USS Forrestal (CV-59)

Laid down at the Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Co in July 1952, the Forrestal was the first 'Supercarrier' built by the US Navy with an angled flight deck, steam catapults, and landing signal lights specifically for the operation of heavier, faster jets. She was comissioned into Navy service on September 29th, 1955.

As the first member of a totally new type of carrier, the Forrestal spent much of the 1950's and early 1960's testing the ships operational abilities, including the record-setting feat of having a C-130 Hercules land and take off her deck 21 times in November 1963.

In 1967 the Forrestal departed to join the US Navy in operations off Vietnam, and after having been on station for only 4 days, the ship suffered the worst shipboard fire on a aircraft carrier since WWII. The disaster was caused by a misfiring of a rocket while several planes were being refuled and rearmed for combat missions. The rocket hit a external fuel tank on another plane which caused JP-5 fuel to coat the deck and caused older non-heat resistant ammunition mounted on planes to begin to detonate, which caused more fuel fires. In total, there were 9 heavy explosions on the deck, and the ship lost 134 crew, with 161 crew injured before the fires were put out and the ship saved. Repairs cost $72 million.

After repairs to her hull and flight deck, the Forrestal continued to operate as part of the Atlantic Fleet in NATO excercises and went on to see active combat in Libya with her sister Saratoga. In 1987 she became the first (and last) aircraft carrier to operated in the Mississippi River during a visit to New Orleans. Her final deployment came in May 1991 when she was part of Operation Desert Storm.

The old carrier was slated to become the Navy's flight training carrier, however, due to her age and the cost of keeping her operational, the Navy decided to decomission the ship on September 11th, 1993 after 38 years of service.

Currently the Forrestal has been used as a parts hulk for the active fleet of carriers, much like her sisterships. A effort was put up to save her as a museum ship in Baltimore, however, this was not to be and the Navy removed her from donation status in 2004. Forrestal, like her sister USS Independence (CV-62), are now slated to be sunk as 'fish propagation reefs' which is Navy talk for too deep for sport divers to reach. Part of the reasoning for this is that much of the Nimitz Class hull design is based on the Forrestal Class design, particularly flood & damage control systems. As of 2007, environmental preparation had begun for the ship to be sunk.

www.navsource.org/archives/02/59.htm

www.forrestal.org/