Posted on Apr 2, 2017
When The Guided Missile Carrier USS Belknap Collided with the Aircraft Carrier USS John F....
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Incredibly interesting read.
When The Guided Missile Carrier USS Belknap Collided with the Aircraft Carrier USS John F....
Posted from trib.al
Naval Historical Foundation
Military History
Posted >1 y ago
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SGT Michael Thorin thanks for the most interesting read/share.
The USS Belknap was the first ship in a new group of guided missile cruisers. She was laid down in 1962 and launched in 1963.
She was reclassified after a major accident occurred in 1975 when she collided with the aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy.
The accident killed seven crew on the cruiser and one on the aircraft carrier and severely damaged the ship. She remained in service for another 20 plus years before being decommissioned. It was widely believed the accident resulted in the US Navy changing the way they built ships.
Crash, Fire, and Death
On the night of November 22, 1975, the two ships were located about 70 miles off the coast of Sicily, Italy, where they were performing night-time flying exercises.
The USS Belknap was the first ship in a new group of guided missile cruisers. She was laid down in 1962 and launched in 1963.
She was reclassified after a major accident occurred in 1975 when she collided with the aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy.
The accident killed seven crew on the cruiser and one on the aircraft carrier and severely damaged the ship. She remained in service for another 20 plus years before being decommissioned. It was widely believed the accident resulted in the US Navy changing the way they built ships.
Crash, Fire, and Death
On the night of November 22, 1975, the two ships were located about 70 miles off the coast of Sicily, Italy, where they were performing night-time flying exercises.
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SGT Michael Thorin
Thanks for the follow up. These accidents are extremely unfortunate. However, they can't provide us with valuable lessons to prevent further occurrences from happening.
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Tragic Piece... Thanks for the Share
Saw a Piece on Kount's Customs where a crew member contracted for a Bile To Honor the Beiknap to Honor the vessel ... the survivors and those who died...
Saw a Piece on Kount's Customs where a crew member contracted for a Bile To Honor the Beiknap to Honor the vessel ... the survivors and those who died...
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It said the ship "randomly turned into the aircraft carrier". Does that mean the ship somehow turned on its own, and the crew couldnt stop it? How close together are the ships when running parallel like that?
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SGT Michael Thorin
Couldn't agree more sir. And thanks for the insight SN Wright. It's hard to imagine how something like this could happen, and that info explains a great deal about the process. Much appreciated.
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SN Greg Wright
LTC (Join to see) - The other thing is that, if they were doing an UNREP, they would have been physically connected by transfer wires and hoses. So the carrier wouldn't have been able to simply dodge away. SGT Michael Thorin
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SGT Michael Thorin
Makes sense. It almost Felt like this article was saying that it might have been just random error. However, it seems that there may have been a legitimate reason why the incident occurred. That would've been handy information for them to put in the article.
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