FORTY KILLED
TWENTY INJURED. NAVAL DISASTER, EXPLOSIONS ON BATTLESHIPS. »v nABIK—PttISfI ASSOCIATION— COPYRIGHT SAN FRANCISCO, June 12. Forty men were killed and twentv were injured when the turret number two of the battleship Mississippi blew up during firing practice off San Pedro, California. Shortly after the battleship entered the harbour and dropped anchor a second explosion on board, rocking the harbour district. It was a fourteen-inch shell projectile, which narrowly missed the passenger steamer Yale at the harbour entrance Naval officers here refuse to commenton the disaster and a rigid censorship .is maintained. According to offcial information four powder bags, containing 4501 bof explosives each, were inside the rifle turret.
According to one of the surviving sailors the- fourteen-incli rifle that ignited the powder supply was practising extreme elevation firing, the idea being to take advantage of the battleship's roll or list to the opposite direction for the maximum altitude and effeciency of the gun. Received June 14, 9.10 a-.m. SAN FRANCISCO', June 12. San Pedro reports that the total dead in the Mississippi disaster are forty-eight.—Reuter.
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Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 14 June 1924, Page 7
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177FORTY KILLED Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 14 June 1924, Page 7
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