Steal From Me, I Steal From You

CDR Salamander has a YouTube video up today from a little known incident that occurred a few hours before a very well known incident. Wikipedia reminds us of that fateful day: April 19th, 1989 .

On 19 April 1989, an explosion ripped through Iowa's number two 16-inch (406 mm) gun turret, killing 47 crewmen. A sailor quickly flooded the #2 powder magazines, annular space and powder flats, likely preventing catastrophic damage to the ship. The cause of the explosion, though never determined with certainty, is generally believed to have been static electricity igniting loose powder.

What is less well known is that this little incident happened a few hours earlier. CDR highlights the video commentary at about 1:45. The sailor makes a good point.

The comments at CDRs are great, nothing like getting 'the rest of the story' from folks who were there. In reading those comments, and knowing so many other people who were there that day, it amazes me how small the world has become with the internet.

Speaking of small worlds and folks who were there, how about a bit more regarding the rest of the story. The CO of the Iowa that day was Captain Fred Moosally. who got a lot of criticism for how he handled the Iowa incident. Politics combined with accidents tends to do that, fairly or unfairly, and ultimately the event cost Captain Moosally his career in the Navy. Today Captain Moosally serves as president of Lockheed Martin Maritime Systems & Sensors, which is responsible for delivery of Freedom (LCS-1), and is also responsible for the C4ISR systems on board the first National Security Cutter.

It's a small world.