Navy to Sink USS America, Explosive Final Service That Saddens Former Crew

TBO.COM ^

[Sub-Driver]

Navy to Sink USS America, Explosive Final Service That Saddens Former Crew By John J. Lumpkin Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Navy plans to send the retired carrier USS America to the bottom of the Atlantic in explosive tests this spring, an end that is difficult to swallow for some who served on board.

The Navy says the effort, which will cost $22 million, will provide valuable data for the next generation of aircraft carriers, which are now in development. No warship this size or larger has ever been sunk, so there is a dearth of hard information on how well a supercarrier can survive battle damage, said Pat Dolan, a spokeswoman for Naval Sea Systems Command.

The Navy's plan raises mixed emotions in Ed Pelletier, who served on the America as a helicopter crewman when the ship cruised the Mediterranean shortly after its commissioning in 1965.

He said he was "unhappy that a ship with that name is going to meet that fate, but happy she'll be going down still serving the country." Pelletier, of Poughkeepsie, N.Y., is a trustee of an association of veterans who served on the America.

Issues surrounding a vessel bearing the name of its country are often more sensitive than for other ships. In 1939, Adolf Hitler, fearful of a loss of morale among his people should Germany's namesake ship be sunk, ordered the pocket battleship Deutschland renamed for a long-dead Prussian commander.

Since its decommissioning in 1996, the America has been moored with dozens of other inactive warships at a Navy yard in Philadelphia. The Navy's plan is to tow it to sea on April 11 - possibly stopping at Norfolk, Va. - before heading to the deep ocean, 300 miles off the Atlantic coast, for the tests, Dolan said.

[quietolong]

>>> Kennedy's sole Naval command, ended up on the bottom too. <<<<


Nope. Unlike that other jfk.

Kennedy stayed and fought after he was told he could go home. After the sinking of the 109 And was given command of PT-59.

If you ever watch the movie PT-109 Most of the things he did was with the PT-59 not the 109.

[csvset]

Bump for later. As a former crew member, I'm sorry to see her go.

Here's a link to her history.

USS America (CV-66)

[ko_kyi]

Fascinating post - it kind of lends credence to the value of a stealth ship - one that will always get the first shot off. hat is the conventional weight of a destroyer v. a frigate or cruiser?

Since you seem very knowledgable about these things let me ask you this: I saw a show on the Washington Monument - they said it weighs about 85,000 tons. Has there ever been a warship that big? A WWII battleship was around 35,000 if I remember correctly.

[Robert A Cook PE]

Yuppers: The big carriers are 85,000 tons plus.

Midway (WWII vintage, plus extensive modifications) is a lightweight at 67,000 tons.

America/Forrestal/America/Kennedy (conventional) carriers are 78,000 tons.

The nukes (Vinson, etc.) are 93,000 tons.

---

Forget cruisers/destroyers as a size difference All of our new Ticonderoga "cruisers" are built on the destroyer-sized Spruance hull: 8000 tons. A cruiser blows in half, as in the picture above, with after one bang.

Destroyers (latest is DDG-51) are even smaller. Frigates, like the FFG-47 class burn out after a dud missile hit. Or a single bomb in a passing fishing boat. Get blown in half by a single mine.

Or an iron cannonball.

Come a shooting war, few will survive. And those that do, will survive because they have not been hit.

Or were hit only once.

Of the British ship in 1983, every one of them hit by even dud Argentine bombs was knocked out of action, or sunk. Luckily, the Argentines could only attack one time per day.

If the Argentine bombs had exploded (we withheld info on how to set their fuses!) the Brit's would have lost HALF their fleet.

[PAR35]

Thanks. The last report that I recall having read said that it arrived in San Diego a little over a year ago, but that the facilities were not complete at that time. I figured they had time to have completed them, but I didn't know for sure. There looks like there is good regional distribution of the carriers. It would be nice if they would put one in Pensacola or Mobile, since there is a gap in the eastern Gulf, and perhaps one at Pearl.

[TruthNtegrity]

At Rota, we had a song we sang whenever the America was offshore. Carriers weren't allowed in port.

Having met some of the men who served on her, I know it's going to be sad for them and have sent this article off to them. I'm waiting for them to answer.

"Where oh where are you, America......."

[PAR35]

The communities that host these vehicles need to be held accountable for teaching them.
Otherwise, they shouldn't receive federal funds.

If I was on the city council and the government told me that I would lose federal funds unless I developed an educational program approved by the desk jockies in DC, I'd sue the charitable organization running the boat until they went broke, and then tell the navy to come haul it off and send it to the ship breakers.

[Calpernia]

You don't think that would be a valuable addition to a history class????

[neverdem]

Thanks for the pings. I read the story, but not the whole thread.

[PAR35]

You don't think that would be a valuable addition to a history class????

Yes, but that is overwhelmed by my distaste for unfunded federal mandates for education. I'd be happy if the DoE was abolished.

[eyespysomething]

The Yorktown in Charleston used to allow Boy Scout troops to spend the night on ship. I don't know if they still do.

The size of these ships up closed is awesome. Even the old ones.

[tdewey10]

If they're going to sink the ship, the should sink in a place where it can become an artificial coral reef and scuba diving destination--either in the Caribbean or the Pacific. It is a terrible waste to sink it 300 miles in the middle of nowhere.

[Calpernia]

Yes, I do agree, I would like to see all schools privatized and off the federal teet.

But they aren't.

So I would like equal playing time and have this valuable piece of equipment used for educational purposes vs. sunk.

[Calpernia]

Bump!!!

Now that I like to hear!

[Gator101]

You don't think that would be a valuable addition to a history class????

It would, and trust me I wish every ship could be saved, but there are enormous costs involved. Many of the organizations that manage museum ships have difficulty maintaining them and some of those ships are relatively small. The USS America is a post-WWII carrier and therefore it is massive. Unfortunately steel and saltwater don't react well. Unless you have loads of money and man power (like the US Navy or a company getting commercial use out of a ship) it is a money losing proposition.

[Robert A Cook PE]

Concur.

We've got to find out how these things react under fire: history is nice, but warfare is more important.

It doesn't matter how "nice" it is to teach some ignorant kids, but if/when our sailors die, and when our surface Navy is exterminmated by missiles because we "didn't realize" every radar antenna and topside cable can be cut by a simple fragment bomb exploded by a CIWS blowing it up in midair, then we've lost the war.

My opinion?

The ship will remain afloat after 30-80 bombs, 6-8 torpedoes. Burning, starting to sink, but afloat.

It's defensive systems however, would have been out-of-action after the first four bombs.

[GATOR NAVY]

Thanks for the ping. I think this is an excellent end for the old warhorse-far more useful than the scrapyard or even a museum.

[Professional Engineer]

I think this is an excellent end for the old warhorse-far more useful than the scrapyard or even a museum.

I agree. Scrapping has got to be the saddest way for a warship to die.

[EternalVigilance]

If the U.S. Navy and the Bush Administration continue on the course they are on to try and ratify the Law of the Sea Treaty, they truly MAY sink America...