Fire on Bonhomme Richard...

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Major fire on the USS Bonhomme Richard, LHD-6...

Vessel was in Naval Base San Diego, all personnel accounted for...

Fire burned through the night, upper works of the ship now involved...

Given it is 23 years old, I believe it is a constructive hull loss...
 
I was keeping an eye on this yesterday. By supper time she was already down by the bow. Last I heard she is listing to starboard as well. The island burned overnight and the flight deck has burned through. She also has a lot of fuel on board from what I read but that could be wrong. I cannot imagine a ship getting refueled until they are Bravo status. (Ready for sea)

She had just got out of the yards from a almost $300 million work over. I suspect she is a total loss despite what some Admiral said yesterday.

The investigation will be interesting.
 
Originally Posted by CT8
The ghost of John McCain?


Nah, that was the Forrestal aircraft carrier
whistle.gif
 
Originally Posted by CT8
The ghost of John McCain?


If you're alluding to the utterly false conspiracy theory that Joh McCain caused the Forrestal fire, when he, in fact, was struck by faulty Zuni that launched from an F-4 and then fought the fire at the risk of his life, you should be ashamed.

Genuinely ashamed.

One more conspiracy theory post and this thread goes away.

I'm serious.
 
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Actually it was a number of things that caused the fire on the Forrestal...

Pigtail to power the missiles were plugged in below decks
Safety pins were removed on the flight deck...
One little bit of stray voltage, whoosh...
F4 power transfer switches were faulty,
allowing stray voltage when transferring power from external to internal....

Complicating the matter were the old 1000 pound Composition B bombs on deck,
old, unstable, and temperamental...

My parents had friends whose son was on the Forrestal,
they did not know for three days if he was ok... (He was)
 
Originally Posted by mattwithcats
Actually it was a number of things that caused the fire on the Forrestal...

Pigtail to power the missiles were plugged in below decks
Safety pins were removed on the flight deck...
One little bit of stray voltage, whoosh...
F4 power transfer switches were faulty,
allowing stray voltage when transferring power from external to internal....

Complicating the matter were the old 1000 pound Composition B bombs on deck,
old, unstable, and temperamental...

My parents had friends whose son was on the Forrestal,
they did not know for three days if he was ok... (He was)


Agreed, there is an interesting video on Youtube about the Forrestal and the many factors compounding it.

Coincidentally, my dad served on the previous Bonhomme Richard (CV-31) and they were called over to provide assistance to the Forrestal during the fire. When I first heard about it in the news, I thought it was the same ship. Turns out CV-31 was scrapped a while back.
 
As a result of the fire on the Forrestal, all personnel assigned to an aircraft carrier, including the Air Wing, are required to go through shipboard fire fighting.

As an aviator, I've been through shipboard fire fighting training twice.

We take it very seriously, and understanding the principles, equipment and team roles are critical to success in a real fire.

It was a two day course, rank was irrelevant, and we fought real jet fuel fires with real hoses.

I believe that these days, the fire fighting Training Center uses natural gas fires. It's more environmentally friendly. Those jet fuel fires used to send enormous clouds of black smoke into the air by the waterfront.

As an aside, I am pleased that there was no loss of life. However, I expect the ship will be a write off. A fire that burns as long as this one has will result in structural damage.

Whether or not it is economical to repair the ship after that sort of damage remains to be seen.
 
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During my time in the Coast Guard in the 70's, one week of boot camp was spent at Treasure Island in the Bay Area. The Navy had a firefighting training complex there. Back then they used concrete buildings with steel grate floors to imitate shipboard conditions. Diesel fuel was lit off and in we went.

On board the ship we had constant fire drills and even one real fire off the Aleutians. A fuel line came off on a generator and fuel hit the manifold. It was over quickly but every member of the crew had that moment of fear. It's a sailors nightmare.
 
Let me also point out that many of the junior sailors lived completely aboard; they had everything they owned in their shipboard accommodations.

They've lost everything. Every bit of clothing, every uniform, and all of their personal possessions. They will need help.

Beware of scams purporting to help them, but I can vouch for the integrity of the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society.

https://www.nmcrs.org/
 
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Originally Posted by Astro14
Let me also point out that many of the junior sailors lived completely aboard; they had everything they owned in their shipboard accommodations.

They've lost everything. Every bit of clothing, every uniform, and all of their personal possessions. They will need help.

Beware of scams purporting to help them, but I can vouch for the integrity of the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society.

https://www.nmcrs.org/




A very good point.
 
We have been watching this closely, and praying. My son has friends he served with on that ship.
 
Originally Posted by demarpaint
We have been watching this closely, and praying. My son has friends he served with on that ship.


May God watch over and protect them . And all who serve .

God bless
Wyr
 
Originally Posted by Astro14
Originally Posted by CT8
The ghost of John McCain?


If you're alluding to the utterly false conspiracy theory that Joh McCain caused the Forrestal fire, when he, in fact, was struck by faulty Zuni that launched from an F-4 and then fought the fire at the risk of his life, you should be ashamed.

Genuinely ashamed.

One more conspiracy theory post and this thread goes away.

I'm serious.

Thank you sir for nipping this in the bud, was waiting for the the conspiracy to start coming out of the swamps, went thru shipboard fire fighting classes twice there at 32'nd street Naval Station, agree that she'll probably end up scrapped.
 
One of the more interesting ships I worked on was the Sea Tiger, a Mitsubishi tanker that caught fire while discharging crude oil down in TX. Burned for a week. The entire mid-body,the tanks, was pared down to the keel and re-fitted. It was a newish tanker and the stern and bow sections, the hard parts , were worth saving.
Red, the burner and Frankie the rigger worked from a gangway suspended from one of the 20 ton cranes. We worked at night and when the smoke and flames were less visible. I was along to remove any guard rails or staging that was in the way. Red would cut away the mangled steel with a 6' long torch to keep him out of the way of released steel. One cold night I was moving along the walkway, when I saw, Logan, who was a ringer for Hemingway, gloves off, warming his hands from the still hot metal.
grin2.gif
 
One of the Admirals keeps saying the ship is salvageable. I’d wonder how he comes to that conclusion at this stage of the game?

Fires are still burning forward but it sounds like they are getting the handle on it.

Considering that the Navy just spent close to $300 million in yard work on her and then add in the cost of repair from this fire, at what point does the Navy decide it’s worth it over a brand new vessel? I really doubt the hull and the frames are sufficient after enduring temperatures of over 1000 degrees F.
 
One of the Admirals keeps saying the ship is salvageable. I’d wonder how he comes to that conclusion at this stage of the game?

Fires are still burning forward but it sounds like they are getting the handle on it.

Considering that the Navy just spent close to $300 million in yard work on her and then add in the cost of repair from this fire, at what point does the Navy decide it’s worth it over a brand new vessel? I really doubt the hull and the frames are sufficient after enduring temperatures of over 1000 degrees F.
Great questions - until the fire is out, and a surgery complete, they can’t know that. The ship was modified for F-35. Systems, structural changes, etc. were a huge investment.

A new hull, new ship, replacement will be billions. So, even if it’s hundreds of millions to repair her, it might be the cost effective option. She may not be repairable after all that damage. That’s my guess.

The other option is to upgrade a recently mothballed ship of similar class. But ships get mothballed because they’re at the end of their life. Power plants, combat systems, everything would need overhaul or replacement. Also, not cheap...
 
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Great questions - until the fire is out, and a surgery complete, they can’t know that. The ship was modified for F-35. Systems, structural changes, etc. were a huge investment.

A new hull, new ship, replacement will be billions. So, even if it’s hundreds of millions to repair her, it might be the cost effective option. She may not be repairable after all that damage. That’s my guess.

The other option is to upgrade a recently mothballed ship of similar class. But ships get mothballed because they’re at the end of their life. Power plants, combat systems, everything would need overhaul or replacement. Also, not cheap...


Way back when, one of the Coast Guard high endurance cutters had a main turbine blow and a engine room fire which caused substantial damage to the hull. They welded in new frames in that section and installed new turbines. She sailed for another 30 plus years. I heard stories from former crew members that in heavy seas, if you were on the bridge and looked aft you could see the ship twist. Not the most comforting thought.

We might be surprised.
 
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