Scrapped for a penny: USS Forrestal, Navy's first supercarrier, begins final voyage

Fox News ^ | 02/04/2014 | By Joshua Rhett Miller

[Carbonsteel]

The U.S. Navy’s first supercarrier -- the long-decommissioned Forrestal -- has begun its final voyage to a Texas scrapyard, after the Pentagon tried to sell it, found no takers and had to pay a penny to get rid of it.

The 1,067-foot ship, which was shut down in 1993 after more than 38 years of service, was being towed Tuesday morning down the Delaware River and along the Eastern Seaboard before crossing the Gulf of Mexico to reach All Star Metals in Brownsville. U.S. Navy officials signed a 1-cent contract with the Texas company in October to dismantle the ship perhaps best known for a 1967 incident that killed 134 and injured more than 300 others, including a young Navy aviator named John McCain.

[Carbonsteel]

"Naval officials tried to donate the historic ship to be used as a memorial or a museum, but no viable applications were received. Ken Killmeyer, historian for the USS Forrestal Association and a survivor of the 1967 incident, told FoxNews.com in October that the sale marked a “sad day” for all Americans."

I would sure like to see at least one of our "super carriers in up as a museum. The nuke ships will never be a viable candidate for obvious reasons and we're running out of ships like the Forrestal.

That being said, I read somewhere that if the Forrestal were still active it could still project more firepower then anything outside America.

[Paladin2]

Shoulda sold it to Brazil.

[fso301]

I’d hate to think about the cost of asbestos and lead paint removal.

[yarddog]

I would have given them a dollar for it.

[Lower Deck]

Shoulda sold it to Brazil.

Brazil alread has one carrier over 59 years old. Why would they need two? Especially given the condition the Forrestal's hulk is in.

[Jacquerie]

dismantle the ship perhaps best known for a 1967 incident that killed 134 and injured more than 300 others,

This is another vacuous column from a POS journolist. There's no mention of her war record, how many days on Yankee Station, how many brave warriors were killed in combat, the millions of takeoffs and landings . . . no, a magnificent ship it is reduced to one tragedy and air conditioning.

FU Joshua Rhett Miller.

[RayChuang88]

Interestingly, the USS Forrestal was the first large carrier built since the USS United States was cancelled in the late 1940's. Much of the design concepts for the unfinished United States ended up on the Forrestal, which in turn provided much much of the design for the now-retired USS Enterprise, the first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier.

[ro_dreaming]

Moving the ship to a permanent location was part of the contract.

[DoughtyOne]

Damn, they really want that thing torn apart and melted down.

[The Great RJ]

I can see why no other countries like Brazil or India would be interested given the amount of manpower needed for operations and the high operating cost of this 50 year old ship. Too bad it couldn’t be a floating museum, but given the state of the economy I can also see why there were no takers. At least a US company is doing the scrapping.

[Paine in the Neck]

The 1967 Forrestal Fire

[SandRat]

Tears

[yarddog]

Back around 1952, a barge was abandoned near Panama City. There was a picture of it in the newspaper and the city auctioned it off for a dollar.

I was around 6 and thought that I could have probably come up with a dollar. I was disappointed that I was not there to bid. I remember thinking how much fun it would be to run around on the barge and maybe have my friends play on it with me.

Of course I had no idea that they would have required me to find a place to store it etc. Also obviously a 5 year old would not have been allowed to bid either. Still it was my dream to have owned that barge.

[gorush]

Having lived-aboard for years...where would you berth it and what would THAT cost?

[Gay State Conservative]

Given its tragic history I would think the Navy could have preserved it.I'd be willing to pay a couple of dollars a year more to fund it.Lots of brave men died on that vessel.

[Chode]

CVA ping...

[colorado tanker]

USS Midway has been converted into a museum and is berthed in San Diego. While not built as a supercarrier it was retrofitted with an angled deck and other supercarrier technology. It is an outstanding museum and I highly recommend it. As a present, the wife gave me a day on the Midway while she and the kids went to Sea World.

USS Intrepid, an Essex class carrier that was also retrofitted, is a museum ship in New York.

[PGR88]

It was John McCain’s plane that was hit by that stray Zuni Rocket, was it not?

[nascarnation]

[VerySadAmerican]

A few years back a carrier was sunk to create an artificial reef. I wonder why they didn’t do it with this one. They could honor McCain by allowing him to go down with his ship and make up for betraying his fellow POWs.