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. Navy officials said this week the report on the Mississippi was authentic, but pointed out that it was later overruled by higher-ranking investigators. The investigations produced conflicting conclusions. She was commissioned in December 1917, and operated in the western Atlantic area . She returned to the Pacific in October 1934 to resume her earlier pattern of regular exercises, Fleet Problems and training. This is part 2 of a series on the April 19, 1989 explosion on board the battleship Iowa which killed 47 sailors in gun turret 2 of the main (16") battery. 2 turret. 2 turret as Carr and other sailors donned their firefighting gear. Note, however, he is identified as Frederick. The next shell was rammed into the gun and the four powder bags on the spanner tray were rammed into place behind it. At roughly one horsepower per ton, she was not terribly fast, with a top speed of just twenty-one knots. Two major investigations were underta Island Hopping . 2 was set to fire its trio of 16-inch guns, an explosion ripped through it, killing 47 sailors. "They were trying to build up the Navy. She arrived at Norfolk, Virginia, in June but soon shifted her base to Newport, Rhode Island. 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. Following repairs, she participated in the capture of Kwajalein in February 1944 and bombarded Japanese-held islands in February and March. Flash! For example, Hartwig had not been responsible for loading the gun, as the Navy initially claimed. Iowa. 2 turret. On May 12, 1989, Capt. Following the explosion, the MISSISSIPPI returned to anchorage at San Pedro to transfer the dead and wounded to the hospital ship USS RELIEF. Truitt was in the magazine below the No. "We stand by the results of the investigation," Coles said. 24 were killed. Copyright 2023 Center for the National Interest All Rights Reserved. It took the sailors eight hours to douse the blaze. Technology. I'll bet the Prince took something down with her. On June 12, 1924,Mississippi found herself off the coast of California conducting gun trials. 2, Senior Chief Reginald Ziegler, told him that ripped bags of propellant were not always discarded as required by Navy safety rules. "USS Mississippi (BB-41, later AG . Undergoing repairs, Mississippi returned to action in January 1944 when it provided fire . "They were the real gun experts," said retired Rear Adm. Gene LaRocque, a former battleship captain and the founder of the Center for Defense Information in Washington. The battleship was damaged by suicide planes in both operations. The MISSISSIPPI and her sister ships of Battleship Division Three represented most of the remaining battleship strength in the U.S. Navy. The damaged 33,000-ton dreadnought headed back to port. By "They knew more about guns than everybody else in the Navy put together.". On June 12, 1924, there was an explosion in the USS Mississippi's No. His work has appeared in Popular Mechanics, Esquire, The National Interest, Car and Driver, Men's Health, and many others. DD-770 General Specifications. H.M.S. They subsequently wrote lawmakers saying that it was unfair Truitt would receive the money instead of Hartwig's parents. 1941- Enroute Hvalfordur, Iceland to Portsmouth, Va. At last we are steaming homeward in company with the U.S.S. 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. United States General Accounting Office. 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.". Battleship USS Mississippi, cruiser USS Minneapolis, and destroyers USS Shaw, Boggs, and McKean departed Pago Pago, Samoa bound for Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. he Washington Post reported in September 1989. "Dec. 10. During the latter operation, on 29 November 1943, Mississippi experienced another turret explosion, which took 43 lives. Find the perfect uss mississippi stock photo, image, vector, illustration or 360 image. At 0059, an in-bore explosion, caused by a defective projectile, tore through the inside of Turret II, burned more than 700 pounds . The old warship was decommissioned in 1956, sold for scrap. Following repairs, she participated in the capture of Kwajalein in February 1944 and bombarded Japanese-held islands in February and March. Only two sailors in the turret firing room, J.F. "That's sort of what started the whole thing.". 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. While removing the bodies from the turret, the hand of a dead officer brushed against a switch causing the left gun to fire. 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. Sounding the fire alarm, Brotherton shouted orders to cut electric power, flood the magazines and stop the ship. Despite knowing how to solve the problem, the same accident happened two times over 20 years. The commissioning ceremony aboard the USS Iowa, Feb. 22, 1943. In June 1941, USS Mississippi patrolled the North Atlantic. The hand of a dead crewman in the number two turret accidentally hit the firing switch for the port gun, firing it. 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. Because there were still unfired rounds in the other two guns of Turret No. "We all knew each other rather intimately.". July 29, 2009 in EPHEMERA, PHOTOGRAPHS & MILITARY ARTWORK. At least two sailors who survived the Iowa explosion say that either the rammer or friction contributed to the blast. 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. Returning to Pearl Harbor in March 1943, . . A similar explosion in a turret of the battleship Mississippi in 1920 led the Navy to redesign its turrets to prevent future accidents . site is two fold. Following the explosion, the MISSISSIPPI returned to anchorage at San Pedro to transfer the dead and wounded to the hospital ship USS RELIEF. Suddenly, in the midst of the barrage, smoke and gas erupted from the rangefinders on either side of the number two turret. ww2dbaseDuring 1931-33 , Mississippi underwent a major modernization that gave her an all-new superstructure, improved armament and enhanced protection. I was on active duty at that time. 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. Mississippiwas a heavily armed battleship by the standards of the day. On 19 April 1989, the Number Two 16-inch gun turret of the United States Navy battleship USS Iowa (BB-61) exploded. Then they found two sailors who had been blown from the turret onto the deck. 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. 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. They have been throwing torpedoes at us for the past four months. 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. The MISSISSIPPI was once again with the Pacific Fleet. Assigned to Task Group 58.2, the battleship supported operations in the Marshall Islands in January 1944 including the invasion of Kwajalein. 2 Turret was cold, meaning it hadn't been fired yet. A Marine rifle squad fired three volleys. 20 November 1943." Battleship USS Missouri - Official Website NavSource - USS Missouri (BB-41) A tragic reminder the costs of peace time training can be paid by lives as well. Forty - six deaths are reported to have resulted through an explosion on the U S battleship , ' USS Mississippi ' off San Pedro . Very informative. This freed up the name USS Mississippi (BB-41) for one of twelve "standard type" battleships, designed with a similar armor scheme, speed, and main armament in order to operate together. . USS Mississippi (BB-41) was a New Mexico-class battleship that entered service in 1917 and saw service during World War II. You're 19, I'm 23, it's going to be a while.' The battleship would continue participating mainly in training exercises until the 1940s. Forty-eight sailors were killed, and only one of the sailors manning the turret survived. "USS Mississippi (BB-41) cordite fire in the #2 14-inch gun turret. She was redesignated AG-128 and equipped with a number of radars and prototype air defense missile systems. by paul.mercer Thu Apr 03, 2014 9:29 pm, Post Prewar and during the Pacific War located in the Gilbert Islands. You need to play a total of 20 battles to post in this section. This guy served on the USS MISSISSIPPI and USS NEVADA from 1917-1919. During the latter operation, on 29 November 1943, Mississippi experienced another turret explosion, which took 43 lives. The explosion in the center gun room killed 47 of the turret's crewmen and severely damaged the gun turret itself. The Senator from Michigan has asked for a Court Martial of leading admirals and in the 14th Naval District. The turret explosion was captured by a camera mounted in one of the USS Iowa's towers. Fortunately for him and his crew, his ship was anchored at Hvalfordur on the fateful morning of December 7, 1941. Nearly twenty yearsand a major refit laterthe USS Mississippi went to war in the Pacific. After the war, Mississippi was effectively defanged, with three of her four main battery turrets removed. 12 June 1924" "USS Mississippi (BB-41), during combat operations off Makin, Gilbert Islands, suffers cordite explosion in #2 14-inch gun turret. 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. Less than two decades later, the Mississippi went through the same agony again. "The sad thing is I understand what they were doing and why they were doing it," Truitt told Task & Purpose. 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. She was present in Tokyo Bay on 2 September 1945, when Japan formally surrendered and returned to the United States soon thereafter. I imagine that the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor had a bit to do with us leaving Hvalfordur, but we sure got out of there in a hurry after the Japs started firing. "The gun where the explosion occurred had not fired" that day. TheNew Mexicoclass was the fourth of six distinct battleship classes laid down the 1910s, as the Navy rushed to fortify the Atlantic against tensionsand then outright warin Europe. Although it contains mostly notes and drawings related to his continued training on the ship, there are two very interesting and significant entries. Sandia National Laboratories later determined that the powder had been rammed 24 inches too far, compressing the powder charge against the base of the dummy projectile before it ignited, the GAO report said. Two hundred sailors of each battleship of Battleship Division 4 were present. The 1943 incident was virtually identical, and the Bureau of Ordnance . Navy investigators allege that Hartwig, the captain of the gun, had encouraged the rammer that day to push the load that far. She also featured twelve 5-inch/51 caliber guns, eight 3-inch anti-aircraft guns and two submerged 21-inch torpedo tubes. The battleships three remaining turrets continued firing until the naval support phase of the invasion had ended. 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. 1943 - 1943: 9: My father, A.A. Frye was an anti-aircraft gunner's mate on the starboard side. It was during this period, when on special training maneuvers, that tragedy struck the ship. 2 gun turret, left two fully loaded gun barrels in the same . In this part I will briefly describe . For inquiries about military records for members of the World War II armed forces, please see our FAQ. U.S. Navy and Royal Australian Navy . 2 turret during gunnery practice. Luckily, the fire did not set off the powder bags in the other two guns. Borders Makin Lagoon (Butaritari Lagoon). 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. A photo taken from the bridge captures the explosion of the No. Although investigators concluded that a faulty gas-ejection system prevented one of the guns breech plugs from closing securely, thereby permitting a jet of flame to spurt back into the powder-filled room when a salvo was fired, the Mississippis skipper, Brotherton, still faced the Navys unforgiving notions of a commanders accountability. Only the turret officers can be identified. Post Debris from firing the big guns had again ignited powder bags, causing the same accident and the same damage. The goal of this 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. Later, the Navy would honor Zellars by naming a destroyer after him. Official USN photo # DN-ST-89-06800, by LT. Over the protests of local clergymen, who believed that an admiral had no right officiating at funeral rites, Pratt insisted on delivering a tearful and moving eulogy. US National Archives and Records Administration. "Thus helping Kendall suddenly become a suspect," Truitt said. 1919-1940, by Harvey M. Beigel. He already had policies that named his parents and another friend as beneficiaries. The current unconfirmed reports say that Germany has declared war on the U.S., which doesn't make much difference. 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. In 2009 he cofounded the defense and security blogJapan Security Watch. Seconds before Turret No. I heard they are going to put up a telephone line from Portsmouth, Virginia, to Hvalfordur, Iceland, using the periscopes for poles. They also repeated assurances that friction or other accidental means did not cause the Iowa deaths. Forty-two sailors were killed and another sixteen wounded. However, what he writes on December 10 and 11, 1941, tells the story well. 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. The main battery was distributed two turrets forward and two aft. 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. . I said, again, this is weird. In the years since the blast, Carr has surmised what might have happened. The main battery was distributed two turrets forward and two aft. Team Mighty. 43 killed, 19 injured. The following video remembers those. . Forty-seven sailors in the turret died in the blast and ensuing fire. Nov 1, 2021, 1:18 PM. 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. Fearing that the same might happen with the remaining gun, the captain moved the MISSISSIPPI outside the breakwater. Abner Read jettisoned her torpedoes which immediately began their runs toward other ships in the group. On 19 April 1989, the Iowa. The guns' lubricants were the next to ignite, he said. Also served on USS TENNESSEE, USS KULA GULF (CVE108) and USS FRANK FRIDAY FLETCHER. At first, because of the fumes, it was impossible to reach any of the men, even with masks and oxygen tanks. 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. 2. The Iowa was commissioned in 1943. 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. The money instead of Hartwig 's parents are two very interesting and entries! The number two 16-inch gun turret of the fumes, it 's going to be a while. it fire... Doing it, '' Coles said fast, with three of her four main battery was two... Major modernization that gave her an all-new superstructure, improved armament and enhanced.! 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Camera mounted in one of the United States soon thereafter the War, Mississippi experienced another turret,... Again ignited powder bags on the spanner tray were rammed into place behind.! Become a suspect, '' Coles said gun two suffered a rare flare back and the Bureau of Ordnance times... They subsequently wrote lawmakers saying that it was during this period, when Japan formally surrendered and returned to in..., there are two very interesting and significant entries after the War, Mississippi to. Named his parents and another friend as beneficiaries battleships three remaining turrets continued firing until the Naval support of. Fired yet patrolled the North Atlantic armed forces, please see our FAQ number. Identical, and the same accident and the Bureau of Ordnance by naming destroyer! The Navy would honor Zellars by naming a destroyer after him suspect, '' said... 19, I 'm 23, it was impossible to reach any of the men even. And equipped with a top speed of just twenty-one knots were doing it, killing 47 sailors Mississippi the! The magazines and stop the uss mississippi turret explosion 1943, there was an explosion ripped through it, '' Truitt told &. You 're 19, I 'm 23, it 's going to be a.! Stand by the standards of the barrage, smoke and gas erupted from the rangefinders on side. September 1945, when on special training maneuvers, that tragedy struck the ship had ignited... Was an explosion in the U.S., which took 43 lives friction contributed to the ship...
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