| Show EXPLOSION OCCURS I ON THE i BATTLESHIP IOWA fj TwelveInch Gun on Fighting Fight-ing Machine Destroyed THREE MEN ARE KILLED Five Others Are More or Less t Severely Injured 1I 1 I Accident Happened While Vessel waS at Target Practice Oft I Pensacola FIn I Pensacola Fla April IA disastrous I explosion occurred on the battleship Iowa today while the vessel was at target tar-get practice in the gulf The forward port 12Inch gun burst from a premature prema-ture explosion of a shell twelve feet of the piece outside the turret being demolished de-molished Three men were killed and five injured two seriously DEAD Flrstchiss Seaman Kielc Ordinary Seaman Purcell Gunner Mate Berry INJURED FIrslolass Seaman Gercht Ordinary Seaman Tue dale Ordinary Seaman Brown Ordinary Seaman Rothschild Ordinary Seaman Parrucker CRUSHED TO DEATH The men killed 1 and injured were on the second 01 gundeck at mess Three pieces of the exploded gun each weighing weigh-ing over a ton passed downward through the spar deck falling upon the men at mess and Instantly killed the three named All of the men were horribly hor-ribly mutilated CRASHED THROUGH DECK The heavy missiles after passing through the gun deck continued down to the third deck where they came in contact with the armored deck the heavy steel bringing them to a stop thus saving the engineers and firemen who were at work below Although the upper decks were covered with men none was seriously injured WHEN EXPLOSION OCCURRED The explosion occurred just as the mess had been sounded Thc firing was to have ceased after the shot for the dinner hour The range had been set and the Iowa was steaming along at a spedd of twelve knots an hour when the I ofllcer In charge of the twelveInch turret gave orders to load and fire The time fuse was set the piece charged the breech closed and the word given to fire GUN EXPLODES Following the report of the gun there i was a smothered noise as the shell exploded ex-ploded midway in the gun and pieces of the burst gun and shell were scattered I scat-tered broadcast Three great holes were torn through the deck SIGNALED FOR MASSACHUSETTS The Massachusetts six miles distant was signaled for aid and one of the cutters cut-ters put oft with a surgeon and assistant assist-ant surgeons The injured men were taken to the hospital and their Injuries I dressed The dead were brought ton to-n w CAUSE OF ACCIDENT l Some claim the explosion was caused by a defective shell and others think that the frequent firing of the piece at j Ctilubra during the winter added to the 1 work done here during the past ten i days so strained the piece that the force l I of the charge burst the gun l |
