Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1924-06-14
DREADNAUGHT BLAST
BRINGS OUT HEROISM
Mississippi's Officers Tell How
Stokers Stuck to Posts in
Face of Death.
INQUIRY BOARD RECONvENES
Vivid Picture Presented of Fate
That Took Forty Eight Lives.

By the Associated Press.
SAN PEDRO, Calf, June IA
Further grim details of the turret
blast which killed forty-eight men
aboard the dreadnaught Miss ssippi
last Thursday and injured a dozen
others, five seriously, awaited tell
ing as members of the naval board
of inquiry investigating the disaster
gathered for their second session on
the stricken battleship today.
y vivid picture OF the fate which
overlook the fighting men of turret
No. while the guns of their ship
and two other vessels roared at a
grounds south of here was contained
in testimony offered during yester-
days session.
Testimony of Captain.
The testimony of Capt W. D.
Brotherton, commander of the Mis-
siss;ppi. emphasized the stealth with
which sudden, flaming death swept
from a gun breech into the crowded
turrct and extinguished almost half
a hundred lives before the rest OF the
ship knew what had happened.
IT blame no one" he said in con-
clusion. "AIl my men did their
duty. every one. have only the
highest praise to offer"
There was praise, too, for the way
men stuck to their posts after the
nerve shattering news of dissaster.
stokers Stick to Jobs
Down in the engine and fire rooms
the "black gang stayed with their
Jobs, realizing fully a further ex-
plosion would mean death to them all.
Deadly fumes from the turets were
sucked down into their compartment
by the forced draught ventilating sys-
tenn, and several men temporarily
were overcome.
Later, those men were relieved by
another crew, every man or Wnicn
knew what had happened in No.
turret, and that fire might at any
moment reach and explode the for
ward magazines a few feet away from
where they must work.
1T was Navy stuff, that's all, SAD
Lieut.. Carl Z. Weincke. engineer Off
Ger of the Mississippi. The spirit
on this ship is big!"
Tomorrow will be a day of mourn
ing in several Southern California
cities, and next Tuesday, the day
tentatively set aside for the funeral
services of the victims, will be marx
ed bv solemn and mpeSsive services
in which civilians will join with men
and officers of the fleet in paying
homage to the men who died.
Stories by Omcers.
Ensign j. ]. Levisseur of the bat
tleship New Mexico, who was in the
turret as an observer. told the in
ouiry board yesterday of the load
ing of the three 14inch guns just
prior to the explosion. Commander
J. C. Trayner, medical officer of the
Mississippi, told how the bodies of
victims were removed from the tur-
ret, and certified that number of
those who perished was eight
and the number of injured twelve.
How the plight of the men in tur-
ret No. became known to him and
others aboard ship was vividly de-
scribed by Capt. Brotherton.
1--WE had made rehearsal run, he
said, (which was successful, and we
then commenced firing.
I'VE were proceeding without diff
Guilty. 1 was in the connIng-tower
when we received the sigma! to make
formation Baker g "a battle forma-
ton in which ships of the line zig
gag in their course at nineteen
1Contjnued on Page 8, Column ID