Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1904-04-14
EXPLOSION ON BATTLEsHIP.
Twenty-Five Men Killed and Five
Injured on the Missouri.

/ II
handling-room of the battleship Missouri,
Capt. William S. Cowles commanding,
% men were instantly killed and five
injured, of whom two will die.
The Missouri was on the target range
with the Texas and Brooklyn at practice
about noon off Pensacola, when a charge
of powder in the 12-inch left-hand gun
ignted from gases, exploded, and drop
ping below, ignited four charges OF
powder in the handling-room and all
exploded. Only one man of the entire
turret and handling crew survived. But
for the prompt and efficient work OF
officers in flooding the handling-room
and magazine with water, one OF
the magazines would have exploded
and the ship would have been destroyed.
Captain Cowles, completely overcome
by the disaster, referred all newspaper
men TO Lieutenant Hammer, the ord
nance officer. The latter gave out
statement OF the explosion and its prob
able cause. According to him, about
noon, after the first pointer OF the after
l2-inch piece had fred his string and
the second pointer had fired the third
shot of his string, the charge ignited.
The fourth shot was being loaded,
and from all indications the first half Of
the charge had been rammed home and
the second section was being rammed
home. when gases from the shot previ-
ously fired or portions of the cloth cover
ignited the powder. The. breech was
open and a dull thud gave notice Of
something unusual. No loud report
was made, but flames were seen to leap
from every portion of the turret. A
few seconds later another explosion,
somewhat more fierce, occurred. This
was in the handling-room below, where
|, 600 pounds of powder, or four charges
ready to be hoisted above, had ignited.
Fire quarters were sounded, and every
man of the ship responded and the maya
zine and handling rooms were flooded
with water. In less than five seconds
after the first explosion two streams Of
water were being played in the rooms,
and when volunteers were called for
every man of the ship responded, eager
to 90 into the turrets and rescue the
crew.
The second explosion occurred near
one of the magazines, and so hot was
the fire that the brasswerk of the maya
zine was melted Smoke and the
fumes OF the burned powder made
it almost impossible to enter either
the turret or handling-room, but
officers and men with handker-
chiefs over their faces made efforts to
rescue the men inside. Leading the
rescuing party was Captain Cowles.
The officers endeavored to keep him
from going blow, as men fell unconscious
as they entered and had to be pulled
out by their comrades, but unheed-
ing their advice the commanding
officer rushed below, followed by Lieu
tenant Hammer, the ordnance, officer,
and Lieut.. Cleland Davis.
Captain Cowles caught up a dying
sailor in his arms and staggered to
the deck with him. The sailor,
with two Others from the handing rooms,
had crawled partly from their place of
duty when they had been overcome.
Before the fumes of the burning powder
had left the turret officers and men were
lifting out the dying and dead men.
Three minutes after the explosion all
were on deck and the surgeons from the
Missouri, Texas and Brooklyn we're at
tending to those not dead.
The twenty-five men of the turret
were found lying in heap. They had
started for the exit when the first ex-
plosion occurred, and had just reached
there when the more terrible explosion
in the handling-room occurred, which
burned and strangled them to death.
Lieutenant Davidson, the officer in
charge of the turret, evidently had given
some command to the men, as he was on
top of the heap of men, having fallen
there after he had allowed them to pass
him to get out of the turret.
The bodies were hardly recognizable,
the terrible and quick fire having burnt
clothing from the bodies of the men and
the flesh hung from them in shreds. The
faces we're mutilated by the smoke and
flames only. Only one man was breath
ing when the turret crew was rescued,
and he died a moment after he reached
the deck.
The smOkeless powder is put into the
12-inch gun in three sections, each bag,
or section, weighing 100 pounds, Some
officers say that the turrets of the Mis-
souri, had no bottoms, and express the
opinion that after this accident the tur-
rets of all battleships will be equipped
with bottoms for the protection of the
men in the handliDg-room underneath.
The officers killed by the explosion
were Lieut. w. C. Davidson, in charge
of the 12-inch turret Ensign E. A. Wei
ebert, of the cruiser Cleveland, gun UNI
pire; Midshipman w. T. Neumann /;
Lieut.. J. p V. Gridley, U. S. NJ. c.,
and Lieut. Thomas Ward, ir.
Pensacola, April l4.-Later reports
from the battleship Missouri indicate that
the truth is not known yet regarding the
explosion. Thirty eight caskets were
ordered this afternoon, which is taken
to mean that the accident was more
serious than supposed. A story of self
sacrifice of a man 10 save the ship
is told of a sailor named Bougard.
Seeing the burning powder charge, the
man grappled it, darted through the
turret and then leaped overheard. This
act saved the ship from total destruction,
as had the charge ignited, it would have
reached the magazine and blown the ship