Historic front page from the Des Moines Register, April 20, 1989: USS Iowa blast kills 47

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The USS Iowa was the first of the Iowa-class battleships that were the mightiest in the U.S. fleet in World War II. It was decommissioned in the 1950s, then recommissioned in 1982 to help counter an expanding Soviet Navy. The Des Moines Register reports on April 20, 1989, that an explosion in one of the Iowa's turrets during a training exercise has killed 47 sailors. A lengthy investigation determines the blast was an accident, but only after one of the dead sailors is blamed for alleged sabotage. Decommissioned again in 1990, the Iowa is now a floating museum at the Port of Los Angeles. A new USS Iowa, a submarine, was christened in 2023.

Each day this month, as the Register marks its 175 ^th birthday, we’re sharing front pages from noteworthy moments in history.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Historic front page from the Des Moines Register, April 20, 1989: USS Iowa blast kills 47