The Nation - News from May 1, 1989

The Navy declined to comment on a report that one of the 16-inch guns in the battleship Iowa’s No. 1 turret misfired shortly before the No. 2 turret exploded, killing 47 sailors. A Navy spokesman said he could not confirm or deny whether such a misfire had occurred as long as the investigation is under way. The Virginian-Pilot and the Ledger-Star of Norfolk, Va., reported that a survivor of the April 19 explosion, Petty Officer Kendall L. Truitt, said the misfire occurred during gunnery exercises just before the blast in the No. 2 turret. The story also reported that survivors said 12 sailors in the turret area lived through the explosion. The Navy has said only 11 lived.