America's Massive Battleship Disaster They Tried to Hide

It was a routine test aboard USS Iowa.

Inside Turret Two, the massive 16-inch guns prepared to fire. The right gun was reported loaded. Seconds later, the left gun followed suit. But something was wrong with the center gun.

A message crackled over the turret's phone circuit: [QUOTE] "We have a problem here. We are not ready yet. We have a problem here."
The preparations continued despite the warning. Standard procedure rapidly deteriorated into confusion. The crew of Turret Two worked frantically to resolve the issue. Warning signs multiplied as seconds ticked by.

Then came a final, desperate cry piercing through the communication system: [QUOTE] "Oh, my God! The powder is smoldering!"
A powerful and deadly new experiment was about to go totally wrong.

[Bellthorian]

I was a gunners mate in 16 inch turret one on the Iowa and I was there on April 19th. I do not think it was a high speed over ram. GMG2 Lawrence kept answering plot saying hold on we are having a problem and trying to correct. A high speed over ram would have been instantaneous. There was an over ram for sure, the rammer was something like 32-36 inches forward of where it should have been. I had heard stories of Turret Two's center gun rammer taking off and not responding to the controls. I believe the rammer took off and started compressing the powder bags, putting them under more and more pressure until one ignited and set off the other bags a few seconds later. Clay Hartwig was my best friend on the Iowa and he was one of the nicest, easy going men I have ever known. Saying he was violent or unhinged is a flat out lie. Lastly Ken Truitt never gave the insurance money to Clay's family.

[robertlamanes]

As a Canadian, I have followed this case since day . From the first investigation My B.S. meter was over the top !
There is no way a member of any crew would sabotage the ship . Thank you for confirming what we knew all along .

[randythompson]

A friend was a radio operator on duty when this explosion occurred. I know he had a hard time after this and have never spoken with him about it. RIP to all Navy men that needlessly died that day

[SgtFluffytheoriginal]

The briefing before the Gun Shoot we had that morning was eerie as hell. No one was hyped to shoot, and it felt really heavy. It was sobering and still is sobering to realize that that was the last time we would see them alive, ever and have to carry them out in bags later. Still hits hard to think about that especially when you have some of their family members on friends lists that you know you were the one that helped carry their family member out of the Turret. Still it is easier to smile and tell them only good things about them, than to tell them what happened to them. The whole thing soured me on ever continuing my Naval career. Being grilled by the inquiry and made to look like it was your fault for failures in training, when in fact the entire Turret was trained or Under instruction with a person that was trained for positions that needed to be filled. I was a Gun Captain that day under instruction by one of the best trainers ever. That day broke me and others in many ways. Not only was it one day, one moment in time, it has been since that day wondering if it could have happened to you and if you would have been blamed.

[lt.petemaverickmitchell]

A couple guys I went to high school with were on the Iowa when this happened.
They would never hardly speak to it….said it was indescribable carnage.
What a dirty, dirty coverup.

[kirkmorrison]

I was with friends stationed on the Iwoa when this broke on the news. They told me about poor to non existent training in the guns. They were afraid to be near the guns, when the test were done. They if possible would be a couple of deck down and in a head or similar area.
The Navy wanted to cover this up so badly and used threats to silence anyone that might give a different story. I was told this by my buddies.

[johntrottier]

"Blame a junior sailor" is a recurring theme for senior officers in the USN when something major happens.
When the fecal material hit the rotating air handler on board the Bonhomme Richard (LHD-6) in San Diego, the 3 day fire wrecked the ship and burned it out so badly she had to be scrapped. The fire had barely been put out when the navy announced they were detaining a "person of interest". They then ginned up a story about a disgruntled sailor (he wasn't) who started the fire (he didn't) all because he had "been observed" in the area of the hatch that could be used to access the area where investigators "believed" the fire started. They put the man through hell for 2 years, culminating in a General Court Martial where he was acquitted of all charges.
Forced to do an actual reinvestigation, the navy found failures in most of the ships command structure and disciplined more than 20 senior officers and sailors for failing to se and correct the conditions that allowed the fire to happen.

[skipgumphrey]

Rest in peace to my Shipmates who were lost in the accident. We appreciate you tragically having made this ultimate sacrifice. Thank you for standing the watch. You are not forgotten…

BM1(SW) USN

[denjhill]

Those involved in this obvious coverup are the worst, most dishonorable people ever to serve in uniform. I enlisted in the Army in 1966 and when relatives questioned this decision and wondered why I would not chose the Navy I replied that I did not like the Navy's hierarchy of command emphasizing elitism nor did I trust those in charge. I think I made the right choice.

[Belsarius]

I thought I knew everything about this until this. I was so angry with the Navy and still am. Clayton Hartwig was a high school friend of mine from Mt. Vernon Academy in Ohio. We often talked about the Navy and Air Force. All he wanted to do was serve in the Navy. We laughed as I told him the Air Force was better. The fact my firend died was tragic, I could forgive them for that but when they smeared his name and didn't compensate his family, that was and is unforgiveable. The Navy was wrong and now all of this was due to using experimental powder bags, my respect for the Navy has dropped another notch!! Thank you for this Dark Seas!!!

[jed]

Narcissist naval officers protecting their careers instead of discharging their duties - and they got away with it.

[alcav]

As a US Navy veteran, it makes me sick to hear about the sick cover-up all over again. It was horrible then and it’s even worse to hear now.

[captainscarlett]

The Captain is responsible for everything that happens aboard his ship, training, competence, conduct and morale. What happened to him? Failure of leadership.

[jeffreyfallang]

I served with Captain Joe Lee Frank USN. We heard that an over ram might have been the culprit, but a savvy GM told us that he suspected an ember from one of the powder bags ignited when he breech was open. Another GM who knew Hartwig well said it was utter BS about what the USN officially told the media. We had a similar problem with our gun, bags and powder on the USS MISSOURI. I was in the gun house and watched with great speed, the crew do what they could, but it was the deck crew that played the firehose into the gun barrel to cool off everything from the bullet to the bags for several hours. We avoided disaster that day, but gun shoots were problematic from that point forward. We off loaded our powder bags at that point.

[faranger]

The moment my father and I saw the news reel. My dad yelled "Those son of bitches were not following their static electricity procedures!"
My dad put the Iowa back into commission and served on her for 12 years. 22.5 years NAVY. 😢
Those powder bags have very serious static requirements.

[BulletSponge]

I was on the Saratoga in the shipyard late 80's. The welders talked about the repairs they had done on the Iowa and that even months into the work they were still finding human remains (bones, fingers and the like. All small pieces.)

[bnthern]

this type of misguided loyalty is one of the major reasons I left the navy as soon a my first enlistment was up!!!

[AnvilDragon]

My father was a WWII Navy vet and we discussed that senior gunnery crew were just not available. Large bag guns have an added risk and the Iowa class had the best of crew that had served on smaller but similar guns. Guns the US Navy no longer has in service. IMO: Without that progression in training and the resulting sort for top of class of both crew and seasoned officers, the Navy shouldn't be playing with Iowa class ships.

Also, I didn't hear comments that the proper powder for 16" guns hadn't been made since the 40's. If I recalled correctly they had powder for a smaller gun bagged for the 16" using the original manufacture data of the powder and not from testing the batches powder that had been stored on an unconditioned barge on the Mississippi for decades. That seems stupidly criminal.

[Machines.In.Action]

The level of coordination (and miscommunication) during turret operations is staggering. A single delay or wrong signal in that system is a recipe for disaster—and this video breaks it down with chilling clarity! 🚢

[Bob-qkzg]

If my memory is correct, the gun drills that day were an attempt to prove that naval artillery was still relevant in the age of missiles.