What you need to know: In 1969, a devastating fire broke out on the USS Enterprise, the first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, as it prepared for a deployment to Vietnam. The fire started when exhaust from a huffer jet starter overheated a Zuni rocket, setting off multiple explosions.

-Captain Kent Lee’s quick actions helped, but successive detonations tore large holes in the cockpit, ruptured a fuel tank, and disabled firefighting equipment. The inferno killed 27 crew, injured many others and destroyed 15 aircraft.

-After a significant overhaul, the hardy “Big E” continued in service, cementing her place as a historic asset in the US Navy.

The USS Enterprise Fire: Inside the 1969 Tragedy That Rocked the US Navy

When the USS Enterprise burst into flames before being deployed to Vietnam in the 1960s, the incident became one of the worst non-combat tragedies to hit an American aircraft carrier. A missile accidentally ignited on the warship’s flight deck, setting off a domino effect on board. While the flames were eventually brought under control, twenty-seven crew members were killed and many more were injured. The Navy also lost fifteen aircraft in result of the incident.

An overview of the USS Enterprise

As the first nuclear-powered carrier ever to circumnavigate the globe, the USS Enterprise has a legendary connotation. The battleship was preceded by USS Enterprise (CV-6), the sixth aircraft carrier to enter US Navy service in the mid-1930s.

Both carriers were nicknamed the “Big E”. Measuring nearly 1,125 feet in length, the CV-6 certainly does won this name. In fact, the USS Enterprise remains the longest naval vessel ever built. The powerful carrier was destined lead a class of six nuclear-powered ships, however, budget problems led to the cancellation of the sister ships.

Enterprise it is also the only carrier to have more than two nuclear reactors. The Big E is equipped with an eight-reactor propulsion design. In addition, she uniquely incorporated four rudders rather than two like other aircraft carrier classes. In terms of defense and armament power, the aircraft carrier was installed with a basic defense missile system to be able to launch Sea Sparrow missiles.

The carrier also had a phased array radar system. Throughout its service history, Enterprise has proven to be a valuable asset to the Navy. She has achieved more Highlightsincluding becoming the first carrier to launch an aircraft with a launch pad.

fire

Enterprise’s promising formidability made the infamous 1969 fire all the more devastating. When the battleship was operating off the coast of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, a junior airman noticed that a huffer (MD-3A) aircraft starter unit was blowing hot exhaust very close to fiery of a Zuni missile.

Unfortunately, his warnings either went unheeded or were misunderstood. Eventually, the huffer’s exhaust temperature of over 500 degrees was enough to ignite the missile’s warhead. After the first Zuni exploded, three others followed suit, blowing a huge hole in the carrier’s flight deck.

That detailed by the Navy, the commander of the Enterprise attempted to repair the situation after the first Zuni exploded: “Captain Kent Lee, future vice admiral and commander of the Naval Air Systems Command, promptly steered so that the wind blew smoke and flames from the cockpit .

However, after three minutes, a bomb on a Phantom exploded, blasting an even larger hole in the flight deck, approximately eight by seven feet, and scattering burning fuel throughout the ship as far as O-2, O-1, and 1st Deck. levels.

This explosion severed fire hoses and rendered the nearest firefighting foam units inoperable. Two more 500-pound bomb blasts followed.” Eighteen explosions in all swinging carrier, and the large hole created aboard ruptured a 6,000-gallon fuel tank, causing a massive fireball.

Despite this tragic incident, the USS Enterprise will continue to serve the Navy after an extensive repair at Pearl Harbor.

About the author: Maya Carlin

Maya Carlinnational security writer with The National Interest, is an analyst at the Center for Security Policy and a former Anna Sobol Levy Fellow at IDC Herzliya in Israel. She has written for many publications, including The National Interest, the Jerusalem Post, and the Times of Israel. You can follow her on Twitter: @MayaCarlin.

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