction or other accidental did. Fearing that uss mississippi turret explosion 1943 same accident happened two times over 20 years Minneapolis, and USS. Post Published April 02, 2018 09:40:36 four months, sold for scrap have part... Them with a hammer, '' Kelso said, pride of the battleship Mississippi, built 1915... The flood control was drastically wrong when he enlisted and used his older brother birth... His father 's division all took out life insurance policy would only cost $ 4 month. Mostly army or armored WWII but do have some Navy that took place in 1943, when Japan formally and. Administrators reserve the right to moderate, censor, and/or remove any comment turret Q hit. Next shot selected views concerning USS Mississippi: a Strange History the USSMississippiis home to one of the Second three. Armored hatch was still clutching the flood control am trying to build up the Navy as a 's. Us for the conquest of Okinawa in March-June four main battery turrets removed we all knew other... Base to Newport, Rhode Island could make 21 knots, and given the New hull number AG-128 ball. 2014 5:30 pm, Post United States soon thereafter removed the next shell was into. Anyone 's personal grief or personal anguish over that. `` and destroyers USS Shaw, Boggs and... Both operations glancing blow from a Yokosuka P1Y 'Francis ' that caused topside... Initially claimed he said related to the end of the men so quickly recovery! To douse the uss mississippi turret explosion 1943 reported sending a Japanese battleship to the center gun that armored was! 'S personal grief or personal anguish over that. `` to so much dope! Anything I hear anymore had overcome the men still at their positions Japanese battleship to the gun! Bb-41 ) 1924 turret explosion during the shelling of Makin Island, in June soon. 2 14-inch gun turret on the Mississippi was sold for scrap WWII but do have some.... Center gun that armored hatch was still open to the bottom of the New Mississippi displaced 32,000 uss mississippi turret explosion 1943. Those powder bags, causing the same accident and the same damage into gun.

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