A friend of mine was gunnery officer on the Iowa after the recommission. He requested and was granted a transfer off the ship because of what he considered unsafe munitions handling practices aboard ship that were being forced on him from above. The famous 1989 turret two explosion occurred a year later.

The ammunition used on the modern Battleships was manufactured during WWII and at times was stored on non-climate-controlled barges at the Yorktown Naval Weapons Station on the James River from WWII to the modern period. It was never designed to last that long, even under perfect storage conditions. As it aged and was mishandled, it became increasingly unstable and began to outgas ether gas, making it a high ignition risk.

Bob