USS Bonhomme Richard ablaze at Naval Base San Diego

[m75rlg]

"The fire is believed to have started below those spaces, in the lower cargo hold of the ship, known as the "Deep V," Sobeck said.

It is a "huge open area where you store a lot of (Marine Corps) equipment and everything else," he said. "That's where we believe it was started."

You don't think somebody forgot to shut down the still before they went on liberty, do you??? d

 

[timjake]

"Navy Officials Fear USS Bonhomme Richard Fire Has Damaged It Beyond Repair "

Navy Officials Fear USS Bonhomme Richard Fire Has Damaged It Beyond Repair - WSJ

Updated July 13, 2020 8:08 pm ET

WASHINGTON—The fire aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard showed no sign of abating Monday, raising fears that one of the few U.S. Navy ships that can operate like a mini aircraft carrier is damaged beyond repair.

 

[dusty3030]

Loosing a gator freighter is a blow to force readiness. A MEU aboard an assault ship is a powerful weapon that can be used at the drop of a hat.

 

[vigil617]

Loosing a gator freighter is a blow to force readiness. A MEU aboard an assault ship is a powerful weapon that can be used at the drop of a hat.

Thanks for that "gator freighter" reference! Hadn't heard that one in a long time.

Bonhomme Richard was at the end of a two-year upfit for handling the F35 fighter, and losing the ship is going to have a big impact on our ops in the Pacific and Indian oceans. Not only was that big girl going to still be capable of putting the azz in the grazz, she was going to support our most technologically-advanced fighter. Huge loss, and the rest of the upfitted gators will have to suck it up as a result.

 

[Rudi]

So, can we expect an depth investigation as to the cause?

 

[GaryS]

I expect so. It wasn't that long ago that a civilian painter caused millions of dollars worth of damage to a nuclear submarine. He set a "small" fire while the ship was in for repairs. He needed a cigarette break.

He went to federal prison for 17 years and was ordered to pay $400 Million in restitution. The ship ended up being considered too expensive to repair.

USS Miami (SSN-755) - Wikipedia

So, can we expect an depth investigation as to the cause?

 

[DWalt]

I haven't seen any speculations as to what caused the fire and what provided fuel. The newspaper story this morning said only that the ship's Halon fire suppression system was not functional as it had been disabled as part of the ongoing maintenance activities. And it also mentioned that the ship was likely going to be "totalled out."

 

[swsig]

Here is a live stream of the firefighting efforts on the USS Bonhomme Richard. It's live as of 1:35 pm CDT. I don't know how long it will last.

EDIT: The live stream ended around 3 pm CDT. The video below is a recording of that broadcast.

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qA5jZxb6tm4[/ame]

 

[mckenney99]

I expect so. It wasn't that long ago that a civilian painter caused millions of dollars worth of damage to a nuclear submarine. He set a "small" fire while the ship was in for repairs. He needed a cigarette break.

He went to federal prison for 17 years and was ordered to pay $400 Million in restitution. The ship ended up being considered too expensive to repair.

USS Miami (SSN-755) - Wikipedia

Dang, that dude is gonna have to put in a bunch of overtime in the prison laundry, at 50 cents an hour, to pay back $400 Million. Think they kept his stimulus check too.

 

[Kurusu]

There are so many possibilities here to account for the almost certain destruction of a major warship: Ship's fire suppression system partially or totally shut down while refitting; Flammable construction equipment and supplies everywhere; Hatches not closable due to construction cables and hoses being run through them; Civilian contractor in a hurry to finish on schedule cutting corners on fire prevention, etc.

Although it will probably take some time to determine how this happened, it seems similar to what happened to the SS Normandie, one of the world's largest ocean liners, as it was being converted to a troop transport in New York harbor in 1942. Due to sloppy welding practice, a large group of life jackets was ignited, and the entire ship caught fire. It eventually capsized at the pier due to the massive amount of water poured into it. Nothing was salvageable, and the hulk was raised, towed away, and scrapped.

I also thought of the Normandie when I first saw this post.

 

[CALREB]

He wanted to get off work early so , set a fire. I guess he has never heard of "I dont feel good".

 

[Kurusu]

I am just glad there were no fatalities so far.

Wish a full recovery to all the victims.

 

[Kurusu]

21 hospitalized fighting the fire aboard the Amphibious Assault Ship.
Live stream from the scene:
Watch live: 21 hospitalized with injuries from fire on USS Bonhomme Richard at Naval Base San Diego | cbs8.com

Thank you for the information Bigwheel.

I just can't find it in my heart to like the post.

 

[timjake]

18 July update

Navy chief: US warship'''s fate uncertain; damage extensive | Fox News

"San Diego (AP) — The USS Bonhomme Richard has extensive structural, electrical and mechanical damage, a top naval chief said Friday after walking into the bowels of the charred warship that burned for more than four days off San Diego.

Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Gilday pledged a thorough investigation into the Navy's worst U.S. warship fire outside of combat in recent memory. He said the probe will look at what caused the fire as well as whether there were enough sailors on duty when it happened and the circumstances around why a fire suppression system was deactivated when the blaze broke out early Sunday while the ship was docked undergoing maintenance.

...

The future of the ship remains uncertain.

"I am 100% confident that our defense industry can put this ship back to sea, but having said that, the question is should we make that investment in a 22-year-old ship?" Gilday asked, adding that he's not making any predictions at this point.

 

[bigwheelzip]

The new Amphibious Assault Ship USS Tripoli was just commissioned. Hopefully the Navy takes better care of this asset.

 

[Rudi]

Why do I think "sabotage"?

 

[swsig]

Why do I think "sabotage"?

Since you're thinking sabotage, how about this incident, which happened a couple of years ago just a few hundred yards away at the NASSCO shipyard:

NASSCO Drydock Floods, Damaging Under-Construction Expeditionary Sea Base - USNI News

Navy: Dry Dock Accident Will Set Back Miguel Keith Construction At Least 6 Months - USNI News

Coincidence? Maybe San Diego needs to upgrade its military security.

 

[LVSteve]

I dunno about sabotage, but I'd be wondering about the structural integrity of the ship in heavy weather after having its hull heat cycled in a fire.