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From: marco@ncsc.navy.mil (Barbarisi)
Newsgroups: sci.military
Subject: Re: Accidental Turret Explosions
Message-ID: <5827@cbnews.ATT.COM>
Date: 22 Apr 89 04:30:22 GMT
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Approved: military@att.att.com



From: marco@ncsc.navy.mil (Barbarisi)

There is one minor addition (that I know of) to Roger Levasseur's interesting
list of gun turret accidents:  the fatal explosion that occurred in one of
the twin 5 inch AA guns on the USS Alabama in late WWII.  I think about 7
men were killed - they were the only combat related fatalities that 
occurred on the Alabama.  Ammunition apparently exploded during handling.

The turret is still mounted on the ship, which can be seen on display in
Mobile Bay, Mobile, Alabama.  Other turrets, including the 16 inchers, can
be explored.  The only exit from a 16 inch gun is through a small circular
hatch at the base of the aft section of the turret.  Inside, there are pipes
and machinery and equipment everywhere: you must climb over stuff to get in
and out.  If you're over 5'7" tall (1.7m), you can't stand up anywhere.  It is
a hazardous place when everything is turned off and you're in there alone.
It must be like Charlie Chaplin's claustrophobic industrial hell in there 
with 47 people and moving and hissing machinery.  How can 47 people
_fit_ in there?  To make a short story long, it's not surprising that all
hands were lost in the explosion.

[mod.note:  That number seems high to me, too.  I can't find specifics for
the Iowa's turrets; the closest I can come are the British 16"/45 triple 
turrets mounted on Rodney and Nelson.  In _The Big Gun_ (1981, Naval Inst.
Press), Peter Hodges lists the gun crew for that turret as:

Gunhouse:
	1 Turret Captain
	3 gun crews, 3 men each
		(Captain of gun, operating rammer, etc; one man to
		check electic firing circuit and operate air blast;
		one man to operate shell/powder hoist)
	2 Range takers
	5 other men, including telephone operator, layer, trainer,...
That's 17 in the gunhouse; 7 more can be added for "Quarters firing"
(meaning, I'm guessing, either practice firing or firing without
central control from the Fire Control Station)
	12 more men in the shell-handling room, belowdecks (on the Shell
	    magazine deck, in the turret rotating structure)
	25 men in the shell room (outside the turret structure)
	16 men in the powder-handling room (in the turret structure,
	   on the powder magazine deck)
	25 men in the powder magazine (outside the turret structure).

Total turret crew is therefore 105-112.  Had the Iowa's explosion reached 
the powder magazine, or even the handling room, the effect would have been
devastating; therefore, we can discount the 41 men there.  Likewise, the
shell magazine would not likely have been reached.  I still can't see
more than about 36 men in vulnerable areas (and I have difficulty believing
that the shell-handling room was affected).  I simply can't understand
how so many were killed by the blast.

I'd appreciate any further information in this area...  - Bill ]

BTW, the battleship memorial in Mobile is a great place to visit for all you
war-buffs.  You can tour most of the interior of the Alabama, the submarine
USS Drum, and see vintage aircraft (including a B-52), armor, and guns.  
Has a nice rose garden too.

Marco Barbarisi     -------------------------  marco@ncsc.navy.mil
Naval Coastal Systems Center