Compiled by Ewa Historian John Bond
Aircraft Carrier Accidents Killed 220 Navy Personnel With 700 Injured
The USS Enterprise fire off Pearl Harbor
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Enterprise_fire
An explosion aboard the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise killed 27 people near Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on January 14, 1969. A rocket accidentally detonated, destroying 15 planes and injuring more than 300 people. 28 sailors were killed.
The 1969 USS Enterprise fire was a major fire and series of explosions that broke out aboard USS Enterprise on January 14, 1969, off the coast of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The fire started when a Zuni rocket detonated under a plane's wing. It spread as more munitions exploded, blowing holes in the flight deck that allowed burning jet fuel to enter the ship. 28 sailors were killed, 314 were injured, 15 aircraft were destroyed, and the total cost of aircraft replacement and shipboard repair was over $126 million. The damage was lessened somewhat by improvements made after the similar 1967 USS Forrestal fire.
The investigation also revealed that flight deck personnel did not have an understanding of ordnance cook-off times or an appreciation of the hazards posed by live ordnance on the flight deck.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3Gzg-q_MJA
This was the last of three major fires to befall U.S. aircraft carriers in the 1960s. It followed a fire aboard USS Oriskany on October 26, 1966, that killed 44 sailors and injured 156 more; and a fire aboard USS Forrestal on July 29, 1967, that killed 134 sailors and injured 161. The Forrestal fire was started by a Zuni rocket which was accidentally launched into parked aircraft by a power surge, igniting a fuel fire that began to "cook off" 1,000-pound (454 kg) bombs.
What at the time was the largest warship in the world became a very small place.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/tragedy-remembered-as-uss-enterprise-is-retired/
"We had eight rockets go off in the first 20 seconds," Carlin says.
Shrapnel from the rockets tore across the deck, mowing down sailors and puncturing the fuel tanks of the F-4s, each one of them loaded with nine tons of jet fuel. Then it got worse.
"Now the bombs started going off, and that was a totally different ballgame there," says Carlin.
"Stuff's getting blown all the way up on the bow," says Carlin -- a distance of about four football fields away.
The silent video did not capture the deafening concussions of bombs going off.
Recent Navy Ship Accidents
Aircraft Carrier accidents from 1966 to 1988 in non-combat operations have killed 220 Navy personnel with 700 injured, 96 planes destroyed with total damage at over $1.3 Billion.
http://www.insensitivemunitions.org/history/preface/
From October 1966 to November 1988, there were four flight deck accidents on U.S. aircraft carrier that involved fires and munition explosions. Two hundred and twenty sailors and naval aviators were killed, and seven hundred injured. Ninety-six planes, each costing more than 20 million dollars, were either destroyed or severely damaged.
The ships were forced to leave the operational areas and undergo extensive repairs in shipyards. The material damage alone cost the Navy over 1.3 billion dollars
26 October 1966 - The USS ORISKANY (CVA-34) fire and munition explosions - Before the fires were completely under control, 44 sailors had died (43 from asphyxiation and one from burns) and 156 had been injured.
29 July 1967 - The USS FORRESTAL (CVA-59) fire and munition explosions - This disaster resulted in 134 deaths, 161 injured, 21 aircraft destroyed, and 39 aircraft damaged.
15 January 1969 - The USS ENTERPRISE (CVAN-65) fire and munition explosions - This incident resulted in 28 deaths and 344 injuries. There were 17 aircraft damaged and 15 destroyed. The cost of repairing the structural damage to the ship and replacing the aircraft and other equipment was over 126 million dollars. The Enterprise also carried nuclear weapons and was nearly totally lost.
26 May 1981 - USS NIMITZ (CVN-68) flight deck fire and munition explosions - In all, fourteen sailors were killed and thirty-nine were injured in this accident. Also, three aircraft were destroyed and nine were damaged. The cost to repair the material damage from this accident was over 58 million dollars. The Nimitz also carried nuclear weapons.
Declassified: US Nuclear Weapons At Sea
https://fas.org/blogs/security/2016/02/nuclear-weapons-at-sea/
Not many remember today. But now the Pentagon has declassified how many nuclear weapons they actually deployed in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Mediterranean. In our latest FAS Nuclear Notebook published in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists we review this unique new set of de-classified Cold War nuclear history. The declassified numbers end in 1991 with the offloading of non-strategic naval nuclear weapons from US Navy vessels. After that only strategic missile submarines (SSBNs) have continued to deploy with nuclear weapons onboard. Those numbers are still secret.
The declassified data provides detailed breakdowns for weapons in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Mediterranean for the 30-year period between 1961 and 1991. Prior to 1961 only totals are provided. Except for three years (1962, 1965 and 1966), most weapons were always deployed in the Atlantic, a reflection of the focus on defending NATO against the Soviet Union. When adding the weapons in the Mediterranean, the Euro-centric nature of the US nuclear posture during the Cold War becomes even more striking. The number of weapons deployed in the Pacific peaked much later, in 1987, at 2,085 weapons.
Pearl Harbor Fire: Prototype Mini-Sub Project Shelved 2009
http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2008/Dec/14/ln/hawaii812140366.html
The Navy's one and only ASDS arrived at Pearl Harbor in 2000 and was heralded as leap-ahead technology that would deliver SEAL commandos dry and rested rather than shivering and cold in the existing SEAL delivery vehicle, a cramped open-water design requiring scuba tanks.
http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2009/Jul/25/ln/hawaii907250321.html
$237 million repair estimate from Nov. 9 2008 fire kills Pearl Harbor based Navy SEAL mini-sub project
A one-of-a-kind SEAL mini-sub based at Pearl City Peninsula that has been plagued by years of development problems and cost overruns won't be repaired after a November fire because the work would cost $237 million and take nearly three years, U.S. Special Operations Command said yesterday.
Designed to ride piggyback on the Los Angeles-class submarines Greeneville and Charlotte, both based at Pearl Harbor, as well as on new Virginia-class submarines and former ballistic missile subs converted to carry conventional missiles and commandos, the boxy, 8-foot-diameter ASDS was designed to sneak up close to shore with two crew and up to 16 SEALs.
The Ill-Fated USS Greenville, Pearl Harbor Based LA Class Attack Submarine
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Greeneville
On February 2001 USS Greeneville collided with a Japanese fishing vessel, Ehime Maru, off the coast of Oahu causing the death of nine crew members, including four high school students
On 27 August 2001, Greeneville ran aground while entering port in Saipan on a routine Western Pacific deployment.
On 27 January 2002, less than a year after colliding with Ehime Maru and five months after running aground, Greeneville collided with USS Ogden (LPD-5) during a personnel transfer off the coast of Oman.
5-ton buoy falls, killing 2 Pearl Harbor contractors
https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/27599011/5-ton-buoy-falls-killing-2-pearl-harbor-contractors/
Four civilians were working on a floating concrete block when a 10,000-pound buoy fell about 70 feet, partially hitting two of them. The two others were injured while getting out of the way to avoid being hit. The investigation into a tragic accident at Pearl Harbor continues. The Honolulu Medical Examiner has identified the two men who were killed on the job Wednesday.
Authorities preliminarily think the 10,000 pound buoy was being lifted by a crane, but the buoy separated and fell to the platform below.
The medical examiner says 42 year old Joefrey Andrada of Waipahu and 30 year old Justin Saragosa of Kapolei were killed. David Makua broke his leg when he jumped out of the way and caught in a large chain. A fourth unidentified victim also went to the hospital hurting his knee jumping out of the way of the falling buoy.
Naval Accidents 1945 - 1988
https://fas.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/NavalAccidents1945-1988.pdf
