The other H6-based bombs performed as designed and either burned on the deck or were jettisoned, but did not detonate under the heat of the fires. In the case of Enterprise, lessons learned from Forrestal (and not having old and unstable ordnance on board) resulted in the fire being contained more rapidly with fewer casualties. It killed 134 men. The fire spread with the first explosion to every aircraft across the entire after part of the flight deck. At least one of the Skyhawks M-65 1,000-lb. Their age and chemical composition actually enhanced the power of the blast (the exact opposite of a Mark 83). On 29 July 1967, USS Forrestal (CVA/CV-59) suffered a catastrophic fire during flight operations while on Yankee Station off the coast of Vietnam. HullNumber.com takes your privacy seriously. The third disaster occurred on Enterprise (CVA[N]-65) on 14 January 1969, while she was en route to Vietnam. The investigation panel recommended several changes to safety procedures aboard carriers. Damage Control Team No. We apologize for this inconvenience and appreciate your understanding and patience as we balance mission-critical work and the safety of our staff during the pandemic. The pilots, preparing to launch, were strapped into their aircraft. Vietnam from USS Forrestal (CV-59). [31] At 11:47, Forrestal reported the flight deck fire was under control. USS Forrestal (CV-59). On the afternoon of 6 June 1967 Forrestal got underway to partake in the war in South East Asia. You are interested in having a hard bound reproduction made of this cruise book? They found that the pigtail was connected early, that the TER pin on the faulty Zuni missile was likely blown free, and that the missile fired when a power surge occurred as the pilot transferred his systems from external to internal power. [37][18][38], Captain Beling, as an Admiral-selectee, received orders to report to Washington, D.C., as the Director of Development Programs in Naval Operations, reporting to Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Thomas H. Moorer. On 29 July 2017, the USS Forrestal Association commemorated the 50th anniversary of the incident. The ship survived, but with damage exceeding US$72 million, not including the damage to aircraft. Due to the extent of the damage to Forrestal, there are still details that remain unknown. The National Naval Aviation Museum collection also includes the Forrestal Fire exhibit and the Forrestal Plan of the Day from 30 July 1967, the day after the fire. For more information about the non-digitized records, please contact the National Archives at College Park - Textual Reference (RDT2) via email at archives2reference@nara.gov. Quick Ship Facts Ship's Name: USS Kitty Hawk Year Built: 1956 Years In Service: 1960 - 2009 Forrestal was the first Atlantic Fleet carrier on Yankee Station, and she had been there only five days. The disaster prompted the Navy to revise its firefighting practices. "[33], At 17:05, a muster of Forrestal crewmenboth in the carrier and aboard other shipswas begun. At 1050, Forrestal commenced early launch of two KA-3B tankers, an EA-1, and an E-2A in preparation for an 1100 launch of a 24-plane Alpha Strike, the second of the day. 8, led by Chief Gerald W. Farrier, were the first responders to any incident on the flight deck. Fifty years ago today, on July 29, 1967, the U.S. Navy suffered the single worst disaster aboard ship since the last days of World War II: the fire aboard the aircraft carrier USS Forrestal.That morning, Forrestal, the Navy's first supercarrier, was preparing for one of its first major strikes against targets in North Vietnam.At 10:50am, a rocket from an F-4 Phantom misfired across the . Includes historic imagery and remarks from former Forrestal crew member. On January 16, 2006, WMR reported that according to a US Navy sailor who was aboard the Forrestal on the fateful day of the fire, "McCain and the Forrestal's skipper, Capt. 134 memorials Page of 7 PO Marvin Jarrell Adkins 28 Jul 1934 - 29 Jul 1967 Arlington National Cemetery Arlington, Arlington County, Virginia, USA Plot info: Section 46, Site 556-558 SMN Everett Albert Allen Crew aboard the aircraft carrier USS Forrestal looking through deck in search of survivors after a deadly fire in the Gulf of Tonkin during the Vietnam War. Lt. Cmdr. The USS Kitty Hawk was an aircraft carrier constructed by the New York Shipbuilding Corporation. Fire-fighting teams, pilots, and squadron personnel on deck were knocked down, injured or killed by the series of explosions. In the first, Oriskany suffered a fire on 26 October 1966 on Yankee Station that killed 44 and injured 138 when a magnesium parachute flare was accidentally ignited (human error) and a panicked Sailor threw it back into the magnesium storage locker instead of overboard; many of the dead were pilots killed by toxic smoke inhalation in their sleep. [45][14] The school hosts an annual memorial remembering the sailors who lost their lives aboard the Forrestal. The death and incapacitation of the entire specialized fire-fighting team in the initial explosion had critical impact. McCain, pilot of A-4 Skyhawk side No. Ship History 1955-1993 Both Whites and McCains A-4s, fully fueled and loaded with ordnance, were destroyed by the blast. 22 Jun. Planes blaze on the deck of USS Forrestal in July 1967. Holmes appended a Letter of Reprimand for Captain Beling to the final report, which was removed by direct order of CNO Admiral Thomas Moorer. John McCain sat on the port side of the Forrestal in his A-4 Skyhawk going through preflight checks. say 161. She departed Norfolk (Virginia) on 6 June 1967 for her first deployment to Vietnam with Carrier Air Wing 17 and about 80 aircraft embarked: Attack Squadrons 46 and 106 with 24 A-4E SKYHAWK light bombers She went on to serve until 11 September 1993 when she was decommissioned after 21 deployments. [45], The fire revealed that Forrestal lacked a heavy-duty, armored forklift needed to jettison aircraft, particularly heavier planes like the RA-5C Vigilante, as well as heavy or damaged ordnance.[1]. A 1995 report, NASA Reference Publication 1374, incorrectly described the Forrestal fire as a result of electromagnetic interference. The load included sixteen 1,000-pound (450kg) AN-M65A1 "fat boy" bombs (so nicknamed because of their short, rotund shape), which Diamond Head had picked up from Subic Bay Naval Base and were intended for the next day's second bombing sortie. US Navy/PH2 Mason As the bombs began to glow cherry red from the heat, the damage-control team's. "Remarks at USS, Weapon System Explosives Safety Review Board, United States Army Command and General Staff College, "Fifty Years Ago: Eyewitness to an Inferno Finds "Blue Eyes", "A U.S. Navy Aircraft Carrier's Greatest Fear (And It's Not Russia or China)", "Bud Dougherty Collection: Disaster on the USS Forrestal", "The 1967 Aircraft Carrier Fire That Nearly Killed John McCain", "Rocket causes deadly fire on aircraft carrier Jul 29, 1967", "Forrestal, Navy's 1st 'supercarrier,' changes hands in one-cent transaction", "Material Conditions of Readiness 14325_341", "Personal account of the USS Forrestal fire, July 29, 1967", "USS Forrestal fire commemoration a reminder of 'heroism, service and sacrifice', "The USS Forrestal (CVA-59) fire and munition explosions | The History of Insensitive Munitions", "The Forrestal Fire, July 29, 1967 Ship's Logs", "Forty-five years later, veteran remembers worst naval disaster since WW II", "Electronic Systems Failures and Anomalies Attributed to Electromagnetic Interference", "USS Forrestal Tragedy Remembered 50 Years Later", "50 Year Anniversary USS FORESTALL Fire Memorial Ceremony in Washington D.C.", "USS Forrestal's fallen remembered at Farrier School ceremony", "Trial by Fire: A Carrier Fights for Life", "Sen. John McCain barely escaped death 50 years ago in the USS Forrestal disaster", "Watch Shockwave #1 Full Episode - Shockwave", Virtual Wall: A Memorial to the men who died in the, Did You Know: The terrible fire aboard the USS, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1967_USS_Forrestal_fire&oldid=1151901658, US Navy Judge Advocate General's Report of 19 September 1967: Fire and Explosions aboard USS, This page was last edited on 26 April 2023, at 23:22. Sailors to the End tells the dramatic and until now forgotten story of the 1967 fire on board the USS Forrestal during its time at Yankee Station off the coast of Vietnam. By holding Beling responsible he would effectively end his career. She never made another Vietnam cruise. A triple ejector rack (TER) electrical safety pin was designed to prevent any electrical signal from reaching the rockets before the aircraft was launched, but it was also known that high winds could sometimes catch the attached tags and blow them free. Best of luck with your research! In response, a "wash-down" system, which floods the flight deck with foam or water, was incorporated into all carriers, with the first being installed aboard Franklin D. Roosevelt during her 19681969 refit. The Commander in Chief of the Atlantic Fleet (to which Forrestal was assigned when not deployed), Admiral Ephraim P. Holmes, did not concur with some of the results of the final investigation report, specifically the part that cleared Captain Beling. Additionally, you will also receive an email with the download link after the Paypal check-out. Video from 45th annual commemoration ceremony of the fire. The conflagration took place as heavily-armed and fueled aircraft were being prepared for combat missions over North Vietnam. LT(JG) Don Dameworth and LT(JG) David Dollarhide were injured escaping their aircraft. 8, led by Chief Aviation Boatswain's Mate Gerald Farrier. [11]:87[14][13], According to Lieutenant R. R. "Rocky" Pratt, a naval aviator attached to VA-106,[15] the concern felt by Forrestal's ordnance handlers was striking, with many afraid to even handle the bombs; one officer wondered out loud if they would survive the shock of a catapult-assisted launch without spontaneously detonating, and others suggested they immediately jettison them. It then traveled east around the Horn of Africa and visited Naval Air Station Cubi Point in the Philippine Islands before sailing to Yankee Station in the Gulf of Tonkin on 25 July. It also modified its weapon handling procedures and installed a deck wash down system on all carriers. The Air Force had a large supply of these bombs, and did not rely as heavily on the limited supply of 1,000 lb bombs as did the Navy. [19]:36, The explosions tore seven holes in the flight deck. Forrestal crew members continued to put out hot spots, clear smoke, and cool hot steel on the 02 and 03 levels. [6], With orders to conduct strike missions over North Vietnam the next day, and with no replacement bombs available, Captain Beling reluctantly concluded that he had no choice but to accept the AN-M65A1 bombs in their current condition. TWS is the largest online community of Veterans existing today and is a powerful Veteran locator. At slightly more than 90 seconds into the fire, the bomb exploded. F-4B Phantom II (VF-11 / CVW-17) embarked on USS Forrestal (CVA 59) was refueled by a KA-6D Intruder of VA-85 - circa 1971-73 . Crew members fight a series of fires and explosions on the carrier's after flight deck, in the Gulf of Tonkin, 29 July 1967. I am searching for a Crew List for the USS Forrestal for the day of the explosion and fire in July 1967 History Hub Site Search User Site Search User Military Records Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard Records Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard Records ForumSeeking crew list of USS Forrestal More Cancel New Overview Question and Answer Forum Nevertheless, the initial board of investigation stated, Poor and outdated doctrinal and technical documentation of ordnance and aircraft equipment and procedures, evident at all levels of command, was a contributing cause of the accidental rocket firing. At that time, such a state was not unique to Forrestal. Hope of VA-46, escaped by jumping out of the Skyhawk cockpit and rolling off the flight deck and into the starboard man-overboard net. [27] Not all of the pilots were able to get out of their aircraft in time. Crew members fighting the 1967 USS Forrestal fire. DANFS - Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, Permitting Policy and Resource Management, The 9/11 Terrorist Attacks: 20 Years Later, "Ex Scientia Tridens": The U.S. Other carriers had problems with the Zuni rockets. McCain, then a lieutenant commander, was assigned to the carrier and flew an A-4E Skyhawk jet. Crew members cut additional holes in the flight deck to help fight fires in the compartments below. This. We apologize for this inconvenience and appreciate your understanding and patience as we balance mission-critical work and the safety of our staff during the pandemic. Another was the installation of a flight-deck washdown system that could spread water or foam as needed, with the first being installed on Franklin D. Roosevelt (CVA-42) during her 196869 refit. The Forrestal's crew moved toward their assigned "battle stations." When General Quarters was set, Forrestal's crew members fully manned all positions in the ship's damage control organization. During the post-fire refit, 175 feet (53m) of the flight deck was replaced, along with about 200 compartments on the 03, 02, 01 decks. USN 1124794. On 29 July 1967, USS Forrestal (CVA/CV-59) suffered a catastrophic fire during flight operations while on Yankee Station off the coast of Vietnam.Wracked by eight high-order explosions of thin-shelled Korean War-vintage bombs and a number of smaller weapons explosions, the world's first super carrier was mere minutes away from the bottom of the Gulf of Tonkin. [14], The disaster was a major news story and was featured under the headline "Inferno at Sea" on the cover of the 11 August 1967, issue of Life magazine.[49]. The accidental explosion onboard the Forrestal is among the worst disasters in U.S. naval history. "On that Saturday morning in July, as I sat in the cockpit of my A-4 preparing to take off, a rocket hit the fuel tank under my airplane. (Three months later, on 26 October 1967, flying from OriskanyCVA-34Lieutenant Commander McCain would be shot down over North Vietnam on his 23rd bombing mission.). [6][47] Many other fire-safety improvements also stemmed from this incident. The Navy circulated the lessons which the men of Forrestal re-learned at such cost throughout the Fleet, and the flight deck film of the flight operations, subsequently entitled Learn Or . Forrestal departed its home port in Norfolk, Virginia in early June 1967. Fiore, an aviation boatswain's mate (equipment) at the time, said the events that day changed the course of damage control operations in the Navy. 405, piloted by Lt. Cmdr. Beling was assigned temporary duty on the staff of Admiral Ephraim P. Holmes, Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet. USS ForrestalTrial by Fire [29] Several of the explosions of the 1,000-pound Korean War-era AN-M65 Composition B bombs were estimated to be as much as 50% more powerful than a standard 1,000-pound bomb, due to the badly degraded Composition B. It is estimated that there are between 50,000 and 90,000 Blue Water Navy veterans. [10][6], Faced with this, but still needing 1,000 lb bombs for the next day's missions, Beling demanded Diamond Head take the AN-M65A1s back in exchange for new Mark 83s,[11]:88 but was told by Diamond Head that they had none to give him. According to one crew member on Diamond Head, when they had arrived at Subic Bay to pick up their load of ordnance for the carriers, the base personnel who had prepared the AN-M65A1 bombs for transfer assumed Diamond Head had been ordered to dump them at sea on the way back to Yankee Station. Printing is also easily possible because of the high resolution and the missing watermarks. USS Forrestal, July 29, 1967 - The worst accident aboard a US Navy surface vessel since WWII. Your download link will then be active for 48 hours before it expires. On July 29, 1967, a rocket was accidentally fired aboard Forrestal, causing massive damage to the ship and a fire that killed 134 Sailors and injured many more. Nearly 200 U.S. troops were killed on that single day. Please note that the scans in the download are the same images like above, however, they have not been resized. Find USS Saint Paul (CA-73) unit information, patches, operation history, veteran photos and more on TogetherWeServed.com. The explosions of the large, old weapons blew holes in the armored flight deck above spaces primarily set aside for crew berthing. US Navy regulations required the pigtail be connected only when the aircraft was attached to the catapult and ready to launch, but the ordnance officers found this slowed down the launch rate. The fire started at 10:51 a.m. Saturday, July 29, 1967, as 30-year-old Lt. Cmdr. They pushed aircraft, missiles, rockets, bombs, and burning fragments over the side. [14][19]:57, At about 10:51 (local time) on 29 July, an electrical power surge in Phantom No. The additional details point to. Get premium, high resolution news photos at Getty Images . On July 29, 1967, a tragic string of events culminated in disaster on the flight deck of the USS Forrestal resulting in the deaths of 134 sailors. [6][11]:123,124 The fire aboard Forrestal was the second of three serious fires to strike American carriers in the 1960s. Accidental fires ignited three U.S. aircraft carriers during the Vietnam War, killing 206 American sailors and injuring 631 others. Seven holes were ripped through the deck from explosions of 750 lb., 500 lb., and 1000 lb. 134 of them died at sea, in the Gulf of Tonkin, aboard the aircraft carrier USS Forrestal.The carrier had accidentally caught fire after a rocket misfired below the flight deck, igniting a fuel tank. Naval Academy, The Sullivan Brothers and the Assignment of Family Members, Historic Former U.S. Navy Bases and Stations, The African American Experience in the U.S. Navy, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the U.S. Navy, Contributions of Native Americans to the U.S. Navy, The World Cruise of the Great White Fleet, Navy Underwater Archaeology Return Program, Annual Navy History and Heritage Awards - Main, Research Permits for Sunken & Terrestrial Military Craft, Scanning, Copyright & Citation Information, Obtain Duplications of Records and Photos, Download PDF of October 1967 issue [5 MB], All Hands Update: Remembering the 1967 USS, National Naval Aviation Museum Ensures USS. US Navy aircraft carrier USS Forrestal on fire off the coast of Vietnam, July 29, 1967. FORRESTAL was home-ported on the East Coast and spent the first twelve years of her commissioned life serving with the 2nd and 6th Fleets. A little more than one minute after the fire started, one of the bombs fractured open, and Chief Farrier immediately ordered his team to withdraw, fearing an imminent cook-off. Burning fuel poured through the hole in the deck into occupied berthing compartments below. The brief combat period on Yankee Station was cut short when, on July 29, 1967, the Forrestal fire occurred. Veterans who served on the USS Forrestal accompany their former captain, retired Rear Adm. John K. Beling, in wheelchair, at a ceremony at the Vietnam Memorial honoring the 134 sailors who were . The explosions and fire killed 50 night crew personnel who were sleeping in berthing compartments below the aft portion of the flight deck. [22], Of the 73 aircraft aboard the carrier, 21 were destroyed: seven F-4B Phantom IIs, eleven A-4E Skyhawks, and three RA-5C Vigilantes. [6], Due to the first bomb blast, which killed nearly all of the trained firefighters on the ship, the remaining crew, who had no formal firefighting training, were forced to improvise. Nevertheless, the ad hoc firefighting teams of Sailors and Marines had the fire on the flight deck out by 1215. https://youtu.be/mSRnjWACVOc At that time, a VF-11 F-4B (No. The seawater worsened the situation by washing burning fuel through the holes in the flight deck and into the decks below. Twenty seconds later the hose crew arrived and fought the periphery of the fire. HullNumber.com does not share your information. The bomb blasts blew large holes in the flight deck, and flaming fuel poured down into the hangar bay and berthing compartments in the aft end of the ship, accounting for many of the casualties. Members of the military, survivors of the disaster, and family members gathered to memorialize those lost in this incident. During welcoming ceremonies, a fire alarm signal alerted crews to a fire in mattresses within the burned-out compartments. The outdated AN-M65s were being used because of an acute shortage of Mark 83 general-purpose 1,000-pound bombs resulting from the intense Navy bombing campaign in North Vietnam, which expended bombs faster than they could be produced. Flaming and unburned fuel, water, and foam cascaded down into the compartments. These lessons were gradually lost and by 1967, the U.S. Navy had reverted to the Japanese model at Midway and relied on specialized, highly trained damage control and firefighting teams. A total of 27 aircraft were on deck, fully loaded with bombs, rockets, ammunition, and fuel. [2][3] Future United States Senator John McCain and future four-star admiral and U.S. Pacific Fleet Commander Ronald J. Zlatoper were among the survivors. NORFOLK, Va. Thursday marks 54 years since a deadly fire broke out on the former USS Forrestal aircraft carrier, killing more than 100 Sailors. Naval planes burn aboard the USS Forrestal in the Tonkin Gulf off the coast Vietnam, July 29, 1967, after an F-4 Phantom accidentally fired a zuni rocket into an A-4 Skyhawk which caused. Home Join Now About Hullnumber Before You Register Tell A Shipmate FAQs Related Links Contact Us. [1][19]:34,93, The official Navy investigation identified the Skyhawk struck by the Zuni as aircraft No. This evaluation is still carried out by the Weapon System Explosives Safety Review Board. [1] A further 40 were damaged.[35]. But the fire on July 29, 1967, did much more than that. The AN-M65A1 bombs had been returned to service specifically because there were not enough Mark 83s to go around. 17 Apr. At the risk of delaying Diamond Head's departure, he refused to sign the transfer forms until receiving written orders from CINCPAC on the teleprinter, explicitly absolving his detachment of responsibility for the bombs' terrible condition. [1], The board of investigation stated, "Poor and outdated doctrinal and technical documentation of ordnance and aircraft equipment and procedures, evident at all levels of command, was a contributing cause of the accidental rocket firing." [6] This was particularly true for the new 1,000lb (450kg) Mark 83, which the Navy favored for its power-to-size ratio. Most dangerous of all, several bombs were seen to be leaking liquid paraffin phlegmatizing agent from their seams, an unmistakable sign that the bomb's explosive filler had degenerated with excessive age, and exposure to heat and moisture. The 1966 USS Oriskany Fire was a major fire that broke out aboard the Essex -class aircraft carrier USS Oriskany on the morning of 26 October 1966. Beling, who had been in has cabin at the time, and supervised the damage control effort in his T-shirt, displayed considerable leadership throughout the harrowing 11-hour ordeal. The 76,000-ton carrier was on the fifth . [1] It was armed with LAU-10 underwing rocket pods, each containing four unguided 5in (127.0mm) Mk-32 "Zuni" rockets. The number of casualties quickly overwhelmed the ship's medical teams, and Forrestal was escorted by USSHenry W. Tucker to rendezvous with hospital ship USSRepose at 20:54, allowing the crew to begin transferring the dead and wounded at 22:53. About 40,000 US gallons (150,000L; 33,000impgal) of burning jet fuel from ruptured aircraft tanks poured across the deck and through the holes in the deck into the aft hangar bay and berthing compartments. [7] A carrier-launched A-4 Skyhawk, the Navy's standard light attack / ground attack aircraft, could carry either a single 2,000lb (910kg) bomb, or two 1,000 lb bombs. Capable of launching larger, more powerful F-4 Phantom fighters on its thousand-foot-long flight deck using steam catapults, the Forrestal was deployed to Yankee Station in the Gulf of Tonkin in July 1967 to contribute its . Just moments after the first aircraft launched, a Zuni rocket. The inventory of bombs dwindled throughout 1966 and became critically low by 1967. Your ORIGINAL HOMETOWN and State are asked for because that confirms who you are in your shipmate's memories. The main damage was caused by fuel leaks and the 1000 lb bombs, which are not napalm. Download image. Based on their training with Mark 83 bombs, they expected to have approximatelyten minutes to extinguish the fire around the bomb before there was risk of the case melting or cooking off with a designed very low-order explosion. Download image. Both pilots initially escaped from the flames around their aircraft. . [31] Rear Admiral and Task Group commander Harvey P. Lanham, aboard Forrestal, called the actions of Rupertus commanding officer Commander Edwin Burke[32] an "act of magnificent seamanship". The Forrestal disaster was the second (and worst) of three serious U.S. Navy carrier fires in the 1960s. Of note, the greatest loss of life on a U.S. Navy ship since World War II was 176 killed when Hobson (DMS-26) broke in half and sank after a collision with Wasp (CV-18) on 26 April 1952. USS Forrestal Fire, 1967 HRNavalMuseum 3.77K subscribers Subscribe 1 582 views 2 years ago Jim Hahn, a Sailor aboard USS Hornet, discusses what he witnessed during Forrestal's fire.. [19]:34[17] Fire quarters and then general quarters were sounded at 10:52 and 10:53. The impact of the Zuni rocket dislodged at least one, probably two, 1,000-pound AN-M65A1 bombs, which fell into the flames. [10][16][17] In one concession to the demands of the ordnance handlers, Beling agreed to store all 16 bombs alone on deck in the "bomb farm" area between the starboard rail and the carrier's island until they were loaded for the next day's missions. If you contact a Shipmate through HullNumber, your email address is not displayed in the message to your Shipmate. [16][10] The bomb fell in a pool of burning fuel between White's and McCain's aircraft. [27][1], The destroyer USSGeorge K. MacKenzie pulled men from the water and directed its fire hoses on the burning ship. The rocket broke apart on impact with the external fuel tank. A second bomb exploded nine seconds later and a chain reaction followed. Forrestal (CVA-59) crewmen are assisted by those fromRupertus (DD-851) in fighting the fires raging aboard Forrestal, while a helicopter ferries firefighting supplies to the burning ship. A fire July 29, 1967, killed 134 men and injured dozens more. [11]:273274, While preparing for the second sortie of the day, the aft portion of the flight deck was packed wing-to-wing with twelve A-4E Skyhawk, seven F-4B Phantom II, and two Vigilante aircraft. "[40]:19. The Acrobat Reader can be downloaded for free at www.adobe.com. Another major change was establishment of the Weapon System Explosives Safety Review Board. USS Forrestal (CV 59), 29 July 1967 Oriskany arrived back at Yankee Station in time to be witness to, and aid in, a shipboard disaster that far eclipsed her own. But the memo and the decision were never communicated to Captain Beling, the ship's commanding officer, who was required to approve such decisions. US Navy Fuel and fire spread throughout the flight deck causing a chain. (2) 19min 2019 16+. The memo, written on 8 July 1967, was circulated to the ship's operations officer. While accomplishing trials, the ship also recorded its first arrested landing since the fire, when Commander Robert E. Ferguson, Commander, CVW-17, landed on board.[1]. Even I remember from my midshipman days, the Chief with the Purple KChief Farrierwho sacrificed his life trying to buy time for aviators to escape their jets before the flames spread. The rocket itself actually impacted the ocean beyond both aircraft. [27] When Browning got back on deck, he recalled, "The port quarter of the flight deck where I was is no longer there."[1]. HullNumber.com's mission is to provide a means for shipmates to keep in touch with one another. (My thanks to Dr. Richard Hulver, NHHC historian, for sifting through mounds of official documentation, sometimes contradictory, so I didnt have to read it all myself. Unknowingly, inexperienced hose teams using seawater washed away the efforts of others attempting to smother the fire with foam. [14][9][pageneeded] Their report concluded that a Zuni rocket on the portside TER-7 on external stores station 2 of F-4B No. Here you can download the USS FORRESTAL (CVA 59) Vietnam Cruise Book 1967 as a high resolution .pdf file. Two more of the unstable 1,000 lb bombs exploded 10 seconds after the first, and a fourth blew up 44 seconds after that. [14] The rocket flew about 100 feet (30m) across the flight deck, likely severing the arm of a crewman, and ruptured a 400-US-gallon (1,500L; 330impgal) wing-mounted external fuel tank on a Skyhawk from Attack Squadron 46 (VA-46) awaiting launch.
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