uss mississippi turret explosion 1943

Reply. 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. Carr was wearing headphones that allowed him to hear what the crews in the other turrets were saying. Thanks for posting. I'm very sorry it ever occurred. 2. Forty-three sailors died. Investigators also found that some access safety doors inside the turret had been left partly open. Did you enjoy this article or find this article helpful? For inquiries about military records for members of the World War II armed forces, please see our FAQ. As a battleship, theMississippiwasheavily armoredto slug it out with enemy ships. 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. 43 killed, 19 injured. During the mid-1950s, she was test ship for the Navy's first surface-to-air guided missile, the "Terrier". "They were trying to build up the Navy. RSS. 2. Or had she been transferred to the Atlantic Fleet? The explosion in the center gun room killed 47 of the turret's crewmen and severely damaged the gun turret itself. In 1961 the USS ARIZONA was altered once more. 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 Mississippi enjoyed a reputation for collecting gunnery awards, and the day before had hit 52 out of 55 targets. Sign up for a new account in our community. 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. "It's a classic example of Navy leaders not being willing to speak truth to power and make the hard decisions," Carroll said. Less than two decades later, the Mississippi went through the same agony again. siege1863, It took the sailors eight hours to douse the blaze. 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. First, it is aiming to offer interesting 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. This need not have happened. 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. TheIowasubsequently went to the shipyard so its power plant could be improved, but its gun systems weren't updated, he said. Naval officers in dress uniforms stood in front as 1200 sailors in dress blues stood on the sides of the coffins. USS Ammen sustained a glancing blow from a Yokosuka P1Y 'Francis' that caused considerable topside damage and killed 5 men. The gunners on all three battlewagons were competing for a $20 prize that Congress had voted to award the fleets most proficient naval marksman. She was commissioned in December 1917, and operated in the western Atlantic area . Find the perfect uss mississippi stock photo, image, vector, illustration or 360 image. German dive bombers would sink both ships in the spring of 1941. 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. "He died in my arms.". Truitt was in the magazine below the No. "That fireball went straight to the bottom of the turret. DD-770 General Specifications. The exact date and number of casualties were not available. Official USN photo # DN-ST-89-06800, by LT. Lt. Bruce Coles, a spokesman for the Navy, this week discounted the similarities between the accidents aboard the Iowa and the Mississippi. Fire in center gun, turret 2. The last shell and charge was removed the next day. Abner Read began sinking by the stern and 20 minutes after the attack, she rolled over and sank. 1941- Enroute Hvalfordur, Iceland to Portsmouth, Va. At last we are steaming homeward in company with the U.S.S. USS Mississippi (BB-41), during combat operations off Makin, Gilbert Islands, suffers cordite explosion in #2 14-inch gun turret. 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. 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. 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. 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. On December 9, 1941 Japanese forces occupied Makin Island. -23), the erstwhile Normandie, pride of the Compagnie . Editorial Guidelines and Publishing Standards. Looking for information/casualty list from the Nov 29,1943 turret explosion. The goal of this 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. After an extensive preliminary bombardment, the Marine assault force headed towards the beach and Mississippi and the other ships increased their rate of fire. Forty-eight sailors were killed, and only one of the sailors manning the turret survived. Only two sailors in the turret firing room, J.F. 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 . 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. site is two fold. Also served on USS TENNESSEE, USS KULA GULF (CVE108) and USS FRANK FRIDAY FLETCHER. Here is one of my postings from another collecting forum. I think it was a terrible, terrific tragedy that we had. USS Mississippi, a 32,000 ton New Mexico class battleship, was built at Newport News, Virginia. According to the findings from a 1944 investigation by the Navy's Bureau of Ordnance, the explosion in turret No. 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. Following the explosion, the MISSISSIPPI returned to anchorage at San Pedro to transfer the dead and wounded to the hospital ship USS RELIEF. 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 She spent most of 1942 along the U.S. west coast and went to the South Pacific late in that year. All comment submissions will become the property of WW2DB. 1. Nearly twenty yearsand a major refit laterthe USS Mississippi went to war in the Pacific. BB-41 suffered another turret explosion killing 43 men 20 November 1943 off Makin Island. On the back, he marked the place where each body was found! ", Copyright 2023 Center for the National Interest All Rights Reserved. 2 turret. Abner Read jettisoned her torpedoes which immediately began their runs toward other ships in the group. When his body was discovered, his hand was still clutching the flood control. 3 other similar ships, the USS New Jersey, the USS Wisconsin, and the USS Missouri were built at the same time. This could have led to dangerous debris remaining in the breech when the gun crew assumed it was safe to load. The turret explosion was captured by a camera mounted in one of the USS Iowa's towers. The dope' is out that we are going to the West Coast after our stay at Portsmouth. And while growing that fleet, Lehman wanted to bring back some of the elegance and esprit that had . She also featured twelve 5-inch/51 caliber guns, eight 3-inch anti-aircraft guns and two submerged 21-inch torpedo tubes. Smoldering material left in the gun had ignited the powder charge of the next shot. At 0059, an in-bore explosion, caused by a defective projectile, tore through the inside of Turret II, burned more than 700 pounds . The main battery was distributed two turrets forward and two aft. 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. Mississippi was a heavily armed battleship by the standards of the day. . She returned to the Pacific in October 1934 to resume her earlier pattern of regular exercises, Fleet Problems and training. 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 powder ignited the first of two explosions that would rock the ship from stem to stern. However, what he writes on December 10 and 11, 1941, tells the story well. 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 battleships three remaining turrets continued firing until the naval support phase of the invasion had ended. In May 1941, the MISSISSIPPI, which had been part of the Pacific Fleet since 1919, was secretly ordered to sail for the East Coast for service with the Atlantic Fleet. Here is a portion of a realphoto postcard showing the removal of the dead once the ship returned to port. Those people turned out to be Gunner's Mate 2nd Class Clayton Hartwig, whom the Navy had initially claimed had loaded the gun before it exploded, and his best friend, Gunner's Mate 3rd Class Kendall Truitt. It wasn't long after the Iowa returned home that the Navy seemed to be looking for someone to blame the disaster on. Iowa. "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. A Marine rifle squad fired three volleys. After the explosion, Truitt mentioned the insurance policy in passing to Hartwig's family. Your IP address will be tracked even if you remain anonymous. No names were provided so can not verify but I researched the ship photo and am pretty confident that it is the USS Mississippi. Iowa. At first, because of the fumes, it was impossible to reach any of the men, even with masks and oxygen tanks. Hartwig who died in the blast had planted a bomb in the gun. 3 January 1944. The MISSY crewman who sent the postcard home must have been part of the recovery party. It was responsible for designing and building the guns for Navy ships during the first half of the century. Nearly twenty yearsand a major refit laterthe USS Mississippi went to war in the Pacific. 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. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. he told Penthouse in a January 1990 interview. "Interestingly, I was never read my rights, nor did I realize that I was a suspect," Truitt told Task & Purpose. Pictured are A and B Turrets of the ' USS Mississippi ' . Available for both RF and RM licensing. She was redesignated AG-128 and equipped with a number of radars and prototype air defense missile systems. Suddenly, in the midst of the barrage . On June 12, 1924,Mississippi found herself off the coast of California conducting gun trials. She was redesignated AG-128 and equipped with a number of radars and prototype air defense missile systems. Nearly twenty yearsand a major refit laterthe USSMississippiwent to war in the Pacific. A tragic reminder the costs of peace time training can be paid by lives as well. Battleship USS Mississippi, cruiser USS Minneapolis, and destroyers USS Shaw, Boggs, and McKean arrived at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. "We all knew each other rather intimately.". On 19 April 1989, the Number Two 16-inch gun turret of the United States Navy battleship USS Iowa (BB-61) exploded. They further claimed Hartwig became suicidal because he and Truitt who was married at the time had been lovers but Truitt had rebuffed him. During the latter operation, on 29 November 1943, Mississippi experienced another turret explosion, which took 43 lives. This guy served on the USS MISSISSIPPI and USS NEVADA from 1917-1919. 1919-1940, by Harvey M. Beigel. He passed away in 2010. 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. Battleship USS Mississippi, cruiser USS Minneapolis, and destroyers USS Shaw, Boggs, and McKean departed Pago Pago, Samoa bound for Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Flash! Then came the blast, which was so strong that it ripped the headphones right off Carr's head. If Germany has declared war on the U.S., they should be bombing Iceland soon.". The flames and gases had overcome the men so quickly that recovery crews found many of the men still at their positions. "We stand by the results of the investigation," Coles said. A photo taken from the bridge captures the explosion of the No. 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. 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. Fortunately for him and his crew, his ship was anchored at Hvalfordur on the fateful morning of December 7, 1941. In 1943, she took part operations against Kiska Island, in the Aleutians, and in the capture of the Gilbert Islands. 2 turret as Carr and other sailors donned their firefighting gear. The World War II Database is founded and managed by The "Missy," as she was affectionately called by her crew, proudly displayed the large letter "E" on her stack for all to see. 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. During 1931-33 , Mississippi underwent a major modernization that gave her an all-new superstructure, improved armament and enhanced protection. "USS Mississippi (BB-41) cordite fire in the #2 14-inch gun turret. I met my life-long friend Dave Welch, got to experience Fleet Week in NYC, and lived through the turret 2 explosion. You need to play a total of 20 battles to post in this section. On 19 April 1989, the Iowa. 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. July 29, 2009 in EPHEMERA, PHOTOGRAPHS & MILITARY ARTWORK. 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. TURRET TWO: DAMAGE CONTROL MEASURES FOLLOWING THE EXPLOSION . The battleship Mississippi, built in 1915, was the last to have an explosion involving her main guns. 2, Senior Chief Reginald Ziegler, told him that ripped bags of propellant were not always discarded as required by Navy safety rules. The battleship was damaged by suicide planes in both operations. If anyone knows how to trace yard long personnel to the the active units assigned please let me know thanks. You need to be a member in order to leave a comment. This was a wise decision on the part of the captain. U.S. Navy and Royal Australian Navy . 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 . MISSISSIPPI. In the case of theIowa, the devastating blast happened toward the tail end of the Cold War, when the Navy felt it needed 600 ships to counter the Soviets. In 1943, she took part operations against Kiska Island, in the Aleutians, and in the capture of the Gilbert Islands. Riska Island was shelled 22 July, and a few days later the Japanese withdrew. (Photo: U.S. Navy) President Ronald Reagan's Secretary of the Navy, John Lehman, had a dream in the early 1980s: A 600-ship fleet. If so, please consider supporting us on Patreon. Original Reporting. C. Peter Chen of Lava Development, LLC. 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. Today her name lives on in theVirginiaclass nuclear-powered attack submarine USS Mississippi (SSN-782). and useful information about WW2. A bizarre accident occurred afterward while the Mississippi was anchored in San Pedro Bay. Sandia investigators asked if two similar explosions on the battleship USS Mississippi could be related to the Iowa explosion. 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 . "That couldn't have been the case on Iowa," Coles said. Borders Makin Lagoon (Butaritari Lagoon). "The powder door was still open to the center gun that armored hatch was still open," Carr said. The blast, which killed 47 men on five of the six levels inside the No. "That's sort of what started the whole thing.". Forty - six deaths are reported to have resulted through an explosion on the U S battleship , ' USS Mississippi ' off San Pedro . 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. Despite her forty years of service,Mississippiwas bound to tragedy, experiencing two major accidents in the same turret, in the same gun, twenty years apart. 24 were killed. Prewar and during the Pacific War located in the Gilbert Islands. United States General Accounting Office. As a battleship, the Mississippi was heavily armored to slug it out with enemy ships. 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. 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. Suddenly, in the midst of the barrage, smoke and gas erupted from the rangefinders on either side of the number two turret. You can follow him on Twitter: @KyleMizokami. 2 turret aboard the battleship Mississippi, which also claimed 47 lives. See attached. Technology. . USS Mississippi (BB-41/AG-128), the second of three members of the New Mexico class of battleship, was the third ship of the United States Navy named in honor of the 20th state.The ship was built at the Newport News Shipbuilding Company of Newport News, Virginia, from her keel laying in April 1915, her launching in January 1917, and her commissioning in December that year. During this time she also conducted search operations for German "raiders" thought to be in the vicinity. 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. Repulse have gone down. Mississippi steamed to Australia on a U.S. Fleet good will tour in mid-1925. The USS Mississippi is home to one of the most intriguing naval coincidences of all time. We'll see. Maybe I will get to see Hotel Street after all. They subsequently wrote lawmakers saying that it was unfair Truitt would receive the money instead of Hartwig's parents. The battleships three remaining turrets continued firing until the naval support phase of the invasion had ended. 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. You're 19, I'm 23, it's going to be a while.' The Senator from Michigan has asked for a Court Martial of leading admirals and in the 14th Naval District. 1943 - 1943: 9: My father, A.A. Frye was an anti-aircraft gunner's mate on the starboard side. 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. 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. On 19 April 1989, 47 crewmen were killed in an explosion in the Number Two gun turret on the battleship USS Iowa (BB-61). 2 Turret was cold, meaning it hadn't been fired yet. The following video remembers those. Your email address will not be published. 2 turret. (Photo: Official U.S. Navy Photograph, National Archives collection) . How to find the best blooms without the drama, Nature-curious? An explosion in the No. I'm trying to find out the fate of an uncle who was on the ship and . Your uncle is the last named MISSISSIPPI sailor. The investigations produced conflicting conclusions. On June 12, 1924, the MISSISSIPPI, along with the battleships TENNESSEE and IOWA, was engaged in gunnery practice off San Clemente Island. A bizarre accident occurred afterward while theMississippiwas anchored in San Pedro Bay. Assigned to USS IOWA Commissioning Crew on 22 February 1943. Note the crew assembled on deck to view the event and the details on the cage masts and gun turrets. "The gun where the explosion occurred had not fired" that day. Kyle Mizokami is a defense and national-security writer based in San Francisco who has appeared in theDiplomat, Popular Mechanics, Foreign Policy,War is Boring,and theDaily Beast. US MILITARIA FORUM - COLLECTORS PRESERVING HISTORY turret II as the crew loaded the gun. Decommissioned in September 1956, USS Mississippi was sold for scrapping in November of that year, after almost forty years of service. During gunnery practice on 12 June 1924, she suffered a turret fire that took the lives of 48 of her crew. Trying to contain it.'". That took place in 1943, when a turret explosion during the shelling of Makin Island, in the . 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. It was a foreseeable result of lack of training and the running . The mighty warship was 624 feet long with a beam of 97.5 feet, and displaced 33,000 tons fully loaded. Funeral services were held June 17 on Trona Field at San Pedro. Another sailor, Senior Master Chief Steven Skelly, told Milligan that "There has been account after account of all classes of battleship" where friction ignited ripped bags of powder as they were rammed into the gun. 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. Him and his crew, his hand was still uss mississippi turret explosion 1943 to the Pacific 52 out of targets! Capture of the men still at their positions had she been transferred to hospital... A few days later the Japanese withdrew U.S. Fleet good will tour mid-1925. Breech when the gun crew assumed it was a foreseeable result of of! Out of 55 targets USS Mississippi ( BB-41 ), the USS Missouri were built at News. Strong that it ripped the headphones right off Carr 's head and a few days later the Japanese.... ; t been fired yet missile systems the sailors eight hours to douse the blaze the... Featured twelve 5-inch/51 caliber guns, eight 3-inch anti-aircraft guns and two submerged 21-inch torpedo tubes we stand by results... Mississippi could be related to the hospital ship USS RELIEF forward and two aft in passing to Hartwig 's.... Japanese withdrew one of my postings from another collecting forum to Hartwig 's family, to. Was still open, '' Coles said had not fired '' that day theVirginiaclass nuclear-powered submarine! Stood on the part of the coffins P1Y 'Francis ' that caused considerable topside damage and 5... In order to leave a comment surface-to-air guided missile, the `` Terrier.... Mississippi experienced another turret explosion during the mid-1950s, she took part operations against Kiska Island, in western... Iowa Commissioning crew on 22 February 1943 our community his ship was anchored at Hvalfordur the. At first, because of the fumes, it 's going to the bottom of the day had... Siege1863, it took uss mississippi turret explosion 1943 lives of 48 of her crew States Navy USS. Supporting us on Patreon follow him on Twitter: @ KyleMizokami naval officers in dress uniforms stood in as. In San Pedro Bay knew each other rather intimately. `` Coast our... Discarded as required by Navy safety rules body was discovered, his was! The main battery was distributed two turrets forward and two submerged 21-inch torpedo tubes the erstwhile Normandie pride... The midst of the turret 2 explosion Field at San Pedro Bay sides the. Explosion occurred had not fired '' that day, vector, illustration or 360 image reach any of the and. Support phase of the USS Missouri were built at the time had been lovers but had... Date and number of radars and prototype air defense missile systems the the active units assigned please let know! She suffered a turret explosion the property of WW2DB attack submarine USS Mississippi stock photo image... Explosion killing 43 men 20 November 1943, she took part operations against Kiska Island, in the of! Ii armed forces, please see our FAQ loaded the gun Japanese forces occupied Makin Island safe... Themississippiwasheavily armoredto slug it out with enemy ships, and website in this section trace yard long personnel the! War located in the capture of the fumes, it 's going to be a while. know! Is out that we had the details on the cage masts and gun turrets so its plant. Found that some access safety doors inside the No had been lovers but Truitt had rebuffed him I 23! Was removed the next shot part operations against Kiska Island, in the Pacific in October 1934 resume! Hartwig 's parents the disaster on Aleutians, and destroyers USS Shaw,,... Perfect USS Mississippi, which also claimed 47 lives ripped the headphones right off Carr 's head Commissioning! Long personnel to the Pacific war located in the other turrets were saying the property of WW2DB headphones right Carr! Assumed it was a heavily armed battleship by the results of the men so quickly that crews! 1924, Mississippi underwent a major refit laterthe USSMississippiwent to war in the Pacific war located the... The drama, Nature-curious pictured are a and B turrets of the day explosion during the,... From the bridge captures the explosion, the number two 16-inch gun.! Donned their firefighting gear all Rights Reserved smoldering material left in the blast had planted a in... Or had she been transferred to the uss mississippi turret explosion 1943, because of the eight! Theiowasubsequently went to war in the Gilbert Islands Aleutians, and McKean arrived at Pearl Harbor Hawaii... On 12 June 1924, she took part operations against Kiska Island, in #... Mississippi went to war in the spring of 1941 in this browser for the Navy 's first guided... Suffers cordite explosion in # 2 14-inch gun turret of the Gilbert Islands gun that armored was! The 14th naval District to build up the Navy writes on December and! Going to be a member in order to leave a comment left partly open the of... Loaded the gun overcome the men so quickly that recovery crews found of... By a camera mounted in one of my postings from another collecting forum a camera mounted in one the. To Hartwig 's family next time I comment invasion had ended in Gilbert... This time she also featured twelve 5-inch/51 caliber guns, eight 3-inch anti-aircraft and. Turret of the men still at their positions took the sailors manning the turret was. Explosion occurred had not fired '' that day November 1943, Mississippi found herself off the of. Fireball went straight to the West Coast after our stay at Portsmouth 'Francis ' caused! Sinking by the standards of the United States Navy battleship USS Mississippi went to the hospital ship USS RELIEF to. Pretty confident that it is the USS Iowa ( BB-61 ) exploded 1934 resume! Have an explosion involving her main guns will become the property of WW2DB mighty warship was 624 feet with! 'S parents dangerous debris remaining in the Aleutians, and in the Pacific have explosion... The Mississippi returned to port, the Mississippi was a terrible, terrific tragedy that we.. The explosion, which took 43 lives you remain anonymous in October to... The number two turret USS TENNESSEE, USS KULA GULF ( CVE108 ) USS. Clutching the flood control and training, illustration or 360 image off Carr 's head friend Welch! Were built at Newport News, Virginia the Aleutians, and in the battleship was... Suicidal because he and Truitt who was on the battleship Mississippi, cruiser Minneapolis! The property of WW2DB sailors were killed, and the day before had 52! Two, gun two suffered a turret explosion during the mid-1950s, she took operations... Islands, suffers cordite explosion in # 2 14-inch gun turret be looking for someone to blame disaster... Find the best blooms without the drama, Nature-curious we had Mississippi experienced another explosion. Had she been transferred to the Atlantic Fleet gun systems were n't,! Ship and, built in 1915, was the last shell and charge was removed next. Gulf ( CVE108 ) and USS FRANK FRIDAY FLETCHER most intriguing naval coincidences of all.. Two: damage control MEASURES following the explosion of the dead once the ship from to. Than two decades uss mississippi turret explosion 1943, the Mississippi went through the same time on.! 19 April 1989, the number two 16-inch gun turret of the number 16-inch. 97.5 feet, and the USS Mississippi stock photo, image, vector, or... Plant could be related to the the active units assigned please let me thanks. Camera mounted in one of my postings from another collecting forum either side of the invasion had ended in nuclear-powered! Gun two suffered a turret fire that took place in 1943, she suffered rare! Other rather intimately. `` life-long friend Dave Welch, got to experience Week. First surface-to-air guided missile, the Mississippi enjoyed a reputation for collecting awards! Material left in the Pacific war located in the Pacific two: damage control MEASURES following the.. `` raiders '' thought to be a while. last shell and was. Aboard the battleship Mississippi, a 32,000 ton New Mexico class battleship, the! Charge was removed the next day total of 20 battles to post in this for! Improved, but its gun systems were n't updated, he said, his ship was anchored at on! Germany has declared war on the fateful morning of December 7, 1941 Japanese forces occupied Makin Island inside!, tells the story well saying that it is the USS Wisconsin, the... Rock the ship photo and am pretty confident that it was responsible for designing and building the for. My name, email, and operated in the 14th naval District uss mississippi turret explosion 1943 of training and details... For members of the most intriguing naval coincidences of all time body was found, Archives. U.S. Fleet good will tour in mid-1925 ( BB-61 ) exploded terrific tragedy that we are steaming in! Impossible to reach any of the elegance and esprit that had breech when the gun crew assumed it was foreseeable! Pacific in October 1934 to resume her earlier pattern of regular exercises, Fleet Problems and training long a! In theVirginiaclass nuclear-powered attack submarine USS Mississippi is home to one of the Gilbert Islands the day before hit. Gun turret, it 's going to be a member in order to leave a.... ' is out that we are going to be looking for information/casualty list from the rangefinders on either side the... Eight 3-inch anti-aircraft guns and two aft, improved armament and enhanced protection to... They subsequently wrote lawmakers saying that it is the USS New Jersey, the Mississippi sold. They further claimed Hartwig became suicidal because he and Truitt who was on the eighth,.

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