Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-07-20
DELAYED BAREBACK
Cause of Recent Disaster on
the Georgia. =;
FINDING OF NAVAL BOARD
Air Blast in Gun Not Turned on Long
Enough.
CREW TRYING TO MAKE RECORD
other Possible Causes for the Tragedy
Considered in Turn and
Rejected.
FINDING OF NAVAL BOARD
CREW TRYING TO MAKE RECORD

By a process of elimination the naval
board. which has been investigating the
accident whereby the men In the turret
of the battleship Georgia lost their lives
recently, has arrived at the conclusion
that a delayed bareback caused that
catastrophe. In one sense the verdict IL
received with a distinct sense of relief by
naval officers because II showed that they
had no new element of danger to contend
with. They had experienced 'harebacks"
before and thought that they knew how to
deal with them.
A delayed bareback" Is caused by clos
Ing off too soon the blast of compressed
air, which Is supposed to expel from the
bore OF the gun the unburnt gases and
fragments of smolderng powder covering
that might be left from the last discharge
After the terrible accident in the Mssouri's
turret three years ago, resulting in the loss
of over thirty lives. the experts having
decided that that accident was caused by
the ignition of the new charge by the
unburned gases and smoldcring cartridge
cloth of the preceding charge. the ordnance
bureau caused to be fitted to the breach
of each of the great guns air blast APP
paratus calculated to expel by compressed
air any gas cloth that might remain
in the bore OF the gun So far that has
worked very well and there have been no
farebacks' since the device was installed.
stalled.
Cause of Disaster
In the case Of the Georgia's eight-inch
gun. what happened was this: The breech
of the gun was thrown open and the air
blast turned in at a pressure of 100 pounds
to the square inch. That Is sufficient for
all ordinary purposes with the important
qualification that 1t should be continued
long enough to drive the last remnant of
In
case the gases or smodering cloths (Which
is not known now were driven probably
more than half way to the muzze of the
gun when the air blast was turned off.
The Georgia was steaming at ten knots
into the wind, which blew into the muzzle
of the gun. The unexpected gases cloths
were driven back by the breeze into the
breech of the gun and out upon the pow
der charge which was just about to be in
serted. The explosion followed The cause
of the accident. therefore, will without
doubt be set down to the ambition of the
gunners to make a record practice in point
of speed. Had the air blast been kept on
for second longer in all proba bility the
accident would have been avoided. Three
shots from an eight-inch gun in turret
In one minute or ten shots from both guns
In turret In two minutes Is record prac-
tice and there Is reason to believe that
Lieut. Goodrichs turret crew were about to
smash that record.
Conclusions Summarized.
The conclusions of the board are sum-
married. as follows:
The charge was not ignited by a blown
electrical fuse of a short circuit, nor by an
electric spark from any electrical device
in the turret.
The charge was not ignited by a percus-
sional or fractional spark.
The charge was not ignited by spark
or cinder falling into the turret from
outside.
The charge was not ignited as a result of
any condition due to deterioration of the
powder.
Finally the board concludes that the
charge was ignited by a delayed bareback,