A Navy investigation into the explosion that killed 47 sailors on the battleship USS Iowa in April has found strong evidence that a suicidal sailor set it off, according to two reports.
The 10-week probe, with FBI assistance, ruled out unstable gunpowder or flaws in the mechanical or electrical systems in the gun turrets where the explosion occurred, said NBC News and The New York Times.The network cited unidentified Navy sources Tuesday; the newspaper quoted officials in the Pentagon and Congress who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The unreleased Navy report said Gunner's Mate Clayton Hartwig, 25, may have been responsible for the blast, according to NBC and the Times.
Navy spokesman Lt. Greg Smith told The Associated Press that the conclusion of suicide "was not based on official reports of the Navy. It is the opinion of NBC and Mr. (Fred) Francis," the network reporter.
Other Pentagon officials told the newspaper the Navy had been reluctant to issue a report, fearing it would further demoralize the ship's crew and bring on legal action, bad publicity or charges of incompetence or cover-up.
Smith said the investigation report had been submitted to the commander of surface forces for the Atlantic Fleet in Norfolk, Va., and eventually would land on the secretary of defense's desk.
The investigators based their findings on a psychological profile of Hartwig by the FBI and 228 other exhibits, including a three-hour videotaped statement from another Iowa sailor, David Smith, NBC said.
David Smith rejected Hartwig's sexual advances the night before the explosion, he was quoted as saying in an interview with an investigator.
He also said Hartwig had discussed how to set off a bomb using a nine-volt battery and a small timer, NBC reported.
The two men talked about "explosions, that kind of stuff. How to set off the powder. All that kind of stuff," David Smith was quoted as saying.
Hartwig took him to his locker and showed him a timer, NBC reported.
"Part of me can see him doing it," David Smith was quoted as telling investigators.
In addition, a psychiatric study done by the FBI Center for Analysis of Violent Crimes found that Hartwig was disturbed and under a lot of stress, "virtually insuring some type of reaction. In this instance, it is suicide," according to the report.
Naval investigators also pointed to the rejection of Hartwig by Gunner's Mate Kendall Truitt, who survived the explosion.