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These guys got an aircraft carrier (USS Forrestal) for a penny.... that should be fun :D (Other than the towing and hazmat involved)...
USS Forrestal, the Navy's first supercarrier, to be scrapped in 1 cent deal | Fox News
What I'm wondering is, does anyone on here have any idea on the breakdown of something this big?
VERY Carefully!
My dad served on the Forrestal as a radioman and was on board when it almost sank. He is very proud to have served aboard her. When I was 10 or so he found a model of the ship and we spent two weeks putting it together. I remember him explaining to me about how the catapults worked and the different types of jets that were on board. He mentioned in passing about the accident as he called it, but never went into much detail. It was probably around the time of when the country finally honored the Vietnam Vets with a parade in Manhattan and a dedication of a monument downtown that he finally opened up about what had happened and what he had witnessed.
He said that it was a Zumi rocket that somehow fired off of one of the jets that started everything. At the time the planes were stacked on the flight deck fully loaded and fueled getting ready for a mission. The ship was turned into the wind so when the fires started everything was being fanned in the direction of the planes. He said that at first everyone thought "ok fire on flight deck, has happened before no biggie". Just as the first fire crew started putting water on the fire the first 500 lb bomb went off. Now from what I remember dad said his bunks were in the foward section of the ship a few decks down form the flight deck. When the first bomb went off he was thrown across quarters about 8 feet. Needless to say the first fire crews were killed instantley. I think he said there were 2-4 more large explosions that blew 3-4 levels down into the rear of the ship killing everyone in that area.
At this point everyone knew it was all hands on deck and they were either going to get the fires out or they were going to lose the ship when the fires got to where all the rest of the munnitions were stored. Most of the trained fire crews died when the first two bombs cooked off. After that it was all the rest could do to get water on the fire. He said that adrenaline can make a man do things that were unbelievable. He saw on two occasions two different sailors pick up and throw a 500lb bomb over the side to avoid further explosions. Eventually the fires were put out and the ship saved. Unfortunatley now they had to recover the dead. He said that the devastation below decks was horrific. I will not go into what he told me but going through 9/11 and seeing what I saw, I know why he never spoke of what he experienced.
Out of a tragedy though came something good. The Navy has used the flight deck footage as a training tool on how to combat fires at sea. I know it was used up until recentley and maybe some of our Navy vets might have remembered seeing that film.
Sorry for the long story but seeing that article touched a nerve. I wish the Navy would have turned the ship into a reef somewhere like they do with other ships, scrapping her just doesn't seem right after all those that sacrificed themselves to save their shipmates.
That's pretty freaking cool. Guess that's something you don't want to just be hitting random buttons up in command center..heh.
An BC...first.thanks to your pops for serving, an second..thanks for sharing the story. That's pretty cool hearing that history, so cool, you got me curious on the ship(not boat..those navy guys get mad..;) ) so I went and did some looking on Google. I found tons of info on the wiki page for the USS Forrestal. I can't even imagine how it affected him, I know several vets from their time in 'Nam, an they don't talk about it. I think I can understand why, but I know I never will as I wasn't there, an I never served. Either way, pretty cool history there, an I enjoyed reading it.
Hope ya don't mind me posting a link to the Wiki article for anyone else that is curious to read about the USS Forrestal. The fire is even mentioned, if it's the one that happened in 67' I think it said.
For those interested...I do the work for you an give you... USS Forrestal (CV-59) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Thanks again for sharing Op an BC for the story! An thanks again to all of you have served, past, present, or heck even future. ;)
Sirscrapalot - Stands behind his soldiers and country, can't say the same about the idiots in DC on both sides.
If your into ships big and small, enjoy.
"Three New Navy Ships – USS Reagan, Clinton, Obama"
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Yes SirS, dad was on board from '66-'67. Fire was in July '67. Here is a linq to the movie the navy used/using for training.
USS Forrestal Fire Video - Ask.com YouTube Search
BC, Thank you for the personal history lesson! I'd heard about the fire on the Forrestal, but learning the account of someone who fought with it makes it all the more relevant!
I thought they would turn her into a reef like the Oriskany. And agree with above Thank you to all who served.
Thank you for that, Brass, very interesting. I'll go with the reef too. Who in hell let this go for a penny? Must have been a pay-off somewhere
Yes, they still use the video for training
Ship Breaking, one of the most hazardous 3rd world jobshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRJYgNc_TNcQuote:
Originally Posted by wannabemechanic
Lots of youtube videos, just search ship breaking and Chittagong. No hard hats, no respirators, no welders goggles, no steel toed boots, and of course no insurance.
This particular ship is going to Brownsville Tx, its probably a bit safer yard.
I meant more of a breakdown of what is in something like an aircraft carrier and in what quantities.... But I have to say, that video is pretty freaking cool!! :D
I read a book Sailors to the End on the Forestal fire and it mentioned a TER pin came free causing the rocket to launch and there were tons of leaking surplus ordnance from WWII on board.
On the morning of July 29, the ship was preparing to attack when a rocket from one of its own F-4 Phantom jet fighters was accidentally launched. The rocket streaked across the deck and hit a parked A-4 Skyhawk jet. The Skyhawk, which was waiting to take off, was piloted by John McCain, the future senator from Arizona.
The day before the accident (28 July), the Forrestal was resupplied with ordnance from the ammunition ship USS Diamond Head. The load included 16 1000-lb. AN-M65A1 "fat boy" bombs (so nicknamed because of their short, rotund shape), which the Diamond Head had picked up from the Subic Bay Naval Base and were intended for the next day's second bombing sortie. The batch of AN-M65A1 "fat boys" the Forrestal received were surplus from World War II, having spent roughly three decades exposed to the heat and humidity of the Philippine jungles while improperly stored in open-air Quonset huts at a disused ammunition dump on the periphery of Subic Bay Naval Base.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1967_USS_Forrestal_fire
At about 10:50 (local time) on 29 July, while preparations for the second strike of the day were being made, an unguided 5.0 in (127.0 mm) Mk-32 "Zuni" rocket, one of four contained in a LAU-10 underwing rocket pod mounted on an F-4B Phantom II, was accidentally fired due to an electrical power surge during the switch from external power to internal power. The surge originated from the fact that high winds had blown free the safety pin, which would have prevented the fail surge, as well as a decision to plug in the "pigtail" system early to increase the number of takeoffs from the carrier.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1967_USS_Forrestal_fire
The 1 penny sales has to do with finding a scrapper in the US that is qualified to work on military equipment (while the ship is old there are a few countries that would love to see how it was constructed and wired). Plus I would think there is a ton of stuff like asbestos in a ship that old nobody here would want to touch.
They did NOT have to pay a penny for the Bird farm (Target)Quote:
Originally Posted by wannabemechanic
They scrap Co was PAID a Penny to do the job
USS Forrestal, Navy
The Scoop Deck » First supercarrier goes for cheap
On a side note
In the last year, the U.S. has turned equipment and vehicles into 387 million pounds (176 million kilograms) of scrap that it sold to Afghans for $46.5 million
U.S. trashes, sells its unwanted gear in Afghanistan | Navy Times | navytimes.com
This scrap company has been ramping up for this job for a while now. A couple of years ago,I was given the choice of going to Texas to cut shipside or go to the Bahamas to cut up a ship on a reef and repair a barge. I opted for the Bahama job since cutting shipside in the hot Texas sun didnt do much for me. The idea is to cut up the aircraft carrier,and if all goes well,there are lots more ships in the mothball fleet. I have a friend who arranged the tow on the carrier.
I can post pics of the scrap job in the Bahamas if anyone is interested
I know I am. Feel Free to post or send me a link via pm to a imageshack or something.Quote:
Originally Posted by hmburner
Sirscrapalot - Color me interested.
I have to work today,so I have no time to sort through 3 CDs worth of pics and post to photobucket. But Sunday morning,I will have time since the dog and the wife sleep in till 9 am. I will post in a different thread so as not to hijack this one.
At some point,I should take some pics of my current project at work........mind numbing work. We bought 5000 ton of twisted rebar. We bail it into 3ft x4ft x10 ft bales and then I cut the bale with my big victor torch into 2 ft chunks making some real nice heavy melt. Now you know what I will be doing till Christmas
I await in anticipation. ;)
Thanks for the thread, learned a bunch of things!
Sirscrapalot - I went to a bookstore and asked the saleswoman, 'Where's the self-help section?' She said if she told me, it would defeat the purpose. - George Carlin