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US Navy Curiosities

Strange Accidents

USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71)
Feb. 20, 1991 - Persian Gulf:
A Greenshirt is sucked into the engine of an A-6E during night operations and survives with only some scratches!
View the accident: Clip#1 Clip#2

USS Goldsborough (DDG 20)
Nov. 24, 1965 - Naval Station Pearl Harbor:
While moored at Mike Two Pier, USS Goldsborough mistakenly fired a live torpedo onto the pier. The torpedo broke into two pieces (one the warhead, the other the motor) but it did not detonate. Since torpedoes are not armed when a ship is in port, the detonating mechanism had not been activated. A Team from Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit 1 at West Loch removed the torpedo from the pier. The incident happend at 8.45 a.m. local time. Nobody was injured. The pier was slightly damaged.

USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72)
July 9, 1991 - Indian Ocean:
Partial ejection aboard an A-6E of VA-95. The navigator remained 6 minutes halfway outside the canopy in the air stream until the pilot managed to land the aircraft aboard USS Abraham Lincoln. The navigator survived.
Click here for a detailed report of the accident including pictures and sound files.

USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74)
August 19, 1997 - Virginia Capes:
The pilot of an F-14 Tomcat aircraft from VF-143 was safed after he was accidentally ejected from his aircraft during a landing aboard the John C. Stennis. Flight deck personnel rescued the radar intercept officer from the pilotless Tomcat as it sat on the flight deck with engines still running. The two officers were treated for minor injuries by medical personnel. The pilot was recovered immediately astern of the carrier and rescued by a helicopter.

USS Reeves (CG 24)
Oct. 30, 1989 - south of Diego Garcia:
An F/A-18 aircraft from USS Midway (CV 41) mistakenly drops a 500-pound bomb on the deck of USS Reeves (CG 24) during training exercises, creating a five-foot hole in the bow, sparking a small fires, and injuring five sailors.

Ever seen a Spruance - class destroyer capsizing? The photos below show USS Caron (DD 970) "accidentally" sinking during explosive tests off Puerto Rice on Dec. 4, 2002. The ship was believed to survive the tests and scheduled to be sunk later in 2003.

The 5 most dangerous things in the navy are....

A Seaman saying, "I learned this in Boot Camp..."
A Petty Officer saying, "Trust me, sir..."
A Lieutenant JG saying, "Based on my experience..."
A Lieutenant saying, "I was just thinking..."
A Chief chuckling, "Watch this s***..."

USS Connecticut (SSN 22) stalked by polar bear

On April 27, 2003, during the ICEX 2003 naval exercises near the North Pole, USS CONNECTICUT was stalked and "attacked" by a "hostile" polar bear when the submarine poked its sail and rudder through the ice.
The damage to CONNECTICUT's rudder was reported to be minor.

USS Ashland (LSD 48) "harassed" by merchant vessel

May 2003, Bab El Mandeb. A merchant vessel tries to pass behind the USS Ashland after ignoring radio calls from the Bataan (LHD 5) informing the merchant ship that Ashland was steaming in a formation. The CPA (Closest Point of Approach) was 50 yards, and Ashland had to speed up and come hard left to avoid a collision!