[cva66snipe]

Ameerica was sunk in a SINKEX, live fire exercise. She took a LOT to go down, in fact rumor has it that IED personnel had to go onboard and wire her to sink. She taught the Navy a lot.

That SINKEX should have silenced critics of carriers as being easy to sink. She took extended hits during the process and yes she finally had to have pre-set charges to sink her. Those charges were likely where a ship would not expect to take massive multiple hits. There had also would have been as I understand it many key WT hatches which would have had to have been {intentionally} blown out as well for her to sink.

[tanknetter]

That SINKEX should have silenced critics of carriers as being easy to sink. She took extended hits during the process and yes she finally had to have pre-set charges to sink her. Those charges were likely where a ship would not expect to take massive multiple hits. There had also would have been as I understand it many key WT hatches which would have had to have been {intentionally} blown out as well for her to sink.

Yup, but they were also trying all sorts of different kinds of ordinance out on her. Once they got the data they needed ... well, there's a nice pic of the wreath they laid out on the water after she went down (since all pictures of the sink-ex are classified).

I think that the Forrestal came pretty close to sinking during her 1967 fire. Not because of any actual damage that was ultimately sustained, but because the fire came within a couple bulkheads of reaching her O2 plant. Had the fires actually reached it and it cooked off it would have taken the rear 1/3 of the ship with it.