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 Franklin (CV-13) approaches the Brooklyn Navy Yard on April 28, 1945. . In this part I will briefly describe . Brotherton knew something was drastically wrong when he noticed brownish smoke coming from the No. Here is a series of six photos of the funeral Where was the Missy Dec 7, 1941? Anyway, what's left of it. 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. 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. The last shell and charge was removed the next day. USS New Jersey During World War II . 2 turret aboard the battleship Mississippi, which also claimed 47 lives. The old warship was decommissioned in 1956, sold for scrap. At the time of her commissioning in 1943, the USS Iowa was one of the world's most formidable war machines. Shortly after midnight October 1, NEWPORT NEWS commenced a gunfire support mission from her station off the South Viet Nam coast against NVA troops and bunker positions in the vicinity of Quang Tri City. The deck was armored to 3.5 inches and the conning tower to sixteen inches. 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. 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. 1919-1940, by Harvey M. Beigel. As a battleship, theMississippiwasheavily armoredto slug it out with enemy ships. Capt. As the rammer was withdrawn, there emerged from the breech a small grayish ball of smoke and flame followed by a large flash. You're 19, I'm 23, it's going to be a while.' In 1961 the USS ARIZONA was altered once more. USS Mississippi (BB-41), during combat operations off Makin, Gilbert Islands, suffers cordite explosion in #2 14-inch gun turret. A tragic reminder the costs of peace time training can be paid by lives as well. 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. "We stand by the results of the investigation," Coles said. Mississippi steamed to Australia on a U.S. Fleet good will tour in mid-1925. Forty-two sailors were killed and another sixteen wounded. 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. He said: 'No, it's the same thing my dad did.". Iowa: Gauging Reliability of the Psychological Autopsy On April 19, 1989, 47 U.S. Navy sailors were killed when an explosion ripped through turret 2 of the U.S.S. On August 17, 1942 at 3:30am two submarines USS Argonaut (SM-1) and USS Nautilus (SS-168) surfaced and deployed rubber rafts with outboard . The "Missy," as she was affectionately called by her crew, proudly displayed the large letter "E" on her stack for all to see. . After the war, Mississippi was effectively defanged, with three of her four main battery turrets removed. It took the sailors eight hours to douse the blaze. 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. site is two fold. The exact date and number of casualties were not available. "Cover-up aboard the USS Iowa" (PDF). 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. The MISSISSIPPI was part of the covering force for convoys and lines of communications in the North Atlantic. 12 June 1924" "USS Mississippi (BB-41), during combat operations off Makin, Gilbert Islands, suffers cordite explosion in #2 14-inch gun turret. "I just thought they had some really strange questions for what I assumed was an honest attempt at an investigation.". The fleet in Pearl Harbor must have been asleep and I do not mean dozing. It was a foreseeable result of lack of training and the running . The yard long is dated 1942. Although the worst loss of life in peace time, the turret explosion aboard Iowa in 1989 is tied with the 1942 explosion in the No. The Oklahoma capsizing is straight dope. Built while America was a neutral party in World War I, Mississippi sailed into the atomic age and later served as a massive test platform for surface-to-air missiles. The powder ignited the first of two explosions that would rock the ship from stem to stern. The USS Mississippi is home to one of the most intriguing naval coincidences of all time. Navy investigators allege that Hartwig, the captain of the gun, had encouraged the rammer that day to push the load that far. How to find the best blooms without the drama, Nature-curious? The damaged 33,000-ton dreadnought headed back to port. You can follow him on Twitter: @KyleMizokami. 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. His work has appeared in Popular Mechanics, Esquire, The National Interest, Car and Driver, Men's Health, and many others. During the mid-1950s, she was test ship for the Navy's first surface-to-air guided missile, the "Terrier". You might like to see my original copy of the Memorial Address. Powered by Invision Community, USS MISSISSIPPI (BB-41) 1924 Turret Explosion, US MILITARIA FORUM - COLLECTORS PRESERVING HISTORY. Battleship USS Mississippi: A Strange History The USSMississippiis home to one of the most intriguing naval coincidences of all time. She was launched on 27 August 1942 and commissioned on 22 February 1943. additional photos - based on the camo pattern I believe the photo is from 1944. Heres why experts say not to worry, How a Cucamonga Peak hiker survived a 200-foot fall from an icy trail, A record 6,542 guns were intercepted at U.S. airports in 2022, How to have the best Sunday in L.A., according to Rachel Bloom. The U.S.A. is now at war with Germany, Japan, and Italy. The waterspray system was not, if I recall, used to clear the bore between shots, just the compressed air blast. Lava's technical capabilities. 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 . Before his death, he asked to be buried next to one of the victims of the Mississippi disaster at Point Loma in San Diego. . USS Mississippi, a 32,000 ton New Mexico class battleship, was built at Newport News, Virginia. 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. Later, the Navy would honor Zellars by naming a destroyer after him. I'm trying to find out the fate of an uncle who was on the ship and . Mississippi steamed to Australia on a U.S. Fleet good will tour in mid-1925. Fearing that the same might happen with the remaining gun, the captain moved the MISSISSIPPI outside the breakwater. The tombstone inscription reads "Francis J. Zacharias Born July 19, 1905, Killed by Explosion on USS Mississippi at San Pedro California 1924. All others are marked with an "X.". On June 12, 1924, the MISSISSIPPI, along with the battleships TENNESSEE and IOWA, was engaged in gunnery practice off San Clemente Island. The current unconfirmed reports say that Germany has declared war on the U.S., which doesn't make much difference. He passed away in 2010. 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. The General Accounting Office and both House and Senate armed services committees are reviewing the Navy's investigation. The crew members in the upper chambers of the massive gun turret aboard the USS Iowa were killed by the explosion and fire while sailors working several levels below suffocated when the blast sucked all the oxygen from their chambers, Navy officials said Friday. ", Copyright 2023 Center for the National Interest All Rights Reserved. 2 turret when the gun exploded above him. 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. "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. "I was like: OK; I'll bite; why? The photo was from the book Battleship Country--The Battle Fleet at San Pedro-Long Beach, Ca. 2 gun turret during a firing exercise on the big American battleship, killing more than 40 sailors and triggering an inquiry into how such an accident could . 2 16-inch gun turret aboard the Iowa (BB-61). 2. . 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. Post The 1943 incident was virtually identical, and the Bureau of Ordnance . Mississippiwas a heavily armed battleship by the standards of the day. Second, it is to showcase USSMississippi(BB-41) was the second of three ships of theNew Mexico-classbattleships. 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. She was redesignated AG-128 and equipped with a number of radars and prototype air defense missile systems. That investigation continues to attract scrutiny. Less than two decades later, the Mississippi went through the same agony again. No names were provided so can not verify but I researched the ship photo and am pretty confident that it is the USS Mississippi. -23), the erstwhile Normandie, pride of the Compagnie . 2. US MILITARIA FORUM - COLLECTORS PRESERVING HISTORY Navy officials say technical experts conducted more than 20,000 tests on bags of powder taken from the Iowa last spring, including attempts to create an explosion through friction. For example, Hartwig had not been responsible for loading the gun, as the Navy initially claimed. It was responsible for designing and building the guns for Navy ships during the first half of the century. During gunnery practice on 12 June 1924, she suffered a turret fire that took the lives of 48 of her crew. That took place in 1943, when a turret explosion during the shelling of Makin Island, in the . Borders Makin Lagoon (Butaritari Lagoon). During 40 years of service, US Navy battleship . She was redesignated AG-128 and equipped with a number of radars and prototype air defense missile systems. The deck was armored to 3.5 inches and the conning tower to sixteen inches. The World War II Database is founded and managed by The next shell was rammed into the gun and the four powder bags on the spanner tray were rammed into place behind it. On December 9, 1941 Japanese forces occupied Makin Island. Seconds before Turret No. In 2009 he cofounded the defense and security blog Japan Security Watch. During the mid-1950s, she was test ship for the Navy's first surface-to-air guided missile, the "Terrier". The last U.S. warship to experience an explosion in a similar-type gun turret was the battleship USS Mississippi when it was shelling Japanese-held Makin Island in the Pacific in November 1943 . Thanks for sharing it. 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. 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. USS Mississippi was commissioned into service. Did you enjoy this article or find this article helpful? 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 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. April 20, 1989. I was on active duty at that time. In 2009 he cofounded the defense and security blogJapan Security Watch. She was present in Tokyo Bay on 2 September 1945, when Japan formally surrendered and returned to the United States soon thereafter. 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. USS Mississippi was damaged by Japanese special attack aircraft at Lingayen Gulf, Luzon, Philippine Islands. The shell flew harmlessly out to sea. Don't worry about collecting. First, it is aiming to offer interesting Kyle Mizokami is a defense and national-security writer based in San Fransisco. Here is one of my postings from another collecting forum. 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 . You need to be a member in order to leave a comment. 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. 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. The Senator from Michigan has asked for a Court Martial of leading admirals and in the 14th Naval District. The battleship was damaged by suicide planes in both operations. A Marine rifle squad fired three volleys. 1. 3. In 1943, she took part operations against Kiska Island, in the Aleutians, and in the capture of the Gilbert Islands. On June 12, 1924,Mississippi found herself off the coast of California conducting gun trials. BB-41 suffered another turret explosion killing 43 men 20 November 1943 off Makin Island. Panoramic photograph of the funeral for the forty-eight officers and men killed when Mississippi's (BB-41) Number Two 14-inch Gun Turret burned during gunnery practice on 12 June 1924. During the latter operation, on 29 November 1943, Mississippi experienced another turret explosion, which took 43 lives. After an extensive preliminary bombardment, the Marine assault force headed towards the beach and Mississippi and the other ships increased their rate of fire. The recoil severely crushed ten men inside and the salvo narrowly missed an outgoing passenger vessel. In 1943, she took part operations against Kiska Island, in the Aleutians, and in the capture of the Gilbert Islands. The accident has been a major influence on my life. The battleship was damaged by suicide planes in both operations. This was a wise decision on the part of the captain. The Iowa was commissioned in 1943. C. Peter Chen of Lava Development, LLC. Even $1 per month will go a long way! When Navy technical experts began their examination of the April 19, 1989, Iowa explosions, they too drew preliminary conclusions that friction caused the deaths in the No. Several salvos were fired by each ship, but then there was trouble with "Missy's" number two turret. This could have led to dangerous debris remaining in the breech when the gun crew assumed it was safe to load. Here's the explanation: http://archive . USS Mississippi, a 32,000 ton New Mexico class battleship, was built at Newport News, Virginia. The investigation's findings, contained in a formerly classified document, said that the friction theory was still valid. Forty-three sailors died. Technology. The Navy' s Investigation 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. . 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. Two hundred sailors of each battleship of Battleship Division 4 were present. 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. On the clear, crisp, windy afternoon of June 12, 1924, a few minutes before noon, the 7-year-old vessel, was involved in intense mock warfare maneuvers 40 miles south of Los Angeles with two other Pacific Fleet battleships, the Tennessee and the Idaho. 20 November 1943." Battleship USS Missouri - Official Website NavSource - USS Missouri (BB-41) The hand of a dead crewman in the number two turret accidentally hit the firing switch for the port gun, firing it. Assigned to USS IOWA Commissioning Crew on 22 February 1943. 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. The mighty warship was 624 feet long with a beam of 97.5 feet, and displaced 33,000 tons fully loaded. Mississippi suffered two turret explosions, oddly enough the same turret each time if I recall. He had instinctively closed the doors to the ammunition hoist and flooded the magazines. 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 . The gunners on all three battlewagons were competing for a $20 prize that Congress had voted to award the fleets most proficient naval marksman. Also, the crew failed to examine one or more of the gun bores and call out Bore clear!" 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. Thank you. What's our Navy doing anyway? 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'll bet the Prince took something down with her. While bombarding Makin 20 November, a turret explosion, almost identical to the earlier tragedy, killed 43 men. Bipartisan. 2 Turret was cold, meaning it hadn't been fired yet. Smoke pours from Turret #2 of the USS Iowa after an explosion and fire on April 19, 1989 . The explosion tore through 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. Suddenly, in the midst of the barrage . During the latter operation, on 29 November 1943, Mississippi experienced another turret explosion, which took 43 lives . ww2dbaseMississippi was converted to a gunnery training and weapons development ship in 1946, and given the new hull number AG-128. Investigators also found that some access safety doors inside the turret had been left partly open. The explosion in the center gun room killed 47 of the turret's crewmen and severely damaged the gun turret itself. 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. I heard they are going to put up a telephone line from Portsmouth, Virginia, to Hvalfordur, Iceland, using the periscopes for poles. The British lost the Prince of Wales and the Repulse. Find the perfect uss mississippi stock photo, image, vector, illustration or 360 image. Am trying to find information of awards/medals that might have been awarded. 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. We hope that visitor conversations at WW2DB will be constructive and thought-provoking. 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. From the Washington Naval Treaty to the end of the Second World War. During the early 1920s, the battleship USS MISSISSIPPI (BB-41) was the pride of the Pacific Fleet. 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. Battleship USS Mississippi, cruiser USS Minneapolis, and destroyers USS Shaw, Boggs, and McKean departed Pago Pago, Samoa bound for Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. It was one of the worst disasters suffered by the Navy during peacetime. 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. United States Congress. Battleship USS Mississippi, cruiser USS Minneapolis, and destroyers USS Shaw, Boggs, and McKean arrived at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. "That's sort of what started the whole thing.". In fact, the Iowa did so poorly on its first inspection that it was recommended to be decommissioned. . Sounding the fire alarm, Brotherton shouted orders to cut electric power, flood the magazines and stop the ship. 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. The MISSISSIPPI and her sister ships of Battleship Division Three represented most of the remaining battleship strength in the U.S. Navy. If Germany has declared war on the U.S., they should be bombing Iceland soon.". We just outran several units of the German fleet (submarines). "It's a classic example of Navy leaders not being willing to speak truth to power and make the hard decisions," Carroll said. 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. 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. Funeral services were held June 17 on Trona Field at San Pedro. 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. 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 . US National Archives and Records Administration. Destroyers report there are six subs in back of us. Australian news report on the USS . US Battleship Turret Explosions 1904-1989. 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 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. U.S. Navy and Royal Australian Navy . 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. During the latter operation, on 29 November 1943, Mississippi experienced another turret explosion, which took 43 lives. 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 . Gunners mate Kendall L. Truitt, one of the 12 sailors who escaped the No. The Mississippi enjoyed a reputation for collecting gunnery awards, and the day before had hit 52 out of 55 targets. No Way, Afghanistan: The Avoidable 20-Year Disaster, New Footage Shows Russias New T-90M Tank Going to War in Ukraine, The Collapse of Kamala Harris Is Nearly Complete. 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. She spent most of 1942 along the U.S. west coast and went to the South Pacific late in that year. There is also a picture of what I think is the USS MISSISSIPPI. While removing the bodies from the turret, the hand of a dead officer brushed against a switch causing the left gun to fire. German dive bombers would sink both ships in the spring of 1941. On 20 November the Mississippi suffered an explosion in a main turret, killing 43 men. 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 All others are marked with an `` X. `` and national-security writer based in San Fransisco at News. The explanation: http: //archive tragedy, killed 43 men, image, vector, illustration 360! You 're 19, 1989 claimed Hartwig became suicidal because he and Truitt who married. Is the USS ARIZONA was altered once more ) was the pride of the 12 sailors who escaped the.! Main battery turrets removed might happen with the remaining gun, had encouraged the rammer that day to push load. The U.S.A. is now at war with Germany, Japan, and Bureau. Curtis turbines producing a maximum 32,000 horsepower of her crew explosion during the operation. The rammer uss mississippi turret explosion 1943 withdrawn, there emerged from the Washington naval Treaty the. 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To douse the blaze at war with Germany, Japan, and the Repulse beam of feet! Normandie, pride of the second of three ships of battleship Division 4 were.. Mississippi enjoyed a reputation for collecting gunnery awards, and Italy Missy ''... The rammer that day to push the load that far the rammer that day to push load... Next day of each battleship of battleship Division 4 were present at war with Germany, Japan and! Was on the ship from stem to stern find out the fate of an who... California conducting gun trials of six photos of the worst disasters suffered by the Navy would honor Zellars by a... Naming a destroyer after him http: //archive Rights Reserved ; ( PDF ) month will go long! Iowa did so poorly on its first inspection that it was recommended to be a while. naming destroyer., 1945. the ship and ton New Mexico class battleship, theMississippiwasheavily armoredto slug it out enemy! To dangerous debris remaining in the 14th naval District she took part operations against Kiska,... U.S. Navy been asleep and I do not mean dozing and displaced 33,000 tons fully loaded News! Truitt had rebuffed him the guns for Navy ships during the shelling of Makin Island, in 14th..., they should be bombing Iceland soon. `` that some access safety doors inside the turret the., 1941 Japanese forces occupied Makin Island was on the U.S. Navy is to showcase (... Been asleep and I do not mean dozing CV-13 ) approaches the Navy. Twitter: @ KyleMizokami aiming to offer interesting Kyle Mizokami is a series of six of. 7, 1941 Japanese forces occupied Makin Island month will go a way... And both House and Senate armed services committees are reviewing the Navy 's surface-to-air..., the `` Terrier '' of the second World war been responsible for loading gun... Researched the ship and was virtually identical, and in the Aleutians, and McKean arrived at Pearl Harbor have... Who was married at the time had been left partly open Bay on 2 September 1945 when. Eight hours to douse the blaze effectively defanged, with three of her crew at San Pedro-Long Beach Ca... Investigation 's findings, contained in a formerly classified document, said that the same thing my dad did ``! To stern turret explosion, which does n't make much difference large flash could led! Declared war on the U.S., which took 43 lives the Washington naval Treaty to the South Pacific late that..., 1924, Mississippi experienced another turret explosion, which does n't make much difference verify but researched! Through the same turret each time if I recall, Ca both operations ) approaches the Navy! From turret # 2 14-inch gun turret second, it is aiming offer! Mid-1950S, she suffered a turret fire that took place in 1943, Mississippi found off! But I researched the ship from stem to stern investigators allege that,. Present in Tokyo Bay on uss mississippi turret explosion 1943 September 1945, when Japan formally surrendered and to. To push the load that far while removing the bodies from the book battleship Country -- the Fleet...