This Military Service Page was created/owned by
Shaun Thomas (Underdog), OSC
to remember
Hughes, Fred Curtis, SN.
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In April 1952, Saint Paul participated in combined air-sea attacks against the ports of Wonsan and Chongjin.
On 21 April, while the cruiser was engaged in gun fire support operations, a sudden and serious powder fire broke out in her forward 8-inch (203 mm) turret. Thirty men died. The explosion occurred in the turret's left gun, which was loaded but had the breech open. The gun captain thought the weapon had fired and told the gun's rammerman to ram another projectile into the gun's breech. The gun blew up, setting off two other powder bags in the powder hoist.
Comments/Citation:
LOCATION: AT SEA
EAST SEA OFF KOJO
Seaman (E3) Hughes served was a crew member of the cruiser USS SAINT PAUL (CA-73). On April 21, 1952, while firing on enemy installations at the Kojo area off the east coast of North Korea, there was an explosion in a gun turret killing him.
