Flash! Right now I worry only about the U.S.S. Note, however, he is identified as Frederick. Your uncle is the last named MISSISSIPPI sailor. "I regret the accident occurred, obviously. 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. The flames and gases had overcome the men so quickly that recovery crews found many of the men still at their positions. It took the sailors eight hours to douse the blaze. Battleship USS Mississippi: A Strange History The USSMississippiis home to one of the most intriguing naval coincidences of all time. The battleship was damaged by suicide planes in both operations. (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. 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. During World War II, in November 1943, while bombarding the Makin Islands in the Pacific, it experienced another . 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. 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. 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. "I held one [sailor] in my hands as he passed," Carr said. She was present in Tokyo Bay on 2 September 1945, when Japan formally surrendered and returned to the United States soon thereafter. 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, a 32,000 ton New Mexico class battleship, was built at Newport News, Virginia. 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. You need to play a total of 20 battles to post in this section. Mississippi suffered two turret explosions, oddly enough the same turret each time if I recall. 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. Even before the sailors caskets could be shipped to their hometowns, the court of inquiry was underway. You need to be a member in order to leave a comment. An explosion in the No. Copyright 2023 Center for the National Interest All Rights Reserved. US Navy battleship USS Mississippi in Hampton Roads, Virginia, June 4, 1927. "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! Initially this had been the area of a flag and platform for ceremonies and visits to the site from 1950-1960. 2, the ship was anchored just inside the breakwater. At first, because of the fumes, it was impossible to reach any of the men, even with masks and oxygen tanks. Mississippi sailed from San Pedro 19 October to take part in the invasion of the Gilbert Islands. 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. Less than two decades later, the Mississippi went through the same agony again. 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. Because there were still unfired rounds in the other two guns of Turret No. "If this story sounds familiar, it's because this is kind of the oldest story ever told around the U.S. . Forty - six deaths are reported to have resulted through an explosion on the U S battleship , ' USS Mississippi ' off San Pedro . 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. The explosion in the center gun room killed 47 of the turret's crewmen and severely damaged the gun turret itself. 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. Prince of Wales and H.M.S. 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. "I just thought they had some really strange questions for what I assumed was an honest attempt at an investigation.". 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. The fleet in Pearl Harbor must have been asleep and I do not mean dozing. All others are marked with an "X.". Published April 02, 2018 09:40:36. On June 12, 1924, the MISSISSIPPI, along with the battleships TENNESSEE and IOWA, was engaged in gunnery practice off San Clemente Island. by tommy303 Fri Apr 04, 2014 5:30 pm, Post On 19 April 1989, the Number Two 16-inch gun turret of the United States Navy battleship USS Iowa (BB-61) exploded. Fearing that the same might happen with the remaining gun, the captain moved the MISSISSIPPI outside the breakwater. Two hundred sailors of each battleship of Battleship Division 4 were present. 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). 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 . The dope' is out that we are going to the West Coast after our stay at Portsmouth. W.D. Smoldering material left in the gun had ignited the powder charge of the next shot. 1. He is the founder and editor for the blogs Japan Security Watch, Asia Security Watch and War Is Boring. 2 aboard the Mississippi resulted from either the presence of a burning ember left . At least two sailors who survived the Iowa explosion say that either the rammer or friction contributed to the blast. 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. Mississippiwas a heavily armed battleship by the standards of the day. If Germany has declared war on the U.S., they should be bombing Iceland soon.". 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. Suddenly, in the midst of the barrage, smoke and gas erupted from the rangefinders on either side of the number two turret. 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. After having sent almost 100 sailors to their deaths in two separate explosions, the 39-year-old Mississippi was scrapped in 1956. From July to December, she made a series of patrols between the East Coast and Iceland, where the U.S. had recently established a base at Hvalfjordur. After the war,Mississippiwas effectively defanged, with three of her four main battery turrets removed. Was on board 1943-45. . . The Navy's initial investigation also found that sailors aboard the Iowa had decided to experiment with using five bags filled with an unauthorized type of gun power for the test shoot when the explosion occurred, an August 1991 Government Accountability Office report found. Then came the blast, which was so strong that it ripped the headphones right off Carr's head. Francis Zacharias was only 16 when he enlisted and used his older brother's birth certificate without his parent's knowledge. For inquiries about military records for members of the World War II armed forces, please see our FAQ. "I was like: OK; I'll bite; why? Mississippi steamed to Australia on a U.S. Fleet good will tour in mid-1925. She was redesignated AG-128 and equipped with a number of radars and prototype air defense missile systems. turret II as the crew loaded the gun. DD-770 General Specifications. The MISSISSIPPI was once again with the Pacific Fleet. 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.". 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. 24 were killed. 138 killed and 60 injured. 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. I was on active duty at that time. Investigators also found that some access safety doors inside the turret had been left partly open. 2. Iowa . Your email address will not be published. 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. By Hartwig who died in the blast had planted a bomb in the gun. She was launched on 27 August 1942 and commissioned on 22 February 1943. 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 waterspray system was not, if I recall, used to clear the bore between shots, just the compressed air blast. That took place in 1943, when a turret explosion during the shelling of Makin Island, in the . The main battery was distributed two turrets forward and two aft. In this role, she carried a variety of old and new guns and radars, while serving with the Operational Development Force in the Atlantic. Hartwig's father had seen combat in the Navy as a gunner's mate, Truitt said. The right gun had just fired and was returned to loading position and the plug opened. During the latter operation, on 29 November 1943, Mississippi experienced another turret explosion, which took 43 lives . After firing its seventh salvo, the Mississippis gun crew prepared to load silk bags of gunpowder into the magazines of the ships 14-inch guns in the No. 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. "It's a classic example of Navy leaders not being willing to speak truth to power and make the hard decisions," Carroll said. Following repairs, she participated in the capture of Kwajalein in February 1944 and bombarded Japanese-held islands in February and March. Maybe I will get to see Hotel Street after all. 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. 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