[Justan]

Pretty cool but don't try it at home!!! http://www.cgaux.com/C-130carrierlanding.htm

[Stefan]

That thing taking off is more impressive than landing. Pretty cool.

[Lagerman]

Agreed. I am amazed that brick got off!

[Justan]

...and it used neither cat or tail hook....

[Lagerman]

[Slugman]

The Forrestal has had an unusual history. It was the ship that suffered a terrible tragedy when a missile was launched accidentally from a jet on its deck, which hit another jet's fuel tanks, causing a huge explosion and fire, killing 134 and injuring hundreds, America's worst-ever non-combat military accident. Amazingly, the pilot of the plane hit by the missile lived, and film shot that day shows him climbing out of the cockpit in a blinding fireball. That pilot also was a prisoner of war for many years in Vietnam. His luck changed eventually, because now he is a US Senator, name of John McCain from Arizona. Some interesting details here

[Robcat]

I was stationed on USS KittyHawk (CV-63) from '94-'97. Just thinking of the Forrestal fire still gives me chills. I worked down in the pit, where Class Bravo fires (liquid fuels) were a very real threat. We must have seen the film of the Forrestal every year. I remember there was one chief that tried to put the plane out with a PKP cannister, but it flashed again before he could get to it. Dude got lit up like a christmas tree. Poor guy. We never had anything that catastrophic happen on the 'hawk, (thank the maker) but we did have an F-14 crash on deck. That is some stomach turning footage to see, also. Pilot and RIO both ejected, pilot made it to the water, but the RIO's chute drifted right back into the fireball. Amazingly, he survived and is still flying. Horribly burned though. Whenever I think back on those days, I am still amazed by the complexity and capabilitys of our US military hardware. I have told people before that a C-130 is capable of carrier ops, but nobody believed me. I should send 'em the link... R

[Dante]

That movie is hard to watch - Like the Saving Private Ryan D-Day scenes but REAL. Doesn't the Navy now train everyone firefighting training because the designated firefighters on the Forrestal got wiped out in short order when burning fuel cooked off bombs, missiles and other ordinance? Didn't a large bomb go off on deck narrowly missing a liquid oxygen tank below? John McCain managed to survive both the Forrestall fire and captivity in North Vietnam - he's both very unlucky and very lucky. IIRC a problem with his plane caused the fire, right? The C130 thing is even more impressive than Doolittle flying B25s off the Hornet.

[Robcat]

Dante-- You're correct on all counts. US Navy regs state all personnel onboard be qualified firefighters, even though most will never be called upon to respond to one. One of the manyfold reasons the forrestal fire got so out of hand was that people who were not qualified to fight fires were blasting water at burning fuel, which does nothing but spread it around. Because of that one horrible fire, we now have AFFF (aqueous film forming foam) which is used on class B fires, effectively cutting off the fire's oxygen supply, and putting it out. There's also halon systems installed in high risk areas (engineering spaces, galleys, machinery rooms, etc) and there's now an expansive sprinkler system in the hanger bays as well as li'l mini firetrucks for the flight deck. At least we were able to learn something from that awful tragedy, and precautions are in place so that it never happens again. And McCain is the MAN! Oh if only he would have got the nomination instead of bubba dubyuh... R

[Slugman]