I was onboard during this time. From the end of 1986 until my reenlistment onboard in front of my 5 inch 38 Gun Mount 54. I was in charge of Mount 54 port side. I was onboard when the explosion happened. GMG 2 G-4 Division.
listening to the hydraulics and the trainer motors really is music to my ears! In the museums all you hear is the lights, but here you actually hear a LIVING TURRET AND SHIP!
The Iowa had a lousy captain, and XO. Then they had a CPO who liked to run illegal and unapproved experiments using 40 year old propellant which had been repackaged in polyester powder bags instead of silk bags. The polyester bags give off a poisonous gas when burned. They had stored the powder in humid and high temperature conditions which was not allowed. The turret crew was not fully trained, and the equipment was barely working with hydrollic oil leaks. After the accident, the navy let the captain dump the evidence overboard and paint over the damage before it could be investigated even though a damage assessment team was available but refused by Captain Moosley. The navy put the person who had come up with using polyester for silk bag replacement, and had stored the powder incorrectly, in charge of the investigation. Instead of finding the real cause (unstable powder rammed too quickly by an untrained rammer operator), he came up with a disgusting conclusion that it must have been done intentionally by the crew. The congress investigated and proved that it could be reproduced by ramming the powder too quickly, but the navy never apologized to the families of the men it had accused. The Navy leaders who orchestrated the phony story, the navy leaders who let them do it, and the navy leaders who never apologized have disgraced the US navy and it will remain in a state of disgrace until they acknowledge their actions and apologize to the families of the men who were dishonored.
you have to remember, these ships were struggling, BADLY. Not only did they require very unique training, that qualified training was hard to come by in 1980, and congress heavily disapproved these ships being in commission. The way i see it, there were 2 reasons the captain did what he did, one it was to cover his own ass in how he was directly responsible for using lighter charges for the wrong shell type, and to possibly save the ships from being removed from active duty for safety reasons.
Hello Laura, in your comment, the 3rd word from end of the 1st paragraph should be "hydraulic" NOT "hydrollic" also it's Captain "Moosally" NOT Captain "Moosley".
I will also dispute your claim that we had a CPO who liked to run illegal and unapproved experiments. NOTHING like that would happen without approval from the highest levels. We had specially designed "Overcharge" bags. A seventh bag that would go into the gun. Unlike the regular powder bags these had huge powder grains in them. As a CPO he NEVER would have had the authority to have special powder bags created for extended range gunnery experiments. Just like during the investigation Mater Chief Skelly was thrown under the bus to save other peoples careers.
I will also dispute your claim that you know the "Real" reason for the explosion. That will never be known. What is known however is they were having some sort of problem in the center gun. GMG2 Lawrence who was the gun captain could be heard on the sound powered phones telling plot to hold on a minute they were having a problem and were trying to correct. Several exchanges between plot and GMG2 Lawrence and all he ever said is they were having a problem and hold on and let them fix it. Than I think it was GMG1 Hanyecz who was talking to GMG1 Mortenson in our turret said "Oh my God I see a flash. Seconds later he called out Mort...Mort....and that was it. That is inconstant with a over ramming of the powder causing a explosion. A explosion due to a over ram would be a instant event.
5:10 *So son what job did the Navy give you?* "oh you know, I stand still and look at a rotary dial that dings when you turn it".... "the thing was made in 1939 so its kinda cool, i guess"
Could someone who was there comment : Is it true that after the explosion they were ordered to dump parts of the turret ( evidence) off the fantail. That body parts were dumped off the fantail. That the CO was offered the services of a Naval investigation team but declined. That the entire turret was painted. ( evidence) I'm really interested in hearing what you have to say. RIP to those brave men who lost their lives.
Yes. The Navy investigation was designed to put the blame on one sailor, and absolve the Navy from a flaw in the gun design. Congress saw through the bogus report, and hired Sandia Labs to do another investigation. Sandia designs and maintains the US nuclear weapon stockpile, so their scientific knowledge is huge. They basically shot down all the lies in the Navy report, and found that the explosion was the result of an overram of the propellant bags against the base of the shell (there is usually about 16 inches of space between the shell and bags when fired). It was an issue the Navy knew might happen (it has happened 3 times before since WWII), which is why they tried to cover it up.
@@PointyTailofSatan there was no gun flaws the over ran was done 5 times the production speed & nothing ignited till the 50th time so that wasnt it & yes there was a explosive device in the turret. but the person using it never expected to kill 47 shipmates more of a little accident .
I was a gunners mate 2nd class in charge of Mount 54 G4 division and was with one of the first team to go into the turret the next morning and yes they were already painting over the burned areas... We did find body parts. But I never saw anything or heard anything about body parts being dumped of the fantail.
@@THOMAS81Z Unless you were inside the gun pit and witnessed an explosive device being planted, you have no way to know that. Shameful that you would perpetuate the idea that a service member in service to his country would sabotage his own ship.
@@larryd41 3 days before I out processed my army unit the demo unit next door did an exercise to clear constintina wire the E3 found out he was being extended & he messed with the 2 of the 3 torpedoes used for the exercise.his mind set was if he got injured he would get out on medical. That wasn't what happened 2 other guys he worked with died in the explosion. After he healed he went to Leavenworth. So you never know what is in a mans mind.
at the beginning when you see them climbing the ladder,are they climbing into the turret gun rooms?I've been in USS New Jersey twice and couldn't see where you can climb from the bottom.
no that is the central ladder, that takes you all the way from the powder hoist floor, all the way up to the electric deck and gun pits. NOT into the gun rooms themselves. From the powder handling floor, this is the only way up through the turret, and can access both shell floors and the electric deck. Once you get to the lower shell handling platform, there are 2 more ladders that access the upper floors.
Can anyone with direct knowledge tell me if that is Clayton Hartwig at 9:40 . The poor guy they tried to hang the explosion on. I have seen two or three pictures of him and that looks like him.
Hey Mr Smith ( I know who you are from other converstions on other videos ) I would like to hear the ghost stories you have of some of your shipmates after the explosion. I am veteran U.S. Airforce. I was stationed at Langley AFB hampton VA 20 years ago across the river from Norfolk. I am from St Thomas U.S. Virgin Islands not far from Puerto Rico and the island range you guys were shooting at in 1989. Small world. Sad this happened.
I think i have a Very good theory of why the explosion happend !!!! I have been reading up and watching all RU-vid Videos about the accident. I am seporated U.S. Air Force Jet engine mechanic of 9 years ( 1997-2006 ) and was even stationed at Langley Air Force BaseHampton VA, accross the bay from Norfok ( 2001-2003 ). I have alot of eperiance with small arms ( .22lr / 5.5mm cal up to .50 BMG / 12.7mm and 12GA rifle slug .75 cal / 19mm shotguns ) a GUN is a GUN !!! This could even reach the News and the U.S. Navy opening up the case and just finally saying this is what could of happend. They mite even finally apologize to the fallen Hartwig... since they try to blame some guy shit on him. Please comment back so we can try to get number to call and talk.
President Jimmy Carter’s Secretary of the Navy Edward Hidalgo changed the rules to allow the sailors two beers a day to sailors at sea for 45 days or more. Officers have always been allowed to have beer and liquor in the Officer's Mess, etc. All under the control of the Captain of course.
Plus it could be reporters bluster for the general public to show the Iowa herself was fine (but in fact during that typhoon she bent one of her propeller shafts)
Hello, just wondering if you knew. If this really is turret two crew two years before the explosion, is that Clayton Hartwig, the poor guy they tried to hang all this on at 9:40 ? I have seen 2 or 3 photos of him and that really does look like him. Rest in peace to all those brave naval warriors.
Yes, Made of silk so they burn more completely during firing. Just over 100 pounds of cordite, plus a layer of gunpowder at the end of the bag to ignite the cordite. The overram set off the gunpowder, which in turn set off the bags.
