Brotherton knew something was drastically wrong when he noticed brownish smoke coming from the No. Ziegler told Dunn that "he used torn powder bags and merely scooped up the loose grains and threw them into the gun behind the bags, then closed the breach and fired," those records quote Dunn as telling Navy investigators. Reply. "I just thought they had some really strange questions for what I assumed was an honest attempt at an investigation.". During World War II, in November 1943, while bombarding the Makin Islands in the Pacific, it experienced another . DD-770 General Specifications. Original Reporting. 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. "If this story sounds familiar, it's because this is kind of the oldest story ever told around the U.S. 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 . 2, the ship was anchored just inside the breakwater. 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. Battleship Mississippi (BB-41) Interactive Map. Australian news report on the USS . Also served on USS TENNESSEE, USS KULA GULF (CVE108) and USS FRANK FRIDAY FLETCHER. A bizarre accident occurred afterward while theMississippiwas anchored in San Pedro Bay. Mississippi. It's been 30 years since an explosion inside the number two gun turret on the USSIowakilled 47 American sailors, but for Mike Carr, it still feels like yesterday. 138 killed and 60 injured. Although it contains mostly notes and drawings related to his continued training on the ship, there are two very interesting and significant entries. 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. (Photo: Official U.S. Navy Photograph, National Archives collection) . You might like to see my original copy of the Memorial Address. The yard long is dated 1942. It was also clear that each 16-inch gun turret required more sailors than the Navy could afford to assign. Borders Makin Lagoon (Butaritari Lagoon). 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. Flash! Or had she been transferred to the Atlantic Fleet? Undergoing repairs, Mississippi returned to action in January 1944 when it provided fire . additional photos - based on the camo pattern I believe the photo is from 1944. Seaman First Class Fidler was just seventeen years old when the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor brought the U.S. fully into the war. 48 killed. Hartwig's father had seen combat in the Navy as a gunner's mate, Truitt said. Forty-eight sailors were killed, and only one of the sailors manning the turret survived. 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. 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. 43 killed, 19 injured. USS Mississippi, a 32,000 ton New Mexico class battleship, was built at Newport News, Virginia. Suddenly, in the midst of the barrage, smoke and gas erupted from the rangefinders on either side of the number two turret. Assigned to USS IOWA Commissioning Crew on 22 February 1943. RSS. Powered by Invision Community, USS MISSISSIPPI (BB-41) 1924 Turret Explosion, US MILITARIA FORUM - COLLECTORS PRESERVING HISTORY. Despite knowing how to solve the problem, the same accident happened two times over 20 years. USS Mississippi (BB-41, later AG-128), 1917-1956, DANFS - Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, Permitting Policy and Resource Management, The 9/11 Terrorist Attacks: 20 Years Later, "Ex Scientia Tridens": The U.S. USS Mississippi (BB41AG128), the second of three members of the New Mexicoclass, was the third ship of the United States Navy named in honor of the 20th state. For inquiries about military records for members of the World War II armed forces, please see our FAQ. USS Mississippi, a 32,000 ton New Mexico class battleship, was built at Newport News, Virginia. BB-41 suffered another turret explosion killing 43 men 20 November 1943 off Makin Island. "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. "Thus helping Kendall suddenly become a suspect," Truitt said. She was redesignated AG-128 and equipped with a number of radars and prototype air defense missile systems. After an extensive preliminary bombardment, the Marine assault force headed towards the beach andMississippiand the other ships increased their rate of fire. The 1943 incident was virtually identical, and the Bureau of Ordnance . 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 . siege1863, She arrived at Norfolk, Virginia, in June but soon shifted her base to Newport, Rhode Island. He already had policies that named his parents and another friend as beneficiaries. Your email address will not be published. Am trying to find information of awards/medals that might have been awarded. ", Copyright 2023 Center for the National Interest All Rights Reserved. 2s 14-inch guns went off again. While bombarding Makin 20 November, a turret explosion, almost identical to the earlier tragedy, killed 43 men. by paul.mercer Fri Apr 04, 2014 9:12 am, Post USS Ammen sustained a glancing blow from a Yokosuka P1Y 'Francis' that caused considerable topside damage and killed 5 men. 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. Politics. 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. 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. The Mississippi enjoyed a reputation for collecting gunnery awards, and the day before had hit 52 out of 55 targets. It's easy! I heard they are going to put up a telephone line from Portsmouth, Virginia, to Hvalfordur, Iceland, using the periscopes for poles. 2 turret aboard the battleship Mississippi, which also claimed 47 lives. Mississippi was instrumental in the testing and eventual fielding of the Convair RIM-2 Terrier, the U.S. Navys first surface-to-air missile. 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 MISSISSIPPI and her sister ships of Battleship Division Three represented most of the remaining battleship strength in the U.S. Navy. The battleship would continue participating mainly in training exercises until the 1940s. July 29, 2009 in EPHEMERA, PHOTOGRAPHS & MILITARY ARTWORK. After taking the remainder of 1943 to complete shakedown and training activities, New Jersey then transited the Panama Canal and reported for combat operations at Funafuti in the Pacific. 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. The military eats their own it takes a while to realize that.". 2 Turret was cold, meaning it hadn't been fired yet. I said, again, this is weird. "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. 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. The investigations produced conflicting conclusions. 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. After the explosion, Truitt mentioned the insurance policy in passing to Hartwig's family. Iowa . This first appeared in 2019. Was on board 1943-45. . 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. In this role, she carried a variety of old and new guns and radars, while serving with the Operational Development Force in the Atlantic. During the latter operation, on 29 November 1943, Mississippi experienced another turret explosion, which took 43 lives . 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. USS Mississippi arrived at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard for an overhaul. Luckily, the fire did not set off the powder bags in the other two guns. USS Turner (DD-648) sank in New York harbor following a series of ammunition explosions. It was during this period, when on special training maneuvers, that tragedy struck the ship. After the war,Mississippiwas effectively defanged, with three of her four main battery turrets removed. 1. "I was like: OK; I'll bite; why? The USS Mississippi is home to one of the most intriguing naval coincidences of all time. Navy officials said this week the report on the Mississippi was authentic, but pointed out that it was later overruled by higher-ranking investigators. 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. USS Mississippi was commissioned into service. All comment submissions will become the property of WW2DB. No names were provided so can not verify but I researched the ship photo and am pretty confident that it is the USS Mississippi. Nov 1, 2021, 1:18 PM. Kyle Mizokami is a defense and national-security writer based in San Fransisco. Leaving Norfolk in early January 1942, she then transited the Panama Canal and arrived at San Francisco Harbor two weeks later. He is the founder and editor for the blogs Japan Security Watch, Asia Security Watch and War Is Boring. This need not have happened. At roughly one horsepower per ton, she was not terribly fast, with a top speed of just twenty-one knots. By Following the explosion, the MISSISSIPPI returned to anchorage at San Pedro to transfer the dead and wounded to the hospital ship USS RELIEF. Battleship USS Mississippi, cruiser USS Minneapolis, and destroyers USS Shaw and McKean arrived at Pago Pago, Samoa. It took the sailors eight hours to douse the blaze. The battleship Mississippi, built in 1915, was the last to have an explosion involving her main guns. 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. 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. Looking for information/casualty list from the Nov 29,1943 turret explosion. Mississippiwas a heavily armed battleship by the standards of the day. While at Navy Federal, bankers told Hartwig that buying an extra life insurance policy would only cost $4 per month. Because there were still unfired rounds in the other two guns of Turret No. Several salvos were fired by each ship, but then there was trouble with "Missy's" number two turret. While removing the bodies from the turret, the hand of a dead officer brushed against a switch causing the left gun to fire. United States General Accounting Office. Answer (1 of 4): Note: When a Turret accident of this magnitude, or a penetrating hit from a shell, occurs, everyone dies. She was bombed from the air. . On 20 November the Mississippi suffered an explosion in a main turret, killing 43 men. Nearly twenty yearsand a major refit laterthe USS Mississippi went to war in the Pacific. It wasn't long after the Iowa returned home that the Navy seemed to be looking for someone to blame the disaster on. 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. A tragic reminder the costs of peace time training can be paid by lives as well. 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. USS Mississippi (BB-41), during combat operations off Makin, Gilbert Islands, suffers cordite explosion in #2 14-inch gun turret. 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. . 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). It said this conclusion was reached even though test mixtures of black powder and propellant were ignited by friction, "but only negative, although not conclusive, results were had from elaborate and extensive tests with an actual rammer.". -23), the erstwhile Normandie, pride of the Compagnie . 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). "That's sort of what started the whole thing.". The right gun had just fired and was returned to loading position and the plug opened. Battleships USS Idaho, USS Mississippi, and USS New Mexico, escorted by 2 cruisers and 13 destroyers, were dispatched to patrol the Denmark Strait to protect American merchant shipping. 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. The World War II Database is founded and managed by 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. Decommissioned in September 1956, USS Mississippi was sold for scrapping in November of that year, after almost forty years of service. The last explosion was so strong that it blew the turret's two-ton hatch off its hinges and into the water, he said. The damaged 33,000-ton dreadnought headed back to port. April 20, 1989. ww2dbaseIn early 1942, after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Mississippi rejoined the Pacific Fleet. 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. 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. Don't worry about collecting. The Case of the U.S.S. National Security. During this time she also conducted search operations for German "raiders" thought to be in the vicinity. 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. 1943 - 1943: 9: My father, A.A. Frye was an anti-aircraft gunner's mate on the starboard side. Suddenly, in the midst of the barrage . Lt. Bruce Coles, a spokesman for the Navy, this week discounted the similarities between the accidents aboard the Iowa and the Mississippi. Bb-41 ), during combat operations off Makin Island off Makin Island officials said week! 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