USN carrier fire still burning

Rheged · July 15, 2020, 08:19:44 AM

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-us-canada-53384220/us-navy-ship-fire-sailors-and-fire-crew-injured

Ouch!!

Nick · July 15, 2020, 08:59:39 AM

Fire aboard a ship is never good but in this case it's made worse by being in for maintenance. At least she was alongside where the local fire teams could get on and fight the fires.

Most of the crew who could have effectively responded and put the fire out quickly were away from the ship. The main Halon fire system was switched off. Many of the hatches would be left open with nobody to close them in time. Workers have a habit of leaving tools and flammable equipment lying around.
Being an amphib assault ship (practically a light aircraft carrier) there are lots of large interior spaces that cannot be sealed off and will provide air to fuel the flames.

One point in the video was the ship is now listing - they've put so much water into the vessel they can barely pump it out fast enough.

It's going to be a very large repair bill... if they don't scrap her.

scooter · July 15, 2020, 11:50:29 AM

Quote from: Nick on July 15, 2020, 08:59:39 AM
Fire aboard a ship is never good but in this case it's made worse by being in for maintenance. At least she was alongside where the local fire teams could get on and fight the fires.

Most of the crew who could have effectively responded and put the fire out quickly were away from the ship. The main Halon fire system was switched off. Many of the hatches would be left open with nobody to close them in time. Workers have a habit of leaving tools and flammable equipment lying around.
Being an amphib assault ship (practically a light aircraft carrier) there are lots of large interior spaces that cannot be sealed off and will provide air to fuel the flames.

One point in the video was the ship is now listing - they've put so much water into the vessel they can barely pump it out fast enough.

It's going to be a very large repair bill... if they don't scrap her.

I saw photos on FB yesterday. Just from what I saw, I'm leaning towards "total constructive loss"

Mossie · July 15, 2020, 12:57:52 PM

HMS Serapis anywhere nearby???

PR19_Kit · July 15, 2020, 01:07:38 PM

I had to look her up, and I love your allusion there.

scooter · July 15, 2020, 01:26:46 PM

Quote from: PR19_Kit on July 15, 2020, 01:07:38 PM
I had to look her up, and I love your allusion there.

We could be wrong, and the shade of John Paul Jones will appear, curse in Scots Gaelic, and pronounce that "I have not yet begun to fight"

Mossie · July 15, 2020, 02:31:13 PM

Quote from: scooter on July 15, 2020, 01:26:46 PM
Quote from: PR19_Kit on July 15, 2020, 01:07:38 PM
I had to look her up, and I love your allusion there.
Quote from: PR19_Kit on July 15, 2020, 01:07:38 PM
I had to look her up, and I love your allusion there.

We could be wrong, and the shade of John Paul Jones will appear, curse in Scots Gaelic, and pronounce that "I have not yet begun to fight"

If I see his ghost I'll let you know! I live near the coast where the battle was fought.

zenrat · July 16, 2020, 03:56:04 AM

So how is this going to be blamed on the Chinese?

NARSES2 · July 16, 2020, 06:37:35 AM

Quote from: Mossie on July 15, 2020, 12:57:52 PM
HMS Serapis anywhere nearby???

Well the last one was a WWII destroyer so she could still be lurking somewhere

As has been said fire aboard a ship is a nasty thing. Dad told me of a few occasions during his service time (after he'd had a pint or two) and it didn't sound nice at all. Just hope they can deal with it without further loss.

Rheged · July 16, 2020, 07:04:39 AM

It looks extremely nasty, and I'd agree that it might end up as a constructive total loss.

That said, it's a bigger fire than the one John Paul Jones tried to light in Whitehaven in 1778. Jones planned to land, spike the guns of the harbour battery, set fire to the colliers in the harbour (over 200 of them) and sail off in triumph. It all started well enough, the battery force landed, spiked two of the four guns before their hammer shaft broke, and returned to the ship. The harbour force landed and found that their lantern had gone out. The sailors went into Willie Ritson's bar by the harbour, allegedly to get a light. As you might expect, drink was taken (in quantity) and the crew returned to their ship, setting fire to the nets of a couple of fishing boats on the way. The alarm was raised when the fishing nets were found smouldering and the fire extinguished. It was assumed in Whitehaven that it was all a feud between two local fishing families until the worthy citizens were made aware of Jones' report that he had set the whole town and all its shipping ablaze.

US warships still make courtesy visits to Whitehaven every now and again, and are asked to anchor off the coast and land by launch. A cynical friend of mine who worked for Vickers at Barrow once pointed out that the anchorage just happens to be within range of the BAe systems gunnery test range at Eskmeals, south of Whitehaven. He reckoned that Whitehaven weren't taking any chances of a repeat performance.

Jones eventually left the USN after disciplinary action, and became an admiral in the Russian navy....which he left after further disagreements. The historian Walter Herrick summed him up thus :-Jones was a sailor of indomitable courage, of strong will, and of great ability in his chosen career.... He was also a murderer, hypocrite, a brawler, a rake, and a professional and social climber.