The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1907-07-16
Explosion in Superilnpos-
ed Turret Kills 6 and
Injuries 13.
WRAPPED LIKE
RATS IN "A CAGE,
Hundred-Pound Bag OF Powder
Roasts Officers and Men, Who
Are Powe1lcss to Escape.
Two Crawl from Death
Trap and Jump Into
the Sea.

BOSTON, july 15.--By the explosionlE
0f case of powder in the hands OF, all
RUNNER In the aftcr-snperimposeI tur Il
ret of the battleship Georgia. IN Maasa- 7
chusetts Bay to-day. eight men were Il
KILLED and fifteen injured Not one of II
the persons in the turret escaped in
Jury. Il
i The Dead. f
( William j. Thatcher. chief turretE
captain Wilmington, Del; FaulknerG
Goldthwaitc, niidshipman, kentuckS;-l5
Nv. j. Burke, ordinary seaman, Qulncy,ll
SMass G. c.. Hamilton ordinary sea
man South Framingham. MasR.; W..M.l3
Thomas, ordinary seaman, Newport, ~ I
L. George T.. Miller, ordinary seaHan|i
tBrooklyn n Y. William f. Pair. or I
binary seaman, Brooklyn, n. ". Lieu /
Tenant caspar Goodrich. New York.
4 Injured.
/, Midshipnan John r. Cruise. Nebraska;
sFrank schlapp, North Adams. Mass.
ihoatswain's mate. second class; Charles I
luassell. New York gunner's mate.
iMinn., chief yeoman: j. e. Thomas.
alordinary seaman. Brooklyn. n. ". :.
IL. Rosenbergcr, ordinary seaman, Phil |
Iadelphia; Edward j. Walsh, ordinary
lseaman, Lynn. Mass: John Q. Maliick, A
iordinarv seaman. Cleveland Ohio: Johnl
H.
IL o. Meese, ordinary seaman. Berea,
tonic: II. l.. Gilbert. ordinary seaman,
tSouthwick, Mass; John a. Bone. ordi-
Slnry seaman. Trenton, n. j.; Charles L.
,Lsich ordinary seaman. Frankford, Ind.
Two Jumped Overheard.
Lieutenant Goodrich and Seaman MAJ
Neck jumped overheard Immediately al
tier the explosion, with the apparent
i,notive of ending the terrible suffering
from their burns. Both of the men
>were quickly rescued by uninjured com
1ades I'd
The accident happened while the bat
ltieship was several miles off Province
town. and the men We're aSed in
target practice. together wtttl other
vessels OF the battleshp's squadre of
}the Atlantic feet The powder had
& just been taken from the ammunition
hoist TO load an eight-iLch gun. 1t
was seen TO be burning and n an in
tstant 1t exploded in the very face Of
tthe loader of the gun. No damage was
done 10 the vessel, as the powder was
mot confined. and early this evening, .un-
der orders from Washington, the Geor-
sf pia sailed hack to the target grounds
of Provincetown.
Cause Unknown.
How the powder became ignited is
mot known. but the theory held at the
: lravy-yard is that 1t was set Off by a
Lpark from the smokestack OF the war
,.hip. Immediately after The accident
hhe Georgia headed for tie Charles
town Navy-Yard. There the dead and
injured were taken ashore. the wound
led men being conveyed to the naval
hospital at Chelsea.
The Georgia Is one of the battle
shps of the second division of the4At-
lantic Fleet, which has been at tar
get practice off Provincetown for the
last two weeks. The Georgia is one
jof the newest battleships in the navy
lhaving been IN. commission only about
ten months. She is commanded by
(Captain Richard McCrea.
The explosion occurred in the after
superimposed turret
The guns in the forward turrets hat
finished eight rounds of practice. ant
tho guns in the after turret had firet
one round. Two cases. as the big 100
pound bags of powder are called. hat
Ijust been sent up through tle am.-,u
milton hoist, and Were in the arms o
the loader.
Shouted n Warning.
The loader stood at the breech o
zone of the guns, all ready to insert tn
lcharge. At this instant the turret wa
seen TO be smoky, and twb men VIII
stood near ther!oader saw black spo
1pn the bag, indicating that the charg
tad ignited and was smouldering. TIL
lioader discovered the spot at the sam
tirstant, and threw himself forward o.
itis face, at the same time shouting
4 .Rarning to his turret-mates. The othe
men who had seen the spot We're Elc
tnnd Hansell, and they also threw them
selves on the floor of the turret.
Before the other men in the turre
Scould understand the leaders, cry +
warming there was n binding flash a
bo n ay I'll a q
]smoke and nauseous gases filled tn
ilittle superstructure In which MOI
tthan a score of men were conine
LAS the powder was not confined thel
was no report, nor did the vess
,suffer any injury, but every nook ar
;cranny of the turret was filled wit
flame The loader. who was, of cours
nearest the powder. was terrib
sburned, as was every other man in Il
hurret with the exception OF Eich 81
iTIansel, who, although scorched G
leaned with injuries much less seve
than the others. M
Prisoners In Turrct.
Blinded by the smoke and fan
yrh hocked by the gaseous flames and ma
dened With pain the men screamed
iagony. Some staggered blindly up Il
lladder TO the hatchways in the top
The turret, while others crept alol
the turret begging piteously for a
eistance.
Lieutenant Goodrich and Seam
sMaleck became crazed, staggered
the iron ladder to the top Of the tn
'Tet and then threw themselves hoa
hong into the sea in a despairing eff
sto choose n death by drowning In pr
erence to death by slow fire.
When tho smoke of the burni
,powder had cleared away, the sh
mates OF tho unfortunate men rush
A. ll.,f .,t.a.. 49,,
sufferers We're lifted out of the fl
hlackened turret and quickly convey
TO the ships hospital, where tn