USS Forrestal carrier sold for a penny. Famous for terrible accident - video link

[gary]

A colleague has brought to my attention a short article on CNN which reports that
the USS Forrestal, a US Navy aircraft carrier that was decommissioned in 1993,
has been sold for scrap for one penny.

Photo and article here -
http://edition.cnn.com/2013/10/23/us/gallery/uss-forrestal/index.html?hpt=hp_c3

The USS Forrestal was instantly familiar to me as it is famous for a terrible
fire in 1967, the root cause of which was electromagnetic fields from the ship's
RADAR penetrating an improperly mounted shielded connector, producing RF
voltages in the arming mechanism of a Zuni rocket attached to the wing of
an F-4 Phantom fighter aircraft. The rocket fired across the deck into a fully
fueled A-4 Skyhawk loaded with bombs and rockets.

With aircraft packed in wing-tip to wing-tip, a chain reaction eschewed which
engulfed half the deck.

The incident features in a standard electrical engineering text on grounding
and showcases the importance of providing electromagnetic comparability (EMC)
in these environments with best practice grounding and bonding.

This 1973 motivational film produced by the US Navy for navy personnel provides
both a harrowing and inspirational account of the heroic efforts by the crew to
save their ship (highly recommended viewing).
Trial by Fire: A Carrier Fights For Life -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6NnfRT_OZA

[wasyoungonce]

Absolutely terrible decisions we made by the captain regarding hastening aircraft launches. Regarding arming the ordnance while they were at park, facing each other, instead of arming them when they were taxied to launch thus any unauthorised launch posed less risk.

Also compounded with bad safety lockout pins and switches and bombs they were going to dump in the ocean that cooked off sooner than the Mk83 they were going to (and should have) use.

Interestingly enough, Lt John McCain, later senator McCain was right the mix of this and only just managed to escape. Enthralling reading on this but tragic no doubt.

[Barrykgerdes]

I don't remember ever seeing the USS Forrestal so it probably never came to GID while I was there.

Interesting the findings of the cause of the "accident". Knowing the radars that would have been fitted to the carrier and their radiation patterns and also having been stuck as a dogs body (I did all the real work) in most of the EMC investigations we did the chances of the accidental firing from the cause listed would have been so remote that I would have immediately suspected a cover up.

Barry

[hotspur]

Interesting link,the image of C130 that landed on it,quite amazing to get land a C130 on it,looking at that image-even the C130 looks small.Must have been a huge carrier.Did see a segment on the fire etc,tragic stuff-the link says 134 people lost their lives-very sad.Sounds like arming of jets could have been done a lot safer,rather than pointing jets at each other,what a stuff up:(

Pitty Australia could not have bought it and used in our navy,although a penny might be stretching the defense budget a bit.....,I think all our 'throw away' frigates have had it and now fish homes.

[Barrykgerdes]

Harmon Rabb landed that C130 on Forrestal in an episode of JAG.

Australia was a sucker for buying second hand naval junk

Barry