![]() Navy had reverted to the Japanese model at Midway and relied on specialized, highly trained damage control and firefighting teams. These lessons were gradually lost and by 1967, the U.S. Specialized firefighting teams īased on lessons learned during Japanese attacks on vessels during World War II, most sailors on board ships after World War II received training in fighting shipboard fires. ![]() It was common for aircraft to launch with six or more rocket packs, each containing four rockets. These rockets were in wide use although they had a reputation for electrical difficulties and accidental firing. In addition to bombs, the ground attack aircraft carried unguided 5 in (127 mm) Mk-32 "Zuni" rockets. 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. It could simultaneously carry two 3,000 lb (1,360 kg) M118 bombs and four 750 lb (340 kg) M117 bombs. Air Force's primary ground attack aircraft in Vietnam was the much heavier, land-based, F-105 Thunderchief. The latter gave it the ability to strike two separate hardened targets in a single sortie, which was more effective in most circumstances. A carrier-launched A-4 Skyhawk, the Navy's standard light attack / ground attack aircraft, could carry either a single 2,000 lb (910 kg) bomb, or two 1,000 lb bombs. This was particularly true for the new 1,000 lb (450 kg) Mark 83, which the Navy favored for its power-to-size ratio. The inventory of bombs dwindled throughout 1966 and became critically low by 1967. The demand for general-purpose bombs (e.g., "iron bombs") greatly exceeded production. The ongoing naval bombing campaign during 1967 originating at Yankee Station represented by far the most intense and sustained air attack operation in the U.S. Vietnam bombing campaign A US Navy A-7 Corsair drops a load of Mark 83 bombs in 1970 the relentless bombing campaign had led to the Navy's stocks of Mark 83 bombs dwindling, and had forced on them the use of World War II surplus ordnance, often in poor condition, to maintain the punishing mission rate. 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.Īfter arrival at Yankee Station, aircraft from Attack Carrier Air Wing 17 flew approximately 150 missions against targets in North Vietnam over four days. After it completed required inspections for the upcoming West Pacific cruise, it sailed to Brazil for a show of force. Arrival in Gulf of Tonkin įorrestal departed its home port in Norfolk, Virginia in early June 1967. Farrier, the commander of Damage Control Team 8, who was among the first to die in the fire and explosions.īackground Since her commissioning in 1955, Forrestal spent her service alternating between the North Atlantic and Mediterranean her departure from Norfolk in June 1967 was her first WESTPAC deployment. The newly established Farrier Firefighting School in Norfolk, Virginia was named after Chief Gerald W. ![]() It also modified its weapon handling procedures and installed a deck wash down system on all carriers. The disaster prompted the Navy to revise its firefighting practices. A 1966 fire aboard USS Oriskany killed 44 and injured 138 and a 1969 fire aboard USS Enterprise killed 28 and injured 314. The incident was the second of three serious fires to strike American carriers in the 1960s. Another on-board officer, Lieutenant Tom Treanore, later returned to the ship as its commander and retired an admiral. Future United States Senator John McCain and future four-star admiral and U.S. ![]() The ship survived, but with damage exceeding US$72 million, not including the damage to aircraft. At the time, Forrestal was engaged in combat operations in the Gulf of Tonkin, during the Vietnam War. The flammable jet fuel spilled across the flight deck, ignited, and triggered a chain reaction of explosions that killed 134 sailors and injured 161. On 29 July 1967, a fire broke out on board the aircraft carrier USS Forrestal after an electrical anomaly caused a Zuni rocket on an F-4B Phantom to fire, striking an external fuel tank of an A-4 Skyhawk. Ship in dry dock for five months.Īircraft lost: seven F-4B Phantom II eleven A-4E Skyhawks and three RA-5C Vigilantes 40 others damaged Beling absolved of responsibility no crew members charged.
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