uss mississippi turret explosion 1943uss mississippi turret explosion 1943

United States Congress. 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. Black smoke poured out from the burning No. As a battleship, the Mississippi was heavily armored to slug it out with enemy ships. Does anyone know or have a list of the sailors killed in the Nov. 1943 #2 turret explosion on the USS Mississippi? The following video remembers those. by tommy303 Thu Apr 03, 2014 11:55 pm, Post 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). and useful information about WW2. Mississippi. 2 16-inch gun turret aboard the Iowa (BB-61). site is two fold. 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 . He said: 'No, it's the same thing my dad did.". Here is a series of six photos of the funeral Where was the Missy Dec 7, 1941? She returned to the Pacific in October 1934 to resume her earlier pattern of regular exercises, Fleet Problems and training. Some, if not most ships had a waterspray system for helping clean the barrels after firing--necessary to clean out the salts accumulated from the primer compounds and the gunpowder igniter pads. The investigation's findings, contained in a formerly classified document, said that the friction theory was still valid. ww2dbaseMississippi was converted to a gunnery training and weapons development ship in 1946, and given the new hull number AG-128. 2 turret. . He passed away in 2010. She also featured twelve 5-inch/51 caliber guns, eight 3-inch anti-aircraft guns and two submerged 21-inch torpedo tubes. 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. 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. Following repairs, she participated in the capture of Kwajalein in February 1944 and bombarded Japanese-held islands in February and March. In 1943, she took part operations against Kiska Island, in the Aleutians, and in the capture of the Gilbert Islands. Today her name lives on in the Virginia class nuclear-powered attack submarine USS Mississippi (SSN-782). Published April 02, 2018 09:40:36. Facts later emerged that undermined the Navy's first investigation into the explosion, Truitt said. 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. She arrived at Norfolk, Virginia, in June but soon shifted her base to Newport, Rhode Island. Forty-two sailors were killed and another sixteen wounded. 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. Truitt was in the magazine below the No. Nearly twenty yearsand a major refit laterthe USS Mississippi went to war in the Pacific. Hartwig who died in the blast had planted a bomb in the gun. By 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. USS Turner (DD-648) sank in New York harbor following a series of ammunition explosions. During the early 1920s, the battleship USS MISSISSIPPI (BB-41) was the pride of the Pacific Fleet. US Navy battleship USS Mississippi in Hampton Roads, Virginia, June 4, 1927. I've listened to so much bum dope that I don't believe anything I hear anymore. The ship was built at the Newport News Shipbuilding Company of Newport News, Virginia, from her keel laying in April 1915, her launching. I still think we will make it without any casualties.". "This is essentially what happened. The waterspray system was not, if I recall, used to clear the bore between shots, just the compressed air blast. See attached. Mississippi was instrumental in the testing and eventual fielding of the Convair RIM-2 Terrier, the U.S. Navys first surface-to-air missile. All visitor submitted comments are opinions of those making the submissions and do not reflect views of WW2DB. The mighty warship was 624 feet long with a beam of 97.5 feet, and displaced 33,000 tons fully loaded. Abner Read jettisoned her torpedoes which immediately began their runs toward other ships in the group. Following the explosion, the MISSISSIPPI returned to anchorage at San Pedro to transfer the dead and wounded to the hospital ship USS RELIEF. Or had she been transferred to the Atlantic Fleet? 1919-1940, by Harvey M. Beigel. Caviezel and Robert McAvin, escaped, by diving down through a 40-foot hatchway that closed automatically behind them. "I was like: OK; I'll bite; why? 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 heat of the explosion was so great that it welded two of the massive steel turret doors shut. The right gun had just fired and was returned to loading position and the plug opened. During this time she also conducted search operations for German "raiders" thought to be in the vicinity. 1941- Enroute Hvalfordur, Iceland to Portsmouth, Va. At last we are steaming homeward in company with the U.S.S. 2 turrets periscope holes, even as the ships other guns continued firing. Japanese observation planes have been seen over San Francisco. Mississippi steamed to Australia on a U.S. Fleet good will tour in mid-1925. 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. BB-41 suffered another turret explosion killing 43 men 20 November 1943 off Makin 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 . The deck was armored to 3.5 inches and the conning tower to sixteen inches. I'm looking for any information on a Lt (jg) Millay who served aboard the USS Mississippi (BB-41) during it's WWII Pacific Tenure (1942-1945) He was at the Pearl Harbor Naval Barracks Dec 7, 1941 . April 20, 1989. On May 12, 1989, Capt. he Washington Post reported in September 1989. Very interesting thread and a great read. During the mid-1950s, she was test ship for the Navy's first surface-to-air guided missile, the "Terrier". 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. We'll see. 1919-1940, by Harvey M. Beigel. Official USN photo # DN-ST-89-06800, by LT. 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 . W.D. 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. This first appeared in 2019. (Photo: Official U.S. Navy Photograph, National Archives collection) . Before his death, he asked to be buried next to one of the victims of the Mississippi disaster at Point Loma in San Diego. The ceremony was held at San Pedro, California on 17 June 1924. "That fireball went straight to the bottom of the turret. The new Mississippi displaced 32,000 tons, could make 21 knots, and carried twelve 14 . RLoret 1 yr. ago. by Dod Grile Sat Apr 05, 2014 3:20 am, Powered by phpBB Forum Software phpBB Limited. The military eats their own it takes a while to realize that.". The last shell and charge was removed the next day. That investigation continues to attract scrutiny. 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. The old warship was decommissioned in 1956, sold for scrap. During World War II, in November 1943, while bombarding the Makin Islands in the Pacific, it experienced another . The Navy' s Investigation 2, the ship was anchored just inside the breakwater. 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. 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. "They knew more about guns than everybody else in the Navy put together.". I'm trying to find out the fate of an uncle who was on the ship and . Almost instantly, forty-five men and three officers were dead from asphyxiation. Today her name lives on in theVirginiaclass nuclear-powered attack submarine USS Mississippi (SSN-782). Mississippiwas instrumental in the testing and eventual fielding of theConvair RIM-2 Terrier, the U.S. Navys first surface-to-air missile. Suddenly, in the midst of the barrage, smoke and gas erupted from the rangefinders on either side of the number two 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. 2. I'm sorry for anyone's personal grief or personal anguish over that.". During the latter operation, on 29 November 1943, Mississippi experienced another turret explosion, which took 43 lives. 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 Despite knowing how to solve the problem, the same accident happened two times over 20 years. Smoke pours from Turret #2 of the USS Iowa after an explosion and fire on April 19, 1989 . The turret explosion was captured by a camera mounted in one of the USS Iowa's towers. The World War II Database is founded and managed by In 1943, she took part operations against Kiska Island, in the Aleutians, and in the capture of the Gilbert Islands. Post Debris from firing the big guns had again ignited powder bags, causing the same accident and the same damage. The commissioning ceremony aboard the USS Iowa, Feb. 22, 1943. It took the sailors eight hours to douse the blaze. Note, however, he is identified as Frederick. The U.S.A. is now at war with Germany, Japan, and Italy. Fire in center gun, turret 2. "They were trying to build up the Navy. 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. 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. "That couldn't have been the case on Iowa," Coles said. 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. . The dope' is out that we are going to the West Coast after our stay at Portsmouth. The current unconfirmed reports say that Germany has declared war on the U.S., which doesn't make much difference. . After having sent almost 100 sailors to their deaths in two separate explosions, the 39-year-old Mississippi was scrapped in 1956. Second, it is to showcase One man who was recognized as a hero of the disaster and credited with saving the ship was the turret captain, Lt. (jg) Thomas E. Zellars. 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. The tombstone inscription reads "Francis J. Zacharias Born July 19, 1905, Killed by Explosion on USS Mississippi at San Pedro California 1924. 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. At roughly one horsepower per ton, she was not terribly fast, with a top speed of just twenty-one knots. In 2009 he cofounded the defense and security blog Japan Security Watch. She was commissioned in December 1917, and operated in the western Atlantic area . The damaged 33,000-ton dreadnought headed back to port. Borders Makin Lagoon (Butaritari Lagoon). The General Accounting Office and both House and Senate armed services committees are reviewing the Navy's investigation. 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. * November 1943: The battleship USS Mississippi, while shelling Makin Island in World War II, had an explosion in turret No. USS Mississippi (BB-41), during combat operations off Makin, Gilbert Islands, suffers cordite explosion in #2 14-inch gun turret. In 1961 the USS ARIZONA was altered once more. They further claimed Hartwig became suicidal because he and Truitt who was married at the time had been lovers but Truitt had rebuffed him. Your uncle is the last named MISSISSIPPI sailor. Was on board 1943-45. . 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. In the years since the blast, Carr has surmised what might have happened. An explosion in the No. During gunnery practice on 12 June 1924, she suffered a turret fire that took the lives of 48 of her crew. The Navy Bureau of Ordnance is considered authoritative on both weapons. But unlike other explosions, the 16-inch gun in the No. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, Jaguars, narcos, illegal loggers: One mans battle to save a Guatemalan jungle and Maya ruins, Has wildflower shaming gone too far? 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. 20 November 1943." Battleship USS Missouri - Official Website NavSource - USS Missouri (BB-41) She spent most of 1942 along the U.S. west coast and went to the South Pacific late in that year. Navy officials said this week the report on the Mississippi was authentic, but pointed out that it was later overruled by higher-ranking investigators. 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. 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. While at Navy Federal, bankers told Hartwig that buying an extra life insurance policy would only cost $4 per month. 2. ww2dbaseIn early 1942, after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Mississippi rejoined the Pacific Fleet. -1924, the battleship USS Mississippi, the same ship, had an explosion in turret No. "That's sort of what started the whole thing.". Required fields are marked *. We hope that visitor conversations at WW2DB will be constructive and thought-provoking. The battleships three remaining turrets continued firing until the naval support phase of the invasion had ended. This could have led to dangerous debris remaining in the breech when the gun crew assumed it was safe to load. Also served on USS TENNESSEE, USS KULA GULF (CVE108) and USS FRANK FRIDAY FLETCHER. Battleship USS Mississippi: A Strange History The USSMississippiis home to one of the most intriguing naval coincidences of all time. Fortunately for him and his crew, his ship was anchored at Hvalfordur on the fateful morning of December 7, 1941. Your email address will not be published. Battlecruiser Invincible suffers an explosion after it's turret Q is hit by a 12-inch shell from German battlecruiser Ltzow. He is buried in St Mary's cemetery in Pittsburgh PA. They have been throwing torpedoes at us for the past four months. Sounding the fire alarm, Brotherton shouted orders to cut electric power, flood the magazines and stop the ship. by tommy303 Fri Apr 04, 2014 5:30 pm, Post 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. The yard long is dated 1942. The explosion tore through the No. 2 turret. "The gun where the explosion occurred had not fired" that day. 2 turret during gunnery practice. 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.

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