On July 29, 1967, the sailors of the USS Forrestal, surrounded by water on all sides, watched in horror as, in an instant, the flames began to consume their ship. They rushed in an attempt to do something, but after the first explosion on the aircraft carrier Forrestal, a second was heard. He left behind fireballs in the sky. An oppressive premonition of imminent catastrophe loomed.
One of the most significant incidents in the history of the US Navy is associated with the aircraft carrier Forrestal, named after the first US Secretary of Defense. The material damage caused by the disaster that occurred in 1967 amounted to millions of dollars, not counting the cost of the destroyed aircraft. However, today we will talk about those who were on board the ship on that ill-fated day.
The Day of the Forrestal Disaster
July 29 was an ordinary day. It began the same way for the 5,000 officers and men of the aircraft carrier Forrestal, whena huge ship of 80,000 tons cut through the calm waters of the Gulf of Tonkin. As common as it can be for people at war. And the people on the Forrestal were definitely in a state of combat. For the first time since their ship entered service in October 1955, they launched aircraft from the airstrip to attack an enemy whose coastline was only a few miles over the horizon.
The ship on which these men served was the first US aircraft carrier built in the post-war period, taking into account the requirements of jet aviation and the experience gained in World War II. Within four days, they carried out about 150 missions against targets in North Vietnam. On the four-tiered flight deck of the ship, the crew members were engaged in current affairs in preparation for the second launch of the fifth day in battle.
The hot, tropical sun was beating over their heads.
It was around 10:50 am (local time), July 29, 1967.
The launch, which was planned for the near future, was never made. At 10:50 there was a spontaneous launch of a Zuni unguided rocket, which, flying through the deck, hit the external fuel tank of the Skyhawk attack aircraft, already loaded and ready to carry out its mission. The fuel spilled from the torn tank ignited instantly, and after a minute and a half the first explosion was heard.
Official data
Let's get acquainted with the chronology of the tragic event according to the report, which was published by the Navalfleet:
11:20 - Forrestal reports a serious fire on the flight deck, and all the ships of the group are heading to help him.
11:21 - Forrestal reports that the fire began around 11:00 am on the aft flight deck during the pre-launch of the engines. One of the planes exploded, surrounded by a group of sixteen others. The fire is spreading throughout the aft section of the take-off deck. Several aircraft were reported destroyed and many people were killed or injured.
11:32 - aircraft carriers Bon Homme Richard and Oriskany send medical aid by helicopter.
11:47 - Forrestal says the flight deck fire is under control, but the catwalks and lower decks are on fire. At this time, it is established that the fire started at about 10:53 am. Fuel tanks, rockets and bombs explode on nearby planes. It is established that about 20 aircraft were destroyed, but the number of victims has not yet been reported.
12:15. – extinguished the fire on the flight deck.
12:26 - ship's medical stations were flooded, most of the people ended up in the cargo hold and aft of the flight deck. Medical and fire-fighting assistance is being received from helicopters.
12:45 - Unable to control fire on the first and second decks and in the third cargo hold. All transportable aircraft are equipped with stretchers to evacuate the wounded to the aircraft carriers Bon Homme Richard and Oriskany.
1:10 - Losses are expected to be high as the planes were completed andready for takeoff. There are four large bomb holes in the flight deck.
1:48 - The fire is still on the first three decks under the aft flight deck. All main mechanisms, including the steering, are still working.
2:12 – Fires extinguished on the port side of the first deck. Radio bay evacuated due to dense smoke and water.
2:47 - The fires continue but are under control. Forrestal blows steam towards the hospital ship Repoe.
3:00 - Commander of Task Force 77 reveals he is sending Forrestal to Subic Bay, Philippine Islands after meeting with Repose.
5:05 - People count on Forrestal and other ships. Fires are still burning in the aft joinery and main deck.
6:44 - fires break out again.
8:30 - It is reported that the fire continues in the second and third decks, but entry there is difficult. Bedding and clothing feed the fire and a hole is cut into the deck to fight the fire.
8:33 - The fire on the second deck is reported to have been brought under control. The heat and smoke make it difficult to fight the fire.
8:54 - the fire is extinguished except for the port side of the second deck. The heat and smoke are preserved. The wounded are being evacuated.
Sunday, July 30, 12:20pm. All fires are extinguished. The USS Forrestal continued to clear smog and cool hot steel on decks two and three.
Disaster through the eyes of the crew
Of course, the official reports of the fire on the USS Forrestal cannot convey the emotions and feelings that in their own waythe heat, of course, was much higher than the heat of blazing fires. It is impossible to even imagine all the horror experienced by the people there, fighting to save the ship, their own lives and the lives of their comrades.
Memories of eyewitnesses
Captain Logan was on the flight deck when the fire started on the USS Forrestal. He jumped out of the plane and ran towards the fire hoses, meeting with the emergency team, who were racing towards the fire. They paused for a moment, their eyes fixed on the fire, which billowed upwards in great swirls, releasing fireballs into the sky. According to him, the firefighters were clearly worried, but determined to do their duty. The sailors pushed the ammunition, which they could budge, along the deck and dumped it into the sea. The emergency team attacked the growing flames with foam and, when it was already possible to think, looking at the smoldering bombs, that everything was behind, new explosions were heard.
Airplanes caught fire, more explosions thundered and members of the emergency crew died, leaving other poorly trained sailors to continue fighting the fire. They were brave, but their actions were not very effective. Instinct told him to use water, to do something, anything that could stop the fire, but it didn't help. Within about five minutes, the ship was rocked by a total of nine explosions. Burning jet fuel spilled onto the decks below, including the sleeping quarters where the night shift rested. Logan yelled, “Get up! Get up!” but no one came out. HeI hoped they had already left their places - some yes, but many were already dead at that time.
Junior officer Thomas Laginha heard the screams of fire, the sound of running feet and the alarm. In his oral account, he recalls hearing the bomb go off under John McCain's plane. He was 20 feet away and threw himself on the starboard side - behind him the ship was burning and there was no way out. Laginya could only hope that death would be quick. In the confusion, he lost his glasses and could not see anything. He followed one of the figures, who stumbled ahead. They approached a cooler compartment that was still protected from fire, and then they heard more explosions and began to descend to the fourth deck.
When he passed by the guys who were on the hoses, they strangely looked at Laginha, as if they saw a ghost, and shouted: “Trap! Wounded man! Laginya himself was not aware of what was happening, did not feel pain, although he was covered with blood. The fragments literally cut through his body, and on the hospital ship, the orderlies pulled out pieces of glass and metal from him. The next day, Laginha was released to the crash site, on a ship with gaping holes, skeletons of burnt aircraft and the bodies of the dead. He was one of the lucky ones. The fires raged for almost a full day, and the Forrestal's infirmary was filled with casu alties. Over 130 of his comrades were dead…
Causes of the catastrophe
There are a number of factors that couldcause the disaster on the aircraft carrier "Forrestal", however, looking back, we can say that this tragedy occurred due to their tragic combination of factors. Unstable obsolete munitions, high paced operations, power surges, human error… The Forrestal tragedy was a series of errors that could probably be de alt with individually, but taken together left no chance of averting the catastrophe.
A series of mistakes
The day before the fire, Forrestal, located at that time in the Gulf of Tonkin, was understaffed with ammunition. Recently, the mission to bombard Vietnam has intensified, and the American troops simply did not have enough modern shells, so it was decided to equip the ship with ammunition that was dated to the time of the Korean War. The shells were not in the best condition, and the managers and ammunition specialists were reluctant to accept the cargo.
Violation of the regulations for working with ammunition - despite the fact that the connection of the electrical connector to the launcher was supposed to occur only after the aircraft entered the catapult, on the ship this operation was often carried out in the ammunition depot. And this was recognized as the reason for the spontaneous launch of the rocket, the check of which could have been torn off simply by a strong gust of wind.
This list could go on as there were a number of other potential causes.
And how did the life of thevessel? It was restored and continued to serve, which officially ended on September 11, 1993. In 2013, the aircraft carrier was sold at auction to the only buyer who wanted to buy it - Texas-based All Star Metals for one cent. In 2015, the American aircraft carrier Forrestal was scrapped.
