Carrier Forrestal headed for scrap heap

[unhappycamper]

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/jan/31/navy-aircraftcarrier-forrestal/?st



The Forrestal was commissioned in October 1955 and remained a part of the fleet until September 1993.

Carrier Forrestal headed for scrap heap
9:01 a.m. Jan. 31, 2014

The decommisioned carrier Forrestal, the first of the Navy's "supercarriers" and a technological marvel when it was launched in the 1950s, will begin its final journey on February 4th when it is towed out of Philadelphia for a trip to Brownsville, Texas, where the ship will be dismantled and recycled.

The Navy announced on Friday that the 1,067-foot carrier will be towed down the Delaware River, along the eastern seaboard, and across the Gulf of Mexico to All Star Metals, a company that's expected to spend about two years dismantling the nearly 60,000 ton flattop.

The move is part of a long term effort by the Navy to get rid of up to seven decommissioned carriers, including the Constellation, which operated out of San Diego for most of its 41 years of service. The "Connie" is expected to be released to a salvage company this year. The Navy hasn't announced which contractor will get the job. But it's likely that the carrier will be towed from Bremerton, Washington to Brownsville, where about half of all "ship breaking" in the U.S. is done.

The Forrestal was commissioned in October 1955, the first in a new class of conventionally-powered carriers whose design reflected lessons learned during World War II, and the emergence of jet aircraft. The ship feature an angled flight deck that allowed the carrier to carry out more landings and launches, and a greater variety of flight operations. The same basic design was used for the two other ships in her class, the Ranger, which operated out of San Diego for years, and the Independence.

[Siwsan]

1. I remember this ship was nicknamed the USS Forest Fire

During basic training, we had to watch a film about the fires on this ship. Sad, sad history.

[brush]

2. Is that the carrier McCain caused the fire on that killed wounded several sailors? nt

[Siwsan]

3. Yes, it is

I know they never actually 'officially' accused him, but the circumstances and eye witness reports I've read pretty much point to him.

And it was more than a few killed - 134 killed and 161 injured.

[bemildred]

4. James Forrestal

James Vincent Forrestal (February 15, 1892 – May 22, 1949) was the last Cabinet-level United States Secretary of the Navy and the first United States Secretary of Defense.

Forrestal was a supporter of naval battle groups centered on aircraft carriers. In 1954, the world's first supercarrier was named USS Forrestal in his honor, as is the headquarters of the United States Department of Energy. He is also the namesake of the Forrestal Lecture Series at the United States Naval Academy, which brings prominent military and civilian leaders to speak to the Brigade of Midshipmen, and of the James Forrestal Campus of Princeton University in Plainsboro Township, New Jersey.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Forrestal