The Omaha morning bee., 1924-06-15
Dying Man Is
Quizzed for
Blast Cause
Chief Turret Captain, Band
age-Swathed, Near Death, to
Whisper Secret of Missis-
sippi Explosion to Board.
BY COPELAND c. BURG.
International News Service Staff COrre-
spondent.


sion OF the tragedy.
The dying man Is Chief Turret
Captain F. ]. Rynes. commander of
the gun crew of turret number two,
where big 14.inch gun vomitcd the
deadly gases into the 13-inch steel
bound chamber.
After an inspection of the turret oi
the Mississippi. where the As died
the navy officers journeyed to the
hospital ship Relief rocking In Los
Angeles harbor in the shadow OF
Man of War Row."
Here the members Of the navy
board will bend their ears to hear the
whispered story of the tragedy from
Fynes, swathed in ointment-soaked
bandages. Rynes, closer to the ex-
ploding gun than any Of the doomed
gun crew, is expected to reveal de-
feet in the loading mechanism or
turret construction.
Believing the turret captains story
will shed light on the explosion to the
end that the gunners may not have
died In vain, the navy board moved
swiftly to his bedside.
San Pedro, Cal, June 14.-In
1907, when a turret aboard the bat
tlcship Georgia blew up and many
men were killed and injured, +. j.
Rhyme, now q chief turret captain,
was one of the few survivors.
Today, swathed i'm bandages and
moaning through swollen lips.
Rhyme lay on a cot aboard the hos.
pitaI ship Relief, one Of the few
survivors Of the turret explosion
which Thursday claimed the lives Of
4S men aboard the u. s. s. Missis-
sippi.
Washington, June 13.-Secretary
Wilbur declared today that very
careful examination" by naval
court of inquiry will be required be-
fore any official explanation of the
turret explosion on board the battle
ship Mississippi can be made. He
made it plain that the investigation
would be conducted in the open.
The cause Of the disaster may be
difficult to determine, the secretary
said, as many of those who would
have been able to give the facts were
killed.
A message of sympathy was dis
patched by Mr.. Wilbur to the cap
tains, officers and crews Of the bat
tlcships Mississippi and New Mexico,
the latter included because several of
her men were on the Mississippi at
the time Of the explosion. The mes
sage said:
II extend to you my profund SYM
pathy in the loss of your shipmates
the accident on board the
In addition, he sent personal mes
sages to the families of the dead.
San Pedro, June 14.-Further grim
details Of the turret blast that killed
4s men aboard the dreadnaught Mis-
sissippi las. Thursday and injured
a dozen others, five seriously, await
ed telling as members of the naval
hoard of inquiry investigating the dis
aster gathered for their second ses.
sion on the stricken battleship today.
A vivid picture OF the fate that
overlook these fighting men OF tur-
ret No. ., while tho guns Of their ship
and two other vessels roared at a
target on the San Clemente drill
grounds. south of here, was contained
in testimony offered during yester-
days session.
To Testify.
Lieut. Com. F. G.. Reinecke, gun
merry officer of the Mississippi, said
he was stationed in the fire control
tower directing the fire OF the big
guns He was unaware of any ex-
plosion until just before the twelfth
salvo was fired. Then, over the te1e-
phone he heard hoarse voice:
Fire in No. -
By this time the twelfth salvo had
rocked the great ship and flung it's
tons of steel at the target. The order
cease fire" was sisnalled. The gun
merry officer hastened down from the
coming tower. lie found smoke pour.
ing out of the turret; he saw the
chief gunner's mate flooding the mag
azines with water; saw blue jackets
trying to open trap doors
which the stricken gun crew
might escape.
Too Late.
Finally the rescuers gained entrance
to the turret, but too late TO save
life.
Those who entered were extremely
daring" declared Commander Rel
necke. II thought they were going in
with too much abandon. fer / had
been cautioned by medical officers TO
tell them to go slow-that the tur-
ret must be full OF poisonous gases
Inside they found the bodies of
the 48. clustered in groups. huddlcd
close to the various openings. The
bodies of all those who had worked
with telephone head sets clamped TO
their ears still wore them.
II Blame No One"
The testimony Of Capt. W. ID. Broth
erton, commander of the Mississippi
also emphasized the stealth with which
sudden, flaming death swept from a
gun breech into the crowded turret
and extinguished almost half hun
dred lives before the rest of the ship
knew what had happened.
Il blame no one," he said, in con.
cluslon. "All my men did their duty.
every one. I 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 disaster.
Down In the engine and fire rooms
the black gang" stayed with their
Jobs, realizing fully the danger OF a
further explosion that would mean
death to them all They stuck TO
their posts while the deadly fumes