Posted on 05/30/2008 5:15:29 PM PDT by Dawnsblood
The USS Kitty Hawk will have to remain in the Pacific longer than initially planned after its replacement, the USS George Washington, was damaged by a recent fire, a Navy official said.
The two carriers were to meet in Pearl Harbor next week for a "hull swap," with the newer George Washington taking over for the 47-year-old Kitty Hawk, the oldest active-duty warship in the fleet. About 900 Kitty Hawk sailors and the carriers air wing were expected to transfer to the George Washington.
But a fire broke out on the George Washington on May 22, while the carrier was off South America, prompting the Navy to postpone the ships trip to Hawaii, said Pentagon spokesman Cmdr. Jeff Davis.
The George Washington is in San Diego for damage assessment and repairs. The fire lasted several hours, causing minor injuries to about 24 sailors and extreme heat in parts of the ship, according to Navy reports.
Decisions like rescheduling the turnover with Kitty Hawk and whether the George Washington will be able to participate in the annual Rim of the Pacific exercise will be based on a final damage assessment expected in about a week, said Commander U.S. Pacific Fleet spokesman Capt. Scott Gureck.
(Excerpt) Read more at stripes.com ...
The skipper of the GW is going to have a lot of explaining to do.
It sounds like the fire on the GW was worse than initially reported.
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My son is on the GW and turns out a ventilation fan caught fire, so with ventilation system blowing the fire to many parts of the ship was a nightmare to pin down. but great training and hard work they knocked it down.
also of interest fire originated on deck 6 blocking evacutation of deck 7, and man hole was cut to evacuate those sailors.
when he called me they had just finished putting out the fire and he was extremly excited. biggest thing he’d ever been a part of in his young life.
nice pics , ive seen a few but not of that section
god what a mess
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