The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1910-07-21
Breech Block Probably Sent Home Before Mechanism
 Was Adjusted Coast Guard Artillery Work Is Being Conducted By Five Batteries In Pres ence of Many Dig
 nitaries

Among the more serious accidents caused by explosions and faulty breech blocks have been the follow ing:
 BattIeship Kearsarge-West Indian waters, February, 1902, gun burst, killing 5.
 Battleship Iowa-Aprl 9. 1903, ex- plosion of gun, killing 3, wounding 5.
 Battleship Massachusetts-OnC Cu1e- bra Island, January 10, 1906, gun explosion, killing nine.
 Battleship Missouri-On Pensacola, Fla, April IS, 1904, powder explo- sion, Ss killed, injured.
 Battleship Massachusetts-AtP Phil adelphia, December IA, 1904, explo- sion in fireroom, 3 killed, 4 scalded.
 Gunboat Bennington-San Diego, Cal, July 15, 1905, boiler explosion, killing 34. injuring 66.
 Battleship Kearsarge in Caribbean Sea, April fs. 1906, powder explo- sion, killing 6.
 Battleship GeoFgia-In Massachu- setts Bay, July IS, 1907, powder ex- plosion, killing 6, injuring IS.
 Cruiser Tennessee in California wa ters, June 5, 1908, bursting of boiler tube, killing five.
 Torpedo Boat Destroyer Hopkins in California water, explosion boiler. killing one, tnjuring five.
 Cruiser Charleston, March 2S 1910, in Philippine waters, breech lock exploded, killing 8, wounding several.
 Especial from United Press.)
 Norfolk, Va, July 21.-Ten men of the coast artillery corps were kill ed today; two were probably fatally injured; Lieutenant Van Dusen sus- tained a broken leg and three other men were hurt by the premature ex. plosion of 12 inch gun charge dur ing batele practice at Fortress Mon roe. Van Dusen is the only commis- stoned officer known to have been hurt.
 The dead:
 Sergeant Harry B. Hess; Corporal Charles O. Adkins; Albert Bradford private; Roy Dubby, private; John W. Chadwick, private; Glove w. King private; Albert w. Smith, private; Andy J. Sullivan, James H. Turner
 The fatally injured:
 Arley Adey, private; Judd E. Ho- gan, private.
 The slightly injured:
 Lieutenant George L. Van Dusen; Privates Orville T. Rainey, Ellsworth W. Hoffman, Charles B. Parks, Will. liam c. Sulzberger. The men engaged in the practice were just completing their course ir the artillery school. Major Genera w. H. Carter, assistant chief of staff was present and made report te the War Department. A score or more of high ranking officers of the army including Colone Bailey, assistant chief of the coas artillery corps and others on staff duty were at the fort at time of the the battery at which the fatal acci dent occurred.
 The accident was similar to man, others which have occurred both il the coast artillery and in the navy It is possible that the firing pin ha( breech block was showed into tn, gun, resulting in the premature ex plosion of the charge before tn, block had been properly screwed il place and made secure. Lieutenant George l.. Van Dusel is from Passaic, N. J. He served a. a second lieutenant in the army ant was appointed to the coast artiller, only last May. He was assigned tt the school at Fortress Monroe for course of instruction. Battery De Russey, where the ex plosion occurred, is made up of l. | inch guns.
 The practice today was the frs ever attempted in which five batterie | were let loose at once under simila conditions. The target was a rect angular structure made of canvas 6, feet by 30 feet, the size being ap proximately that of the vital part O a battleship at the distance. This is the first accident of yer, serious proportions which has occur | red in the coast artillery corps Ther | have been some explosions witt smaller guns but never before wa