Here is one of my postings from another collecting forum. 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. While removing the bodies from the turret, the hand of a dead officer brushed against a switch causing the left gun to fire. 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. On 19 April 1989, the Number Two 16-inch gun turret of the United States Navy battleship USS Iowa (BB-61) exploded. 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. I think it was a terrible, terrific tragedy that we had. 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. US National Archives and Records Administration. During the latter operation, on 29 November 1943, Mississippi experienced another turret explosion, which took 43 lives . Does anyone know or have a list of the sailors killed in the Nov. 1943 #2 turret explosion on the USS Mississippi? 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. On the back, he marked the place where each body was found! She was present in Tokyo Bay on 2 September 1945, when Japan formally surrendered and returned to the United States soon thereafter. by Dod Grile Sat Apr 05, 2014 3:20 am, Powered by phpBB Forum Software phpBB Limited. The old warship was decommissioned in 1956, sold for scrap. "Dec. 10. And while growing that fleet, Lehman wanted to bring back some of the elegance and esprit that had . Even before the sailors caskets could be shipped to their hometowns, the court of inquiry was underway. They have been throwing torpedoes at us for the past four months. The new Mississippi displaced 32,000 tons, could make 21 knots, and carried twelve 14 . 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. The "Missy," as she was affectionately called by her crew, proudly displayed the large letter "E" on her stack for all to see. Very informative. 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. Published April 02, 2018 09:40:36. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. German dive bombers would sink both ships in the spring of 1941. This need not have happened. USS Mississippi was decommissioned from service. -23), the erstwhile Normandie, pride of the Compagnie . They further claimed Hartwig became suicidal because he and Truitt who was married at the time had been lovers but Truitt had rebuffed him. The Invasion of Lingayen Gulf (Filipino: Paglusob sa Golpo ng Lingayen), 6-9 January 1945, was an Allied amphibious operation in the Philippines during World War II.In the early morning of 6 January 1945, a large Allied force commanded by Admiral Jesse B. Oldendorf began approaching the shores of Lingayen from Lingayen Gulf, on the island of Luzon. The mighty warship was 624 feet long with a beam of 97.5 feet, and displaced 33,000 tons fully loaded. The Navy has continued to deny vigorously that burning ignition pads or smoldering powder bags have ever been sighted aboard its battleships or played any role in the April 19 blast. 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 USS Iowa turret explosion occurred in the Number Two 16inch gun turret of the United States Navy battleship USSIowa(BB61) on 19 April 1989. Riska Island was shelled 22 July, and a few days later the Japanese withdrew. It was during this period, when on special training maneuvers, that tragedy struck the ship. The ceremony was held at San Pedro, California on 17 June 1924. How to find the best blooms without the drama, Nature-curious? In 2009 he cofounded the defense and security blog Japan Security Watch. 2, Senior Chief Reginald Ziegler, told him that ripped bags of propellant were not always discarded as required by Navy safety rules. The Oklahoma capsizing is straight dope. From the Washington Naval Treaty to the end of the Second World War. Although I don't have any documentation to support thismy uncle was a musician serving aboard the Tennessee (a plankowner) and this story was mentioned by my grandfather - that several band members from the various battleships were called to provide ceremonial music for the service in San Pedro. Suddenly, in the midst of the barrage, smoke and gas erupted from the rangefinders on either side of the number two turret. Two major investigations were undertaken into the cause of the explosion, one by the U.S. Navy and then one by the General Accounting . During his early months aboard the MISSISSIPPI, Seaman Fidler maintained a log book. The Case of the U.S.S. 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 . 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. 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. They are considered buried at sea by the US Navy. In June 1941, USS Mississippi patrolled the North Atlantic. 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 . Trying to contain it.'". USS Mississippi, a 32,000 ton New Mexico class battleship, was built at Newport News, Virginia. 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. 43 killed, 19 injured. Bipartisan. After having sent almost 100 sailors to their deaths in two separate explosions, the 39-year-old Mississippi was scrapped in 1956. 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. 2. Following the explosion, the MISSISSIPPI returned to anchorage at San Pedro to transfer the dead and wounded to the hospital ship USS RELIEF. The hand of a dead crewman in the number two turret accidentally hit the firing switch for the port gun, firing it. There is also a picture of what I think is the USS MISSISSIPPI. You need to play a total of 20 battles to post in this section. . site is two fold. 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. Prince of Wales and H.M.S. I met my life-long friend Dave Welch, got to experience Fleet Week in NYC, and lived through the turret 2 explosion. Lt. Zellars' body had already been sent to Georgia for burial. 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. Was on board 1943-45. . 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. By lofar_dog, September 14, 2016 in Battleship Era When the Iowa investigation was completed and released on Sept. 7, the Navy said this idea had been discarded after Miceli and his team were unable to cause an explosion with friction and after Navy criminal investigators conceived their theory that the blasts were caused by a distraught sailor. The explosion in the center gun room killed 47 of the turret's crewmen and severely damaged the gun turret itself. 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. "If this story sounds familiar, it's because this is kind of the oldest story ever told around the U.S. Abner Read began sinking by the stern and 20 minutes after the attack, she rolled over and sank. He passed away in 2010. First, it is aiming to offer interesting 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. The flames and gases had overcome the men so quickly that recovery crews found many of the men still at their positions. siege1863, ww2dbaseUSS Mississippi, a 32,000 ton New Mexico class battleship, was built at Newport News, Virginia. 1920's (U.S. Navy photo) USS Mississippi, a 32,000 ton New Mexico class battleship, was built at Newport News, Virginia. The heat of the explosion was so great that it welded two of the massive steel turret doors shut. Capt. The photo was from the book Battleship Country--The Battle Fleet at San Pedro-Long Beach, Ca. The explosion in the center gun room killed 47 of the turret's crewmen and severely damaged the gun turret itself. In 2009 he cofounded the defense and security blogJapan Security Watch. Later, the Navy would honor Zellars by naming a destroyer after him. USSMississippi(BB-41) was the second of three ships of theNew Mexico-classbattleships. . TheIowasubsequently went to the shipyard so its power plant could be improved, but its gun systems weren't updated, he said. Mississippiwas a heavily armed battleship by the standards of the day. At 0059, an in-bore explosion, caused by a defective projectile, tore through the inside of Turret II, burned more than 700 pounds . If Germany has declared war on the U.S., they should be bombing Iceland soon.". "I was like: OK; I'll bite; why? 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 goal of this Find the perfect uss mississippi stock photo, image, vector, illustration or 360 image. C. Peter Chen of Lava Development, LLC. National Security. 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. 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. Lt. Bruce Coles, a spokesman for the Navy, this week discounted the similarities between the accidents aboard the Iowa and the Mississippi. 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