Posted on 10/22/2013 7:52:13 PM PDT by Trueblackman
I HATE the DAMN “Modern” Navy!
The Forrestal was moored at Newport Naval Station when I was a kid growing up on the base. Its a shame to see it go. A lousy end for a good ship.
Isn’t the Enterprise on schedule to be dismantled too?
Has it really been that long? Feeling sort of old here. BTT
Yes, Enterprise is being dismantled, but shall return as CV-80, Gerald Ford Class
She was the first super carrier and the last one with a 600 PSI propulsion plant. Carriers afterward went to a 1200 PSI system.
A completely new ship, Gerald R. Ford class, CVN-80 is being built, being named Enterprise.
2 completely different ships.
I worked with a guy who was on the Forrestal. He said the nick name became the USS Forest Fire.
A 1 cent bid? To scrap 30,000 tons of steel?
Is the EPA (asbestos/lead paint, contamination) THAT BAD that all of the copper, nickel, steel, and chrome on board THAT worthless?
The Gerald R. Ford class is being built with padded steps in case anyone trips and falls down the stairs.
The latest Jimmy Carter class ships have a RRS (Rabbit Repulsion System) also known as a “Bunny Buffer”.
We don’t know what the Richard M. Nixon class of ships are like since 18 pages of the plans are missing.
The ship was named after this guy I believe.
The Forrestal Case
Truman tapped former CFR member James Forrestal to be Defense
Secretary. Forrestal stunned the Establishment, however, with overtly
anti-Communist activities. His initiative was largely responsible for
preventing a Communist takeover in Italy in 1948. Discerning the true
intent of Establishment foreign policy, he stated with revulsion:
“Consistency has never been a mark of stupidity. If the diplomats
who have mishandled our relations with Russia were merely stupid,
they would occasionally make a mistake in our favor. 11 He resolved to
counteract treason within the government. Truman fired him in March
1949. Forrestal then planned to buy the New York Sun and convert it
into an anti-Communist citadel — an undertaking sure to mean
steamy revelations about Washington. He never had the chance.
Five days after his dismissal, he was taken to Bethesda Naval
Hospital (for “fatigue’ h ), where he was heavily drugged and held
incommunicado for seven weeks. All visitors except immediate family
were denied. Forrestal’s diaries — undoubtedly explosive — were
meanwhile confiscated by the White House. His priest, Monsignor
Maurice Sheehy, finally prevailed upon Navy Secretary John Sullivan
to authorize his release. On May 22, 1 949, Forrestal was scheduled
for discharge. But at 2 AM that morning, he fell from a window near
his sixteenth-floor room. His bathrobe cord was found knotted around
his neck, The death was declared suicide, Forrestal T s brother Henry
called if murder. The tragedy, subsequent cover-up, and
contradictions in the “suicide” verdict were canvassed by Cornell
Simpson in his 1966 book The Death of James Forrestal
The Saratoga is to be scrapped as well. However, I had a better idea ... anchor her right off the coast of Iran and sink her the way they did the old Saratoga #3.
I knew of a few guys who’d served aboard the Forestall who seperately told stories of ghosts of sailors killed during that fire.
I’d pay to see that. From a safe distance.
The Forrestal Case
Thanks for sharing that bit of history. I knew about his death but not his anti-communist history. I pray we have dedicated men like him still on duty somewhere within the DoD.
I detest McCain despite his "honorable" service and suffering in the Hanoi Hilton. He has done more harm than good to this nation. Having said that, the record needs to be set straight about the Forrestal fire and his involvement in it - fascinating reading ...
from Wikipedia
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 (see below). A drawing of the stern of Forrestal showing the spotting of aircraft at the time. Likely source of the Zuni was F-4 No. 110. White's and McCain's aircraft (A-4s No. 405 and 416, respectively) are in the right hand circle.The rocket flew across the flight deck, striking a wing-mounted external fuel tank on an A-4E Skyhawk awaiting launch,[1] aircraft No. 405, piloted by Lieutenant Commander Fred D. White.[2][10] The Zuni Rocket's warhead safety mechanism prevented it from detonating, but the impact tore the tank off the wing and ignited the resulting spray of escaping JP-5 fuel, causing an instantaneous conflagration. Within seconds, other external fuel tanks on White's aircraft overheated and ruptured, releasing more jet fuel to feed the flames, which began spreading along the flight deck. 
The impact of the Zuni had also dislodged two of the 1000-lb AN-M65 bombs, which fell to the deck and lay in the pool of burning fuel between White and McCain's aircraft. Damage Control Team #8 swung into action immediately, and Chief Gerald Farrier, recognizing the risk and without benefit of protective clothing, immediately smothered the bombs with a PKP fire extinguisher in an effort to knock down the fuel fire long enough to allow the pilots to escape. The pilots, still strapped into their aircraft, were immediately aware that a disaster was unfolding, but only some were able to escape in time. Lieutenant Commander John McCain, pilot of A-4 Skyhawk side No. 416 next to White's was among the first to notice the flames and escaped by scrambling down the nose of his A-4 and jumping off the refueling probe shortly before the explosions began.
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