Posted on 05/20/2005 7:09:57 AM PDT by wjersey
The Navy sent the retired USS America aircraft carrier to its final resting place at the bottom of the sea Saturday, in a closely guarded series of explosions that the Navy didn't announce until days later.
The 84,000-ton, 1,048-foot warship, which served the Navy for 32 years, thus became the first U.S. carrier to be sunk since 1951, and the largest warship ever sunk.
"Explosions were internal to the ship and allowed a controlled flooding," said Pat Dolan, a spokeswoman with the Naval Sea Systems Command. She declined to say where the ship now sits, except that it was 50 nautical miles - or about 58 miles - off the coast, and more than 6,000 feet below the surface.
The Navy previously said the final explosions would be off North Carolina.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailypress.com ...
Those documentaries were incredible.
Modern supercarriers have never been subjected to attack and therefore there is little real-world engineering data on how the design bears up. The explosive tests that eventually killed the ship simulated enemy attack, measuring precisely how the ship survives bombardment. That data will be factored into the design of the new class CV.
Better protecting the next several generations of carrier sailors seems a cause worthy of the sacrifice of a gallant ship.
Think about this - for maybe the first and only time, weapons manufacturers (and users) get to try out their weapons designed to take out an enemy ship the size of the America. Many of these weapons are designed and built using acquired knowledge from years of experiments and extrapolation. Yet, the real test is "weapon against an actual intended target" to see if it meets design expectations.
The America, whose worthy and honorable past would be enough by itself, continued to serve the Navy and the men and women in uniform through the sacrifice of itself for knowledge sake. Salutes rendered!
That can't be North Carolina, could it?
Wow! Maybe off the continental shelf, but I don't know.
Every man for himself. Cutting torches and hand labor - amazing how it's done there.
You don't think we have thrown enough trash in the oceans? $100 Million playhouse for fish. Sounds like a wise use of tax dollars to me...
I guess it won't be used for a recreational dive reef.
This blows. I'm heart broken. I'm getting very old.
Quote: If the Chicom agents actually get a woody from going over a 32 year old American ship-do we really care?
The F-15 and F-16 are 30-35 year old planes BUT have extensive refits and new avionics etc. The b-52 was designed in 1952 I believe. Probaly the same with the carrier.
Millions of dollars to sink a 84 thousand ton ship? Why, that is a lot of scrap metal that could have been reused?
Salvage??? This ship carried thousands of tons of avgas, diesel, lubricants, explosives, electrical insulation, and surely nuclear weapons for more than 30 years. It was in effect a floating toxic waste dump that no scrap yard would take. Notice they scuttled it carefully rather than using the Navy's favorite way of getting rid of old ships: live war shots.
That's what I was thinking. If ever there was a case for recycling, an aircraft carrier is it!!!
USS Independence.
They should have put it in 400' of water, at least make a fishable reef out of it.
I have always thought it best to avoid mourning the passing of ships like the America. Rather former crew members and others that respect a job well done should celebrate her existence and the role she played in a watershed era. Crew members should feel pride in a job well done.
There will be many poignant moments to come. There will be reunions for half a century. The problem will be that there can never be new members to the list of attendees. Those available to attend will grow fewer every month. Still, attendees can have fun keeping up with the changes in the lives of old friends. They just need to remember that the USS America was a ship worth celebrating.
If W's "football" was accidentally left on Old Ironsides that would make her a very technologically sensitive ship too.
I simply assumed that the real goodies would have been removed first.
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