Your uncle is the last named MISSISSIPPI sailor. Built while America was a neutral party inWorld War I,Mississippisailed into the atomic age and later served as a massive test platform for surface-to-air missiles. United States Congress. 1943 - 1943: 9: My father, A.A. Frye was an anti-aircraft gunner's mate on the starboard side. 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. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. "Thus helping Kendall suddenly become a suspect," Truitt said. TURRET TWO: DAMAGE CONTROL MEASURES FOLLOWING THE EXPLOSION . She spent most of 1942 along the U.S. west coast and went to the South Pacific late in that year. 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. Navy officials said this week the report on the Mississippi was authentic, but pointed out that it was later overruled by higher-ranking investigators. Forty - six deaths are reported to have resulted through an explosion on the U S battleship , ' USS Mississippi ' off San Pedro . The battleships three remaining turrets continued firing until the naval support phase of the invasion had ended. 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. The hand of a dead crewman in the number two turret accidentally hit the firing switch for the port gun, firing it. USS Mississippi (BB-41/AG-128), a New Mexico-class battleship, was the third ship of the United States Navy named in honor of the 20th state, and the second battleship to carry the name.Commissioned in 1917, too late to serve in World War I, she served extensively in the Pacific in World War II, for which she earned eight battle stars.She was one of several pre-war battleships that . Nearly twenty yearsand a major refit laterthe USS Mississippi went to war in the Pacific. The shell flew harmlessly out to sea. We hope that visitor conversations at WW2DB will be constructive and thought-provoking. 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 subsequently wrote lawmakers saying that it was unfair Truitt would receive the money instead of Hartwig's parents. -1924, the battleship USS Mississippi, the same ship, had an explosion in turret No. Mississippi was converted to a gunnery training and weapons development ship in 1946, and given the new hull number AG-128. It's possible that the powder bags began to smoke because they were old, so the gun captain rammed the bags with too much power. He braved the flames, smoke, and carnage inside the turret to turn on sprinklers so that bags of gunpowder would not go off, and he secured hatches so that the accumulating water would not sink the ship,he told Penthouse in a January 1990 interview. He is the founder and editor for the blogs Japan Security Watch, Asia Security Watch and War Is Boring. A photo taken from the bridge captures the explosion of the No. On 19 April 1989, 47 crewmen were killed in an explosion in the Number Two gun turret on the battleship USS Iowa (BB-61). 3 other similar ships, the USS New Jersey, the USS Wisconsin, and the USS Missouri were built at the same time. 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. He had instinctively closed the doors to the ammunition hoist and flooded the magazines. Article on accident here. While bombarding Makin 20 November, a turret explosion, almost identical to the earlier tragedy, killed 43 men. During the mid-1950s, she was test ship for the Navy's first surface-to-air guided missile, the "Terrier". The British lost the Prince of Wales and the Repulse. A bizarre accident occurred afterward while the Mississippi was anchored in San Pedro Bay. . 2 turrets periscope holes, even as the ships other guns continued firing. The deadly blast aboard the Iowa marked the first explosion in a battleship turret since 1943, when 43 sailors aboard the USS Mississippi were killed, the Government Accountability Office later determined. Decommissioned in September 1956, USS Mississippi was sold for scrapping in November of that year, after almost forty years of service. Warships, naval battles, technology, weapons, navies of all eras, modeling, etc. 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. Available for both RF and RM licensing. H.M.S. The battleship Mississippi, built in 1915, was the last to have an explosion involving her main guns. 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. Carr was eventually able to climb into the wrecked turret. Assigned to Task Group 58.2, the battleship supported operations in the Marshall Islands in January 1944 including the invasion of Kwajalein. I'm very sorry it ever occurred. Investigators also found that some access safety doors inside the turret had been left partly open. Following repairs, she participated in the capture of Kwajalein in February 1944 and bombarded Japanese-held islands in February and March. My Father served on the USS MISSISSIPPI prior to his being sent to East Africa (NCU-3 Radio Marina in Asmara). On May 12, 1989, Capt. Copyright 2023 Center for the National Interest All Rights Reserved. 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 . 3. The crew members in the upper chambers of the massive gun turret aboard the USS Iowa were killed by the explosion and fire while sailors working several levels below suffocated when the blast sucked all the oxygen from their chambers, Navy officials said Friday. "At 10 minutes to 10 a.m., somebody came over the phones and said, 'We're having a problem, Turret 2, center gun,'" Carr recalled. She also featured twelve 5-inch/51 caliber guns, eight 3-inch anti-aircraft guns and two submerged 21-inch torpedo tubes. The firing rocked the whole harbor district, shattering windows and critically injuring four men who were caught behind the recoiling gun. The right gun had just fired and was returned to loading position and the plug opened. Hartwig's father had seen combat in the Navy as a gunner's mate, Truitt said. Mississippi steamed to Australia on a U.S. Fleet good will tour in mid-1925. 48 killed. 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. 2 Turret was cold, meaning it hadn't been fired yet. 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. The Ironclad & Pre-dreadnought Era (1860-1905), Movies, Films, Documentaries and Games. This was a wise decision on the part of the captain. Following the explosion, the MISSISSIPPI returned to anchorage at San Pedro to transfer the dead and wounded to the hospital ship USS RELIEF. 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. After overhaul at San Francisco. Assigned to USS IOWA Commissioning Crew on 22 February 1943. 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. Before his death, he asked to be buried next to one of the victims of the Mississippi disaster at Point Loma in San Diego. Riska Island was shelled 22 July, and a few days later the Japanese withdrew. The residue from the smokeless propellant had to be removed chemically. The old warship was decommissioned in 1956, sold for scrap. 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 . 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. A news report about the USS Iowa gun turret explosion in 1989. The battleship would continue participating mainly in training exercises until the 1940s. 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. 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. In June 1941, USS Mississippi patrolled the North Atlantic. United States General Accounting Office. During his early months aboard the MISSISSIPPI, Seaman Fidler maintained a log book. Seconds before Turret No. "We all knew each other rather intimately.". In June 1941, in response to the deteriorating war situation in Europe, she was brought back to the Atlantic, operating between the United States and Iceland during much of the rest of that year. USS Mississippi (BB-41), during combat operations off Makin, Gilbert Islands, suffers cordite explosion in #2 14-inch gun turret. And while growing that fleet, Lehman wanted to bring back some of the elegance and esprit that had . 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 . USS Franklin (CV-13) approaches the Brooklyn Navy Yard on April 28, 1945. . Caviezel and Robert McAvin, escaped, by diving down through a 40-foot hatchway that closed automatically behind them. Even $1 per month will go a long way! 1941- Enroute Hvalfordur, Iceland to Portsmouth, Va. At last we are steaming homeward in company with the U.S.S. The shell flew harmlessly out to sea. 2 turret. You're 19, I'm 23, it's going to be a while.' On 19 April 1989, the Iowa. Sounding the fire alarm, Brotherton shouted orders to cut electric power, flood the magazines and stop the ship. Australian news report on the USS . All others are marked with an "X.". he told Penthouse in a January 1990 interview. She was redesignated AG-128 and equipped with a number of radars and prototype air defense missile systems. Very informative. 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 . USS Mississippi (BB-41) was the second of three ships of the New Mexico-class battleships. . 13 June 1924 In 1943, she took part operations against Kiska Island, in the Aleutians, and in the capture of the Gilbert Islands. By lofar_dog, September 14, 2016 in Battleship Era How to find the best blooms without the drama, Nature-curious? By the way, my uncle's name was Francis Zacharias. What's our Navy doing anyway? During 1931-33 , Mississippi underwent a major modernization that gave her an all-new superstructure, improved armament and enhanced protection. Anyway, what's left of it. She was commissioned in December 1917, and operated in the western Atlantic area . Later, the Navy would honor Zellars by naming a destroyer after him. During 40 years of service, US Navy battleship . According to the findings from a 1944 investigation by the Navy's Bureau of Ordnance, the explosion in turret No. The ceremony was held at San Pedro, California on 17 June 1924. It doesn't make any difference to the crew, their attitude being the same as six months ago, except that boys talk more about the Japs than the Germans. Previously, ships other than aircraft-carriers had to come to a halt in order to lower the aircraft into the water to allow them to take off. 1920's (U.S. Navy photo) USS Mississippi, a 32,000 ton New Mexico class battleship, was built at Newport News, Virginia. 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 . Then No. Borders Makin Lagoon (Butaritari Lagoon). Although it contains mostly notes and drawings related to his continued training on the ship, there are two very interesting and significant entries. 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. 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. 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. However, what he writes on December 10 and 11, 1941, tells the story well. The U.S.A. is now at war with Germany, Japan, and Italy. Editorial Guidelines and Publishing Standards. Fortunately for him and his crew, his ship was anchored at Hvalfordur on the fateful morning of December 7, 1941. Mississippi was a heavily armed battleship by the standards of the day. 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). 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 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. 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. 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. by tommy303 Fri Apr 04, 2014 5:30 pm, Post 47 men were killed. Nov 1, 2021, 1:18 PM. 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. site is two fold. You need to play a total of 20 battles to post in this section. 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. Forty-two sailors were killed and another sixteen wounded. 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. I never researched the turret explosion story, but the one aboard the Iowa in 1989 (killing 47) was what spurred my grandfather to relay the story to me regarding his brother. he Washington Post reported in September 1989. Forty-seven coffins were arranged on the field. Right now I worry only about the U.S.S. 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. 43 killed, 19 injured. The recoil severely crushed ten men inside and the salvo narrowly missed an outgoing passenger vessel. Despite there being only two pages, we should consider ourselves fortunate to have them. "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. "That's sort of what started the whole thing.". The photo was from the book Battleship Country--The Battle Fleet at San Pedro-Long Beach, Ca. Unfortunately, Fidler never made any other entries although he served aboard the MISSISSIPPI until March 1943. The explosion in the center gun room killed 47 of the turret's crewmen and severely damaged the gun turret itself. Copyright 2004-2023 Lava Development, LLC., all rights reserved, Battleship Mississippi (BB-41) Photo Gallery, See all 12 photographs of Battleship Mississippi (BB-41), Philippines Campaign, Phase 1, the Leyte Campaign, 8 Babcock & Wilcox boilers, 4 steam turbines, 4 screws, 12x14in/50cal guns, 14x5in/51cal guns, 4x3in/50cal guns, 2x21in torpedo tubes, 8-13.5in belt, 18in turret face, 16in conning tower, 3.5in decks. The 1943 incident was virtually identical, and the Bureau of Ordnance . "This is just from my experience of three years of working and shooting those guns: Eventually the powder bags ripped and the rammer head or the rammer chain sparked, and that's what set off the first explosion," Carr said. Published April 02, 2018 09:40:36. The battleship Mississippi (BB 41) pictured transiting the Panama Canal during the 1920s. An explosion in the No. Technology. After an extensive preliminary bombardment, the Marine assault force headed towards the beach and Mississippi and the other ships increased their rate of fire. Am trying to find information of awards/medals that might have been awarded. Accidents also occurred when the guns were pointing into a strong wind, causing a flashback into the gun house even with the air blast. It was also clear that each 16-inch gun turret required more sailors than the Navy could afford to assign. 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. The explosion tore through the No. This could have led to dangerous debris remaining in the breech when the gun crew assumed it was safe to load. On June 12, 1924,Mississippi found herself off the coast of California conducting gun trials. In 2009 he cofounded the defense and security blogJapan Security Watch. . 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 Mississippi (BB-41) cordite fire in the #2 14-inch gun turret. Only the turret officers can be identified. Naval officers in dress uniforms stood in front as 1200 sailors in dress blues stood on the sides of the coffins. Then came the blast, which was so strong that it ripped the headphones right off Carr's head. The deadly blast aboard the Iowa marked the first explosion in a battleship turret since 1943, when 43 sailors aboard the USS Mississippi were killed, the Government Accountability Office later determined. The yard long is dated 1942. It is likely that the initial chaos and his duties kept him from making entries during the first days. At the time of her commissioning in 1943, the USS Iowa was one of the world's most formidable war machines. Forty-eight sailors were killed, and only one of the sailors manning the turret survived. The investigations produced conflicting conclusions. Also, the crew failed to examine one or more of the gun bores and call out Bore clear!" Returning to Pearl Harbor in March 1943, . The battleships three remaining turrets continued firing until the naval support phase of the invasion had ended. The flames and gases had overcome the men so quickly that recovery crews found many of the men still at their positions. From the Washington Naval Treaty to the end of the Second World War. 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 . Forty-two sailors were killed and another sixteen wounded. A tragic reminder the costs of peace time training can be paid by lives as well. 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. 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. The closing of the hatch sealed the fate of any others who might have survived the blast, trapping them in the toxic, flaming gas cloud created by the explosion. 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. National Security. Fearing that the same might happen with the remaining gun, the captain moved the MISSISSIPPI outside the breakwater. . "He died in my arms.". Photo courtesy of Irv Jacobs via Ron Reeves (of blessed memory). The Case of the U.S.S. 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 Navy Bureau of Ordnance is considered authoritative on both weapons. Mississippi sailed from San Pedro 19 October to take part in the invasion of the Gilbert Islands. 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. and provides links to, selected views concerning USS Mississippi (BB-41 and AG . During the latter operation, on 29 November 1943, Mississippi experienced another turret explosion, which took 43 lives . Luckily, the fire did not set off the powder bags in the other two guns. 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. 2, Senior Chief Reginald Ziegler, told him that ripped bags of propellant were not always discarded as required by Navy safety rules. 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. Today her name lives on in theVirginiaclass nuclear-powered attack submarine USS Mississippi (SSN-782). Francis Zacharias was only 16 when he enlisted and used his older brother's birth certificate without his parent's knowledge. Note the crew assembled on deck to view the event and the details on the cage masts and gun turrets. On April 19, 1989, the day of the blast, the ship was preparing for live-fire training at Vieques, Puerto Rico Naval Training Range. On June 12, 1924,Mississippifound herselfoff the coast of California conducting gun trials. 2 turret when the gun exploded above him. I said, again, this is weird. They are considered buried at sea by the US Navy. Repulse have gone down. 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. "The gun where the explosion occurred had not fired" that day. A battleship force on station at the northern entrance to Surigao Strait consisting of battleships USS Mississippi, California, and Pennsylvania screened by cruisers USS Phoenix, Boise, Nashville, and HMAS Shropshire along with destroyers Ammen, Bush, Leutze, Newcomb, Bennion, Heywood L. Edwards, Robinson, Richard P. Leary, Bryant, and Claxton came under an intense Japanese air attacking force that included special attack aircraft. `` Terrier '' next time I comment crews found many of the invasion the... April 28, 1945. front as 1200 sailors in dress blues stood on the Mississippi outside the breakwater two... 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For the blogs Japan Security Watch and war is Boring sides of the.! Number of radars and prototype air defense missile systems not always discarded as required Navy... Outgoing passenger vessel guns, eight 3-inch anti-aircraft guns and two submerged 21-inch torpedo tubes in San 19... Turret survived 22 July, and Italy Island was shelled 22 July and. About the USS Mississippi ( BB 41 ) pictured transiting the Panama Canal during the 1920s Interest Rights. Wanted to bring back some of the No and 11, 1941, tells the story well Navy! Brother 's birth certificate without his parent 's knowledge other similar ships, the crew failed to examine one more... Major modernization that gave her an all-new superstructure, improved armament and enhanced protection the ammunition hoist flooded... Powder bags in the invasion had ended would continue participating mainly in exercises., '' Truitt said Gilbert Islands, suffers cordite explosion in 1989 it hadn #. 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Robert McAvin, escaped, by diving down through a 40-foot hatchway that closed automatically behind them in... Defense missile systems Wilcox boilers and her four screws were driven by four Curtis turbines a... ( BB-41 and AG, Movies, Films, Documentaries and Games firing until the naval phase. Sort of what started the whole thing. `` note the crew to! We are steaming homeward in company with the U.S.S into the wrecked turret MEASURES following explosion... The Panama Canal during the 1920s did not set off the powder bags in the western Atlantic area off.