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LTC Stephen F.
8
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Edited >1 y ago
Thanks SGT (Join to see) for reminding us about the terrible turret explosion that occurred in the "Number Two 16-inch gun turret of the United States Navy battleship USS Iowa (BB-61) on 19 April 1989. The explosion in the center gun room killed 47 of the turret's crewmen and severely damaged the gun turret itself. Two major investigations were undertaken into the cause of the explosion, one by the U.S. Navy and then one by the General Accounting Office (GAO) and Sandia National Laboratories. The investigations produced conflicting conclusions."
1. It was unfortunate that the initial investigation concluded erroneously " that one of the gun turret crew members, Clayton Hartwig, who died in the explosion, had deliberately caused it.
2. Thankfully the Navy reopened the investigation after a public clamor which resulted in a Congressional hearing. "In August 1991, Sandia and the GAO completed their reports, concluding that the explosion was likely caused by an accidental overram of powder bags into the breech of the 16-inch gun."
The first investigation into the explosion, conducted by the U.S. Navy, concluded that one of the gun turret crew members, Clayton Hartwig, who died in the explosion, had deliberately caused it. During the investigation, numerous leaks to the media, later attributed to U.S. Navy officers and investigators, implied that Hartwig and another sailor, Kendall Truitt, had engaged in a homosexual relationship and that Hartwig had caused the explosion after their relationship had soured. In its report, however, the U.S. Navy concluded that the evidence did not show that Hartwig was homosexual but that he was suicidal and had caused the explosion with either an electronic or chemical detonator.
The victims' families, the media, and members of the U.S. Congress were sharply critical of the U.S. Navy's findings. The U.S. Senate and U.S. House Armed Services Committees both held hearings to inquire into the Navy's investigation and later released reports disputing the U.S. Navy's conclusions. The Senate committee asked the GAO to review the U.S. Navy's investigation. To assist the GAO, Sandia National Laboratories provided a team of scientists to review the Navy's technical investigation.
During its review, Sandia determined that a significant overram of the powder bags into the gun had occurred as it was being loaded and that the overram could have caused the explosion. A subsequent test by the Navy of the overram scenario confirmed that an overram could have caused an explosion in the gun breech. Sandia's technicians also found that the physical evidence did not support the U.S. Navy's theory that an electronic or chemical detonator had been used to initiate the explosion.
In response to the new findings, the U.S. Navy, with Sandia's assistance, reopened the investigation. In August 1991, Sandia and the GAO completed their reports, concluding that the explosion was likely caused by an accidental overram of powder bags into the breech of the 16-inch gun. The U.S. Navy, however, disagreed with Sandia's opinion and concluded that the cause of the explosion could not be determined. The U.S. Navy expressed regret (but not an apology) to Hartwig's family and closed its investigation."
FYI COL Mikel J. Burroughs LTC Stephen C. LTC Orlando Illi Lt Col Charlie Brown Maj Bill Smith, Ph.D. Maj William W. "Bill" Price CPT Jack Durish Capt Tom Brown MSG Andrew White SFC William Farrell SGT (Join to see) Sgt Albert Castro SSG David Andrews Sgt Randy Wilber Sgt John H. CPL Dave Hoover SGT Mark Halmrast SPC Margaret Higgins SrA Christopher Wright
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TSgt David L.
5
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This was a terrible case of murder/suicide. If I remember the investigation he had placed a blasting cap in the propellant area which detonated the whole deal. Allegations aside, this was not the way to take care of business. No excuses or defense will change my mind.
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TSgt David L.
TSgt David L.
>1 y
GySgt John Olson - I remember the allegations. We had many conversations among our Division, and some outside with other friends of mine. A few had served on this ship, one as a GM1 and 2 as GMC, one on board at the time. They all took it very personal.
Conflicting conclusions were arrived at. It will likely never be known what really happened.

No, you can't un-say something, whether it's true or not. There are also avenues to pursue complaints if you feel you have been wronged. CMCs have that responsibility on board, as do all levels of leadership. Leadership is likely culpable in the events leading up to the incident as the first investigation pointed, to since they failed to squash a growing problem. Even if the incident was indeed an accident, the young man was still the subject of harassment.
Killing shipmates isn't the answer. Ever. That was my previous comment/statement, and I stand by it.
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TSgt David L.
TSgt David L.
>1 y
GySgt John Olson - I remember that neither investigating body could/would agree on the cause. An explosion like that had not happened as the Navy had described. I can't say that it couldn't or didn't, but the subject matter experts at Sandia said it didn't and was highly unlikely.
I think politics played a part in the conclusion, as it always will. The result was tragic no matter how it happened. Good Sailors died in peacetime. Not a good thing no matter what happened.
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Sgt Randy Wilber
2
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I remember it being reported, sad day for the Military
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