After an extensive preliminary bombardment, the Marine assault force headed towards the beach andMississippiand the other ships increased their rate of fire. USS Mississippi was decommissioned from service. by tommy303 Fri Apr 04, 2014 5:30 pm, Post He battled to contain the fire until he passed out from smoke inhalation, waking up later in an emergency dress battle station. . Thanks for posting. The MISSISSIPPI was once again with the Pacific Fleet. Repulse have gone down. 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. It was responsible for designing and building the guns for Navy ships during the first half of the century. Then No. by paul.mercer Fri Apr 04, 2014 9:12 am, Post Here's the explanation: http://archive . 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. Idaho and four destroyers. In 2009 he cofounded the defense and security blog Japan Security Watch. USS Mississippi (BB-41) was the second of three ships of the New Mexico-class battleships. 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 . Was on board 1943-45. . It was also clear that each 16-inch gun turret required more sailors than the Navy could afford to assign. The exact date and number of casualties were not available. 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. After the war,Mississippiwas effectively defanged, with three of her four main battery turrets removed. Following the explosion, the MISSISSIPPI returned to anchorage at San Pedro to transfer the dead and wounded to the hospital ship USS RELIEF. Nov 1, 2021, 1:18 PM. Mississippi steamed to Australia on a U.S. Fleet good will tour in mid-1925. She was present in Tokyo Bay on 2 September 1945, when Japan formally surrendered and returned to the United States soon thereafter. According to Truitt, Hartwig first told him about the insurance policy two years before the explosion as the Iowa was preparing for a six-month combat deployment to deter Libya from attacking merchant ships. -1924, the battleship USS Mississippi, the same ship, had an explosion in turret No. Nearly twenty yearsand a major refit laterthe USS Mississippi went to war in the Pacific. A photo taken from the bridge captures the explosion of the No. The old warship was decommissioned in 1956, sold for scrap. Truitt was in the magazine below the No. In June 1941, USS Mississippi patrolled the North Atlantic. After the war, Mississippi was effectively defanged, with three of her four main battery turrets removed. Borders Makin Lagoon (Butaritari Lagoon). "Interestingly, I was never read my rights, nor did I realize that I was a suspect," Truitt told Task & Purpose. USS Mississippi (BB-41), during combat operations off Makin, Gilbert Islands, suffers cordite explosion in #2 14-inch gun turret. Less than two decades later, the Mississippi went through the same agony again. Debris from firing the big guns had again ignited powder bags, causing the same accident and the same damage. "I held one [sailor] in my hands as he passed," Carr said. 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. A Marine rifle squad fired three volleys. On June 12, 1924, the MISSISSIPPI, along with the battleships TENNESSEE and IOWA, was engaged in gunnery practice off San Clemente Island. Suddenly, in the midst of the barrage, smoke and gas erupted from the rangefinders on either side of the number two turret. He had instinctively closed the doors to the ammunition hoist and flooded the magazines. Sandia investigators asked if two similar explosions on the battleship USS Mississippi could be related to the Iowa explosion. H.M.S. First, it is aiming to offer interesting 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. 1941- Enroute Hvalfordur, Iceland to Portsmouth, Va. At last we are steaming homeward in company with the U.S.S. Fire in center gun, turret 2. Lava's technical capabilities. . 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. 2, the ship was anchored just inside the breakwater. 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. Sounding the fire alarm, Brotherton shouted orders to cut electric power, flood the magazines and stop the ship. She arrived at Norfolk, Virginia, in June but soon shifted her base to Newport, Rhode Island. 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. Original Reporting. 2 turret during gunnery practice. The investigation's findings, contained in a formerly classified document, said that the friction theory was still valid. Because there were still unfired rounds in the other two guns of Turret No. Despite there being only two pages, we should consider ourselves fortunate to have them. Available for both RF and RM licensing. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. He already had policies that named his parents and another friend as beneficiaries. 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. This guy served on the USS MISSISSIPPI and USS NEVADA from 1917-1919. U.S. Navy and Royal Australian Navy . The turret explosion was captured by a camera mounted in one of the USS Iowa's towers. by tommy303 Thu Apr 03, 2014 11:55 pm, Post RLoret 1 yr. ago. New Photos Might Show Ukraines Drones Can Strike Deep Into Russia, Could Jail Stop Donald Trump from Becoming President Again? 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. The World War II Database is founded and managed by 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. That took place in 1943, when a turret explosion during the shelling of Makin Island, in the . I'm trying to find out the fate of an uncle who was on the ship and . I said, again, this is weird. Mississippiwas instrumental in the testing and eventual fielding of theConvair RIM-2 Terrier, the U.S. Navys first surface-to-air missile. Fortunately for him and his crew, his ship was anchored at Hvalfordur on the fateful morning of December 7, 1941. Facts later emerged that undermined the Navy's first investigation into the explosion, Truitt said. She was redesignated AG-128 and equipped with a number of radars and prototype air defense missile systems. She also featured twelve 5-inch/51 caliber guns, eight 3-inch anti-aircraft guns and two submerged 21-inch torpedo tubes. The Iowa was commissioned in 1943. Article on accident here. The Senate Armed Services Committee has hearings on the explosion planned for today. 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. At the time, sailors in his father's division all took out life insurance policies on each other. 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. 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. "Dec. 10. At least two sailors who survived the Iowa explosion say that either the rammer or friction contributed to the blast. After an extensive preliminary bombardment, the Marine assault force headed towards the beach and Mississippi and the other ships increased their rate of fire. 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. You need to be a member in order to leave a comment. Then-Navy Secretary John Lehman fell in love with the idea of using battleships to build strike groups, easing the strain on aircraft carriers, according to retired Cmdr. Then came the blast, which was so strong that it ripped the headphones right off Carr's head. 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. His career ruined, Brotherton spent his last years a broken man. The battleship Mississippi (BB 41) pictured transiting the Panama Canal during the 1920s. Decommissioned in September 1956, USS Mississippi was sold for scrapping in November of that year, after almost forty years of service. I think it was a terrible, terrific tragedy that we had. Carr was wearing headphones that allowed him to hear what the crews in the other turrets were saying. Post Unfortunately, Fidler never made any other entries although he served aboard the MISSISSIPPI until March 1943. Or had she been transferred to the Atlantic Fleet? 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. . The military eats their own it takes a while to realize that.". The hand of a dead crewman in the number two turret accidentally hit the firing switch for the port gun, firing it. 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. . 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. ww2dbaseUSS Mississippi, a 32,000 ton New Mexico class battleship, was built at Newport News, Virginia. 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. In 1943, she took part operations against Kiska Island, in the Aleutians, and in the capture of the Gilbert Islands. Lt. Zellars' body had already been sent to Georgia for burial. They also repeated assurances that friction or other accidental means did not cause the Iowa deaths. After an extensive preliminary bombardment, the Marine assault force headed towards the beach and Mississippi and the other ships increased their rate of fire. Right now I worry only about the U.S.S. 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. 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. Two major investigations were undertaken into the cause of the explosion, one by the U.S. Navy and then one by the General Accounting . The MISSY crewman who sent the postcard home must have been part of the recovery party. How to find the best blooms without the drama, Nature-curious? In this role, she carried a variety of old and new guns and radars, while serving with the Operational Development Force in the Atlantic. 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. Thank you. Navy investigators allege that Hartwig, the captain of the gun, had encouraged the rammer that day to push the load that far. C. Peter Chen of Lava Development, LLC. From the Washington Naval Treaty to the end of the Second World War. It took the sailors eight hours to douse the blaze. by Dod Grile Sat Apr 05, 2014 3:20 am, Powered by phpBB Forum Software phpBB Limited. 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. The main battery was distributed two turrets forward and two aft. 2. On 19 April 1989, the Number Two 16-inch gun turret of the United States Navy battleship USS Iowa (BB-61) exploded. . The waterspray system was not, if I recall, used to clear the bore between shots, just the compressed air blast. 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. 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. But unlike other explosions, the 16-inch gun in the No. And while growing that fleet, Lehman wanted to bring back some of the elegance and esprit that had . When we're doing a shot with more than three shells, you would stage powder bags inside the powder flats. USS Mississippi (BB-41) was a New Mexico-class battleship that entered service in 1917 and saw service during World War II. The U.S.A. is now at war with Germany, Japan, and Italy. Ward Carroll, a naval aviator who was a spokesman for the Naval Safety Center at the time. Sometimes, if firing was prolonged and fairly rapid, the compressors supplying the air to the compressed air bottles could not keep up with the demand and in those cases, the bores might not receive a complete blast of air, leaving some debris or incandescent gases lingering inside. Or other accidental means did not cause the Iowa explosion sent to Georgia for burial one [ ]. Not cause the Iowa explosion the U.S.S, we should consider ourselves fortunate to have them assault headed. Yearsand a major refit laterthe USS Mississippi ( BB-41 ), during combat off! 'S division all took out life insurance policies on each other browser for the port gun, encouraged... Tragedy that we had two pages, we should consider ourselves fortunate to have them sailors in his 's... Accidentally hit the firing switch for the Naval Safety Center at the.... 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