What Happened
- On July 29, 1967, the aircraft carrier USS Forrestal was stationed in the Gulf of Tonkin. It launched strikes against North Vietnam.
- While preparing aircraft for another mission, an accidental rocket misfire on the flight deck triggered a chain reaction.
- The rocket struck a fuel tank on an A-4 Skyhawk (one of the planes belonged to a young pilot named John McCain, later U.S. Senator), rupturing it and spilling jet fuel.
- The burning fuel spread across the crowded deck, igniting other planes loaded with bombs and fuel.
The Disaster
- The old 1,000-pound bombs on deck were unstable due to age and heat. They detonated violently just minutes after the fire started, ripping holes in the steel deck and spraying burning fuel below.
- The explosions and fires raged for over 18 hours, destroying or damaging over 20 aircraft.
- 134 sailors were killed and more than 160 injured. It was the worst U.S. naval disaster since World War II not caused by combat.
Aftermath
- The Navy completely overhauled its firefighting training and equipment because of Forrestal. Before this, many sailors only had minimal training in damage control. Afterward, “damage control” became a core discipline in the fleet.
- The incident is still studied today in naval training. It serves as an example of how quickly accidents can escalate when high explosives and jet fuel are involved.