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Page 12 text:
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— .■-,» Carrier Group Six REAR ADMIRAL LEIGHTON W. SMITH Commander Carrier Group SIX, Rear Admiral Leighton W. Smith, Jr., reported on board USS FORRESTAL (CV-59) in Jan- uary of 1988. During this time he has witnessed both officer and enlisted FID Fighters set professional standards by which other carriers are measured. His boundless energy connotates a smooth and personable re- lationship with fellow officers and crew of FORRESTAL. He often welcomes dignitaries and guests and guides these VIPs on tours ex- plaining the overall mission and capability of the 1,039 foot, super carrier. Rear Admiral Smith is intimately involved in the intregral parts of FORREST AL ' s mission. Whether behind the scenes ob- serving men working in the Intelligence or Combat Centers or in- specting aircraft on the flight deck with Commanding Officer, Captain John A. Pieno, his job is never complete. Rear Admiral Smith graduated from the Naval Academy in 1962, received his Wings of Gold in 1964 and spent a great deal of his time in the cockpits of the A-4 Skyhawk and A-7 Corsair. Rear Admiral Smith has flown over 280 combat mis- sions and has been awarded the Legion of Merit, two Distinguished Flying Crosses, two Meritorious Service Medals, and a host of other prestigious awards and ribbons.
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Page 11 text:
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i A RECORD LANDING It began as a wild idea in Patuxent River, Maryland at the %aval Air Test Center. A year later, it became a reality. The as- signment: Determine the feasibility of operating a C-130 ' Hercules ' aircraft aboard a FORRESTAL-class aircraft carri- i USS FORRESTAL (CV-59) became the testing platform n ' or the largest aircraft to ever land on the (light deck of a carri The C-1 30 that was chosen for the exercise was on loan from LS. Marine Corps. To land on board the ship, modifications h ? to be made with the plane to adapt it to the carrier environment. e-fueling pods on the wings were removed, an improved braking ivstem was installed and nose landing gear needed adjustments to handle the landing. Onboard FORRESTAL, ship flight deck configurations ere altered. Arresting cables were removed from the after p; if the ship; the C- 1 30 would not rely on a tailhook to land. A( ' tionally, a white center-line was painted from the ramp to the to assist the pilots in landing the mammoth airplane. The landing signal officer blast shield was also lowered to ensure wing tip clearance. p Three separate trials began on October 30, 1 964 just 22 days after the Navy received the C-130 from the Marines. Take-offs and landings were tested with airplane gross weights ranging from 88,000 pounds to 1 2 1 ,000 pounds. Although FORRESTAL C-130 tests were successful, a C- 1 30 never landed aboard another carrier again preserving FORRESTAL ' s claim as having the irgest aircraft ever to land on a carrier flight deck. ii I HERCULES: ' eck of USS FORRESTAL. ' 4 ' The aircraft, on loan from the U.S. Marines, is the largest ever to land on a carrier. FIRE ON THE FLIGHTDECK! V In hangar bay No. 1 , a bronze plaque reads: To the officers and ™n of USS FORRESTAL, living and dead, who on July 29, 1967, proved through their comradeship and heroism that uncommon valor was their common virtue. FORRESTAL had arrived on Yankee Station off Vietnam only four days earlier, following a six-week transit from her homeport of Nor- folk. That morning, the first strike had launched and the second strike was preparing to launch at 1 1 a.m. At 10:52, a Zuni rocket was accident- ly fired and sent shooting into a drop fuel tank on a A-4E Skyhawk. Within seconds, the after portion of the flight deck was engulfed in flames. High winds across the deck spread the fire quickly to other air- craft, most loaded with ordnance. Within two minutes of the initial fire, the explosions from 500,750 and 1000 pound bombs ripped gaping cra- ters in the flight deck. The largest hole was over 20 feet in diameter. Almost 50 night crew personnel sleeping one deck below were killed instantly. Twenty men were blown overboar d by the forces of the explo- sions. Only 16 would be recovered by nearby destroyers. Although the fire on the flight deck was extinguished within two hours, the residual fires below deck would burn on for 17 hours more until they could be contained. Twenty-one aircraft were destroyed and total damage was estimat- ed at $72 million. The final toll: 134 dead, 164 injured. This was the single biggest loss of Navy personnel during the Vietnam War and the worst U.S. Naval disaster since World War II.
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