USS Iowa turret explosion
Encyclopedia
The USS Iowa turret explosion occurred in the Number Two 16-inch gun turret
of the United States Navy
battleship
USS Iowa (BB-61)
on April 19, 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, one by the Navy and then one by the General Accounting Office
(GAO) and Sandia National Laboratories
. The investigations produced conflicting conclusions.
The first investigation into the explosion, conducted by the US 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 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 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 Congress
were sharply critical of the Navy's findings. The Senate
and House Armed Services
Committees both held hearings to inquire into the Navy's investigation and later released reports disputing the Navy's conclusions. The Senate committee asked the GAO to review the 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 Navy's theory that an electronic or chemical detonator had been used to initiate the explosion.
In response to the new findings, the 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 Navy, however, disagreed with Sandia's opinion and concluded that the cause of the explosion could not be determined. The Navy expressed regret to Hartwig's family and closed its investigation.
, Iowa was the lead ship
of her class
of battleship
. She was launched
on 27 August 1942 and commissioned
on 22 February 1943. Iowa’s main battery consisted of nine 16 inch(406.4mm)/50 caliber guns.
After serving in both World War II
and the Korean War
, Iowa was decommissioned on 24 February 1958 and entered the Atlantic Reserve Fleet at Philadelphia Naval Shipyard
. She remained in the Reserve Fleet until 1983. At this time, Iowa was moved to Avondale Shipyards near New Orleans, Louisiana
, to undergo a modernization as part of President
Ronald Reagan
's "600-ship Navy
" plan. Under the command of Captain
Gerald E. Gneckow, she was recommissioned on 28 April 1984, one year ahead of schedule. In order to expedite the schedule, many necessary repairs to Iowa's engines and guns were not completed and the mandatory US Navy Board of Inspection and Survey
(InSurv) inspection was not conducted at that time.
Almost two years later, beginning on 17 March 1986, Iowa underwent her overdue InSurv inspection under the supervision of Rear Admiral
John D. Bulkeley
. The ship failed the inspection. Among many other deficiencies, the ship was unable to achieve its top speed of 33 kn (40 mph; 65 km/h) during a full-power engine run. Other problems discovered included hydraulic fluid
leaks in all three main gun turrets, totaling 55 gallons (208.2 l) per turret per week, Cosmoline
(anticorrosion lubricant) which had not been removed from all the guns, deteriorated bilge
piping, frequent shorts in the electrical wiring, pump failures, unrepaired soft patches on high-pressure steam lines, and frozen valves in the ship's firefighting system. Bulkeley personally recommended to the Chief of Naval Operations
(CNO), Admiral James Watkins
, and the Secretary of the Navy
, John Lehman
, that Iowa be taken out of service immediately. Lehman, who had advocated bringing the Iowa-class ships out of mothballs, did not take the ship out of service, but instructed the leaders of the Atlantic Fleet
to ensure that Iowa's deficiencies were corrected.
A month after the InSurv, Iowa failed an Operation Propulsion Program Evaluation. A short time later, the ship retook and passed the evaluation. In July 1987, Larry Seaquist
assumed command of the battleship and her crew.
After a deployment to the Persian Gulf
, Iowa returned to Norfolk for maintenance on 10 March 1988. On 23 May, Fred Moosally
replaced Larry Seaquist
as captain of the Iowa.
area and then began refresher training in the waters around Florida
and Puerto Rico
in October.
Between September 1988 and January 1989, Iowa conducted little training with her main guns, in part because of ongoing, serious maintenance issues with the main gun turrets. According to Ensign
Dan Meyer, officer in charge of the ship's Turret One, morale
and operational readiness among the gun turret crews suffered greatly.
In January 1989 Iowa's Master Chief
Fire Controlman
, Stephen Skelley, and Gunnery Officer, Lieutenant Commander
Kenneth Michael Costigan, persuaded Moosally to allow them to experiment with increasing the range of the main guns using "supercharged" powder bags and specially designed shells. Moosally was led to believe, falsely, that top officials from Naval Sea Systems Command
(NAVSEA) had authorized the experiments. In fact, John McEachren, a mid-level bureaucrat with NAVSEA, had given the go-ahead to conduct the experiments even though he had no authority to do so. McEachren concealed his approval of the gunnery experiments from his superiors.
Several of the officers
and non-commissioned officers in charge of the main gun turret crews believed that Skelley's and Costigan's proposed experiments were dangerous, especially because of the age of and numerous maintenance problems with the main guns and gun turrets. Meyer complained to Commander Robert John Kissinger, Iowa's chief weapons officer, about the proposed experiments, but Kissinger refused to convey the concerns to Moosally or halt the experiments.
On 20 January 1989, off Vieques Island, Iowa's Turret One fired six of the experimental shells using the supercharged powder bags. Skelley claimed that one of the 16 inch shells traveled 23.4 nautical miles (43.3 km), setting a record for the longest conventional 16 inch (406.4mm) shell ever fired. Although the shells had been fired without serious incident, Meyer and Petty Officer First Class
Dale Eugene Mortensen, gun chief for Turret One, told Skelley that they would no longer participate in his experiments. Skelley asked Turret Two's gun chief, Senior Chief Reggie Ziegler, if he could use Turret Two for his experiments; Ziegler refused. Skelley then asked Lieutenant Phil Buch, Turret Two's officer in charge, and Buch acquiesced.
A week after the long range shoot at Vieques, Iowa's new executive officer, Commander John Morse, directed a main battery drill, over the objections of his gun crews, in which Turrets One and Two fired while both were pointed 15° off the starboard side of the ship's bow. At this angle, one of Turret Two's guns was firing over Turret One. During the shoot, according to Turret Two's left gun captain, Jack Thompson, one of the powder bags in the left gun began to smolder before the breechlock was closed. Thompson said that he was barely able to close and latch the breechlock before the gun discharged on its own. The concussion from Turret Two's guns shredded Turret One's gun bloomers (the canvas covers at the base of the main gun barrels) and damaged Turret One's electrical system. Dan Meyer said of the shoot that it was "the most frightening experience I have ever had in my life. The shock wave blew out the turret officer's switchboard and the leads. We had no power, no lights for a time. Men were screaming. There was panic."
In February the battleship returned to Norfolk. There Ziegler complained to his wife about the morale, training, and safety situation aboard Iowa, stating, "We're shorthanded. Chiefs with seventeen years of service are quitting. I've got to teach these kids to push the right button, or they'll blow us to kingdom come! My butt is on the line!" He added that if he died at sea, he wanted to be buried at sea. Before leaving Norfolk in early April 1989, Third Class Gunner's Mate Scot Blakey, a member of Turret Two's crew, told his sister, Julie Blakey, "I'm not thrilled with some of the things we're doing on the Iowa. We shouldn't be doing them. Something could go wrong." When Julie asked, "Why are you doing them?" Scot replied, "We don't have a choice."
Jerome L. Johnson
, and on 13 April Iowa sailed from Norfolk to participate in a fleet exercise
in the Caribbean Sea
near Puerto Rico. The exercise, titled "FLEETEX 3-89", began on or around 17 April under Johnson's command. Iowa served as Johnson's flagship
during the exercise.
Throughout the night of 18 April, Turret Two's crew conducted a major overhaul of their turret in preparation for a firing exercise scheduled to take place the next day. The center gun's compressed air
system, which cleansed the bore of sparks and debris each time the gun was fired, was not operating properly.
Also on 18 April, Iowa's fire-control officer, Lieutenant
Leo Walsh, conducted a briefing to discuss the next day's main battery exercise. Moosally, Morse, Kissinger, and Costigan did not attend the briefing. During the briefing, Skelley announced that Turret Two would participate in an experiment of his design in which D-846 powder would be used to fire 2700 lb (1224.7 kg) shells.
The powder lots of D-846 were among the oldest on board Iowa, dating back to 1943–1945, and was designed to fire 1900 lb (861.8 kg) shells. In fact, printed on each D-846 powder canister were the words, "WARNING: Do Not Use with 2,700-pound projectiles." D-846 powder burned faster than normal powder which meant that it exerted greater pressure on the shell when fired. Skelley explained that the experiment's purpose was to improve the accuracy of the guns. Skelley's plan was for Turret Two to fire ten 2,700-pound practice (no explosives) projectiles, two from the left gun and four rounds each from the center and right guns. Each shot was to use five bags of D-846, instead of the six bags normally used, and to fire at the empty ocean 17 nautical miles (31.5 km) away.
Ziegler was especially concerned about his center gun crew. The rammerman, Robert W. Backherms, was inexperienced, as were the powder car operator, Gary J. Fisk, the primerman, Reginald L. Johnson Jr., and the gun captain, Richard Errick Lawrence. To help supervise Lawrence, Ziegler assigned Second Class Gunner's Mate
Clayton Hartwig, the former center gun captain, who had been excused from gun turret duty because of a pending reassignment to a new duty station in London
, to the center gun's crew for the firing exercise. Because of the late hour, Ziegler did not inform Hartwig of his assignment until the morning of 19 April, shortly before the firing exercise was scheduled to begin.
The rammerman's position was of special concern, as ramming was considered the most dangerous part of loading the gun. The ram was used to first thrust the projectile and then the powder bags into the gun's breech. The ram speed used for the projectile was much faster (14 feet (4.3 m) per second) than that used for the lighter powder bags (1.5 foot (0.4572 m) per second), but there was no safety device on the ram piston to prevent the rammerman from accidentally pushing the powder bags at the faster speed. Overramming the powder bags into the gun could subject the highly flammable powder to excessive friction and compression with a resulting increased danger of premature combustion. Also, if the bags were pushed too far into the gun, a gap between the last bag and the primer
might prevent the powder from igniting when the gun was fired, causing a misfire. None of Iowa's rammermen had any training or experience in ramming nonstandard five-bag loads into the guns. Complicating the task, as the rammerman was shoving the powder bags he was also supposed to simultaneously operate a lever to shut the powder hoist door and lower the powder hoist car. Iowa crewmen would later state that Turret Two's center gun rammer would sometimes "take off" uncontrollably on its own at high speed. Furthermore, Backherms had never operated the ram before during a live fire shoot.
on 19 April, the main turret crewmembers were ordered to their stations in Turrets One, Two, and Three. Thirty minutes later the turrets reported that they were manned, swiveled to starboard in firing position, and ready to begin the drill. Vice Admiral Johnson and his staff entered the bridge to watch the firing exercise. Iowa was 260 nautical miles (481.5 km) northeast of Puerto Rico, steaming at 15 kn (18 mph; 29 km/h).
Turret One fired first, beginning at 09:33. Turret One's left gun misfired and its crew was unable to get the gun to discharge. Moosally ordered Turret Two to load and fire a three-gun salvo. According to standard procedure, the misfire in Turret One should have been resolved first before proceeding further with the exercise.
Forty-four seconds after Moosally's order, Lieutenant Buch reported that Turret Two's right gun was loaded and ready to fire. Seventeen seconds later, he reported that the left gun was ready. A few seconds later, Errick Lawrence, in Turret Two's center gun room, reported to Ziegler over the turret's phone circuit that, "We have a problem here. We are not ready yet. We have a problem here." Ziegler responded by announcing over the turret's phone circuit, "Left gun loaded, good job. Center gun is having a little trouble. We'll straighten that out." Mortensen, monitoring Turret Two's phone circuit from his position in Turret One, heard Buch confirm that the left and right guns were loaded. Lawrence then called out, "I'm not ready yet! I'm not ready yet!" Next, Ernie Hanyecz, Turret Two's leading petty officer suddenly called out, "Mort! Mort! Mort!" Ziegler shouted, "Oh, my God! The powder is smoldering!" At this time, Ziegler may have opened the door from the turret officer's booth in the rear of the turret into the center gun room and yelled at the crew to get the breech closed. About this same time, Hanyecz yelled over the phone circuit, "Oh, my God! There's a flash!"
At 09:53, about 81 seconds after Moosally's order to load and 20 seconds after the left gun had reported loaded and ready, Turret Two's center gun exploded. A fireball between 2500 and 3000 °F (1,371.1 and 1,648.9 C) and traveling at 2000 feet per second (609.6 m/s) with a pressure of 4000 lbf/in2 blew out from the center gun's open breech. The explosion caved in the door between the center gun room and the turret officer's booth and buckled the bulkheads separating the center gun room from the left and right gun rooms. The fireball spread through all three gun rooms and through much of the lower levels of the turret. The resulting fire released toxic gases, including cyanide
gas from burning polyurethane
foam, which filled the turret. Shortly after the initial explosion, the heat and fire ignited 2000 pounds (907.2 kg) of powder bags in the powder-handling area of the turret. Nine minutes later, another explosion, most likely caused by a buildup of carbon monoxide
gas, occurred. All 47 crewmen inside the turret were killed. The turret contained most of the force of the explosion. Twelve crewmen working in or near the turret's powder magazine and annular spaces, located adjacent to the bottom of the turret, were able to escape without serious injury. These men were protected by blast doors which separate the magazine spaces from the rest of the turret.
s, descended below decks and inspected the powder flats in the turret, noting that the metal walls of the turret flats surrounding several tons of as yet unexploded powder bags in the turret were now "glowing a bright cherry red". On Kissinger's recommendation, Moosally ordered Turret Two's magazines, annular spaces, and powder flats flooded with seawater, preventing the remaining powder from exploding. The turret fire was extinguished in about 90 minutes.
After the fire was extinguished, Mortensen entered the turret to help identify the bodies of the dead crewmen. Mortensen found Hartwig's body, which he identified by a distinctive tattoo
on the upper left arm, at the bottom of the 20 feet (6.1 m) deep center gun pit instead of in the gun room. The body was missing its lower forearms, legs below the knees, and was partially, but not badly, charred. The gas ejection air valve for the center gun was located at the bottom of the pit, leading Mortensen to believe that Hartwig had been sent into the pit to turn it on before the explosion occurred. Mortensen also found that the center gun's powder hoist had not been lowered, which was unusual since the hoist door was closed and locked.
After most of the water was pumped out, the corpses in the turret were removed without noting or photographing their locations. The next day, the bodies were flown from the ship by helicopter to Roosevelt Roads Naval Station
, Puerto Rico. From there, they were flown on a United States Air Force
C-5 Galaxy
transport aircraft to the Charles C. Carson Center for Mortuary Affairs
at Dover Air Force Base
, Delaware
.
Morse directed a cleanup crew, supervised by Lieutenant Commander Bob Holman, to make Turret Two "look as normal as possible". Over the next day, the crew swept, cleaned, and painted the inside of the turret. Loose or damaged equipment was tossed into the ocean. No attempt was made to record the locations or conditions of damaged equipment in the turret. "No one was preserving the evidence," said Brian R. Scanio, a fireman present at the scene. A team of Naval Investigative Service (NIS) investigators (the predecessor of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service
or NCIS) stationed nearby on the aircraft carrier
Coral Sea
was told that their services in investigating Iowa's mishap were not needed.
On 23 April Iowa returned to Norfolk, where a memorial service was held on 24 April. Several thousand people, including family members of many of the victims, attended the ceremony at which President George H. W. Bush spoke. During his speech, Bush stated, "I promise you today, we will find out 'why,' the circumstances of this tragedy."
Shortly after the memorial service at Norfolk on 24 April, Kendall Truitt told Hartwig's family that Hartwig had taken out a $50,000 double indemnity life insurance
policy on himself and named Truitt as the sole beneficiary. Truitt was a friend of Hartwig's and had been working in Turret Two's powder magazine at the time of the explosion, but had escaped without serious injury. Truitt promised to give the life insurance money to Hartwig's parents. Unsure if she could trust Truitt, Kathy Kubicina, Hartwig's sister, mailed letters on 4 May to Moosally, Morse, Costigan, Iowa's Chaplain
Lieutenant Commander James Danner, and to Ohio Senators Howard Metzenbaum
and John Glenn
in which she described the life insurance policy. She asked that someone talk to Truitt to convince him to give the money to Hartwig's parents.
Several hours after the explosion, Admiral Carlisle Trost
, the Navy's CNO, issued a moratorium on the firing of all 16-inch guns. Vice Admiral Joseph S. Donnell, commander of Surface Forces Atlantic, appointed Rear Admiral Richard Milligan to conduct an informal one-officer investigation into the explosion. An informal investigation meant that testimony was not required to be taken under oath, witnesses were not advised of their rights, defense attorneys were not present, and no one, including the deceased, could be charged with a crime no matter what the evidence revealed.
Milligan boarded Iowa on 20 April and toured Turret Two. He did not attempt to stop the ongoing cleanup of the turret. Accompanying Milligan to assist him in the investigation was his personal staff, including his chief of staff, Captain Edward F. Messina. Milligan and his staff began their investigation by interviewing members of Iowa's crew.
During Meyer's interview by Milligan and his staff, Meyer described Skelley's gunnery experiments. Meyer stated that Moosally and Kissinger had allowed Skelley to conduct his experiments without interference or supervision. At this point, according to Meyer, Messina interrupted, told the stenographer to stop typing, and took Meyer out into the passageway and told him, "You little shit, you can't say that! The admiral doesn't want to hear another word about experiments!"
After reentering the interview room, Meyer told the panel that he and Mortensen had found Hartwig's body in the gun pit. After his interview was over, Meyer warned Mortensen, who was scheduled to be interviewed later, to be careful with what he said, because, in Meyer's opinion, Milligan and his staff appeared to have a hidden agenda. Later, when Meyer and Mortensen read transcripts of their interviews with Milligan's panel, they found that some of what they had said had been altered or expunged, including what Meyer had said about the location of Hartwig's body.
Scanio was interviewed by Milligan and his panel three days later. Scanio, in describing the interview, stated, "I told them everything that exactly happened...and it seemed that when I said certain things, they just stopped the recorder, and then they'd go on and ask a different question, and they wouldn't finish the question they were on." Scanio said that Milligan would not allow him to identify whose body was found at the bottom of the center gun pit.
During his interview, Skelley admitted that he was aware that it was illegal to use D-846 powder with 2,700-pound rounds. Skelley also admitted that he had no written permission from NAVSEA authorizing his experiments. In his interview with Milligan, Moosally complained that the Navy had given him a bunch of "misfits" for his crew.
Captain Joseph Dominick Miceli, from NAVSEA, was assigned to Milligan's team to lead the technical investigation into the explosion. Miceli had commanded the Naval Weapons Support Center
at Crane, Indiana
from 1982 to 1985. Much of the powder in use on Iowa was bagged under Miceli's direction at Crane. While at Crane, Miceli had also begun the use of "wear reducing" polyurethane foam jackets on the powder bags. Cyanide gas from the burning foam jackets had killed many of the turret crewmen. Therefore, as noted by Navy officers and later by outside observers, Miceli had a potential conflict of interest
regarding any findings that powder or powder bags had contributed to the explosion or to any deaths afterwards. Ted Gordon
, former Navy Deputy Judge Advocate General, stated: "Joe Miceli had his own turf to protect. The guns, the shells, the powder were all his responsibility. He had a vested interest in seeing that they were not at fault in the Iowa accident."
, the Navy's Vice Chief of Naval Operations
, however, told Gordon that formal NIS participation in the investigation under Milligan's supervision was fine.
Meeting with NIS agents at Norfolk on 9 May, Messina explained that Hartwig had been Turret Two's center gun captain, had been peering into the gun's breech at the time of the explosion, according to the wounds found on his body, and had likely inserted an ignition device between two of the powder bags as the gun was loaded. Messina told the NIS agents about Hartwig's insurance policy and that a homosexual relationship had possibly existed between Hartwig and Truitt. Later, Milligan's team told the NIS that a book called Getting Even: The Complete Book of Dirty Tricks by George Hayduke
had been found in Hartwig's locker. Milligan would subsequently report that the book contained instructions on how to construct a bomb.
NIS agents Tom Goodman and Ed Goodwin interviewed Kubicina soon after accepting the case. After initially discussing the insurance policy, the agents began asking Kubicina about Hartwig's sexuality. Kubicina would later find out that the Navy had also interviewed Hartwig's best friend from high school and lied to him about what she had said. NIS agents interviewed Truitt and repeatedly pressed him to admit to a sexual relationship with Hartwig. Other agents interviewed Truitt's wife Carole, also pressing her about the sexual orientation of Hartwig and Truitt, asking questions about how often she and her husband had sex and what sorts of sexual acts they engaged in and whether she had ever had sex with any of Truitt's crewmates. When Truitt learned of the interview, he advised the NIS that he would not cooperate further with the investigation. A search of Truitt's locker turned up a burlap bag of the type filled with gun powder for firing the big guns. Based on this, the insurance policy, Hartwig's known antipathy for Truitt's wife and the belief that Truitt and Hartwig had been sexually involved, the NIS considered Truitt a suspect. Truitt and Hartwig had previously been questioned about being gay in February 1987, but each denied it and the matter had been dropped.
Beginning in May, reports on the NIS investigation began to appear in news media, including The Virginian-Pilot
, Newsday
, The Washington Post
, The New York Times
, and the Daily Press
, most of which mentioned Hartwig or Truitt by name. The reporters later stated that the information in their stories was leaked to them by sources in the NIS, the Navy's Chief of Naval Information
(CHINFO) office, led by Rear Admiral Brent Baker, or by other Department of Defense
(DoD) officials. On 24 May, the National Broadcasting Company
(NBC) aired an NBC news
story by Fred Francis and Len Tepper that identified Truitt and Hartwig as criminal suspects in the Iowa explosion and implied that the two had had a homosexual relationship. NIS special agent James Whitener had—without authorization, it was later revealed by NIS officials—given Tepper and Francis classified
computer diskettes containing the complete NIS files on the Iowa investigation. Later media reports indicated that the Navy believed that Hartwig had intentionally caused the explosion after his relationship with Truitt had gone sour.
On 25 May at Norfolk, NIS agents Goodman and Mike Dorsey interrogated Seaman David Smith, an Iowa crewman and friend of Hartwig's. The NIS agents kept Smith in the interrogation room for 7 hours and 40 minutes and, according to Smith, repeatedly threatened that they would charge him with 47 counts of accessory to murder
, perjury
, and obstruction of justice
unless he admitted that Hartwig had told him that he intended to blow up Turret Two. Smith refused. At 10 p.m., Smith was allowed to return to Iowa, where he then stood a nine-hour watch. Less than one hour after finishing the watch, Smith was taken back to the NIS building at Norfolk and interrogated for an additional six hours. Finally, Smith claimed that Hartwig had made romantic advances towards him, had shown him an explosive timer, and had threatened to blow up Turret Two. Three days later, however, Smith recanted his statement to the NIS in its entirety when he was asked to reread and reaffirm a transcript of the interrogation, and signed a statement to that effect. Smith's original statement was later leaked to the media without noting that he had retracted it.
's (FBI) Behavioral Analysis Unit
for help in compiling a "psychological autopsy" on Hartwig. Visiting the FBI's facility at Quantico, Virginia
, Mountz, Goodman, Goodwin, and NIS employee Dawn Teague explained to FBI special agents Richard Ault and Roy Hazelwood
that the Iowa explosion was not an accident, but an act of sabotage. The NIS gave the FBI agents copies of their interviews with several Iowa crewmen, including Smith, and with Hartwig's family and acquaintances. They did not tell the FBI that Smith had recanted his statement to the NIS. On 15 June, the day after receiving the material about Smith's interview, Ault and Hazelwood issued a 15-page "equivocal death analysis" stating that, in their opinion, Hartwig was not homosexual but that he "died as a result of his own actions, staging his death in such a fashion that he hoped it would appear to be an accident".
NIS agents Robert Nigro and Goodman briefed Miceli on their case against Hartwig, telling him that they believed that Hartwig had blown up Turret Two with a Radio Shack
timer, and gave him a copy of Smith's interview. They did not tell Miceli that Smith had recanted his statement or that the NIS had been unable to find any evidence that Hartwig had ever purchased any electronic device from Radio Shack. Miceli directed his team to begin testing to see if an electrical timer could have ignited the powder bags. Technicians at the Navy's metallurgical laboratory at Norfolk Naval Shipyard tested the copper-nickel-alloy rotating band from the center gun's projectile, and stated that they found trace chemical elements, including barium, silicon, aluminum, and calcium under the band, which indicated that an electronic timer had been used to cause the explosion. Miceli asked the FBI to duplicate the test on the band. After testing the band, the FBI stated that they did not believe an electronic timing device had been present and that chemicals found on the band likely came from Break-Free solvent used by the Navy to extract the projectile from the center gun barrel after the explosion. According to Ken Nimmich of the FBI Laboratory
, Miceli then abruptly terminated the Navy's request for assistance from the FBI lab.
On 28 August, technicians at the Naval Weapons Support Center at Crane, Indiana confirmed the FBI's conclusion that an electronic timer, batteries, and/or a primer were not involved in the explosion. Subsequently, Miceli's team announced that a chemical—not electrical—ignition device had been used to cause the explosion, but the new conclusion was not included in Milligan's report before the report was released. On 11 August 1989 the Navy, acting on a recommendation from Miceli, recertified the Iowa-class battleship's 16 inches (406.4 mm) guns for operation.
Donnell, on 28 July, endorsed Milligan's report, saying that the determination that Hartwig had sabotaged the gun "leaves the reader incredulous, yet the opinion is supported by facts and analysis from which it flows logically and inevitably". Donnell's superior, Atlantic Fleet
Commander Admiral Powell F. Carter, Jr.
, then endorsed the report, adding that the report showed that there were "substantial and serious failures by Moosally and Morse", and forwarded the report to the CNO, Carlisle Trost. Although Miceli had just announced that test results at Dahlgren
showed that an electronic timer had not caused the explosion, Trost endorsed the report on 31 August, stating that Hartwig was "the individual who had motive, knowledge, and physical position within the turret gun room to place a device in the powder train". Trost's endorsement cited Smith's statement to the NIS as further evidence that Hartwig was the culprit. Milligan's report was not changed to reflect Miceli's new theory that a chemical ignitor, not an electrical timer, had been used to initiate the explosion.
On 7 September, Milligan and Edney formally briefed media representatives at the Pentagon on the results of Milligan's investigation. Edney denied that the Navy had leaked any details about the investigation to the press. Milligan stated that the Navy believed Hartwig had caused the explosion, citing, among other evidence, the FBI's equivocal death analysis on Hartwig. Milligan displayed two books, Getting Even and Improvised Munitions Handbook, which he said belonged to Hartwig and provided "explicit" instructions on how to construct detonators and bombs. Milligan and Edney said that there was no proof that Hartwig was homosexual. Edney then stated that the investigation had proved that the Iowa-class battleships were safe to operate and that the powder in use on the ships "is stable and ready to use".
Most of the victims' family members criticized the Navy's conclusions. Many of the families told media representatives of private misgivings that the victims had expressed to them about problems with training and the dangerous gunfire experiments occurring on Iowa before the explosion. Hartwig's family disputed the allegations that he was depressed and suicidal.
Several journalists immediately began questioning the results of Milligan's investigation. John Hall, a reporter for the Richmond Times-Dispatch
, wrote a series of four articles beginning on 17 September that revealed that Iowa was engaged in illegal powder experiments when the gun blew up; that conflicts of interest were evident in the investigators assigned to the inquiry; that many of the ship's crew were improperly or inadequately trained; and that evidence did not support the Navy's theory that Hartwig caused the explosion. The Associated Press
picked up Hall's story and it was run in other newspapers throughout the United States. Robert Becker and A. J. Plunkett from the Daily Press
wrote a lengthy story which criticized Milligan's report in detail. ABC reporter Robert Zelnick wrote an op-ed
piece, which ran in The New York Times
on 11 September, heavily criticizing the Navy for, in Zelnick's words, "scapegoating a dead seaman." Television newsmagazine
s 20/20 and 60 Minutes
both ran stories questioning the Navy's conclusions. The Washington Post, in contrast, ran a story by George Wilson that generally supported the Navy's findings.
On 3 October, Donnell disciplined Iowa's officers in response to findings in Milligan's report. Moosally and Bob Finney, Iowa's operations officer, were given non-punitive "letters of admonition" which were not placed in their permanent personnel records. Kissinger and Skelley received punitive letters of admonition which were placed in their records, as well as fines of $2,000 and $1,000 respectively. Donnell suspended both fines. Shortly thereafter, the Navy issued a statement explaining that the safety violations and training deficiencies found aboard Iowa during the investigation were unrelated to the explosion. Two weeks later, a panel of 13 Navy admirals recommended that Moosally be given another major command, stating that Moosally was "superbly fit" for such responsibility. Milligan was one of the admirals on the panel who supported the recommendation. After 60 Minutes producer Charles Thompson asked Brent Baker and Chief of Naval Personnel Jeremy Michael Boorda
about the recommendation, Moosally's name was withdrawn.
and John Glenn
were concerned with the Navy's conclusions and arranged to hold a hearing on the Navy's investigation in the Senate Armed Services Committee
(SASC), chaired by Sam Nunn
. Also, Congresswoman Mary Rose Oakar
asked Nicholas Mavroules
, chairman of the Investigations Subcommittee
of the House Armed Services Committee
to look into the Navy's findings and schedule hearings. John Glenn asked the General Accounting Office (GAO) to review the Navy's investigation into the explosions as well as to examine the unauthorized gunfire experiments and other unsafe practices that may have occurred on Iowa and review the Navy's utilization of the four Iowa-class battleships.
The first Senate hearing took place on 16 November 1989. Trost, Milligan, Miceli, and Robert Powers from the NIS testified at the hearing and were questioned by Senators Glenn, Alan Dixon, John McCain
, and James Exon. The senators questioned the Navy officers about the lack of adequate training on Iowa; the age and condition of the ship's powder; problems with the center gun's rammer; the illegal gunfire experiments; the methods used and conclusions reached in the investigation; and the series of leaks to the media from Navy and NIS personnel.
On 11 December 1989 Moosally testified before the SASC. He denied that Iowa had carried out illegal or unauthorized gunfire experiments. In response to questions from the senators, Moosally stated that he believed the explosion was an intentional act, but that he could not support Milligan's conclusion that Hartwig was the culprit. During the hearing, Sam Nunn announced that Sandia National Laboratories
in Albuquerque, New Mexico had agreed to a request by the GAO to assist with the Navy's technical investigation to see if there might be a natural explanation for the explosion. Later, FBI agents Ault and Hazelwood appeared before the committee and answered questions about how they had prepared their equivocal death analysis on Hartwig. In addition, Truitt plus two other Iowa sailors and acquaintances of Hartwig testified that Hartwig was not suicidal and that the Navy was trying to "cover up" that the explosion was likely an accident.
On 12, 13, and 21 December, the House Armed Services Committee held its hearings into the Navy's investigation. The committee, including Mavroules, Les Aspin
, Larry Hopkins
, Norman Sisisky
, and Joseph Brennan
, interviewed Donnell, Ault, Hazelwood, Milligan, Miceli, Truitt, Nimmich, and Richard Froede, the Armed Services Medical Examiner.
In early March 1990, the House Armed Services Committee released its report, titled USS Iowa Tragedy: An Investigative Failure. The report criticized the Navy for failing to investigate every natural possible cause before concluding that the explosion was an intentional act. The report also criticized the Navy for allowing the turret and projectile to become contaminated; for permitting evidence to be thrown overboard; for endorsing Milligan's report prior to completing the technical investigation; and for neglecting to disclose the nature of the disagreement with the FBI laboratory over substances found on the projectile's rotating band. The FBI's equivocal death analysis was labeled the "single major fault of the investigation". The NIS's actions in the investigation were described as "flawed" and the NIS agents assigned to the case were criticized for unprofessional interviewing techniques and for leaking sensitive documents and inaccurate information. Finally, the report concluded that Milligan was unfit to oversee a major criminal investigation.
At a 16 January 1990 meeting with the Sandia scientists, Steve Mitchell, a Navy technician from Indian Head Naval Surface Warfare Center, reported that his team had discovered that the propellant pellets making up the powder in Iowa's powder bags could fracture and give off hot fragments in drop tests, and that the fractured surface often had a burnt appearance and odor. At this point, according to Schwoebel, Miceli interjected and said, "This kind of thing can't be duplicated during the actual loading operation. This result is not relevant to the explosion." Mitchell added that his team had found it extremely unlikely that friction or static electricity could have ignited the center gun powder bags. Tom Doran, a member of Miceli's team from Dahlgren, reported that his team had conducted tests to see if an overram could have caused the explosion, but revealed that the tests had used bags filled with wooden pellets with black powder pouches at the ends, not actual powder bags.
Sandia investigators asked the Navy if two similar explosions on the US battleship Mississippi
could be related to the Iowa explosion. In 1924 and 1943, open breech explosions had occurred in the Turret Two center gun aboard Mississippi, each time killing most of the crewmen in the turret. Miceli's team responded that the explosions were not related, because the Mississippi incidents were not actual explosions, but "intense burnings" of the powder which resulted from different causes than the Iowa incident. A staff officer from Naval Sea Systems Command, Rear Admiral Robert H. Ailes, told Sandia that the Mississippi explosions "would not be discussed".
Sandia's chemical and materials analysis group, headed by James Borders, investigated further the Navy's theory about a chemical igniter. Navy technicians stated that the discovery under the center gun's projectiles rotating band of minute steel-wool fibers were encrusted with calcium
and chlorine
, a fragment of polyethylene terephthalate (commonly used in plastic bags), and different glycols, including brake fluid, hypochlorite
, antifreeze, and Brylcreem together indicated the use of a chemical igniter. The Navy was unable to locate the steel-wool fiber evidence for Borders to examine. No untouched portions of the rotating band remained and Sandia was provided with a section to examine that had already been examined by the FBI. Borders' team examined the rotating band and did not find any traces of polyethylene terephthalate. The team found that the glycols present actually came from the Break-Free cleaning solution which had been dumped into the center gun's barrel to help free the projectile after the explosion. The team also found that calcium and chlorine were present in Iowa's other gun turrets and in the gun turrets of the other Iowa-class battleships, and that this was indicative of routine exposure to a maritime environment. Borders concluded that ordinary sources accounted for all of the "foreign materials" found by the Navy on the center gun projectile, and that the theory that a chemical igniter had been used to cause the explosion was extremely doubtful.
supercomputer, Schuler concluded that this overram, combined with the 2800 lbf/in2 of pressure produced by the rammer, likely compressed the powder bags to the point that they had ignited. Mel Baer, a Sandia team member, determined that the explosion likely occurred in the vicinity of the first (most forward) powder bag, corroborating the Navy's conclusion on this point.
Another group of Sandia investigators, directed by Paul Cooper, conducted 450 drop tests using small bags of D-846 powder in late March to early May 1990. The team determined that the "tare" or "trim" layer (a small amount of powder placed at the end of each bag to equalize the bag's weight inserted in the mid-1980s when the powder was mixed and rebagged under Miceli's direction) would often ignite when compressed at high speed. Cooper found that the burning fragments did not ignite adjacent powder in the same bag, but instead would burn through the bag material and ignite the adjacent bag's black powder patch and thereby ignite the rest of the bags. The week of 7 May, Schwoebel asked Miceli to conduct drop tests at Dahlgren using five actual bags of powder compressed into a steel cylinder of the same diameter as a 16-inch gun. Miceli responded that Cooper's finding "has no relation to actual 16-inch gun conditions" and refused repeated requests from Sandia to conduct the tests.
Concerned that Miceli's refusal to conduct full-scale drop tests was placing Navy gun crews at risk, on 11 May Schwoebel contacted Rick DeBobes, Nunn's counsel for the SASC. On 14 May 1990, a letter from Nunn was sent to Trost requesting that the Navy conduct the tests as requested by Sandia and that Sandia be allowed to observe the tests. That same day, Miceli's supervisor, Vice Admiral Peter Hekman, commander of Sea Systems Command, called Sandia's president, Al Narath, and told him that the Navy would conduct the full-scale drop tests as requested and Sandia was invited to participate.
The drops tests were conducted at Dahlgren under Miceli's and Tom Doran's direction. The tests consisted of vertically stacking five D-846 powder bags under an 860 pounds (390.1 kg) weight and dropping them three feet onto a steel plate to simulate a high-speed overram in a 16-inch gun barrel. On 24 May 1990 on the 18th drop test, witnessed by Cooper and Schuler, the powder bags exploded, destroying the entire testing apparatus. Miceli immediately told Hekman, who notified the Navy's leadership to halt any further use of 16-inch guns and to reopen the Navy's investigation.
on the results of their investigation, stating that, in Sandia's opinion, the explosion had occurred because of an overram of the powder caused by either an accident due to human error or an equipment failure. In his closing remarks the committee chairman, Sam Nunn, rejected Milligan's finding that the explosion had resulted from an intentional act. Nunn added that Milligan's conclusions were not supported "by reliable, probative, and substantial evidence". Nunn later criticized the NIS, saying, "The Navy's whole investigative technique here should be under serious question."
Also testifying before the Senate on 25 May was Frank C. Conahan from the GAO. Conahan reported that the GAO had found that the Iowa-class battleships were not assigned an equal share of personnel in comparison with other Navy ships, especially in the main gun department. The GAO observed that the non-judicial punishment
rate on the battleships was 25% higher than for the rest of the Navy. Conahan concluded by suggesting that, because of the issues surrounding the limited deployment availability of the battleships, they "seem to be top candidates for deactivation as we look for ways to scale back US forces."
After the Senate hearing, the Secretary of the Navy, Henry L. Garrett III
, reopened the investigation. Nunn, via DeBobes, informed the Navy to make sure that no one associated with the first investigation, especially Milligan or Miceli, was involved with the second. In spite of this request, the Navy chose Miceli to lead the new investigation but continuously report on his progress to a technical oversight board. On 30 June 1990 Frank Kelso relieved Trost as CNO and Jerome L. Johnson
replaced Edney as vice-chief. Shortly thereafter, DeBobes visited Kelso in the Pentagon and suggested that it was not a good idea to leave Miceli in charge of the reinvestigation. Kelso listened but declined to remove Miceli. Sandia, at the Senate's request, remained involved in the investigation. The Navy stated that it expected the reinvestigation to be completed in six months.
In June and July 1990, Miceli's team conducted overram tests using a full-scale mock-up of a 16 inches (406.4 mm) gun breech. The tests were conducted at rammer speeds of 2, 4, 8, and 14 feet per second (4.3 m/s). One of the tests at 14 feet per second (4.3 m/s) caused an explosion in the breech. Cooper and Schuler, who were observing the tests, reported to Schwoebel that, in their opinion, Miceli tried to limit the scope of the testing and conduct most of the ram tests at lower speeds. The Sandia team members also noted that Miceli refused to allow his civilian technicians to test alternate overram scenarios and appeared to, by various means, deliberately delay the progress of the investigation.
During further overram testing by Miceli's team, four more explosions occurred. Tom Doran, a civilian member of Miceli's team, told Schwoebel on 18 July that his tests had shown that overram explosions could occur much more easily and at slower speeds depending on the configuration of loose pellets in the powder bags. Doran reported that Miceli then ordered him not to conduct further testing along that avenue of inquiry.
In August 1990, the Navy lifted the restriction on firing 16-inch guns. The Navy removed the trim layers from the 16-inch powder bags, added a color-coded system on the 16-inch gun ram to indicate the slow-speed ram position, and instructed gun crews to conduct additional training on rammer operations.
In November 1990, Cooper discovered the two missing Turret Two left and right projectiles in a Navy warehouse at Dahlgren. Cooper and other Sandia scientists examined the shells and found the same iron fibers and chemicals on the two shells that had been found on the center gun projectile. Said Schwoebel, "It should have ended the Navy's case against Hartwig right then and there." The Navy disagreed that the materials found on all three shells were the same.
Sandia's final findings were submitted to the Senate in August 1991 and included in the GAO's report on its investigation. Schwoebel's team concluded that the fibers and various chemical constituents found by the Navy on the center gun projectile were unrelated to the explosion. The team found that an overram had occurred, but could not determine the speed at which the rammer had compressed the powder bags against the projectile. Sandia found that the overram had likely caused the explosion and that the probability was 16.6% of selecting a group of five-bag charges from the propellant lot aboard Iowa that was sensitive to ignition by overram. The report stated that, in Sandia's opinion, the explosion had occurred immediately with the overram—that there was no delay as theorized by the Navy. Sandia theorized that the overram may have occurred due to inadequate training of some members of the center gun crew; a poorly conceived, briefed, and executed firing plan that contributed to confusion; and—possibly—a malfunction of the rammer. Sandia's report concluded that the probability of powder ignition in the 16-inch guns by an overram was such that measures needed to be taken to ensure that overrams were precluded at any speed. The GAO report concluded that the possibility of an overram-caused explosion was a "previously unrecognized safety problem". Schwoebel's team also briefed Admiral Kelso at the Pentagon on their findings.
On 17 October 1991, 17 months after the Navy reopened the investigation, Kelso conducted a press conference at the Pentagon to announce the results of the Navy's reinvestigation. Kelso noted that the Navy had spent a total of $25 million on the investigation. He stated that the Navy had uncovered no evidence to suggest that the gun had been operated improperly, nor had it established a plausible accidental cause for the explosion. Kelso stated, "The initial investigation was an honest attempt to weigh impartially all the evidence as it existed at the time. And indeed, despite the Sandia theory and almost two years of subsequent testing, a substantial body of scientific and expert evidence continue to support the initial investigation finding that no plausible accidental cause can be established." Kelso added that the Navy had also found no evidence that the explosion was caused intentionally. He further announced that he had directed the Navy to never again use an informal board composed of a single officer to investigate such an incident. Kelso concluded by offering "sincere regrets" to the family of Clayton Hartwig and apologies to the families of those who died, "that such a long period has passed, and despite all efforts no certain answer regarding the cause of this terrible tragedy can be found".
Iowa was decommissioned in Norfolk on 26 October 1990. Iowa, as part of the National Defense Reserve Fleet
, was berthed at the Naval Education and Training Center in Newport from 24 September 1998 to 8 March 2001, when the ship began her journey under tow to California
. The ship arrived in Suisun Bay
near San Francisco on 21 April 2001 and is part of the Reserve Fleet
there.
From August 1990 to February 1991, the Iowa-class battleships Wisconsin
and Missouri
were deployed to the Persian Gulf
. The two battleships fired 1,182 16-inch shells in support of Gulf War
combat operations without mishap.
then became vice president of a national insurance company.
Captain Moosally retired from the Navy at that rank in May 1990. At his change of command ceremony on Iowa on 4 May, Moosally criticized the Navy for mismanaging the investigation, saying that the investigators were "people who, in their rush to manage the Iowa problem, forgot about doing the right thing for the Iowa crew". Later, Moosally began working for Lockheed Martin
in the Washington, D.C. area. In 2001, Moosally told the Washington Post, "Only God knows what really happened in that turret. We're never really going to know for sure."
Skelley was transferred to the battleship Wisconsin in late 1990 or early 1991 and helped direct that ship's gunnery participation during the Gulf War. He retired from the Navy in the fall of 1998.
Meyer resigned from the Navy in 1991. In his resignation letter, he complained about the Navy's investigation into the explosion, and Miceli's and other officer's roles in what Meyer claimed was a cover up. The letter was passed to Vice Admiral Jeremy Michael Boorda, then chief of the Bureau of Naval Personnel, who requested, unsuccessfully, that Meyer withdraw it. When Meyer subsequently received his discharge papers, he discovered that statements in his letter criticizing the Navy and certain officers had been removed. Following assignment to the Middle East Force during Desert Shield and Desert Storm, Meyer followed through with his resignation, and matriculated at the Indiana University School of Law at Bloomington. Meyer now serves as the Director, Civilian Reprisal Investigations for the Inspector General
for the U.S. Department of Defense. As one of two director-level leaders of the Department of Defense Whistleblower Program
, Meyer conducts and oversees allegations of whistleblower reprisal made by DoD civilian employees and submitted to the Inspector General.
Kendall Truitt was denied reenlistment, reportedly in retaliation for his speaking to the press and defending Hartwig. He was discharged on 9 February 1990. He continued his effort to clear Hartwig's name in statements to the media.
, the Iowa explosion, security breaches
at the US embassy in Moscow, Russia, and a problematic investigation into the murder of a homosexual sailor in Yokosuka, Japan
. The newspaper stated, "Each fumbled inquiry may have exposed a different Navy foible. The repeated bungling suggests a systemic problem in the Naval Investigative Service -- and a management failure at the highest levels."
Schwoebel, in 1999, published a book titled Explosion Aboard the Iowa on his experience directing Sandia's investigation into the explosion. In the book, Schwoebel concluded that, in his opinion, the Iowa incident and aftermath illustrated that high-consequence incidents should be investigated by an independent group instead of by a self-assessment, as had occurred with the Navy investigating itself in this case. He also observed that abuse results when a powerful organization attempts to manipulate the press, as the Navy had apparently tried to do through leaks of information about the investigation. Furthermore, Schwoebel noted the unfair and indiscriminate recitation by the press of the sensational material leaked by the Navy. Finally, he observed that the Navy was lacking a due process in military justice as it related to deceased personnel.
Also in 1999, Charles Thompson published a book, titled A Glimpse of Hell: The Explosion on the USS Iowa and Its Cover-Up
, documenting his investigation into the explosion and its aftermath. The book was extremely critical of many of Iowa's officers, including Moosally, as well as many of the officers involved with the subsequent Navy investigation, and the NIS. The book received favorable reviews and was selected by the Military Book of the Month Club
as its featured selection in March 1999. Thompson stated that after the book was published, a previously scheduled invitation to speak at the US Navy's National Museum
was rescinded, his book was banned from being sold in the museum's book store, and Navy exchange
stores at bases throughout the world were forbidden from selling his book. Emails between Navy officials obtained by Thompson through a Freedom of Information request
included one from a Navy public affairs officer saying with regard to Thompson, "I will call book wholesalers and tell them not to set up book signings with this author." In 2001, the FX television network broadcast A Glimpse of Hell
, a made-for-TV movie. Starring James Caan and Robert Sean Leonard
, the movie was based on Thompson's book. According to Nielsen Media Research
, A Glimpse of Hell received a 3.3 household rating and drew 2.7 million viewers, which was enough to make the movie the most-watched program in FX's seven-year history.
Alan E. Diehl, a former safety manager for the United States Air Force
, described the Iowa incident in his 2003 book Silent Knights: Blowing the Whistle on Military Accidents and Their Cover-Ups. Diehl called the incident and its aftermath the worst military cover-up he had ever seen.
" under the Federal Tort Claims Act
. On 30 June 1992 the Hartwigs added another count of emotional distress to the lawsuit, after the Navy sent a letter to Hartwig's parents inviting the dead sailor to join the US Navy Reserve
. The Hartwigs sued for emotional distress in order to avoid the limitations imposed by the Feres Doctrine
. The DoD asked for a dismissal of the Hartwigs' suit on grounds of sovereign immunity
, but in May 1993, US District Judge Paul R. Matia ruled in Cleveland that the Hartwigs' suit could proceed. After discovery
, the government again moved for dismissal. On 26 January 1999 Magistrate Judge
David Perelman issued a recommendation to grant dismissal because several years of discovery had revealed that defamation was essential to the Hartwigs' claims, and that pure defamation claims were barred by sovereign immunity. The Hartwig family filed objections, but on 10 November 1999 District Judge Solomon Oliver, Jr. adopted the recommendation to dismiss, ruling that "however hurtful the government's action may have been, they cannot form the basis of a claim against the United States."
The Hartwigs sued NBC News for $10 million for emotional distress, claiming that the reports by Fred Francis had falsely portrayed Hartwig as a suicidal mass murderer. NBC responded by claiming that it could not be held liable, because its information had come directly, via leaks, from the NIS. A federal judge dismissed the suit.
Thirty-eight of the other Iowa victims' family members filed suit against the Navy, seeking $2.35 billion in damages for the death of their family members in the explosion. Citing the Feres case, US District Judge Claude M. Hilton in Alexandria, Virginia
, summarily dismissed the suit.
In March 2001 Moosally, Miceli, Morse, and Finney filed suit against Glimpse of Hell author Thompson, his publisher, W.W. Norton, and Dan Meyer, who the plaintiff
s stated provided much of the information used in the book, for libel, false light privacy, and conspiracy. In April 2001 Mortensen filed a separate suit for the same causes of action. In response to the suit, Thompson stated that he stood "foursquare" behind his book's content.
In April 2004, the South Carolina Supreme Court
dismissed the suits against Thompson and Meyer, but allowed the suit against W. W. Norton to proceed. In February 2007 the suit was settled out-of-court for undisclosed terms. Stephen F. DeAntonio, an attorney for the plaintiffs, said that they felt "totally vindicated". W. W. Norton did not publicly retract or repudiate any of the material in Thompson's book, however, instead sending a letter to the former officers stating, in part, "To the extent you believe the book implies that any of you were engaged in a cover-up, were incompetent, committed criminal acts, violated Naval regulations or exhibited faulty seamanship or professional ineptitude, Norton regrets the emotional distress experienced by you or your family."
At the 1999 ceremony, retired Navy Captain Larry Seaquist
, who had commanded Iowa before Moosally, spoke to former Iowa crewmen and families of the 47 sailors killed in the explosion. Seaquist criticized the Navy for misleading families about its investigation and harassing family members, adding "It would have been very nice if the leadership of the Navy would have been here to say something simple to you, like 'We apologize.'" In response, a Navy spokesman said, "What Captain Seaquist says is his opinion. It's his right."
Gun turret
A gun turret is a weapon mount that protects the crew or mechanism of a projectile-firing weapon and at the same time lets the weapon be aimed and fired in many directions.The turret is also a rotating weapon platform...
of the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
battleship
Battleship
A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...
USS Iowa (BB-61)
USS Iowa (BB-61)
USS Iowa was the lead ship of her class of battleship and the fourth in the United States Navy to be named in honor of the 29th state...
on April 19, 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, one by the Navy and then one by the General Accounting Office
Government Accountability Office
The Government Accountability Office is the audit, evaluation, and investigative arm of the United States Congress. It is located in the legislative branch of the United States government.-History:...
(GAO) and Sandia National Laboratories
Sandia National Laboratories
The Sandia National Laboratories, managed and operated by the Sandia Corporation , are two major United States Department of Energy research and development national laboratories....
. The investigations produced conflicting conclusions.
The first investigation into the explosion, conducted by the US 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 Navy officers and investigators, implied that Hartwig and another sailor, Kendall Truitt, had engaged in a homosexual
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
relationship and that Hartwig had caused the explosion after their relationship had soured. In its report, however, the 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
Detonator
A detonator is a device used to trigger an explosive device. Detonators can be chemically, mechanically, or electrically initiated, the latter two being the most common....
.
The victims' families, the media, and members of Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
were sharply critical of the Navy's findings. The Senate
United States Senate Committee on Armed Services
The Committee on Armed Services is a committee of the United States Senate empowered with legislative oversight of the nation's military, including the Department of Defense, military research and development, nuclear energy , benefits for members of the military, the Selective Service System and...
and House Armed Services
United States House Committee on Armed Services
thumb|United States House Committee on Armed Services emblemThe U.S. House Committee on Armed Services, commonly known as the House Armed Services Committee, is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives...
Committees both held hearings to inquire into the Navy's investigation and later released reports disputing the Navy's conclusions. The Senate committee asked the GAO to review the 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 Navy's theory that an electronic or chemical detonator had been used to initiate the explosion.
In response to the new findings, the 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 Navy, however, disagreed with Sandia's opinion and concluded that the cause of the explosion could not be determined. The Navy expressed regret to Hartwig's family and closed its investigation.
Recommissioning
Ordered in 1938 under the Second Vinson ActSecond Vinson Act
The Second Vinson Act was an Act of Congress, passed in May 1938, which "mandated a 20% increase in strength of the United States Navy". The act was sponsored by Carl Vinson, a Democratic Congressman from Georgia who was...
, Iowa was the lead ship
Lead ship
The lead ship or class leader is the first of a series or class of ships all constructed according to the same general design. The term is applicable military ships and larger civilian craft.-Overview:...
of her class
Iowa class battleship
The Iowa-class battleships were a class of fast battleships ordered by the United States Navy in 1939 and 1940 to escort the Fast Carrier Task Forces which would operate in the Pacific Theater of World War II. Six were ordered during the course of World War II, but only four were completed in...
of battleship
Battleship
A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...
. She was launched
Ship naming and launching
The ceremonies involved in naming and launching naval ships are based in traditions thousands of years old.-Methods of launch:There are three principal methods of conveying a new ship from building site to water, only two of which are called "launching." The oldest, most familiar, and most widely...
on 27 August 1942 and commissioned
Ship commissioning
Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service, and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to the placing of a warship in active duty with its country's military...
on 22 February 1943. Iowa’s main battery consisted of nine 16 inch(406.4mm)/50 caliber guns.
After serving in both World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
, Iowa was decommissioned on 24 February 1958 and entered the Atlantic Reserve Fleet at Philadelphia Naval Shipyard
Philadelphia Naval Shipyard
The Philadelphia Naval Business Center, formerly known as the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard and Philadelphia Navy Yard, was the first naval shipyard of the United States. The U.S. Navy reduced its activities there in the 1990s, and ended most of them on September 30, 1995...
. She remained in the Reserve Fleet until 1983. At this time, Iowa was moved to Avondale Shipyards near New Orleans, Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, to undergo a modernization as part of President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
's "600-ship Navy
600-ship Navy
The 600 Ship Navy was a strategic plan of the United States Navy during the 1980s to rebuild its fleet after cutbacks that followed the end of the Vietnam War...
" plan. Under the command of Captain
Captain (naval)
Captain is the name most often given in English-speaking navies to the rank corresponding to command of the largest ships. The NATO rank code is OF-5, equivalent to an army full colonel....
Gerald E. Gneckow, she was recommissioned on 28 April 1984, one year ahead of schedule. In order to expedite the schedule, many necessary repairs to Iowa's engines and guns were not completed and the mandatory US Navy Board of Inspection and Survey
Board of Inspection and Survey
The Board of Inspection and Survey is a U.S. Navy organization whose purpose is to inspect and assess material condition of Naval vessels.The Board is currently headquartered at Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek, Virginia.- INSURV teams :...
(InSurv) inspection was not conducted at that time.
Almost two years later, beginning on 17 March 1986, Iowa underwent her overdue InSurv inspection under the supervision of Rear Admiral
Rear Admiral
Rear admiral is a naval commissioned officer rank above that of a commodore and captain, and below that of a vice admiral. It is generally regarded as the lowest of the "admiral" ranks, which are also sometimes referred to as "flag officers" or "flag ranks"...
John D. Bulkeley
John D. Bulkeley
John Duncan Bulkeley was a Vice Admiral in United States Navy and was one of the most decorated naval officers. Bulkeley received the Medal of Honor for actions in the Pacific Theater during World War II...
. The ship failed the inspection. Among many other deficiencies, the ship was unable to achieve its top speed of 33 kn (40 mph; 65 km/h) during a full-power engine run. Other problems discovered included hydraulic fluid
Hydraulic fluid
Hydraulic fluids, also called hydraulic liquids, are the medium by which power is transferred in hydraulic machinery. Common hydraulic fluids are based on mineral oil or water...
leaks in all three main gun turrets, totaling 55 gallons (208.2 l) per turret per week, Cosmoline
Cosmoline
Cosmoline is the genericized trademark for a generic class of rust preventatives, typically conforming to MIL-C-11796C Class 3, that are a brown colored wax-like mass; have a slight fluorescence; and have a petroleum-like odor and taste .Chemically, cosmoline is a homogeneous mixture of oily and...
(anticorrosion lubricant) which had not been removed from all the guns, deteriorated bilge
Bilge
The bilge is the lowest compartment on a ship where the two sides meet at the keel. The word was coined in 1513.-Bilge water:The word is sometimes also used to describe the water that collects in this compartment. Water that does not drain off the side of the deck drains down through the ship into...
piping, frequent shorts in the electrical wiring, pump failures, unrepaired soft patches on high-pressure steam lines, and frozen valves in the ship's firefighting system. Bulkeley personally recommended to the Chief of Naval Operations
Chief of Naval Operations
The Chief of Naval Operations is a statutory office held by a four-star admiral in the United States Navy, and is the most senior uniformed officer assigned to serve in the Department of the Navy. The office is a military adviser and deputy to the Secretary of the Navy...
(CNO), Admiral James Watkins
James D. Watkins
Admiral James David Watkins is a retired United States Navy officer and former Chief of Naval Operations who also served as U.S. Secretary of Energy during the George H. W. Bush Administration and chaired U.S. government commissions on HIV/AIDS and ocean policy. Watkins has also served on the...
, and the Secretary of the Navy
United States Secretary of the Navy
The Secretary of the Navy of the United States of America is the head of the Department of the Navy, a component organization of the Department of Defense...
, John Lehman
John Lehman
John F. Lehman, Jr. is an American investment banker and writer who served as Secretary of the Navy in the Reagan administration and in 2003–04 was a member of the 9/11 Commission....
, that Iowa be taken out of service immediately. Lehman, who had advocated bringing the Iowa-class ships out of mothballs, did not take the ship out of service, but instructed the leaders of the Atlantic Fleet
United States Fleet Forces Command
The United States Fleet Forces Command is an Atlantic Ocean theater-level component command of the United States Navy that provides naval resources that are under the operational control of the United States Northern Command...
to ensure that Iowa's deficiencies were corrected.
Larry Seaquist
Larry Seaquist is the current Democratic member of the Washington House of Representatives, which is the lower house of the Washington State Legislature, for the 26th District....
assumed command of the battleship and her crew.
After a deployment to the Persian Gulf
Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf, in Southwest Asia, is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.The Persian Gulf was the focus of the 1980–1988 Iran-Iraq War, in which each side attacked the other's oil tankers...
, Iowa returned to Norfolk for maintenance on 10 March 1988. On 23 May, Fred Moosally
Fred Moosally
Fred P. Moosally is a former Captain in the United States Navy. During his naval career, Moosally served in many different assignments, including commander of a destroyer and the battleship USS Iowa...
replaced Larry Seaquist
Larry Seaquist
Larry Seaquist is the current Democratic member of the Washington House of Representatives, which is the lower house of the Washington State Legislature, for the 26th District....
as captain of the Iowa.
Gunnery training and experiments
A week after taking command, Moosally and his executive officer, Mike Fahey, canceled a planned $1 million repair package for Iowa's main gun batteries, including repairs to the main gun turrets' lighting, electrical, powder hoists, and hydraulic systems—75 detailed deficiencies in all. Instead, the funds were spent on overhauling the ship's powerplant. In August 1988, Iowa set sail on sea trials around the Chesapeake BayChesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. It lies off the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by Maryland and Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay's drainage basin covers in the District of Columbia and parts of six states: New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West...
area and then began refresher training in the waters around Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
and Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
in October.
Between September 1988 and January 1989, Iowa conducted little training with her main guns, in part because of ongoing, serious maintenance issues with the main gun turrets. According to Ensign
Ensign
An ensign is a national flag when used at sea, in vexillology, or a distinguishing token, emblem, or badge, such as a symbol of office in heraldry...
Dan Meyer, officer in charge of the ship's Turret One, morale
Morale
Morale, also known as esprit de corps when discussing the morale of a group, is an intangible term used to describe the capacity of people to maintain belief in an institution or a goal, or even in oneself and others...
and operational readiness among the gun turret crews suffered greatly.
In January 1989 Iowa's Master Chief
Master Chief Petty Officer
- Master Chief Petty Officer :U.S. Coast GuardMaster ChiefPetty OfficerCap & Collar deviceU.S. Coast GuardMaster ChiefPetty OfficerinsigniaGood conductRating badgeMaster ChiefPetty OfficerCap & Collar Insignia...
Fire Controlman
Fire Controlman
Fire Controlman is a United States Navy occupational rating.Fire Controlmen provide system employment recommendations; perform organizational and intermediate maintenance on digital computer equipment, subsystems, and systems; operate and maintain combat and weapons direction systems,...
, Stephen Skelley, and Gunnery Officer, Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant Commander is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander...
Kenneth Michael Costigan, persuaded Moosally to allow them to experiment with increasing the range of the main guns using "supercharged" powder bags and specially designed shells. Moosally was led to believe, falsely, that top officials from Naval Sea Systems Command
Naval Sea Systems Command
The Naval Sea Systems Command is the largest of the U.S. Navy's five "systems commands," or materiel organizations...
(NAVSEA) had authorized the experiments. In fact, John McEachren, a mid-level bureaucrat with NAVSEA, had given the go-ahead to conduct the experiments even though he had no authority to do so. McEachren concealed his approval of the gunnery experiments from his superiors.
Several of the officers
Officer (armed forces)
An officer is a member of an armed force or uniformed service who holds a position of authority. Commissioned officers derive authority directly from a sovereign power and, as such, hold a commission charging them with the duties and responsibilities of a specific office or position...
and non-commissioned officers in charge of the main gun turret crews believed that Skelley's and Costigan's proposed experiments were dangerous, especially because of the age of and numerous maintenance problems with the main guns and gun turrets. Meyer complained to Commander Robert John Kissinger, Iowa's chief weapons officer, about the proposed experiments, but Kissinger refused to convey the concerns to Moosally or halt the experiments.
On 20 January 1989, off Vieques Island, Iowa's Turret One fired six of the experimental shells using the supercharged powder bags. Skelley claimed that one of the 16 inch shells traveled 23.4 nautical miles (43.3 km), setting a record for the longest conventional 16 inch (406.4mm) shell ever fired. Although the shells had been fired without serious incident, Meyer and Petty Officer First Class
Petty Officer First Class
Good conductvariation,12 years or moreof good conductPetty officerfirst classinsigniaU.S. Navy &U.S. Coast GuardPetty officer, first class is the sixth enlisted rank in the U.S. Navy and U.S...
Dale Eugene Mortensen, gun chief for Turret One, told Skelley that they would no longer participate in his experiments. Skelley asked Turret Two's gun chief, Senior Chief Reggie Ziegler, if he could use Turret Two for his experiments; Ziegler refused. Skelley then asked Lieutenant Phil Buch, Turret Two's officer in charge, and Buch acquiesced.
A week after the long range shoot at Vieques, Iowa's new executive officer, Commander John Morse, directed a main battery drill, over the objections of his gun crews, in which Turrets One and Two fired while both were pointed 15° off the starboard side of the ship's bow. At this angle, one of Turret Two's guns was firing over Turret One. During the shoot, according to Turret Two's left gun captain, Jack Thompson, one of the powder bags in the left gun began to smolder before the breechlock was closed. Thompson said that he was barely able to close and latch the breechlock before the gun discharged on its own. The concussion from Turret Two's guns shredded Turret One's gun bloomers (the canvas covers at the base of the main gun barrels) and damaged Turret One's electrical system. Dan Meyer said of the shoot that it was "the most frightening experience I have ever had in my life. The shock wave blew out the turret officer's switchboard and the leads. We had no power, no lights for a time. Men were screaming. There was panic."
In February the battleship returned to Norfolk. There Ziegler complained to his wife about the morale, training, and safety situation aboard Iowa, stating, "We're shorthanded. Chiefs with seventeen years of service are quitting. I've got to teach these kids to push the right button, or they'll blow us to kingdom come! My butt is on the line!" He added that if he died at sea, he wanted to be buried at sea. Before leaving Norfolk in early April 1989, Third Class Gunner's Mate Scot Blakey, a member of Turret Two's crew, told his sister, Julie Blakey, "I'm not thrilled with some of the things we're doing on the Iowa. We shouldn't be doing them. Something could go wrong." When Julie asked, "Why are you doing them?" Scot replied, "We don't have a choice."
Preparation for fleet exercise
On 10 April the battleship was visited by commander of the US 2nd Fleet, (then) Vice AdmiralVice Admiral
Vice admiral is a senior naval rank of a three-star flag officer, which is equivalent to lieutenant general in the other uniformed services. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral...
Jerome L. Johnson
Jerome L. Johnson
Jerome Lamarr Johnson is a retired United States Navy four star admiral who served as commander of the U.S. Second Fleet, Joint Task Force 120, and NATO's Striking Fleet Atlantic from 1988 to 1990 and as Vice Chief of Naval Operations from 1990 to 1992.He graduated from Texas A&M University in...
, and on 13 April Iowa sailed from Norfolk to participate in a fleet exercise
Military exercise
A military exercise is the employment of military resources in training for military operations, either exploring the effects of warfare or testing strategies without actual combat...
in the Caribbean Sea
Caribbean Sea
The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean located in the tropics of the Western hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico and Central America to the west and southwest, to the north by the Greater Antilles, and to the east by the Lesser Antilles....
near Puerto Rico. The exercise, titled "FLEETEX 3-89", began on or around 17 April under Johnson's command. Iowa served as Johnson's flagship
Flagship
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag...
during the exercise.
Throughout the night of 18 April, Turret Two's crew conducted a major overhaul of their turret in preparation for a firing exercise scheduled to take place the next day. The center gun's compressed air
Compressed air
Compressed air is air which is kept under a certain pressure, usually greater than that of the atmosphere. In Europe, 10 percent of all electricity used by industry is used to produce compressed air, amounting to 80 terawatt hours consumption per year....
system, which cleansed the bore of sparks and debris each time the gun was fired, was not operating properly.
Also on 18 April, Iowa's fire-control officer, Lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
Leo Walsh, conducted a briefing to discuss the next day's main battery exercise. Moosally, Morse, Kissinger, and Costigan did not attend the briefing. During the briefing, Skelley announced that Turret Two would participate in an experiment of his design in which D-846 powder would be used to fire 2700 lb (1224.7 kg) shells.
The powder lots of D-846 were among the oldest on board Iowa, dating back to 1943–1945, and was designed to fire 1900 lb (861.8 kg) shells. In fact, printed on each D-846 powder canister were the words, "WARNING: Do Not Use with 2,700-pound projectiles." D-846 powder burned faster than normal powder which meant that it exerted greater pressure on the shell when fired. Skelley explained that the experiment's purpose was to improve the accuracy of the guns. Skelley's plan was for Turret Two to fire ten 2,700-pound practice (no explosives) projectiles, two from the left gun and four rounds each from the center and right guns. Each shot was to use five bags of D-846, instead of the six bags normally used, and to fire at the empty ocean 17 nautical miles (31.5 km) away.
Ziegler was especially concerned about his center gun crew. The rammerman, Robert W. Backherms, was inexperienced, as were the powder car operator, Gary J. Fisk, the primerman, Reginald L. Johnson Jr., and the gun captain, Richard Errick Lawrence. To help supervise Lawrence, Ziegler assigned Second Class Gunner's Mate
Gunner's Mate
The United States Navy occupational rating of gunner's mate also known as gunsmens mate is a designation given by the Bureau of Naval Personnel to enlisted sailors who either satisfactorily complete initial Gunner's Mate "A" school training, or who "strike" for the rating as a deck seaman by...
Clayton Hartwig, the former center gun captain, who had been excused from gun turret duty because of a pending reassignment to a new duty station in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, to the center gun's crew for the firing exercise. Because of the late hour, Ziegler did not inform Hartwig of his assignment until the morning of 19 April, shortly before the firing exercise was scheduled to begin.
The rammerman's position was of special concern, as ramming was considered the most dangerous part of loading the gun. The ram was used to first thrust the projectile and then the powder bags into the gun's breech. The ram speed used for the projectile was much faster (14 feet (4.3 m) per second) than that used for the lighter powder bags (1.5 foot (0.4572 m) per second), but there was no safety device on the ram piston to prevent the rammerman from accidentally pushing the powder bags at the faster speed. Overramming the powder bags into the gun could subject the highly flammable powder to excessive friction and compression with a resulting increased danger of premature combustion. Also, if the bags were pushed too far into the gun, a gap between the last bag and the primer
Blasting cap
A blasting cap is a small sensitive primary explosive device generally used to detonate a larger, more powerful and less sensitive secondary explosive such as TNT, dynamite, or plastic explosive....
might prevent the powder from igniting when the gun was fired, causing a misfire. None of Iowa's rammermen had any training or experience in ramming nonstandard five-bag loads into the guns. Complicating the task, as the rammerman was shoving the powder bags he was also supposed to simultaneously operate a lever to shut the powder hoist door and lower the powder hoist car. Iowa crewmen would later state that Turret Two's center gun rammer would sometimes "take off" uncontrollably on its own at high speed. Furthermore, Backherms had never operated the ram before during a live fire shoot.
Explosion
At 08:3124-hour clock
The 24-hour clock is a convention of time keeping in which the day runs from midnight to midnight and is divided into 24 hours, indicated by the hours passed since midnight, from 0 to 23. This system is the most commonly used time notation in the world today...
on 19 April, the main turret crewmembers were ordered to their stations in Turrets One, Two, and Three. Thirty minutes later the turrets reported that they were manned, swiveled to starboard in firing position, and ready to begin the drill. Vice Admiral Johnson and his staff entered the bridge to watch the firing exercise. Iowa was 260 nautical miles (481.5 km) northeast of Puerto Rico, steaming at 15 kn (18 mph; 29 km/h).
Turret One fired first, beginning at 09:33. Turret One's left gun misfired and its crew was unable to get the gun to discharge. Moosally ordered Turret Two to load and fire a three-gun salvo. According to standard procedure, the misfire in Turret One should have been resolved first before proceeding further with the exercise.
Forty-four seconds after Moosally's order, Lieutenant Buch reported that Turret Two's right gun was loaded and ready to fire. Seventeen seconds later, he reported that the left gun was ready. A few seconds later, Errick Lawrence, in Turret Two's center gun room, reported to Ziegler over the turret's phone circuit that, "We have a problem here. We are not ready yet. We have a problem here." Ziegler responded by announcing over the turret's phone circuit, "Left gun loaded, good job. Center gun is having a little trouble. We'll straighten that out." Mortensen, monitoring Turret Two's phone circuit from his position in Turret One, heard Buch confirm that the left and right guns were loaded. Lawrence then called out, "I'm not ready yet! I'm not ready yet!" Next, Ernie Hanyecz, Turret Two's leading petty officer suddenly called out, "Mort! Mort! Mort!" Ziegler shouted, "Oh, my God! The powder is smoldering!" At this time, Ziegler may have opened the door from the turret officer's booth in the rear of the turret into the center gun room and yelled at the crew to get the breech closed. About this same time, Hanyecz yelled over the phone circuit, "Oh, my God! There's a flash!"
At 09:53, about 81 seconds after Moosally's order to load and 20 seconds after the left gun had reported loaded and ready, Turret Two's center gun exploded. A fireball between 2500 and 3000 °F (1,371.1 and 1,648.9 C) and traveling at 2000 feet per second (609.6 m/s) with a pressure of 4000 lbf/in2 blew out from the center gun's open breech. The explosion caved in the door between the center gun room and the turret officer's booth and buckled the bulkheads separating the center gun room from the left and right gun rooms. The fireball spread through all three gun rooms and through much of the lower levels of the turret. The resulting fire released toxic gases, including cyanide
Cyanide
A cyanide is a chemical compound that contains the cyano group, -C≡N, which consists of a carbon atom triple-bonded to a nitrogen atom. Cyanides most commonly refer to salts of the anion CN−. Most cyanides are highly toxic....
gas from burning polyurethane
Polyurethane
A polyurethane is any polymer composed of a chain of organic units joined by carbamate links. Polyurethane polymers are formed through step-growth polymerization, by reacting a monomer with another monomer in the presence of a catalyst.Polyurethanes are...
foam, which filled the turret. Shortly after the initial explosion, the heat and fire ignited 2000 pounds (907.2 kg) of powder bags in the powder-handling area of the turret. Nine minutes later, another explosion, most likely caused by a buildup of carbon monoxide
Carbon monoxide
Carbon monoxide , also called carbonous oxide, is a colorless, odorless, and tasteless gas that is slightly lighter than air. It is highly toxic to humans and animals in higher quantities, although it is also produced in normal animal metabolism in low quantities, and is thought to have some normal...
gas, occurred. All 47 crewmen inside the turret were killed. The turret contained most of the force of the explosion. Twelve crewmen working in or near the turret's powder magazine and annular spaces, located adjacent to the bottom of the turret, were able to escape without serious injury. These men were protected by blast doors which separate the magazine spaces from the rest of the turret.
Immediate aftermath
Turret Two's sprinkler system failed to operate automatically. Firefighting crews quickly responded and sprayed the roof of the turret and left and right gun barrels, which were still loaded, with water. Meyer and Kissinger, wearing gas maskGas mask
A gas mask is a mask put on over the face to protect the wearer from inhaling airborne pollutants and toxic gases. The mask forms a sealed cover over the nose and mouth, but may also cover the eyes and other vulnerable soft tissues of the face. Some gas masks are also respirators, though the word...
s, descended below decks and inspected the powder flats in the turret, noting that the metal walls of the turret flats surrounding several tons of as yet unexploded powder bags in the turret were now "glowing a bright cherry red". On Kissinger's recommendation, Moosally ordered Turret Two's magazines, annular spaces, and powder flats flooded with seawater, preventing the remaining powder from exploding. The turret fire was extinguished in about 90 minutes.
After the fire was extinguished, Mortensen entered the turret to help identify the bodies of the dead crewmen. Mortensen found Hartwig's body, which he identified by a distinctive tattoo
Tattoo
A tattoo is made by inserting indelible ink into the dermis layer of the skin to change the pigment. Tattoos on humans are a type of body modification, and tattoos on other animals are most commonly used for identification purposes...
on the upper left arm, at the bottom of the 20 feet (6.1 m) deep center gun pit instead of in the gun room. The body was missing its lower forearms, legs below the knees, and was partially, but not badly, charred. The gas ejection air valve for the center gun was located at the bottom of the pit, leading Mortensen to believe that Hartwig had been sent into the pit to turn it on before the explosion occurred. Mortensen also found that the center gun's powder hoist had not been lowered, which was unusual since the hoist door was closed and locked.
After most of the water was pumped out, the corpses in the turret were removed without noting or photographing their locations. The next day, the bodies were flown from the ship by helicopter to Roosevelt Roads Naval Station
Roosevelt Roads Naval Station
Roosevelt Roads Naval Station is a former United States military air base in the town of Ceiba, Puerto Rico. The site is run today as José Aponte de la Torre Airport, a public use airport.-History:...
, Puerto Rico. From there, they were flown on a United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
C-5 Galaxy
C-5 Galaxy
The Lockheed C-5 Galaxy is a large military transport aircraft built by Lockheed. It provides the United States Air Force with a heavy intercontinental-range strategic airlift capability, one that can carry outsize and oversize cargos, including all air-certifiable cargo. The Galaxy has many...
transport aircraft to the Charles C. Carson Center for Mortuary Affairs
Charles C. Carson Center for Mortuary Affairs
The Charles C. Carson Center for Mortuary Affairs is a Mortuary Affairs facility at Dover Air Force Base in Dover, Delaware housing the Air Force Mortuary Affairs Operations Center , which combines the functions of both Air Force Mortuary Affairs and Port Mortuary, historically known as Dover Port...
at Dover Air Force Base
Dover Air Force Base
Dover Air Force Base or Dover AFB is a United States Air Force base located two miles southeast of the city of Dover, Delaware.-Units:...
, Delaware
Delaware
Delaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...
.
Morse directed a cleanup crew, supervised by Lieutenant Commander Bob Holman, to make Turret Two "look as normal as possible". Over the next day, the crew swept, cleaned, and painted the inside of the turret. Loose or damaged equipment was tossed into the ocean. No attempt was made to record the locations or conditions of damaged equipment in the turret. "No one was preserving the evidence," said Brian R. Scanio, a fireman present at the scene. A team of Naval Investigative Service (NIS) investigators (the predecessor of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service
Naval Criminal Investigative Service
The United States Naval Criminal Investigative Service is the primary security, counter-intelligence, counter-terrorism, and law enforcement agency of the United States Department of the Navy...
or NCIS) stationed nearby on the aircraft carrier
Aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...
Coral Sea
USS Coral Sea (CV-43)
USS Coral Sea , a , was the third ship of the United States Navy to be named for the Battle of the Coral Sea. She earned the affectionate nickname "Ageless Warrior" through her long career...
was told that their services in investigating Iowa's mishap were not needed.
Shortly after the memorial service at Norfolk on 24 April, Kendall Truitt told Hartwig's family that Hartwig had taken out a $50,000 double indemnity life insurance
Life insurance
Life insurance is a contract between an insurance policy holder and an insurer, where the insurer promises to pay a designated beneficiary a sum of money upon the death of the insured person. Depending on the contract, other events such as terminal illness or critical illness may also trigger...
policy on himself and named Truitt as the sole beneficiary. Truitt was a friend of Hartwig's and had been working in Turret Two's powder magazine at the time of the explosion, but had escaped without serious injury. Truitt promised to give the life insurance money to Hartwig's parents. Unsure if she could trust Truitt, Kathy Kubicina, Hartwig's sister, mailed letters on 4 May to Moosally, Morse, Costigan, Iowa's Chaplain
Chaplain
Traditionally, a chaplain is a minister in a specialized setting such as a priest, pastor, rabbi, or imam or lay representative of a religion attached to a secular institution such as a hospital, prison, military unit, police department, university, or private chapel...
Lieutenant Commander James Danner, and to Ohio Senators Howard Metzenbaum
Howard Metzenbaum
Howard Morton Metzenbaum was an American politician who served for almost 20 years as a Democratic member of the U.S. Senate from Ohio . He also served in the Ohio House of Representatives and Senate from 1943 to 1951.-Early life:Metzenbaum was born in Cleveland, to a poor Jewish family, the son...
and John Glenn
John Glenn
John Herschel Glenn, Jr. is a former United States Marine Corps pilot, astronaut, and United States senator who was the first American to orbit the Earth and the third American in space. Glenn was a Marine Corps fighter pilot before joining NASA's Mercury program as a member of NASA's original...
in which she described the life insurance policy. She asked that someone talk to Truitt to convince him to give the money to Hartwig's parents.
Preliminary
Carlisle Trost
Admiral Carlisle Albert Herman Trost, USN is a retired United States Navy officer who served as the Navy's twenty-third Chief of Naval Operations and a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 1 July 1986 to 29 June 1990. He oversaw the Navy during the end of the Cold War, and the preparations...
, the Navy's CNO, issued a moratorium on the firing of all 16-inch guns. Vice Admiral Joseph S. Donnell, commander of Surface Forces Atlantic, appointed Rear Admiral Richard Milligan to conduct an informal one-officer investigation into the explosion. An informal investigation meant that testimony was not required to be taken under oath, witnesses were not advised of their rights, defense attorneys were not present, and no one, including the deceased, could be charged with a crime no matter what the evidence revealed.
Milligan boarded Iowa on 20 April and toured Turret Two. He did not attempt to stop the ongoing cleanup of the turret. Accompanying Milligan to assist him in the investigation was his personal staff, including his chief of staff, Captain Edward F. Messina. Milligan and his staff began their investigation by interviewing members of Iowa's crew.
During Meyer's interview by Milligan and his staff, Meyer described Skelley's gunnery experiments. Meyer stated that Moosally and Kissinger had allowed Skelley to conduct his experiments without interference or supervision. At this point, according to Meyer, Messina interrupted, told the stenographer to stop typing, and took Meyer out into the passageway and told him, "You little shit, you can't say that! The admiral doesn't want to hear another word about experiments!"
After reentering the interview room, Meyer told the panel that he and Mortensen had found Hartwig's body in the gun pit. After his interview was over, Meyer warned Mortensen, who was scheduled to be interviewed later, to be careful with what he said, because, in Meyer's opinion, Milligan and his staff appeared to have a hidden agenda. Later, when Meyer and Mortensen read transcripts of their interviews with Milligan's panel, they found that some of what they had said had been altered or expunged, including what Meyer had said about the location of Hartwig's body.
Scanio was interviewed by Milligan and his panel three days later. Scanio, in describing the interview, stated, "I told them everything that exactly happened...and it seemed that when I said certain things, they just stopped the recorder, and then they'd go on and ask a different question, and they wouldn't finish the question they were on." Scanio said that Milligan would not allow him to identify whose body was found at the bottom of the center gun pit.
During his interview, Skelley admitted that he was aware that it was illegal to use D-846 powder with 2,700-pound rounds. Skelley also admitted that he had no written permission from NAVSEA authorizing his experiments. In his interview with Milligan, Moosally complained that the Navy had given him a bunch of "misfits" for his crew.
Captain Joseph Dominick Miceli, from NAVSEA, was assigned to Milligan's team to lead the technical investigation into the explosion. Miceli had commanded the Naval Weapons Support Center
Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane Division
Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane Division is the principal tenant command located at Naval Support Activity Crane. NSA Crane is a United States Navy installation located approximately southwest of Bloomington, Indiana and predominantly located in Martin County, but small parts also extend into...
at Crane, Indiana
Crane, Indiana
Crane is a town in Perry Township, Martin County, and Madison Township, Daviess County Indiana, United States. The population was 184 at the 2010 census. It was named for William M...
from 1982 to 1985. Much of the powder in use on Iowa was bagged under Miceli's direction at Crane. While at Crane, Miceli had also begun the use of "wear reducing" polyurethane foam jackets on the powder bags. Cyanide gas from the burning foam jackets had killed many of the turret crewmen. Therefore, as noted by Navy officers and later by outside observers, Miceli had a potential conflict of interest
Conflict of interest
A conflict of interest occurs when an individual or organization is involved in multiple interests, one of which could possibly corrupt the motivation for an act in the other....
regarding any findings that powder or powder bags had contributed to the explosion or to any deaths afterwards. Ted Gordon
John E. Gordon
John Edward "Ted" Gordon is a retired United States Rear Admiral who served as Judge Advocate General of the Navy from 1990 until 1992, when he was forced to resign in the aftermath of the Tailhook scandal.-Biography:...
, former Navy Deputy Judge Advocate General, stated: "Joe Miceli had his own turf to protect. The guns, the shells, the powder were all his responsibility. He had a vested interest in seeing that they were not at fault in the Iowa accident."
Focus on Truitt and Hartwig and media reports
Upon receiving Kubicina's letters concerning Hartwig's life insurance policy, Morse and Moosally turned theirs over to Milligan on 7 May. Milligan immediately called Claude Rollins, the NIS regional director in Norfolk, and requested NIS assistance in the investigation. Ted Gordon, the commanding officer of the NIS, objected to opening a formal criminal investigation because Milligan's investigation was supposed to be informal. Admiral Leon A. EdneyLeon A. Edney
Leon Albert "Bud" Edney is a retired United States Navy officer. A native of Dedham, Massachusetts, he retired from the Navy as an admiral and served as Vice Chief of Naval Operations for the United States Navy.-Naval career:...
, the Navy's Vice Chief of Naval Operations
Vice Chief of Naval Operations
The Vice Chief of Naval Operations is the second highest ranking officer in the United States Navy. In the event that the Chief of Naval Operations is absent or is unable to perform his duties, the VCNO assumes the duties and responsibilities of the CNO. The VCNO may also perform other duties...
, however, told Gordon that formal NIS participation in the investigation under Milligan's supervision was fine.
Meeting with NIS agents at Norfolk on 9 May, Messina explained that Hartwig had been Turret Two's center gun captain, had been peering into the gun's breech at the time of the explosion, according to the wounds found on his body, and had likely inserted an ignition device between two of the powder bags as the gun was loaded. Messina told the NIS agents about Hartwig's insurance policy and that a homosexual relationship had possibly existed between Hartwig and Truitt. Later, Milligan's team told the NIS that a book called Getting Even: The Complete Book of Dirty Tricks by George Hayduke
George Hayduke (author)
George Hayduke is believed to be a pen-name based on the character George Washington Hayduke III, created by Edward Abbey in his 1975 book The Monkey Wrench Gang, and 1990 book Hayduke Lives. Often in collaboration with perhaps equally pseudonymous co-author M. Nelson Chunder, Hayduke has authored...
had been found in Hartwig's locker. Milligan would subsequently report that the book contained instructions on how to construct a bomb.
NIS agents Tom Goodman and Ed Goodwin interviewed Kubicina soon after accepting the case. After initially discussing the insurance policy, the agents began asking Kubicina about Hartwig's sexuality. Kubicina would later find out that the Navy had also interviewed Hartwig's best friend from high school and lied to him about what she had said. NIS agents interviewed Truitt and repeatedly pressed him to admit to a sexual relationship with Hartwig. Other agents interviewed Truitt's wife Carole, also pressing her about the sexual orientation of Hartwig and Truitt, asking questions about how often she and her husband had sex and what sorts of sexual acts they engaged in and whether she had ever had sex with any of Truitt's crewmates. When Truitt learned of the interview, he advised the NIS that he would not cooperate further with the investigation. A search of Truitt's locker turned up a burlap bag of the type filled with gun powder for firing the big guns. Based on this, the insurance policy, Hartwig's known antipathy for Truitt's wife and the belief that Truitt and Hartwig had been sexually involved, the NIS considered Truitt a suspect. Truitt and Hartwig had previously been questioned about being gay in February 1987, but each denied it and the matter had been dropped.
Beginning in May, reports on the NIS investigation began to appear in news media, including The Virginian-Pilot
The Virginian-Pilot
The Virginian-Pilot is a daily newspaper based in Norfolk, Virginia, and serving the Hampton Roads metropolitan area, southeastern Virginia, the Eastern Shore of Virginia, and northeastern North Carolina. The flagship property of Landmark Media Enterprises, The Pilot is Virginia's largest daily...
, Newsday
Newsday
Newsday is a daily American newspaper that primarily serves Nassau and Suffolk counties and the New York City borough of Queens on Long Island, although it is sold throughout the New York metropolitan area...
, The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
, The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, and the Daily Press
Daily Press (Virginia)
The Daily Press is a morning newspaper located in Newport News, Virginia, that covers the Hampton Roads metro area of Virginia. It was established in 1896 and has been owned by the Tribune Company since July 1986...
, most of which mentioned Hartwig or Truitt by name. The reporters later stated that the information in their stories was leaked to them by sources in the NIS, the Navy's Chief of Naval Information
Public affairs (military)
Public Affairs is a term for the formal offices of the branches of the United States Department of Defense whose purpose is to deal with the media and community issues. The term is also used for numerous media relations offices that are created by the U.S. military for more specific limited purposes...
(CHINFO) office, led by Rear Admiral Brent Baker, or by other Department of Defense
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
(DoD) officials. On 24 May, the National Broadcasting Company
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
(NBC) aired an NBC news
NBC News
NBC News is the news division of American television network NBC. It first started broadcasting in February 21, 1940. NBC Nightly News has aired from Studio 3B, located on floors 3 of the NBC Studios is the headquarters of the GE Building forms the centerpiece of 30th Rockefeller Center it is...
story by Fred Francis and Len Tepper that identified Truitt and Hartwig as criminal suspects in the Iowa explosion and implied that the two had had a homosexual relationship. NIS special agent James Whitener had—without authorization, it was later revealed by NIS officials—given Tepper and Francis classified
Classified information
Classified information is sensitive information to which access is restricted by law or regulation to particular groups of persons. A formal security clearance is required to handle classified documents or access classified data. The clearance process requires a satisfactory background investigation...
computer diskettes containing the complete NIS files on the Iowa investigation. Later media reports indicated that the Navy believed that Hartwig had intentionally caused the explosion after his relationship with Truitt had gone sour.
On 25 May at Norfolk, NIS agents Goodman and Mike Dorsey interrogated Seaman David Smith, an Iowa crewman and friend of Hartwig's. The NIS agents kept Smith in the interrogation room for 7 hours and 40 minutes and, according to Smith, repeatedly threatened that they would charge him with 47 counts of accessory to murder
Accessory (legal term)
An accessory is a person who assists in the commission of a crime, but who does not actually participate in the commission of the crime as a joint principal...
, perjury
Perjury
Perjury, also known as forswearing, is the willful act of swearing a false oath or affirmation to tell the truth, whether spoken or in writing, concerning matters material to a judicial proceeding. That is, the witness falsely promises to tell the truth about matters which affect the outcome of the...
, and obstruction of justice
Obstruction of justice
The crime of obstruction of justice, in United States jurisdictions, refers to the crime of interfering with the work of police, investigators, regulatory agencies, prosecutors, or other officials...
unless he admitted that Hartwig had told him that he intended to blow up Turret Two. Smith refused. At 10 p.m., Smith was allowed to return to Iowa, where he then stood a nine-hour watch. Less than one hour after finishing the watch, Smith was taken back to the NIS building at Norfolk and interrogated for an additional six hours. Finally, Smith claimed that Hartwig had made romantic advances towards him, had shown him an explosive timer, and had threatened to blow up Turret Two. Three days later, however, Smith recanted his statement to the NIS in its entirety when he was asked to reread and reaffirm a transcript of the interrogation, and signed a statement to that effect. Smith's original statement was later leaked to the media without noting that he had retracted it.
Continued focus on Hartwig
Lieutenant Commander Thomas Mountz, a clinical psychologist assigned to assist the NIS investigation, asked the Federal Bureau of InvestigationFederal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
's (FBI) Behavioral Analysis Unit
Behavioral Analysis Unit
The Behavioral Analysis Unit is a component of the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation's National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime that uses behavioral sciences to assist in criminal investigations...
for help in compiling a "psychological autopsy" on Hartwig. Visiting the FBI's facility at Quantico, Virginia
Quantico, Virginia
- Demographics :As of the census of 2000, there are 561 people, 295 households, and 107 families living in the town. The population density is . There are 359 housing units at an average density of .-Racial composition:...
, Mountz, Goodman, Goodwin, and NIS employee Dawn Teague explained to FBI special agents Richard Ault and Roy Hazelwood
Roy Hazelwood
Robert Roy Hazelwood is a former FBI profiler of sex crimes and is generally regarded as the pioneer of profiling sexual predators. He worked for much of his career for the FBI, retiring in the mid-1990s.-Early life:...
that the Iowa explosion was not an accident, but an act of sabotage. The NIS gave the FBI agents copies of their interviews with several Iowa crewmen, including Smith, and with Hartwig's family and acquaintances. They did not tell the FBI that Smith had recanted his statement to the NIS. On 15 June, the day after receiving the material about Smith's interview, Ault and Hazelwood issued a 15-page "equivocal death analysis" stating that, in their opinion, Hartwig was not homosexual but that he "died as a result of his own actions, staging his death in such a fashion that he hoped it would appear to be an accident".
NIS agents Robert Nigro and Goodman briefed Miceli on their case against Hartwig, telling him that they believed that Hartwig had blown up Turret Two with a Radio Shack
Radio shack
Radio shack is a slang term for a room or structure for housing radio equipment.-History:In the early days of radio, equipment was experimental and home-built. The first radio transmitters used a noisy spark to generate radio waves and were often housed in a garage or shed. When radio was first...
timer, and gave him a copy of Smith's interview. They did not tell Miceli that Smith had recanted his statement or that the NIS had been unable to find any evidence that Hartwig had ever purchased any electronic device from Radio Shack. Miceli directed his team to begin testing to see if an electrical timer could have ignited the powder bags. Technicians at the Navy's metallurgical laboratory at Norfolk Naval Shipyard tested the copper-nickel-alloy rotating band from the center gun's projectile, and stated that they found trace chemical elements, including barium, silicon, aluminum, and calcium under the band, which indicated that an electronic timer had been used to cause the explosion. Miceli asked the FBI to duplicate the test on the band. After testing the band, the FBI stated that they did not believe an electronic timing device had been present and that chemicals found on the band likely came from Break-Free solvent used by the Navy to extract the projectile from the center gun barrel after the explosion. According to Ken Nimmich of the FBI Laboratory
FBI Laboratory
The FBI Laboratory is a division within the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation that provides forensic analysis support services to the FBI, as well as to state and local law enforcement agencies free of charge. The lab is currently located at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Quantico,...
, Miceli then abruptly terminated the Navy's request for assistance from the FBI lab.
On 28 August, technicians at the Naval Weapons Support Center at Crane, Indiana confirmed the FBI's conclusion that an electronic timer, batteries, and/or a primer were not involved in the explosion. Subsequently, Miceli's team announced that a chemical—not electrical—ignition device had been used to cause the explosion, but the new conclusion was not included in Milligan's report before the report was released. On 11 August 1989 the Navy, acting on a recommendation from Miceli, recertified the Iowa-class battleship's 16 inches (406.4 mm) guns for operation.
Investigation conclusion
On 15 July 1989 Milligan submitted his completed report on the explosion to his chain of command. The 60-page report found that the explosion was a deliberate act "most probably" committed by Hartwig using an electronic timer. The report concluded that the powder bags had been overrammed into the center gun by 21 inches (53.3 cm), but had been done so under Hartwig's direction in order to trigger the explosive timer that he had placed between two of the powder bags.Donnell, on 28 July, endorsed Milligan's report, saying that the determination that Hartwig had sabotaged the gun "leaves the reader incredulous, yet the opinion is supported by facts and analysis from which it flows logically and inevitably". Donnell's superior, Atlantic Fleet
United States Fleet Forces Command
The United States Fleet Forces Command is an Atlantic Ocean theater-level component command of the United States Navy that provides naval resources that are under the operational control of the United States Northern Command...
Commander Admiral Powell F. Carter, Jr.
Powell F. Carter, Jr.
Powell Frederick Carter, Jr. is a retired United States Navy four star admiral who served as Director of the Joint Staff 1985–1987, United States Military Representative, NATO Military Committee from 1987 to 1988; and as Commander in Chief, United States Atlantic Fleet from 1988 to 1991.-Notes:...
, then endorsed the report, adding that the report showed that there were "substantial and serious failures by Moosally and Morse", and forwarded the report to the CNO, Carlisle Trost. Although Miceli had just announced that test results at Dahlgren
Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division
The United States Naval Surface Warfare Center, Dahlgren Division , named for Rear Admiral John A. Dahlgren, is located in Dahlgren, Virginia and is part of the Naval Surface Warfare Center. The NSWCDD was founded as the U.S...
showed that an electronic timer had not caused the explosion, Trost endorsed the report on 31 August, stating that Hartwig was "the individual who had motive, knowledge, and physical position within the turret gun room to place a device in the powder train". Trost's endorsement cited Smith's statement to the NIS as further evidence that Hartwig was the culprit. Milligan's report was not changed to reflect Miceli's new theory that a chemical ignitor, not an electrical timer, had been used to initiate the explosion.
On 7 September, Milligan and Edney formally briefed media representatives at the Pentagon on the results of Milligan's investigation. Edney denied that the Navy had leaked any details about the investigation to the press. Milligan stated that the Navy believed Hartwig had caused the explosion, citing, among other evidence, the FBI's equivocal death analysis on Hartwig. Milligan displayed two books, Getting Even and Improvised Munitions Handbook, which he said belonged to Hartwig and provided "explicit" instructions on how to construct detonators and bombs. Milligan and Edney said that there was no proof that Hartwig was homosexual. Edney then stated that the investigation had proved that the Iowa-class battleships were safe to operate and that the powder in use on the ships "is stable and ready to use".
Most of the victims' family members criticized the Navy's conclusions. Many of the families told media representatives of private misgivings that the victims had expressed to them about problems with training and the dangerous gunfire experiments occurring on Iowa before the explosion. Hartwig's family disputed the allegations that he was depressed and suicidal.
Several journalists immediately began questioning the results of Milligan's investigation. John Hall, a reporter for the Richmond Times-Dispatch
Richmond Times-Dispatch
The Richmond Times-Dispatch is the primary daily newspaper in Richmond the capital of Virginia, United States, and is commonly considered the "newspaper of record" for events occurring in much of the state...
, wrote a series of four articles beginning on 17 September that revealed that Iowa was engaged in illegal powder experiments when the gun blew up; that conflicts of interest were evident in the investigators assigned to the inquiry; that many of the ship's crew were improperly or inadequately trained; and that evidence did not support the Navy's theory that Hartwig caused the explosion. The Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
picked up Hall's story and it was run in other newspapers throughout the United States. Robert Becker and A. J. Plunkett from the Daily Press
Daily Press (Virginia)
The Daily Press is a morning newspaper located in Newport News, Virginia, that covers the Hampton Roads metro area of Virginia. It was established in 1896 and has been owned by the Tribune Company since July 1986...
wrote a lengthy story which criticized Milligan's report in detail. ABC reporter Robert Zelnick wrote an op-ed
Op-ed
An op-ed, abbreviated from opposite the editorial page , is a newspaper article that expresses the opinions of a named writer who is usually unaffiliated with the newspaper's editorial board...
piece, which ran in The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
on 11 September, heavily criticizing the Navy for, in Zelnick's words, "scapegoating a dead seaman." Television newsmagazine
Newsmagazine
A news magazine is a typed, printed, and published piece of paper, magazine or a radio or television program, usually weekly, featuring articles or segments on current events...
s 20/20 and 60 Minutes
60 Minutes
60 Minutes is an American television news magazine, which has run on CBS since 1968. The program was created by producer Don Hewitt who set it apart by using a unique style of reporter-centered investigation....
both ran stories questioning the Navy's conclusions. The Washington Post, in contrast, ran a story by George Wilson that generally supported the Navy's findings.
On 3 October, Donnell disciplined Iowa's officers in response to findings in Milligan's report. Moosally and Bob Finney, Iowa's operations officer, were given non-punitive "letters of admonition" which were not placed in their permanent personnel records. Kissinger and Skelley received punitive letters of admonition which were placed in their records, as well as fines of $2,000 and $1,000 respectively. Donnell suspended both fines. Shortly thereafter, the Navy issued a statement explaining that the safety violations and training deficiencies found aboard Iowa during the investigation were unrelated to the explosion. Two weeks later, a panel of 13 Navy admirals recommended that Moosally be given another major command, stating that Moosally was "superbly fit" for such responsibility. Milligan was one of the admirals on the panel who supported the recommendation. After 60 Minutes producer Charles Thompson asked Brent Baker and Chief of Naval Personnel Jeremy Michael Boorda
Jeremy Michael Boorda
Jeremy Michael Boorda was an admiral of the United States Navy and the 25th Chief of Naval Operations . Boorda is the only CNO to have risen to the position from the enlisted ranks.-Early life and education :...
about the recommendation, Moosally's name was withdrawn.
Congressional inquiries
Ohio senators Howard MetzenbaumHoward Metzenbaum
Howard Morton Metzenbaum was an American politician who served for almost 20 years as a Democratic member of the U.S. Senate from Ohio . He also served in the Ohio House of Representatives and Senate from 1943 to 1951.-Early life:Metzenbaum was born in Cleveland, to a poor Jewish family, the son...
and John Glenn
John Glenn
John Herschel Glenn, Jr. is a former United States Marine Corps pilot, astronaut, and United States senator who was the first American to orbit the Earth and the third American in space. Glenn was a Marine Corps fighter pilot before joining NASA's Mercury program as a member of NASA's original...
were concerned with the Navy's conclusions and arranged to hold a hearing on the Navy's investigation in the Senate Armed Services Committee
United States Senate Committee on Armed Services
The Committee on Armed Services is a committee of the United States Senate empowered with legislative oversight of the nation's military, including the Department of Defense, military research and development, nuclear energy , benefits for members of the military, the Selective Service System and...
(SASC), chaired by Sam Nunn
Sam Nunn
Samuel Augustus Nunn, Jr. is an American lawyer and politician. Currently the co-chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Nuclear Threat Initiative , a charitable organization working to reduce the global threats from nuclear, biological and chemical weapons, Nunn served for 24 years as a...
. Also, Congresswoman Mary Rose Oakar
Mary Rose Oakar
Mary Rose Oakar is an American Democratic politician and former member of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio, the first Democratic woman elected to the United States Congress from that state....
asked Nicholas Mavroules
Nicholas Mavroules
Nicholas James Mavroules was a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts who was jailed after pleading guilty to corruption charges....
, chairman of the Investigations Subcommittee
United States House Armed Services Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations
House Armed Services Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations is a subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee in the United States House of Representatives.-Jurisdiction:...
of the House Armed Services Committee
United States House Committee on Armed Services
thumb|United States House Committee on Armed Services emblemThe U.S. House Committee on Armed Services, commonly known as the House Armed Services Committee, is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives...
to look into the Navy's findings and schedule hearings. John Glenn asked the General Accounting Office (GAO) to review the Navy's investigation into the explosions as well as to examine the unauthorized gunfire experiments and other unsafe practices that may have occurred on Iowa and review the Navy's utilization of the four Iowa-class battleships.
The first Senate hearing took place on 16 November 1989. Trost, Milligan, Miceli, and Robert Powers from the NIS testified at the hearing and were questioned by Senators Glenn, Alan Dixon, John McCain
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
, and James Exon. The senators questioned the Navy officers about the lack of adequate training on Iowa; the age and condition of the ship's powder; problems with the center gun's rammer; the illegal gunfire experiments; the methods used and conclusions reached in the investigation; and the series of leaks to the media from Navy and NIS personnel.
On 11 December 1989 Moosally testified before the SASC. He denied that Iowa had carried out illegal or unauthorized gunfire experiments. In response to questions from the senators, Moosally stated that he believed the explosion was an intentional act, but that he could not support Milligan's conclusion that Hartwig was the culprit. During the hearing, Sam Nunn announced that Sandia National Laboratories
Sandia National Laboratories
The Sandia National Laboratories, managed and operated by the Sandia Corporation , are two major United States Department of Energy research and development national laboratories....
in Albuquerque, New Mexico had agreed to a request by the GAO to assist with the Navy's technical investigation to see if there might be a natural explanation for the explosion. Later, FBI agents Ault and Hazelwood appeared before the committee and answered questions about how they had prepared their equivocal death analysis on Hartwig. In addition, Truitt plus two other Iowa sailors and acquaintances of Hartwig testified that Hartwig was not suicidal and that the Navy was trying to "cover up" that the explosion was likely an accident.
Les Aspin
Leslie "Les" Aspin, Jr. was a United States Representative from 1971 to 1993, and the United States Secretary of Defense under President Bill Clinton from January 21, 1993 to February 3, 1994.-Early life:...
, Larry Hopkins
Larry Hopkins
Larry Jones Hopkins represented Kentucky's Sixth Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives. He was the Republican nominee for Governor of Kentucky in 1991 and lost to Brereton C. Jones....
, Norman Sisisky
Norman Sisisky
Norman Sisisky was a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from Virginia from 1983 to 2001, representing the 4th District. He was a leader of the Blue Dog Coalition and one of the most conservative Democrats in Congress at the time.Sisisky was born in Baltimore, Maryland...
, and Joseph Brennan
Joseph Brennan (politician)
Joseph Edward Brennan is an American Democratic Party politician from Maine. He served as the 70th Governor of Maine, he is currently a commissioner on the Federal Maritime Commission....
, interviewed Donnell, Ault, Hazelwood, Milligan, Miceli, Truitt, Nimmich, and Richard Froede, the Armed Services Medical Examiner.
In early March 1990, the House Armed Services Committee released its report, titled USS Iowa Tragedy: An Investigative Failure. The report criticized the Navy for failing to investigate every natural possible cause before concluding that the explosion was an intentional act. The report also criticized the Navy for allowing the turret and projectile to become contaminated; for permitting evidence to be thrown overboard; for endorsing Milligan's report prior to completing the technical investigation; and for neglecting to disclose the nature of the disagreement with the FBI laboratory over substances found on the projectile's rotating band. The FBI's equivocal death analysis was labeled the "single major fault of the investigation". The NIS's actions in the investigation were described as "flawed" and the NIS agents assigned to the case were criticized for unprofessional interviewing techniques and for leaking sensitive documents and inaccurate information. Finally, the report concluded that Milligan was unfit to oversee a major criminal investigation.
Initial inquiries
Forty scientists from Sandia, led by Richard Schwoebel, began an independent technical inquiry into the explosion on 7 December 1989. In order to investigate the Navy's theory that an electronic or chemical ignition device had been used to cause the explosion, Schwoebel asked Miceli to examine the projectiles removed from Turret Two's left and right guns to compare with the one taken from the center gun. Miceli informed Schwoebel that both projectiles had been misplaced and he could not locate them.At a 16 January 1990 meeting with the Sandia scientists, Steve Mitchell, a Navy technician from Indian Head Naval Surface Warfare Center, reported that his team had discovered that the propellant pellets making up the powder in Iowa's powder bags could fracture and give off hot fragments in drop tests, and that the fractured surface often had a burnt appearance and odor. At this point, according to Schwoebel, Miceli interjected and said, "This kind of thing can't be duplicated during the actual loading operation. This result is not relevant to the explosion." Mitchell added that his team had found it extremely unlikely that friction or static electricity could have ignited the center gun powder bags. Tom Doran, a member of Miceli's team from Dahlgren, reported that his team had conducted tests to see if an overram could have caused the explosion, but revealed that the tests had used bags filled with wooden pellets with black powder pouches at the ends, not actual powder bags.
Sandia investigators asked the Navy if two similar explosions on the US battleship Mississippi
USS Mississippi (BB-41)
USS Mississippi , a , was the third ship of the United States Navy named in honor of the 20th state, and the second battleship to carry the name. Commissioned in 1917, too late to serve in World War I, she served extensively in the Pacific in World War II, for which she earned eight battle stars...
could be related to the Iowa explosion. In 1924 and 1943, open breech explosions had occurred in the Turret Two center gun aboard Mississippi, each time killing most of the crewmen in the turret. Miceli's team responded that the explosions were not related, because the Mississippi incidents were not actual explosions, but "intense burnings" of the powder which resulted from different causes than the Iowa incident. A staff officer from Naval Sea Systems Command, Rear Admiral Robert H. Ailes, told Sandia that the Mississippi explosions "would not be discussed".
Sandia's chemical and materials analysis group, headed by James Borders, investigated further the Navy's theory about a chemical igniter. Navy technicians stated that the discovery under the center gun's projectiles rotating band of minute steel-wool fibers were encrusted with calcium
Calcium
Calcium is the chemical element with the symbol Ca and atomic number 20. It has an atomic mass of 40.078 amu. Calcium is a soft gray alkaline earth metal, and is the fifth-most-abundant element by mass in the Earth's crust...
and chlorine
Chlorine
Chlorine is the chemical element with atomic number 17 and symbol Cl. It is the second lightest halogen, found in the periodic table in group 17. The element forms diatomic molecules under standard conditions, called dichlorine...
, a fragment of polyethylene terephthalate (commonly used in plastic bags), and different glycols, including brake fluid, hypochlorite
Hypochlorite
The hypochlorite ion, also known as chlorate anion is ClO−. A hypochlorite compound is a chemical compound containing this group, with chlorine in oxidation state +1.Hypochlorites are the salts of hypochlorous acid...
, antifreeze, and Brylcreem together indicated the use of a chemical igniter. The Navy was unable to locate the steel-wool fiber evidence for Borders to examine. No untouched portions of the rotating band remained and Sandia was provided with a section to examine that had already been examined by the FBI. Borders' team examined the rotating band and did not find any traces of polyethylene terephthalate. The team found that the glycols present actually came from the Break-Free cleaning solution which had been dumped into the center gun's barrel to help free the projectile after the explosion. The team also found that calcium and chlorine were present in Iowa's other gun turrets and in the gun turrets of the other Iowa-class battleships, and that this was indicative of routine exposure to a maritime environment. Borders concluded that ordinary sources accounted for all of the "foreign materials" found by the Navy on the center gun projectile, and that the theory that a chemical igniter had been used to cause the explosion was extremely doubtful.
Overram
Karl Schuler, a member of Sandia's team, determined that the five powder bags in Turret Two's center gun had been rammed 24 inches (61 cm) into the gun, farther than the 21 inches (53.3 cm) that the Navy had estimated in Milligan's report. After spending 50 hours exploring the ramifications on a CrayCray
Cray Inc. is an American supercomputer manufacturer based in Seattle, Washington. The company's predecessor, Cray Research, Inc. , was founded in 1972 by computer designer Seymour Cray. Seymour Cray went on to form the spin-off Cray Computer Corporation , in 1989, which went bankrupt in 1995,...
supercomputer, Schuler concluded that this overram, combined with the 2800 lbf/in2 of pressure produced by the rammer, likely compressed the powder bags to the point that they had ignited. Mel Baer, a Sandia team member, determined that the explosion likely occurred in the vicinity of the first (most forward) powder bag, corroborating the Navy's conclusion on this point.
Another group of Sandia investigators, directed by Paul Cooper, conducted 450 drop tests using small bags of D-846 powder in late March to early May 1990. The team determined that the "tare" or "trim" layer (a small amount of powder placed at the end of each bag to equalize the bag's weight inserted in the mid-1980s when the powder was mixed and rebagged under Miceli's direction) would often ignite when compressed at high speed. Cooper found that the burning fragments did not ignite adjacent powder in the same bag, but instead would burn through the bag material and ignite the adjacent bag's black powder patch and thereby ignite the rest of the bags. The week of 7 May, Schwoebel asked Miceli to conduct drop tests at Dahlgren using five actual bags of powder compressed into a steel cylinder of the same diameter as a 16-inch gun. Miceli responded that Cooper's finding "has no relation to actual 16-inch gun conditions" and refused repeated requests from Sandia to conduct the tests.
Concerned that Miceli's refusal to conduct full-scale drop tests was placing Navy gun crews at risk, on 11 May Schwoebel contacted Rick DeBobes, Nunn's counsel for the SASC. On 14 May 1990, a letter from Nunn was sent to Trost requesting that the Navy conduct the tests as requested by Sandia and that Sandia be allowed to observe the tests. That same day, Miceli's supervisor, Vice Admiral Peter Hekman, commander of Sea Systems Command, called Sandia's president, Al Narath, and told him that the Navy would conduct the full-scale drop tests as requested and Sandia was invited to participate.
The drops tests were conducted at Dahlgren under Miceli's and Tom Doran's direction. The tests consisted of vertically stacking five D-846 powder bags under an 860 pounds (390.1 kg) weight and dropping them three feet onto a steel plate to simulate a high-speed overram in a 16-inch gun barrel. On 24 May 1990 on the 18th drop test, witnessed by Cooper and Schuler, the powder bags exploded, destroying the entire testing apparatus. Miceli immediately told Hekman, who notified the Navy's leadership to halt any further use of 16-inch guns and to reopen the Navy's investigation.
Findings
The next day Schwoebel, Schuler, Cooper, and Borders publicly briefed the SASC in the Hart Senate Office BuildingHart Senate Office Building
The Hart Senate Office Building, the third U.S. Senate office building, was built in the 1970s. First occupied in November 1982, the Hart Building is the largest of the Senate office buildings. It is named for Philip A. Hart, who served 18 years as a senator from Michigan.-Design and...
on the results of their investigation, stating that, in Sandia's opinion, the explosion had occurred because of an overram of the powder caused by either an accident due to human error or an equipment failure. In his closing remarks the committee chairman, Sam Nunn, rejected Milligan's finding that the explosion had resulted from an intentional act. Nunn added that Milligan's conclusions were not supported "by reliable, probative, and substantial evidence". Nunn later criticized the NIS, saying, "The Navy's whole investigative technique here should be under serious question."
Also testifying before the Senate on 25 May was Frank C. Conahan from the GAO. Conahan reported that the GAO had found that the Iowa-class battleships were not assigned an equal share of personnel in comparison with other Navy ships, especially in the main gun department. The GAO observed that the non-judicial punishment
Nonjudicial punishment
Non-judicial punishment in the United States military, is a form of military justice authorized by Article 15 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Non-judicial punishment or "NJP" permits commanders to administratively discipline troops without a court-martial...
rate on the battleships was 25% higher than for the rest of the Navy. Conahan concluded by suggesting that, because of the issues surrounding the limited deployment availability of the battleships, they "seem to be top candidates for deactivation as we look for ways to scale back US forces."
Further investigation
Henry L. Garrett III
Henry Lawrence Garrett, III served as the 68th Secretary of the Navy from May 15, 1989 to June 26, 1992 in the administration of George H. W. Bush.-References:...
, reopened the investigation. Nunn, via DeBobes, informed the Navy to make sure that no one associated with the first investigation, especially Milligan or Miceli, was involved with the second. In spite of this request, the Navy chose Miceli to lead the new investigation but continuously report on his progress to a technical oversight board. On 30 June 1990 Frank Kelso relieved Trost as CNO and Jerome L. Johnson
Jerome L. Johnson
Jerome Lamarr Johnson is a retired United States Navy four star admiral who served as commander of the U.S. Second Fleet, Joint Task Force 120, and NATO's Striking Fleet Atlantic from 1988 to 1990 and as Vice Chief of Naval Operations from 1990 to 1992.He graduated from Texas A&M University in...
replaced Edney as vice-chief. Shortly thereafter, DeBobes visited Kelso in the Pentagon and suggested that it was not a good idea to leave Miceli in charge of the reinvestigation. Kelso listened but declined to remove Miceli. Sandia, at the Senate's request, remained involved in the investigation. The Navy stated that it expected the reinvestigation to be completed in six months.
In June and July 1990, Miceli's team conducted overram tests using a full-scale mock-up of a 16 inches (406.4 mm) gun breech. The tests were conducted at rammer speeds of 2, 4, 8, and 14 feet per second (4.3 m/s). One of the tests at 14 feet per second (4.3 m/s) caused an explosion in the breech. Cooper and Schuler, who were observing the tests, reported to Schwoebel that, in their opinion, Miceli tried to limit the scope of the testing and conduct most of the ram tests at lower speeds. The Sandia team members also noted that Miceli refused to allow his civilian technicians to test alternate overram scenarios and appeared to, by various means, deliberately delay the progress of the investigation.
During further overram testing by Miceli's team, four more explosions occurred. Tom Doran, a civilian member of Miceli's team, told Schwoebel on 18 July that his tests had shown that overram explosions could occur much more easily and at slower speeds depending on the configuration of loose pellets in the powder bags. Doran reported that Miceli then ordered him not to conduct further testing along that avenue of inquiry.
In August 1990, the Navy lifted the restriction on firing 16-inch guns. The Navy removed the trim layers from the 16-inch powder bags, added a color-coded system on the 16-inch gun ram to indicate the slow-speed ram position, and instructed gun crews to conduct additional training on rammer operations.
In November 1990, Cooper discovered the two missing Turret Two left and right projectiles in a Navy warehouse at Dahlgren. Cooper and other Sandia scientists examined the shells and found the same iron fibers and chemicals on the two shells that had been found on the center gun projectile. Said Schwoebel, "It should have ended the Navy's case against Hartwig right then and there." The Navy disagreed that the materials found on all three shells were the same.
Conclusion
On 3 July 1991 Miceli briefed the NAVSEA technical oversight board and stated that his investigation supported the Navy's original theory that the explosion was an intentional act. Although Sandia representatives were present at Miceli's briefing, the board members did not invite Sandia to rebut or comment on Miceli's assertions.Sandia's final findings were submitted to the Senate in August 1991 and included in the GAO's report on its investigation. Schwoebel's team concluded that the fibers and various chemical constituents found by the Navy on the center gun projectile were unrelated to the explosion. The team found that an overram had occurred, but could not determine the speed at which the rammer had compressed the powder bags against the projectile. Sandia found that the overram had likely caused the explosion and that the probability was 16.6% of selecting a group of five-bag charges from the propellant lot aboard Iowa that was sensitive to ignition by overram. The report stated that, in Sandia's opinion, the explosion had occurred immediately with the overram—that there was no delay as theorized by the Navy. Sandia theorized that the overram may have occurred due to inadequate training of some members of the center gun crew; a poorly conceived, briefed, and executed firing plan that contributed to confusion; and—possibly—a malfunction of the rammer. Sandia's report concluded that the probability of powder ignition in the 16-inch guns by an overram was such that measures needed to be taken to ensure that overrams were precluded at any speed. The GAO report concluded that the possibility of an overram-caused explosion was a "previously unrecognized safety problem". Schwoebel's team also briefed Admiral Kelso at the Pentagon on their findings.
On 17 October 1991, 17 months after the Navy reopened the investigation, Kelso conducted a press conference at the Pentagon to announce the results of the Navy's reinvestigation. Kelso noted that the Navy had spent a total of $25 million on the investigation. He stated that the Navy had uncovered no evidence to suggest that the gun had been operated improperly, nor had it established a plausible accidental cause for the explosion. Kelso stated, "The initial investigation was an honest attempt to weigh impartially all the evidence as it existed at the time. And indeed, despite the Sandia theory and almost two years of subsequent testing, a substantial body of scientific and expert evidence continue to support the initial investigation finding that no plausible accidental cause can be established." Kelso added that the Navy had also found no evidence that the explosion was caused intentionally. He further announced that he had directed the Navy to never again use an informal board composed of a single officer to investigate such an incident. Kelso concluded by offering "sincere regrets" to the family of Clayton Hartwig and apologies to the families of those who died, "that such a long period has passed, and despite all efforts no certain answer regarding the cause of this terrible tragedy can be found".
Iowa
Turret Two was trained forward with its own mechanism after the explosion, and superficial repairs were conducted. All the related repair pieces were stored inside the turret and the turret was sealed shut. The turret was never put back into operation.Iowa was decommissioned in Norfolk on 26 October 1990. Iowa, as part of the National Defense Reserve Fleet
National Defense Reserve Fleet
The National Defense Reserve Fleet consists of "mothballed" ships, mostly merchant vessels, that can be activated within 20 to 120 days to provide shipping for the United States of America during national emergencies, either military or non-military, such as commercial shipping crises.The NDRF is...
, was berthed at the Naval Education and Training Center in Newport from 24 September 1998 to 8 March 2001, when the ship began her journey under tow to California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. The ship arrived in Suisun Bay
Suisun Bay
Suisun Bay is a shallow tidal estuary at in northern California, USA. It lies at the confluence of the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers, forming the entrance to the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, an inverted river delta...
near San Francisco on 21 April 2001 and is part of the Reserve Fleet
Reserve fleet
A reserve fleet is a collection of naval vessels of all types that are fully equipped for service but are not currently needed, and thus partially or fully decommissioned. A reserve fleet is informally said to be "in mothballs" or "mothballed"; an equivalent expression in unofficial modern U.S....
there.
From August 1990 to February 1991, the Iowa-class battleships Wisconsin
USS Wisconsin (BB-64)
USS Wisconsin , "Wisky" or "WisKy", is an , the second ship of the United States Navy to be named in honor of the U.S. state of Wisconsin...
and Missouri
USS Missouri (BB-63)
|USS Missouri is a United States Navy Iowa-class battleship, and was the fourth ship of the U.S. Navy to be named in honor of the U.S. state of Missouri...
were deployed to the Persian Gulf
Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf, in Southwest Asia, is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.The Persian Gulf was the focus of the 1980–1988 Iran-Iraq War, in which each side attacked the other's oil tankers...
. The two battleships fired 1,182 16-inch shells in support of Gulf War
Gulf War
The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...
combat operations without mishap.
Personnel
Milligan and Miceli retired from the Navy in 1992 as a rear admiral and captain, respectively. Milligan later taught economics at the Naval Postgraduate SchoolNaval Postgraduate School
The Naval Postgraduate School is an accredited research university operated by the United States Navy. Located in Monterey, California, it grants master's degrees, Engineer's degrees and doctoral degrees...
then became vice president of a national insurance company.
Captain Moosally retired from the Navy at that rank in May 1990. At his change of command ceremony on Iowa on 4 May, Moosally criticized the Navy for mismanaging the investigation, saying that the investigators were "people who, in their rush to manage the Iowa problem, forgot about doing the right thing for the Iowa crew". Later, Moosally began working for Lockheed Martin
Lockheed Martin
Lockheed Martin is an American global aerospace, defense, security, and advanced technology company with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta in March 1995. It is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, in the Washington Metropolitan Area....
in the Washington, D.C. area. In 2001, Moosally told the Washington Post, "Only God knows what really happened in that turret. We're never really going to know for sure."
Skelley was transferred to the battleship Wisconsin in late 1990 or early 1991 and helped direct that ship's gunnery participation during the Gulf War. He retired from the Navy in the fall of 1998.
Meyer resigned from the Navy in 1991. In his resignation letter, he complained about the Navy's investigation into the explosion, and Miceli's and other officer's roles in what Meyer claimed was a cover up. The letter was passed to Vice Admiral Jeremy Michael Boorda, then chief of the Bureau of Naval Personnel, who requested, unsuccessfully, that Meyer withdraw it. When Meyer subsequently received his discharge papers, he discovered that statements in his letter criticizing the Navy and certain officers had been removed. Following assignment to the Middle East Force during Desert Shield and Desert Storm, Meyer followed through with his resignation, and matriculated at the Indiana University School of Law at Bloomington. Meyer now serves as the Director, Civilian Reprisal Investigations for the Inspector General
Office of the Inspector General, U.S. Department of Defense
The Department of Defense Inspector General is an independent, objective agency that provides oversight related to the programs and operations of the Department of Defense...
for the U.S. Department of Defense. As one of two director-level leaders of the Department of Defense Whistleblower Program
The Department of Defense Whistleblower Program
The Department of Defense Whistleblower Program enables, in part, the federal mission of protecting whistleblowers by committing the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Defense to whistleblower protection and the training of DoD personnel on their whistleblower rights...
, Meyer conducts and oversees allegations of whistleblower reprisal made by DoD civilian employees and submitted to the Inspector General.
Kendall Truitt was denied reenlistment, reportedly in retaliation for his speaking to the press and defending Hartwig. He was discharged on 9 February 1990. He continued his effort to clear Hartwig's name in statements to the media.
Media
The New York Times in 1993 severely criticized the Navy for a series of botched investigations, including the Tailhook scandalTailhook scandal
The Tailhook scandal refers to a series of incidents where more than 100 U.S. Navy and United States Marine Corps aviation officers were alleged to have sexually assaulted at least 87 women, or otherwise engaged in "improper and indecent" conduct at the Las Vegas Hilton in Las Vegas, Nevada...
, the Iowa explosion, security breaches
Clayton J. Lonetree
Clayton J. Lonetree is a member of the Navajo Nation who served nine years in prison for espionage. During the early 1980s, Lonetree was a Marine Corps Security Guard stationed at the Embassy of the United States in Moscow....
at the US embassy in Moscow, Russia, and a problematic investigation into the murder of a homosexual sailor in Yokosuka, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. The newspaper stated, "Each fumbled inquiry may have exposed a different Navy foible. The repeated bungling suggests a systemic problem in the Naval Investigative Service -- and a management failure at the highest levels."
Schwoebel, in 1999, published a book titled Explosion Aboard the Iowa on his experience directing Sandia's investigation into the explosion. In the book, Schwoebel concluded that, in his opinion, the Iowa incident and aftermath illustrated that high-consequence incidents should be investigated by an independent group instead of by a self-assessment, as had occurred with the Navy investigating itself in this case. He also observed that abuse results when a powerful organization attempts to manipulate the press, as the Navy had apparently tried to do through leaks of information about the investigation. Furthermore, Schwoebel noted the unfair and indiscriminate recitation by the press of the sensational material leaked by the Navy. Finally, he observed that the Navy was lacking a due process in military justice as it related to deceased personnel.
Also in 1999, Charles Thompson published a book, titled A Glimpse of Hell: The Explosion on the USS Iowa and Its Cover-Up
A Glimpse of Hell (book)
A Glimpse of Hell: The Explosion on the USS Iowa and Its Cover-Up is a nonfiction book of investigative journalism, written by Charles C. Thompson II and published in 1999. The book describes the USS Iowa turret explosion that took place on April 19, 1989 and the subsequent investigations that...
, documenting his investigation into the explosion and its aftermath. The book was extremely critical of many of Iowa's officers, including Moosally, as well as many of the officers involved with the subsequent Navy investigation, and the NIS. The book received favorable reviews and was selected by the Military Book of the Month Club
Book of the Month Club
The Book of the Month Club is a United States mail-order book sales club that offers a new book each month to customers.The Book of the Month Club is part of a larger company that runs many book clubs in the United States and Canada. It was formerly the flagship club of Book-of-the-Month Club, Inc...
as its featured selection in March 1999. Thompson stated that after the book was published, a previously scheduled invitation to speak at the US Navy's National Museum
U.S. Navy Museum
The National Museum of the United States Navy, or U.S. Navy Museum for short, is the flagship museum of the United States Navy and is located in the former Breech Mechanism Shop of the old Naval Gun Factory on the grounds of the Washington Navy Yard in Washington, D.C., USA.The U.S...
was rescinded, his book was banned from being sold in the museum's book store, and Navy exchange
Base exchange
A Base Exchange is a type of retail store operating on United States military installations worldwide...
stores at bases throughout the world were forbidden from selling his book. Emails between Navy officials obtained by Thompson through a Freedom of Information request
Freedom of Information Act (United States)
The Freedom of Information Act is a federal freedom of information law that allows for the full or partial disclosure of previously unreleased information and documents controlled by the United States government. The Act defines agency records subject to disclosure, outlines mandatory disclosure...
included one from a Navy public affairs officer saying with regard to Thompson, "I will call book wholesalers and tell them not to set up book signings with this author." In 2001, the FX television network broadcast A Glimpse of Hell
A Glimpse of Hell (film)
A Glimpse of Hell is a drama film originally made for TV and was initially shown on the FX TV network. It was released in the United States on March 18, 2001. It was filmed in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada and stars James Caan, Robert Sean Leonard, and Daniel Roebuck. It was directed by Mikael...
, a made-for-TV movie. Starring James Caan and Robert Sean Leonard
Robert Sean Leonard
Robert Sean Leonard is an American actor, who has regularly starred in Broadway and off-Broadway productions. Since 2004 he has played the role of Dr. James Wilson on the TV series House...
, the movie was based on Thompson's book. According to Nielsen Media Research
Nielsen Media Research
Nielsen Media Research is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre films and newspapers...
, A Glimpse of Hell received a 3.3 household rating and drew 2.7 million viewers, which was enough to make the movie the most-watched program in FX's seven-year history.
Alan E. Diehl, a former safety manager for the United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
, described the Iowa incident in his 2003 book Silent Knights: Blowing the Whistle on Military Accidents and Their Cover-Ups. Diehl called the incident and its aftermath the worst military cover-up he had ever seen.
Lawsuits
On 19 April 1991, the Hartwig family sued the Navy for "intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distressIntentional infliction of emotional distress
Intentional infliction of emotional distress is a tort claim of recent origin for intentional conduct that results in extreme emotional distress. Some courts and commentators have substituted mental for emotional, but the tort is the same...
" under the Federal Tort Claims Act
Federal Tort Claims Act
The Federal Tort Claims Act or "FTCA", , is a statute enacted by the United States Congress in 1948. "Federal Tort Claims Act" was also previously the official short title passed by the Seventy-ninth Congress on August 2, 1946 as Title IV of the Legislative Reorganization Act, 60 Stat...
. On 30 June 1992 the Hartwigs added another count of emotional distress to the lawsuit, after the Navy sent a letter to Hartwig's parents inviting the dead sailor to join the US Navy Reserve
United States Navy Reserve
The United States Navy Reserve, until 2005 known as the United States Naval Reserve, is the Reserve Component of the United States Navy...
. The Hartwigs sued for emotional distress in order to avoid the limitations imposed by the Feres Doctrine
Feres v. United States
Feres v. United States, 340 U.S. 135 , combined three pending federal cases for a hearing in certiorari in which the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the United States is not liable under the Federal Tort Claims Act for injuries to members of the armed forces sustained while on active...
. The DoD asked for a dismissal of the Hartwigs' suit on grounds of sovereign immunity
Sovereign immunity
Sovereign immunity, or crown immunity, is a legal doctrine by which the sovereign or state cannot commit a legal wrong and is immune from civil suit or criminal prosecution....
, but in May 1993, US District Judge Paul R. Matia ruled in Cleveland that the Hartwigs' suit could proceed. After discovery
Discovery (law)
In U.S.law, discovery is the pre-trial phase in a lawsuit in which each party, through the law of civil procedure, can obtain evidence from the opposing party by means of discovery devices including requests for answers to interrogatories, requests for production of documents, requests for...
, the government again moved for dismissal. On 26 January 1999 Magistrate Judge
United States magistrate judge
In the United States federal courts, magistrate judges are appointed to assist United States district court judges in the performance of their duties...
David Perelman issued a recommendation to grant dismissal because several years of discovery had revealed that defamation was essential to the Hartwigs' claims, and that pure defamation claims were barred by sovereign immunity. The Hartwig family filed objections, but on 10 November 1999 District Judge Solomon Oliver, Jr. adopted the recommendation to dismiss, ruling that "however hurtful the government's action may have been, they cannot form the basis of a claim against the United States."
The Hartwigs sued NBC News for $10 million for emotional distress, claiming that the reports by Fred Francis had falsely portrayed Hartwig as a suicidal mass murderer. NBC responded by claiming that it could not be held liable, because its information had come directly, via leaks, from the NIS. A federal judge dismissed the suit.
Thirty-eight of the other Iowa victims' family members filed suit against the Navy, seeking $2.35 billion in damages for the death of their family members in the explosion. Citing the Feres case, US District Judge Claude M. Hilton in Alexandria, Virginia
Alexandria, Virginia
Alexandria is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2009, the city had a total population of 139,966. Located along the Western bank of the Potomac River, Alexandria is approximately six miles south of downtown Washington, D.C.Like the rest of northern Virginia, as well as...
, summarily dismissed the suit.
In March 2001 Moosally, Miceli, Morse, and Finney filed suit against Glimpse of Hell author Thompson, his publisher, W.W. Norton, and Dan Meyer, who the plaintiff
Plaintiff
A plaintiff , also known as a claimant or complainant, is the term used in some jurisdictions for the party who initiates a lawsuit before a court...
s stated provided much of the information used in the book, for libel, false light privacy, and conspiracy. In April 2001 Mortensen filed a separate suit for the same causes of action. In response to the suit, Thompson stated that he stood "foursquare" behind his book's content.
In April 2004, the South Carolina Supreme Court
South Carolina Supreme Court
The South Carolina Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The court is composed of a Chief Justice and four Associate Justices.-Selection of Justices:...
dismissed the suits against Thompson and Meyer, but allowed the suit against W. W. Norton to proceed. In February 2007 the suit was settled out-of-court for undisclosed terms. Stephen F. DeAntonio, an attorney for the plaintiffs, said that they felt "totally vindicated". W. W. Norton did not publicly retract or repudiate any of the material in Thompson's book, however, instead sending a letter to the former officers stating, in part, "To the extent you believe the book implies that any of you were engaged in a cover-up, were incompetent, committed criminal acts, violated Naval regulations or exhibited faulty seamanship or professional ineptitude, Norton regrets the emotional distress experienced by you or your family."
Memorial
A small memorial to the 47 sailors killed in the explosion was erected at "Iowa Point" on Norfolk Naval Station. Each year after the accident on 19 April a memorial service was held at Norfolk by former Iowa crewmembers and family members of those killed in the explosion.At the 1999 ceremony, retired Navy Captain Larry Seaquist
Larry Seaquist
Larry Seaquist is the current Democratic member of the Washington House of Representatives, which is the lower house of the Washington State Legislature, for the 26th District....
, who had commanded Iowa before Moosally, spoke to former Iowa crewmen and families of the 47 sailors killed in the explosion. Seaquist criticized the Navy for misleading families about its investigation and harassing family members, adding "It would have been very nice if the leadership of the Navy would have been here to say something simple to you, like 'We apologize.'" In response, a Navy spokesman said, "What Captain Seaquist says is his opinion. It's his right."