Video & slideshow of the newly launched Celebrity Silhouette ,
the Silhouette is now on her maiden cruise.
Stay tuned for more exclusive coverage!
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Friday, July 29, 2011
Remembering the 1967 USS Forrestal fire 44 years later.
This post is In memory of those whom perished aboard the USS Forrestal 44 years ago today on July 29th back in 1967 while the Forrestal was conducting combat operations which included hundreds airstrikes and bombing runs on North Vietnam from "Yankee Station" in the Gulf of Tonkin as part of Task force 77.
About 10:50 hours (local time) on 29 July, while preparations for the second strike of the day were being made, an unguided Mk-32 "Zuni" rocket, one of four contained in a LAU-10 underwing rocket pod mounted on a McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II, was accidentally fired due to an electrical power surge during the switch from external power to internal power.
The rocket flew across the flight deck, striking a wing-mounted external fuel tank on a Douglas A-4 Skyhawk awaiting launch, aircraft No. 405, piloted by LCDR Fred D. White,] The warhead's safety mechanism prevented it from detonating, but the impact tore the tank off the wing and ignited the resulting spray of escaping JP-5 fuel, causing an instantaneous conflagration. Other external fuel tanks overheated and ruptured, releasing more jet fuel to feed the flames which spread along the flight deck, leaving pilots in their aircraft with the options of being incinerated in their cockpits or running through the flames to escape. LCDR White leaped from his burning aircraft but was killed instantly, along with many firefighters, when the first bomb cooked off and exploded.
With his aircraft surrounded by flames, LCDR John McCain, pilot of A-4 Skyhawk side No. 416, escaped by climbing out of the cockpit, walking down the nose and jumping off the refueling probe.
The impact of the Zuni dislodged two of the 1,000 lb (450 kg) bombs (World War II-vintage AN-M65s ), which lay in the burning fuel. The fire team's chief, Gerald Farrier (without benefit of protective clothing) immediately smothered the bombs with a PKP fire extinguisher in an effort to knock down the fuel fire long enough to allow the pilots to escape. According to their training, the fire team normally had almost three minutes to reduce the temperature of the bombs to a safe level, but Farrier did not realize the "Comp. B" bombs were already critically close to cooking-off until one split open due to the older bombs low cook off time compared to the modern bombs. Farrier , knowing a lethal explosion was imminent, shouted for the fire team to withdraw but the bomb exploded seconds later - only one and a half minutes after the start of the fire.
The detonation destroyed McCain's A-4 Skyhawk (along with its remaining fuel and armament), blew a crater in the armored flight deck, and sprayed the deck and crew with shrapnel and burning jet fuel. It killed the on-deck firefighting contingent along with Farrier , with the exception of three men who survived with critical injuries. The two bomb-laden A-4s in line ahead of McCain's were riddled with shrapnel and engulfed in the flaming jet fuel still spreading over the deck, causing more bombs to detonate and more fuel to spill.
It was also the most documented , for the disaster was captured in gritty detail as the carriers on board camera's captured the horrors unfolding as the fire raged out of control on the flight deck as the sailors of the Forrestal fought valiantly for hours to extinguish the fire and save the ship from total destruction as bombs , planes and ammunition exploded on the flight deck wiping out 2 fire teams and inflicting heavy damage to the ship and flaming jet fuel engulfing everything in it's path.
The Forrestal was finally decommissioned on September 11 1993 at Pier 6E in Philadelphia, and was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register the same day. After being stricken, ex-Forrestal was heavily stripped to support the rest of the carrier fleet. In 1999, the USS Forrestal Museum Inc. began a campaign to obtain the ship from the Navy via donation, for use as a museum, to be located in Baltimore, but this plan was not successful. The Navy removed the ship from donation hold in 2004 and redesignated it for disposal. According to the NVR, her final status is "donated for use as fishing reef." As of 2007, the ship was being environmentally prepared for sinking as an artificial reef as was USS Oriskany. Due to elements of the Forrestal design having led directly to current aircraft carrier design, the ship will be donated to a state and sunk to become a deep water reef, for fishery propagation and so that it will be accessible to divers.
The date for the sinking has not yet been announced.
On 15 June 2010, Forrestal departed Naval Station Newport in Newport, Rhode Island, where she had been mothballed since 1998, under tow for the inactive ship storage facility in Philadelphia.
When I arrived , it was the early morning , 6am to be exact on a Sunday as I walked past the vast armada of decommissioned relics from the 60's & 70s as I ventured off to the edge of the base I saw in the distance the Forrestal & the JFK I walked up to the 2 massive carriers both tied up at the piers amid the peaceful surroundings of the Delaware river.
The 2 ships , one which was the first super carrier of her time the 2nd a marvel of a new modern age of carriers , symbols of American might and freedom that lay in waiting as the sun rose over them.
It was a beautiful morning as the morning sun rose over the 2 ships ,
I took as many photographs as I could to capture the peaceful atmosphere ,
I then departed the base and bid the 2 carriers farewell.
I took as many photographs as I could to capture the peaceful atmosphere ,
I then departed the base and bid the 2 carriers farewell.
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Monday, July 18, 2011
SS United States Conservancy Celebrates "Summer Gala 2011": Relive an Evening Aboard the SS United States"
On June 24, 2011, the SS United States Conservancy, friends and supporters celebrated its 2011 Summer Gala at the Corinthian Yacht Club on the Delaware River in Essington, PA, just south of Philadelphia.
Over 150 supporters of the Nation's Flagship assembled to show their support and to help raise funds for her renovation and redevelopment.
Participants included:
Cadets from Valley Forge Military Academy
First Troop Philadelphia City Cavalry
John Reynolds, Atlantic Logistics
Susan Gibbs
Mark L. Byers, Wilmington Trust
Dan McSweeney
Matt Schulte, The Steamship Historical Society of America
George McNeeley, Christie's
A PSA video by John Johnson - "Save the SS United States"
Song written and performed by Skip Denenberg & Andy Kravitz, produced by Andy Kravitz
Still Photography Courtesy of:
Phillip Buehler, "Modern Ruins"
Kyle Ober
Elizabeth Robertson, Philadelphia Inquirer
The Mark Perry Collection
Graphics by Greg Shutters
Music by The Albert Oehrle Orchestra
Support the effort to save the SS United States at ssunitedstatesconservancy.org
Sunday, July 17, 2011
QE2's anchor arrives in Southampton.
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| QE2's Anchor after being bolted down to it's final location. Photo credit : Carl Stephens |
The QE2's anchor is installed outside Southampton's Holy Rood church to become part of the
QE2 heritage mile.
The Anchor given to Southampton City Council as a gift from Cunard Line, was lifted into place by crane yesterday onto the footpath in front of Holy Rood Church in High Street.
The steel anchor, which is 4.3m high and 2.7m wide, is one of two that were hung below the great ship’s bow rail on each side of the ship.
The church, which was dedicated as a memorial to the sailors of the Merchant Navy in 1957, forms part of the QE2 Mile, a pedestrian route of historic sites, such as the Titanic Memorial, that runs through the heart of the city from the Cenotaph down to Town Quay.
The anchor and the designated QE2 Mile will ensure that the ships legacy in Southampton will endure for decades to come.As we all know the QE2 has been since docked in Mina Rashid , Dubai since her decommissioning in November of 2008 to become a floating hotel at Palm Jeremiah , a plan that has been grounded due to the economic depression .
Today QE2 is currently maintained by a small crew aboard her whom constantly run routine checks , repairs and maintenance to keep QE2 in seaworthy and pristine condition until finalized plans for her are decided.
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