NORFOLK, Va. (WVEC) -- The Navy is remembering the fallen sailors of the USS Iowa (BB-61).
On April 19, 1989, an explosion aboard the battleship claimed the lives of 47 crewmen. The ship's Number Two turret blew up during a gunnery exercise off the coast of Puerto Rico.
The Navy determined that it was caused by an accidental over-ram of powder bags into the 16-inch gun.
The incident remains one of the Navy's worst losses of life during peacetime operations.