1943 - 1943: 9: My father, A.A. Frye was an anti-aircraft gunner's mate on the starboard side. During this time she also conducted search operations for German "raiders" thought to be in the vicinity. Today her name lives on in theVirginiaclass nuclear-powered attack submarine USS Mississippi (SSN-782). Two hundred sailors of each battleship of Battleship Division 4 were present. He said: 'No, it's the same thing my dad did.". Gunners mate Kendall L. Truitt, one of the 12 sailors who escaped the No. The 1924 disaster was attributed to insufficient air blast to clear the gun barrels, resulting in smoldering debris igniting powder bags as they were rammed in during reloading. The 1943 incident was virtually identical, and the Bureau of Ordnance . 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. Kyle Mizokami is a defense and national-security writer based in San Fransisco. Your IP address will be tracked even if you remain anonymous. Don't worry about collecting. Seconds before Turret No. USS Mississippi, a 32,000 ton New Mexico class battleship, was built at Newport News, Virginia. The explosion in the center gun room killed 47 of the turret's crewmen and severely damaged the gun turret itself. 2 turret. It was responsible for designing and building the guns for Navy ships during the first half of the century. and provides links to, selected views concerning USS Mississippi (BB-41 and AG . After the war,Mississippiwas effectively defanged, with three of her four main battery turrets removed. Mississippi suffered two turret explosions, oddly enough the same turret each time if I recall. In 1943, she took part operations against Kiska Island, in the Aleutians, and in the capture of the Gilbert Islands. See attached. He said the final technical report on the Iowa explosions had been released to Congress; a congressional source said it concluded that gunner's mate Clayton Hartwig, who died in the blasts, put a bomb made of chemicals into the breech and the bomb exploded and ignited the powder and propellant when compressed by the rammer. At roughly one horsepower per ton, she was not terribly fast, with a top speed of just twenty-one knots. 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. Second, it is to showcase (Photo: Official U.S. Navy Photograph, National Archives collection) . Mississippi steamed to Australia on a U.S. Fleet good will tour in mid-1925. Then they found two sailors who had been blown from the turret onto the deck. Mississippi was a heavily armed battleship by the standards of the day. The deck was armored to 3.5 inches and the conning tower to sixteen inches. 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. 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. Only two sailors in the turret firing room, J.F. 2. Lava's technical capabilities. She was present in Tokyo Bay on 2 September 1945, when Japan formally surrendered and returned to the United States soon thereafter. Naval officers in dress uniforms stood in front as 1200 sailors in dress blues stood on the sides of the coffins. Right now I worry only about the U.S.S. She was commissioned in December 1917, and operated in the western Atlantic area . German dive bombers would sink both ships in the spring of 1941. It took the sailors eight hours to douse the blaze. After the war, Mississippi was effectively defanged, with three of her four main battery turrets removed. Navy records show that Emett C. Dunn, Jr., a civilian employee of the Navy stationed in Charleston, S.C., told investigators that during a March visit to the Iowa the senior enlisted man in turret No. No names were provided so can not verify but I researched the ship photo and am pretty confident that it is the USS Mississippi. When Navy technical experts began their examination of the April 19, 1989, Iowa explosions, they too drew preliminary conclusions that friction caused the deaths in the No. 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. "USS Mississippi (BB-41) cordite fire in the #2 14-inch gun turret. During the latter operation, on 29 November 1943, Mississippi experienced another turret explosion, which took 43 lives. ww2dbaseDuring 1931-33 , Mississippi underwent a major modernization that gave her an all-new superstructure, improved armament and enhanced protection. Japanese observation planes have been seen over San Francisco. July 29, 2009 in EPHEMERA, PHOTOGRAPHS & MILITARY ARTWORK. 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. US Battleship Turret Explosions 1904-1989. Because there were still unfired rounds in the other two guns of Turret No. Does anyone know or have a list of the sailors killed in the Nov. 1943 #2 turret explosion on the USS Mississippi? 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). On 19 April 1989, the Number Two 16-inch gun turret of the United States Navy battleship USS Iowa (BB-61) exploded. The Iowa was commissioned in 1943. "The gun where the explosion occurred had not fired" that day. 2 Turret was cold, meaning it hadn't been fired yet. 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. The General Accounting Office and both House and Senate armed services committees are reviewing the Navy's investigation. The deck was armored to 3.5 inches and the conning tower to sixteen inches. During gunnery practice on 12 June 1924, she suffered a turret fire that took the lives of 48 of her crew. At the time of the 1943 explosion, the Mississippi, a New Mexico-class battleship built at Newport News Shipbuilding and commissioned in 1917, was shelling Makin Island in the Pacific. "That's sort of what started the whole thing.". Suddenly, in the midst of the barrage, smoke and gas erupted from the rangefinders on either side of the number two turret. Also, the crew failed to examine one or more of the gun bores and call out Bore clear!" ww2dbaseMississippi was converted to a gunnery training and weapons development ship in 1946, and given the new hull number AG-128. A news report about the USS Iowa gun turret explosion in 1989. The exact date and number of casualties were not available. We hope that visitor conversations at WW2DB will be constructive and thought-provoking. On June 12, 1924,Mississippifound herselfoff the coast of California conducting gun trials. 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. As a battleship, theMississippiwasheavily armoredto slug it out with enemy ships. 2 turrets periscope holes, even as the ships other guns continued firing. Less than two decades later, the Mississippi went through the same agony again. 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. An explosion in the No. 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. 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. Your uncle is the last named MISSISSIPPI sailor. Your email address will not be published. Available for both RF and RM licensing. Very interesting thread and a great read. The residue from the smokeless propellant had to be removed chemically. Prince of Wales and H.M.S. In this role, she carried a variety of old and new guns and radars, while serving with the Operational Development Force in the Atlantic. Decommissioned in September 1956, USS Mississippi was sold for scrapping in November of that year, after almost forty years of service. Forty-three sailors died. The goal of this They are considered buried at sea by the US Navy. 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.". Hartwig's father had seen combat in the Navy as a gunner's mate, Truitt said. All visitor submitted comments are opinions of those making the submissions and do not reflect views of WW2DB. Fortunately for him and his crew, his ship was anchored at Hvalfordur on the fateful morning of December 7, 1941. "He hit me on the shoulder one day, and he's like, 'If I ever die, you're going to be a rich man,'" Truitt recalled. 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. But unlike other explosions, the 16-inch gun in the No. 3 January 1944. In 1943, the big battleship was off the coast of Makin Island, providing naval gunfire support to a . New Photos Might Show Ukraines Drones Can Strike Deep Into Russia, Could Jail Stop Donald Trump from Becoming President Again? 3 other similar ships, the USS New Jersey, the USS Wisconsin, and the USS Missouri were built at the same time. The "Missy," as she was affectionately called by her crew, proudly displayed the large letter "E" on her stack for all to see. Later, the Navy would honor Zellars by naming a destroyer after him. Fire in center gun, turret 2. The flames and gases had overcome the men so quickly that recovery crews found many of the men still at their positions. Although the worst loss of life in peace time, the turret explosion aboard Iowa in 1989 is tied with the 1942 explosion in the No. Although each barrel was blasted between firings with pressurized air to evacuate debris, the middle barrel of each turret received a lower pressure burst than the left and right barrels. 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 . 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. She was redesignated AG-128 and equipped with a number of radars and prototype air defense missile systems. 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. The turret explosion was captured by a camera mounted in one of the USS Iowa's towers. All comment submissions will become the property of WW2DB. Note, however, he is identified as Frederick. The main battery was distributed two turrets forward and two aft. When we're doing a shot with more than three shells, you would stage powder bags inside the powder flats. "If this story sounds familiar, it's because this is kind of the oldest story ever told around the U.S. USS Mississippi (BB-41) was the second of three ships of the New Mexico-class battleships. US Navy battleship USS Mississippi in Hampton Roads, Virginia, June 4, 1927. USS Mississippi (BB-41), during combat operations off Makin, Gilbert Islands, suffers cordite explosion in #2 14-inch gun turret. During the latter operation, on 29 November 1943, Mississippi experienced another turret explosion, which took 43 lives . Navy officials said this week the report on the Mississippi was authentic, but pointed out that it was later overruled by higher-ranking investigators. Sounding the fire alarm, Brotherton shouted orders to cut electric power, flood the magazines and stop the ship. "USS Mississippi (BB-41, later AG . Brotherton knew something was drastically wrong when he noticed brownish smoke coming from the No. "Dec. 10. 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. . On June 12, 1924, there was an explosion in the USS Mississippi's No. It was one of the worst disasters suffered by the Navy during peacetime. Politics. Assigned to Task Group 58.2, the battleship supported operations in the Marshall Islands in January 1944 including the invasion of Kwajalein. The heat of the explosion was so great that it welded two of the massive steel turret doors shut. His work has appeared in Popular Mechanics, Esquire, The National Interest, Car and Driver, Men's Health, and many others. The battleships three remaining turrets continued firing until the naval support phase of the invasion had ended. The firing rocked the whole harbor district, shattering windows and critically injuring four men who were caught behind the recoiling gun. Ward Carroll, a naval aviator who was a spokesman for the Naval Safety Center at the time. Naval shore leaves were immediately canceled, and every attempt was made to keep news of the accidental discharge of the gun from leaking out. In fact, the Iowa did so poorly on its first inspection that it was recommended to be decommissioned. Even before the sailors caskets could be shipped to their hometowns, the court of inquiry was underway. 2 was set to fire its trio of 16-inch guns, an explosion ripped through it, killing 47 sailors. RLoret 1 yr. ago. Smoldering material left in the gun had ignited the powder charge of the next shot. During the latter operation, on 29 November 1943, Mississippi experienced another turret explosion, which took 43 lives. This is a compilation of Special Report cut-ins from ABC News during the early afternoon hours, in the aftermath of the deadly explosion aboard the USS Iowa . 24 were killed. If Germany has declared war on the U.S., they should be bombing Iceland soon.". Returning to Pearl Harbor in March 1943, . Repulse have gone down. The explosion tore through the No. 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 . "Then approximately two minutes later, I recognized Senior Chief [Reginald] Ziegler, who was the chief in charge of Turret 2, yell into the phones: 'Fire, fire, fire! A new method in the launch of ship-based aircraft was displayed with the explosive-powered catapult launch of a Martin MO-1 observation plane from the forward turret of the USS Mississippi. She also featured twelve 5-inch/51 caliber guns, eight 3-inch anti-aircraft guns and two submerged 21-inch torpedo tubes. But it soon became apparent that the World War II-era battleships required too much time, money, and manpower to be overhauled, Carroll said. "Cover-up aboard the USS Iowa" (PDF). 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. She spent most of 1942 along the U.S. west coast and went to the South Pacific late in that year. You might like to see my original copy of the Memorial Address. 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. 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. Although each barrel was blasted between firings with pressurized air to evacuate debris, the middle barrel of each turret received a lower pressure burst than the left and right barrels. 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. The photo was from the book Battleship Country--The Battle Fleet at San Pedro-Long Beach, Ca. 2. BB-41 suffered another turret explosion killing 43 men 20 November 1943 off Makin Island. Here is a portion of a realphoto postcard showing the removal of the dead once the ship returned to port. The shell flew harmlessly out to sea. Following repairs, she participated in the capture of Kwajalein in February 1944 and bombarded Japanese-held islands in February and March. The battleship was damaged by suicide planes in both operations. It was a foreseeable result of lack of training and the running . Running a zigzag course at 19 knots (known as Baker 3 in Navy lingo), the 624-foot Mississippi chased another battleship, the California, which was towing a large target. The World War II Database is founded and managed by A tragic reminder the costs of peace time training can be paid by lives as well. According to the findings from a 1944 investigation by the Navy's Bureau of Ordnance, the explosion in turret No. 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. After overhaul at San Francisco. Thank you. Forty-seven coffins were arranged on the field. 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. Reply. This could have led to dangerous debris remaining in the breech when the gun crew assumed it was safe to load. Even $1 per month will go a long way! During the mid-1950s, she was test ship for the Navy's first surface-to-air guided missile, the "Terrier". 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). "They were trying to build up the Navy. 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. 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. His career ruined, Brotherton spent his last years a broken man. I was on active duty at that time. 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. The U.S.A. is now at war with Germany, Japan, and Italy. Facts later emerged that undermined the Navy's first investigation into the explosion, Truitt said. 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 . Funeral services were held June 17 on Trona Field at San Pedro. Sign up for a new account in our community. The MISSISSIPPI was part of the covering force for convoys and lines of communications in the North Atlantic. Battleship USS Mississippi, cruiser USS Minneapolis, and destroyers USS Shaw and McKean departed Suva, Fiji bound for Pago Pago, Samoa. 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