The daily journal. (Salem, Or.) 1899-1903, 1903-07-28
It 1T Handles
the Big Guns

II takes pretty strong crane to
lift 10000 pounds Of solid metal, and
II would not be pleasant to be stand.
ing under II anything happened to
give way There were no cranes at
the Brooklyn navy yard strong enough
TO give the officers and men working
thereabouts comforting assurance
that nothing would give, so they had
70 secure a special wrecking crane be.
fore the first step of all in the com.
plete overhauling of the battleship
Iowa could be undertaken.
This first step of ell was finally ac.
complished last week It was the re-
moval from the replacement In her
forward turrets of the remains of the
great 12-inch gun which exploded.
with such fatal results, of Pensacola,
on Good Friday last. This was about
the most serious accident that ever
happened on one of our battleships.
The Iowa was at target practice in
the gulf. The forward port 12-nch
gun had been loaded to FIRE It's pro-
jectile was a bomb. supposed to ex.
plode at 100 yards by means of a
time fuse. II exploded, instead the
instant the gun was fired wrecking
more than ~ feet of the great guns
length, ripping II into fragments, send.
ing these fragments. weighing. some
of them. ton each. high into the air.
and dropping them on the vessel
again to crash through the spar and
gun decks OF the great battleship as
II they had been so much pastboard.
to crush the lives out OF three men
NJ ftsI
to seriously injure five more. and then
to splinter their way through this deck
20 the armored protective deck. where
thick steel plates stopped the terrible
missiles from cutting down the ma
chlnists and firemen below.
There was no explanation of the ac.
cldent at the time. Subsequent in.
vestigatlon leaves unexplained. Lieu
tenant Reed. the officer In charge of
the turret. had inspected II Just be-
fore firing. Il was in good condition
and had been fred dozen times with.
in as many days. Some defect "in the
shell or fuse" Is the only possible way
of accounting for II. The great barrel
was broken of Just above its long end
Joint. and that 12-foot section of heavy
rlhed steel shattered into fragments.
working the gun we're unhurt and
hardly realized that anything had hap
pened. The conclusion was but little
more than usually accompanied the
guns discharge, The only consolation
was In the fact that Ave minutes later
II would have killed many more than
II did, for dinner call had just sounded
and the men were all pouring down TO
the mess room.
Later on. when the Iowa was
ordered to Brooklyn for repairs. II was
found that the whole vessel had been
much more wrecked and strained by
the force OF the explosion than had
been at all realized. and that nothing
short OF a complete overhauling would
render her thoroughly flt. SO the Iowa
"the pride of the navy" "the greatest
lighting ship OF them ALL" first put In.
TO active service about Ave years ago.
was ordered out OF commission In.
definitely and has been pretty
thorough dismantled.
The first step In the overhaullng
was. OF course. getting out the old
gun. And that proved something of
a problem. The Iowa's turret Is OF
rather different construction from
AhRHN VI AAlF hlNfi NfhoNAn WnANn uAN'
heretofore been In the navy yard for
repairs. and II took some time 20 loos.
en- the top of the turret Moreover. II
Is not every day that one OF those
great naval guns is replaced. Had II
been all there the gun proper would
have been 3S feet long. It's bore
would have been 10 inches In diane
ter at the muZzle. II would have
weighed in itself 101. 900 pounds. and
Its jacket which II wore on the occa.
sion OF its first and last shore leave,
weighed an additional 2l 900 pounds,
II was an anxious moment when all
the great cables were adjusted and
the engines started and the great |
cranes iron arm began to lift lift, lift. |
and the ropes grew taut under the |
strain. Would "she" move? She did. !
Slowly she lifted out; slowly she
swung over the deck. And every man
on Il held his breath. Supposing the |
proverbial Something" should"givel"
What would happen 10 the Iowa then,
when a few fragments, no one of them |
one-tenth the weight of this great |
stump OF a gun. had wrought the yes
sci such woe? Probably every one |
who finally saw IL swing safely over
the side drew a breath OF relief-a |
breath which was duplicated when |
she" was finally lowered gently into
the cradle that awaited her. II was a
giant cradle. builded OF the heaviest |