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BLUESBOB -> RE: BB spontaneous combustion (2/23/2007 8:49:44 PM)
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quote:
ORIGINAL: rtrapasso
quote:
The US battleship had a turret explosion during an exercise. The Navy claimed it was suicide/sabotage by a gay sailor on the turret crew that had been outed.
i've read at least one book and several articles on this... the whole business was very curious. The sailor in question had recently made over his insurance policy to a crewman who was apparently the object of his affection, and was acting very strangely.
After the turret the crewman worked in blew up, the sailor's family alerted the Navy with their suspicions that the sailor had sabotaged the turret and caused the explosion.
The Navy was happy to latch onto this... they claimed that they had detected some foreign substances that should not have been there, and thought they were part of an explosive device. They also claimed that the loading proceedures could not have caused an explosion. So the Navy assigned the blame of the explosion on the sailor.
The family (maybe other family members?) THEN claimed the sailor couldn't have done it. After a long investigation, it was discovered that the loading procedures COULD have caused the explosion (esp. with the aged propellant bags)... the Navy then "exonerated" the sailor.
But notice: the Navy did not actually clear the sailor of explosion. it was decided that the explosion could have been caused by the propellant bag (and maybe or even probably it was) - but one can not say with certainty that the sailor didn't do it, and the final conclusion kind of glosses over the family's original suspicions and the sailor's behavior.
So, what was the cause? Probably it was from the rapid loading procedure combined with the aged propellant bags, but this is just a best guess...
I just got through reading about his extensively on the internet. Yes, the Navy never did determine what exactly caused the explosion. But as for these two men, Hartwig and Truitt, exhibiting "bizarre behaivour", this was just gossip from the other sailors. It seems both men were quiet, religious, and non-drinkers...that's what passed for bizarre in the service!
Probably the biggest red flag that should have sent the Navy's investigation...and subsequent smear campaign against these two men...was the fact that Hartwig had never been assigned to that turret before. He only that day found himself working there as a last minute replacement. Since the sabotage of the turret would have taken knowlegde that one EVEN WORKED in the turret...it seems incredible that the Navy jumped to this conclusion.
Later investigations have found that the Master Chief Gunner's Mate in charge that day was making unauthorized changes to the loads. The gun that blew was shorted some powder bags, and there was an over-ram. This is more than likely the cause of the explosion.
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