U.S. NAVAL DISASTER.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 12 July 1924, Page 16

U.S. NAVAL DISASTER.

EXPLOSION ON MISSISSIPPI. OFFICERS AND MEN KILLED. SAN FRANCISCO, June IS. Ilie brief cabled details of the sensational naval disaster aboard the American dreadnought Mississippi off the California coast, when nearly half a hundred American officers and men were killed by an explosion on the great warship, gave but a microscopic idea of the awful nature of the disaster, which is declared to have been the worst in the country’s history during peace time.

The battleships Mississippi, Tennessee, Idaho, and California comprising a division under the command of RearAdmiral William V. Pratt, left Los Angeles harbour for the San Clemente drill ground Jor 'secret practice. Part of this consisted of concentrated fire by the Mississippi, Idaho, and Tennessee against a giant target towed by the California, and,' according to the reports of men on the other ships, the three Dreadnoughts were lined up. In the far distance a tiny speck showed the California. In gun turret No. -2, situated above and slightly abaft of gun turret No 1, forward of the ship, were the eighty odd men comprising the gun crews for gun s Nos. 4, o, and 6. Part of these eighty odd were stationed at the guns themselves; the remainder of the crews were occupied in the handling rooms and the twin tunnels leading from the ammunition stores.

The command was given to load, and the guns were elevated for the long shot. The monster shells were brought from the ammunition stores by their mechanical carriers, lifted and shoved home in the gun barrels. Then came the great sacks of T.N.T., 450 pounds of it in each sack, and, four sacks in each gun. The three guns were loaded-and four sacks of the high explosive still lay on the floor; there were 7200 pounds of concentrated, gaseous death within that eucular turret, besides a shouting, sweating mass of sailormen and the giant mass of steel with which they worked.

The breeches in guns Nos. o and 6 swunk slowly shut and tightly locked. And in gun No. 4 the breech likewise swung to a close—but something jammed And in that moment, when the breech hung slightly open, someone—no one knew,who that someone was — gave the command to “turn on the jmce” —the s electrical current which detonated the explosive in gun No. 4. The charge exploded. The eighty odd men, trapped in a steel cage designed to withstand the mightiest blows of an enemy fleet, were burned and crushed and mangled and gassed. Those within the turret hnoper were instantly killed. The four sacks of powder still on the floor joined in the mightv blast—and the armour-plated roof of the turret dissolved into fragments. In the handling room those closest to the.door were instantly killed —those farther away were in the list of the injured. : , Ensign Levasseur, out of the corner of one eye, had caught sight of that open gun breech when the command to fire had been given. He unhesitatingly dived forty feet from the shell deck, where he was standing, down the shaft of the endless powder chain bucket; he was cut and /bruised, but was still alive after his exciting experience. Ensign Erwin, with whom he was standing. was instantly killed. The blast shook the ship from stem to stern; it seemed minutes almost before even the commanding officers knew what had hapoened. Then Ensign H. D. Smith, of the T'.S.S. New Mexico, also detailed as an observer on the Mississippi, grabbed ag air-hose and with a squad of volunteers pushed his way into the door of the wrecked turret.

A blast of flame met him—a fire had started, which for a time menaced the safety of the entire shop. The air from the hose fanned the flames—the interior of the place was untenable; ‘the rescue squa c ] was forced to retreat. But not for loiur

Hite hose was hastiiv rigged and several streams forced their quenching way through every point of entrance. Shortly thereafter the rescuers were able to start their work of bringing out the bodies.

The Mississippi was at once put under full speed heading for Los Articles harbour, and the mercies of the hospital ship Relief. A radio message to the latter vessel to preoare at once for fifty victims was sent. It wag this message which gave the first news of the terrible affair to Los Angeles and the outside world.

And as tile curved prow of the super. Dreadnought curled the waves in a race with death, and while the medical officers attached ,to the battler did their best to ease the burns and treat the wounds of the injured, the rescuers continued their work of bringing out shattered bodies of their comrades. The bodies of the three officers were Uie first to be brought'into open air. Then, one by one, came the others. Mile after mile reeled past while the grizzly row of corpses on the deck grew larger and more horrible. Then came the harbour, and into the berth generally occupied by the California went the Dreadnought. And then—another great blast came from the turret—a blast of such intensity that all the harbour district wa s rocked The charge of T.N.T. in the locked breech of gun No. o had exploded—no one living had known,, apparently, that it was there. And four members of the rescuing squad were caught behind the mighty recoil .of the great rifle. They were crushed to death

Luckily the yawning muzzle was pointed towards the open sea ; but the several hundred passengers aboard the outbound liner Vale received a thrill of their lives, for that great shell missed them, it seemed, by inches only. A near-panic resulted ; it was quelled only by the presence of mind of the liner’s crew. The shell proved to he one used in target practice only ; it buried itself among the waves two miles outside the harbour without exploding. Then came another burst of excitement. Rescuers were taken away from the scene of danger until investigation °f the condition of the other gun was made. Electricians were summoned; they cut the wires leading to the detonating device at the switchboard downstairs—as well as eliminating from that, section the electrical connections.

Lifeboats and all other water transportation of the Dreadnought were called into action to transport the dead and injured to the Relief. This latter vessel also co-operated with all the tr;uisport;ition Iter command. Surgeons and nurses from all other naval resources in the district co-ordinated in the work of treating the injured snr-vivo-s and doing their pitiful little for the dead.