Quote:
Originally Posted by Sailor Steve
Interesting amount of precise information. Did someone actually dive into the magazine area and determine this, or is it guesswork on somebody's part?
Is there a source?
Also, the propellant for the shells themselves were stored in bags, even in the Iowa class, so the powder in the main magazine was loose enough to explode on its own.
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I was aware of the black powder ignition theory from before this thread and it is fairly substantiated that the black powder-also used to launch aircraft from the catapaults-was hit by the bomb. Both Rear Adm. Kidd and CAPT. VAN Valkenburg and the ships damage officer received medals of honor for attempting to fight the ship. The entire ships band, assigned to ammo handling in turret two, were killed at their action station. Look up "USS Arizona-Black powder magazine" and several sites are there.