Naval Accidents 1945

-- Neptune Papers --

Neptune Paper No. 3

Naval Accidents 1945 - 1988

William M. Arkin

and

Joshua Handler

Greenpeace/Institute for Policy Studies

Washington, D.C.

June 1989

Neptune Paper No. 3: Naval Accidents 1945-1988

Table of Contents

Introduction

...................................................................................................................................

Overview

........................................................................................................................................

Nuclear Weapons Accidents

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Nuclear Reactor Accidents

...........................................................................................................

Submarine Accidents

....................................................................................................................

Dangers of Routine Naval Operations

.......................................................................................

Chronology of Naval Accidents: 1945 - 1988

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Appendix A: Sources and Acknowledgements

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Appendix B: U.S. Ship Type Abbreviations

............................................................................

Table 1: Number of Ships by Type Involved in Accidents, 1945 - 1988

................................

Table 2: Naval Accidents by Type of Event, 1945 - 1988

.......................................................

Table 3: Surface Ship Explosive Mishaps, 1985 - 1988

..........................................................

Table 4: U.S. Naval Nuclear Weapons Incidents, 1965 - 1977

...............................................

Table 5: Nuclear Weapons and Reactors Lost in the Oceans

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Table 6: Accidents Involving Nuclear Powered Ships and Submarines, 1954 - 1988

..........

Table 7: Submarine Force Mishaps, 1983 - 1987

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Figure 1: Naval Accidents by Year, 1945-1988

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[Note: Some changes in formatting and page number have occurred in converting this report

from an older DOS-version of Wordperfect 5.1 to Word for Windows 98]

Neptune Paper No. 3: Naval Accidents 1945-1988

Introduction

The sinking of the Soviet Mike class submarine and the explosion and tragic loss of life

aboard the battleship USS Iowa (BB-61) in April 1989 are reminders that peacetime naval

accidents are a fact of life. Since the end of World War II, the world's navies have had over 1,200

documented major accidents, resulting in dozens of ship sinkings, hundreds of explosions and

fires, costly repairs and early vessel retirements, and major loss of life.

The accidents have

occurred in shipyards and ports, in harbors and coastal waters, and on the high seas throughout

the world. Many of the accidents were spectacular and are well known. The majority, however,

are obscure and little publicized.

A comprehensive historical record of naval accidents does not exist. Official secrecy,

particularly that of the Soviet Union, as well as sporadic news media interest in reporting routine

accidents, are major impediments to compiling a complete record. Without full documentation, it

is difficult to determine fluctuations or variations in the frequency or types of accidents. Changes

in the naval accident rate, furthermore, are not necessarily related to higher or lower operating

tempos. No doubt safety practices, damage preparedness, ship control technologies, and aids to

better seamanship have improved greatly since World War II, but this has not eliminated serious

mishaps.

Naval accidents occur in a unique environment. The oceans can be violent and

unrelenting. The nature of naval operations, maneuvering in close quarters in a borderless

medium, the presence of explosives and other combustible materials, the fact that ships are

dangerous places, full of moving machinery and electrical equipment increases the potential for

accidents, whether brought on by "acts of God" or human error. There are also numerous

accidents (U.S.-Soviet, western-Soviet, and others between unfriendly nations) which have

resulted from aggressive or even hostile maneuvering, a reminder that routine seagoing activity

carries with it unequalled potential for crisis or crisis escalation.

It must also be noted that the U.S. Navy and the Soviet Navy, and to a lesser degree

British, French, and Chinese navies, routinely operate warships and submarines with nuclear

weapons aboard. All five nations also have nuclear-powered ships. This brings an added

dimension to naval accidents, namely the potential for nuclear weapons or reactors being

damaged, destroyed, or lost. The number of nuclear weapons and reactor accidents is a well-

guarded secret of the military establishments, but the information available indicates that

numerous serious accidents have taken place. This report concludes that there are some forty-

eight nuclear warheads and seven nuclear-power reactors on the ocean floor as a result of these

accidents.

The purpose of this study is to establish a database of information about naval accidents,

and then to investigate that record in order to assess the risks of naval activity during peacetime

and crisis periods. This assessment will help answer questions about public safety surrounding

the controversial nuclear ship visits to foreign (and domestic) ports. Finally, while naval arms

control focuses on the large issues of the types and numbers of nuclear weapons, the day-to-day

costs and potential dangers are little recognized or understood, and the long-term implications of

naval nuclear propulsion are hardly even raised.

This report does not include accidents or damage to ships resulting from wars or military conflict, although it does

include operating accidents that occurred during those conflicts which were not a result of hostilities.

Neptune Paper No. 3: Naval Accidents 1945-1988

Overview

This report documents 1,276 accidents of the major navies of the world between 1945

and 1988. By frequency of occurrence, 406 accidents involved major surface combatants (not

including aircraft carriers), 359 involved submarines, 228 involved aircraft carriers, 182 involved

logistic support ships, 142 involved minor military ships, and 75 involved amphibious warships

(see table 1). Seventy-five accidents were actual sinkings, 60 of military vessels, and 17 of

civilian boats. The accidents have resulted in over 2,800 deaths, with U.S. and Soviet fatalities

constituting about 65 percent of the total. The majority of accidents occurred in the Atlantic

Ocean (624, or 49 percent), not including the Mediterranean Sea, 318 (or 25 percent) occurred in

the Pacific, 110 (9 percent) occurred in the Mediterranean Sea, and 34 occurred in the Indian

Ocean.

Of the 1,276 accidents, 799 have involved naval ships of the United States. This

preponderance of U.S. accidents does not mean a higher accident rate than other navies,

particularly the Soviet Navy. Many hundreds more Soviet accidents are known to have occurred,

but due to inadequate data and excessive secrecy, we have been unable to document their specific

dates or circumstances.

The accidents are divided into 12 major categories by cause (see table 2):

- Collisions: The most prevalent type of major accidents has been collisions, of which

there have been 456 documented cases, 190 between military ships, 184 between naval vessels

and civilian ships. There have been 51 collisions involving aircraft carriers. There have also been

36 confirmed snaggings of submerged submarines by fishing trawlers or nets, and 82 collisions

by ships with docks during mooring or unmooring, or with unidentified objects.

- Fires: There have been 267 documented major fires aboard ships, although many more

are suspected as having taken place. In addition, hundreds of minor fires have occurred at sea,

during ship construction and overhauls. These have by and large not been included in the

chronology. Fires are by far the most prevalent cause of ship damage, but their regular occurrence

precludes a comprehensive statistical analysis. According to official Navy statistics, from 1973 to

1983 there were an average of 148 fires per year on U.S. ships or at shore bases.

- Groundings: There have been 130 documented groundings of ships and submarines,

either surface ship groundings on sandbars, rocks, and reefs, or submerged bottomings of

submarines. Some of the groundings have been quite serious. For instance, the grounding of the

nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine USS Nathanael Greene (SSBN-636) in the Irish

Sea on 13 March 1986, ultimately led to a decision to retire the submarine early.

- Explosions: There have been 114 documented explosions and other ordnance mishaps,

including ammunition explosions, and explosions which were the result of fires. Between 1985

and 1988, the U.S. Navy had at least 49 ordnance detonation accidents and hundreds of ordnance

malfunctions on its surface vessels (see table 3).

- Equipment failures: There have been 98 documented accidents involving major

material failures and equipment mishaps, not involving propulsion equipment.

- Sinkings: There have been 75 documented sinkings as a result of accidents, either of

military ships, or civilian ships struck by military ships. This includes 27 sinkings of submarines.

A lesser number of accidents occurred in the Arctic and Antarctic (2 percent). The remaining 170 accidents (14

percent) occurred in unknown locations, because information was not available. Since the majority of these accidents

are British, it is assumed that most occurred in the Atlantic.

George W. Schiele, "Letting Our Bridges Burn," Proceedings (December 1988): 125.

Neptune Paper No. 3: Naval Accidents 1945-1988

The most spectacular recent sinking during the 1945-1988 period was the missile explosion and

subsequent scuttling of a Soviet Yankee I class ballistic missile submarine off the coast of

Bermuda in October 1986. The Yankee submarine disaster is now joined by the sinking of the

Mike attack submarine in April 1989, although this accident is outside the period covered by this

report.

- Weather conditions: There have been 65 documented accidents involving adverse

weather conditions, affecting 107 different ships. An example of a recent weather-related

accident was a freak wave which crashed over the deck of the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier

USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) on 16 August 1986, sweeping seven men overboard.

- Propulsion accidents: There have been 59 documented propulsion accidents involving

engines or boilers, nuclear reactor accidents, and accidents involving the leaking of fuels or

primary coolant water, either at sea or in dockyards.

- Ordnance accidents (non-explosive): There have been 54 documented major ordnance

accidents which did not result in explosions. These are accidents relating mostly to the handling

and movement of weapons, or misfired or aimed weapons.

- Aircraft crashes on ships: There have been 34 documented serious accidents that have

occurred when aircraft or helicopters have crashed on takeoff or landing from aircraft carriers,

amphibious assault ships, or other surface warships.

The greatest number of crashes occurred in

1981. On 9 September 1986, a helicopter crashed on the deck of the amphibious ship USS

Saipan (LHA-2), killing nine. On 17 July 1988, A French Navy nuclear capable fighter-bomber

crashed onto the deck of the aircraft carrier Clemenceau, killing the pilot.

- Floodings: There have been 27 reported cases of flooding, mostly of submarines,

mostly a result of open hatches and access panels.

- Miscellaneous: There have been 80 miscellaneous accidents, involving ships capsizing

and going adrift, gas leaks, ships hitting stray mines or torpedoes, friendly aircraft or ordnance

striking ships, accidents involving civilian interference, and cases of sabotage or arson.

Nuclear Weapons Accidents

In the early 1950s, U.S. naval vessels began carrying nuclear weapons, followed by

Soviet vessels in the late 1950s.

Since then, nuclear systems have become commonplace aboard

major surface warships and submarines, bringing a nuclear dimension to many accidents. Naval

nuclear weapons now number 15,000 to 16,000. It is difficult to calculate how many accidents

have involved nuclear weapons, particularly in the early years when nuclear weapons were first

being incorporated into naval forces. There is, however, ample evidence that numerous accidents

have occurred involving nuclear weapons (see table 4). There are also approximately forty-eight

nuclear warheads and seven nuclear-power reactors on the bottom of the oceans as a result of

LCDR Dave Parsons, USN, "Naval Aviation Safety: A State of the `Union" Perspective," Wings of Gold (Summer

1988): 39. In 1987, the Navy and Marine Corps had 74 "class A mishaps" (defined as at least $500,000 in property

damage, a permanent disabling injury, or a death), 51 by the Navy and 23 by Marine Corps aviation. In the 74

mishaps, 73 aircraft were destroyed and 66 personnel lost their lives. Fifty percent of the mishaps in 1987 had pilot

error as the primary cause factor. The 1987 rate contrasts with 1958, when 524 aircraft were destroyed in 1,106

accidents. During most of the 1960s, an average of about 300 aircraft were lost per year to non-combat related

causes. This average fell below 200 in the 1970s.

Nuclear weapons were introduced into the U.S. Navy in December 1951 when the aircraft carrier USS

Philippine

Sea

(CV-47) completed tests at San Diego of assembly capabilities of nuclear bombs.

Neptune Paper No. 3: Naval Accidents 1945-1988

various accidents (see table 5).

Aside from secrecy, the other problem in comprehending the extent of naval nuclear

accidents results from the way the navies define an "accident." Official bureaucratic definitions

differ from what the public or a lay person might think of as an accident, and so by a definitional

sleight of hand the navies can claim that a nuclear weapons accident has not occurred. A nuclear

weapons accident (also called a "Broken Arrow"), according to U.S. Navy instructions, includes:

a. Nuclear detonations or possible detonations other than war risk detonations.

b. Non-nuclear detonation or burning of a nuclear weapon.

c. Radioactive contamination.

d. Seizure, theft or loss of a nuclear weapon or nuclear component, including jettisoning.

e. Public hazard, actual or implied.

There are two additional lesser types of accidents which are also defined by the U.S. Navy: a

nuclear weapons "incident" (or "Bent Spear") and an "unexpected event" (or "Dull Sword"). A

nuclear weapons incident is defined as an incident which does not fall into the category of a

nuclear weapons accident but:

a. Results in damage to a nuclear weapon or component requiring a major rework,

complete replacement, or examination/recertification by the Department of Energy

(DOE).

b. Requires immediate action in the interest of safety.

c. May generate adverse public relations (national or international) or premature release

of information.

d. The potential consequences are such as to warrant interest or action by the recipients of

Bent Spear messages.

An unexpected event is a still lower accident category which is neither a Broken Arrow or a Bent

Spear, but which fits one of the following criteria:

a. The possibility of detonation or radioactive contamination is increased.

b. Errors are committed in the assembly testing, loading or transporting of equipment

which could lead to a substantially reduced yield, increased dud probability, or to

unintentional operation of all or part of a weapon's arming and/or firing sequence.

c. The malfunctioning of equipment and material which could lead to a substantially

reduced yield, increased dud probability, or to unintentional operation of all or part of a

weapon's arming and/or firing sequence.

d. Any natural phenomena over which man has no control which results in damage to a

weapon or component.

e. Any unfavorable environment or condition, however produced, which subjects a

nuclear weapon to vibration, shock, stress, extreme temperatures, or other environments

sufficient to cause questioning of the reliability or safety of the weapon. This includes

U.S. Navy, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, "Minimum Criteria and Standards for Navy and Marine Corps

Nuclear Weapons Accident and Incident Response," OPNAVINST 344.15 Change 1, 13 June 1983 (released under

the Freedom of Information Act).

Neptune Paper No. 3: Naval Accidents 1945-1988

exposure or suspected exposure of the weapon or major components to electrical or

electromagnetic energy which could energize or damage weapons components.

The irony of the official definitions of nuclear weapons accidents, incidents and

unexpected events is that the Navy may categorize a minor event as an accident while the public

might not. Conversely, other accidents that clearly have grave implications for public safety are

not defined as official nuclear weapons accidents.

The U.S. Department of Defense

acknowledges that 32 nuclear weapons accidents have occurred, including three Navy accidents.

In one Navy case (and eight Air Force cases), however, the accident did not even include an

actual assembled nuclear warhead, and there were no nuclear materials present, yet it was still

reported as an "accident."

The Navy accident, for instance, is described as:

On 25 September 1959, "a U.S. Navy P-5M aircraft, assigned to NAS Whidbey Island,

Washington, crashed in the Pacific Ocean about 100 miles west of the Washington-

Oregon border. It was carrying an unarmed nuclear antisubmarine weapon containing no

nuclear material. The weapon was not recovered."

If this qualifies as a nuclear weapons accident, then there are a number of general naval accidents

which involved fully assembled nuclear weapons that should be included as well. The most

dramatic one uncovered during the research for this report was a collision and subsequent fire

between the aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67) and the cruiser USS Belknap (CG-

26) on 22 November 1975 in rough seas during night air exercises about 70 miles east of Sicily.

The collision caused major damage to both ships, as the overhanging flight deck of the aircraft

carrier struck the Belknap's superstructure, causing fires and explosions which lasted over two

hours. Six were killed aboard the Belknap and one was killed aboard the Kennedy. The collision

is one of the best-known naval accidents. The damage to the Belknap was so serious that it was

taken out of commission for extensive repairs and did not return to the active fleet until 1980.

But in all that has been written about the accident, no mention has ever been made of the nuclear

weapons present on both ships, or the grave danger which the Navy believed the nuclear

warheads aboard the Belknap might face as a result of raging fires.

Just minutes after the collision, the commander of Carrier Striking Forces for the Sixth

Fleet (Task Force 60) sent a secret nuclear weapons accident "Broken Arrow" message to the

Pentagon and higher commands, warning that a "high probability that nuclear weapons on the

USS Belknap were involved in fire and explosions," but that there were "no direct

communications with Belknap at this time" and "no positive indications that explosions were

directly related to nuclear weapons." In the end, the W45 nuclear warheads stored aboard the

On 19 January 1966, a W45 nuclear warhead separated from a Terrier surface-to-air missile during loading

operations aboard the USS

Luce

(DLG-7) at Naval Air Station Mayport, Florida. The warhead fell about eight feet

and was dented, but no other damage occurred. This accident was included in a "Chronology of Nuclear Accident

Statements" released by the Department of Defense in 1968 but was removed from the list of nuclear weapons

accidents released by DOD in April 1981. In 1974, the Navy changed its definitions of nuclear weapons accidents,

significant incidents, and incidents, and this accident was removed from the rolls of accident or significant incident.

Given the early design of warheads, it was a standard safety and security procedure to keep the "capsule" of

nuclear material separate from the warhead containing the high explosives. Therefore, a number of early accidents

involved unassembled nuclear weapons, where nuclear materials were not present during the accident.

DOD, "Narrative Summaries of Accidents involving U.S. Nuclear Weapons: 1950-1980," April 1981.

Neptune Paper No. 3: Naval Accidents 1945-1988

Belknap for the Terrier surface-to-air missile system escaped detonation as the fire was

contained aft of the launcher and storage magazine. Nuclear weapons stored aboard the Kennedy

also escaped fires and explosion.

The U.S. Navy and the Department of Defense have failed to acknowledge that nuclear

weapons aboard both ships were threatened. The justification for keeping the details about the

Belknap and Kennedy secret is highly political, and relates to the U.S. Navy's policy of "neither

confirming nor denying" the presence of nuclear weapons aboard ships. To admit that the two

ships had nuclear weapons aboard, the Navy would have to deal with the controversy, if not the

restrictions, over port calls where non-nuclear sentiments or policies prevail. The Belknap

visited Spain, Italy, and Greece, and carried out a patrol in the Black Sea, with its nuclear

weapons aboard prior to the accident.

Fear of the political consequences was clearly the reason for secrecy surrounding the two

other "official" Navy nuclear weapons accidents (besides the P-5M accident discussed above)

which have been acknowledged by the Department of Defense (DOD). The first, presumably the

sinking of the attack submarine USS Scorpion (SSN-589) between 21-27 May 1968, is described

by the DOD as "Spring 1968 / At Sea, Atlantic: Details remain classified." It is well known that

the Scorpion sank 400 miles southwest of the Azores in more than 10,000 feet of water, killing

99 crewmen. What the Navy is not admitting is that the ship was carrying two ASTOR nuclear

torpedoes.

The second accident is even more vivid in terms of the secrecy surrounding routine Navy

practice relating to the carrying of nuclear weapons. In 1981, the DOD admitted that it had lost a

nuclear warhead at sea in 1965 and described the accident as follows:

December 5, 1965 / A-4 / At Sea, Pacific: An A-4 aircraft loaded with one nuclear

weapon rolled off the elevator of a U.S. aircraft carrier and fell into the sea. The pilot,

aircraft, and weapon were lost. The incident occurred more than 500 miles from land.

But the details, which have been uncovered in preparing this report, present a different picture.

While steaming en route from bombing operations off Vietnam to the U.S. Navy base at

Yokosuka, Japan, the aircraft carrier USS Ticonderoga (CVA-14) experienced a nuclear

weapons accident when an A-4E attack jet loaded with a B43 thermonuclear bomb rolled off the

Number 2 elevator, and sank in 2700 fathoms (16,000 feet) of water. The aircraft carrier was

positioned about 70 miles from the Ryuku Islands chain and about 200 miles east of Okinawa.

Two days after the accident, the aircraft carrier entered Yokosuka, Japan, for a rest and relaxation

stop before returning to bombing operations off the coast of Vietnam.

In 1981, when the DOD released its innocuous version of the accident, failing to identify

the ship involved and actually lying about the location of the airplane and bomb (even going to

the extent of saying that it occurred more than 500 miles from land), it was trying to avoid the

political repercussions of admitting that, nuclear weapons were on board aircraft carriers

involved in bombing operations during the Vietnam War, that U.S. ships routinely carry nuclear

weapons into Japanese ports, and that a nuclear bomb is lying 70 miles off the Japanese coast.

New details were also discovered about several other accidents. On 18 August 1959, the

aircraft carrier USS Wasp (CVS-18) had a major fire which burned out of control in hanger bay

Number 1, necessitating the flooding of the forward magazines, with foam being pumped

Deck Log of the USS

Ticonderoga

(CVA-14) for 5 December 1965, located at the National Archives.

Neptune Paper No. 3: Naval Accidents 1945-1988

through the flight deck. Preliminary preparations were also made to flood the nuclear weapons

storage spaces, but the commanding officer decided not to do so as the fire was brought under

control.

Other significant weapons handling accidents included a Bullpup missile accident

aboard the USS Bon Homme Richard (CV-31) on 10 February 1970, when the missile slipped

off its hoist and broke open, spewing toxic gases and liquids;

and a failure in the top-side

warhead handling hoist for the Talos surface-to-air missile aboard the cruiser USS Albany (CG-

10) on 16 April 1975.

Still, the extent of accidents involving nuclear-armed ships is unclear due

to secrecy.

Nuclear Reactor Accidents

Naval vessels, particularly submarines, began using nuclear reactors for propulsion in

1954, with the commissioning of the USS Nautilus (SSN-571). Naval nuclear reactors now

number almost 550, with some 360 vessels nuclear-powered. Between 1945 and 1988, there were

212 confirmed accidents involving nuclear-powered vessels, 49 involving ballistic missile

submarines, 146 involving attack and cruise missile submarines, 13 involving aircraft carriers,

and 6 involving other nuclear-powered surface ships (see table 6).

In July 1983, when the Fund for Constitutional Government published a report by David

Kaplan entitled "The Nuclear Navy," the U.S. Navy prepared a response in which it stated "there

has never been a reactor accident in the history of the U.S. Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program....

The safety of the Navy's nuclear powered warships is on the record. The Navy stands

unequivocally behind that record."

This statement is repeated annually when the Navy testifies

before the Congress. The most complete statement that could be found was in 1980, when

Admiral Hyman Rickover stated, "In the over 25 years of the naval nuclear propulsion program

since the Nautilus land prototype first operated, there has never been an accident involving a

naval reactor nor has there ever been a release of radioactivity which has had a significant effect

on the environment, on the operators or the public." (emphasis added)

When asked recently if

the record remained the same, the U.S. Navy offered this statement, "As of the spring of 1989,

the Navy has had over 3,500 reactor years of operation without a reactor accident."

Yet in the research for this report, a submarine accident was uncovered that indicates in

fact that the U.S. Navy has had at least one nuclear reactor accident which affected the operators.

On 21 April 1973, the nuclear-powered attack submarine, USS Guardfish (SSN-612),

experienced a primary coolant leak while running submerged about 370 miles south-southwest of

Deck Log of the USS

Wasp

(CVS-18), 18 August 1959, located at the National Archives.

Deck Log of the USS

Bon Homme Richard

(CVA-31), 10 February 1970, located at the National Archives;

"Missile Splits -- Emergency on Carrier," San Francisco Chronicle, 11 February 1970.

Naval Weapons Evaluation Facility, Command History 1976, p. 7 (released under the Freedom of Information

Act); Deck Log of the USS

Albany

(CG-10), located at the National Archives.

U.S. Navy, "Navy Response To Article Entitled `The Nuclear Navy,'" 20 July 1983.

U.S. Congress, House Armed Services Committee, Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program -- 1980, 18 March 1980,

p. 3. Testifying before the House Armed Services Committee in February 1987, Admiral Kinnaird R. McKee, chief

of the nuclear propulsion program stated, "Our record continues unblemished. We have had no accidents;" U.S.

Congress, House Armed Services Committee, Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program -- 1988, Hearings, 26 February

1987, p. 2.

Statement of Naval Reactors Office, 23 February 1989. According to an earlier Navy statement, "in over 3,100

reactor years of US naval reactor operations there has never been a reactor accident or a problem resulting in fuel

damage." Michael White, "Catalogue of faults in UK nuclear subs," Guardian, 3 March 1988, p. 1.

Neptune Paper No. 3: Naval Accidents 1945-1988

Puget Sound, Washington. The submarine surfaced, ventilated, decontaminated, and repaired the

casualty unassisted. Four crew members were transferred to the Puget Sound Naval Hospital for

radioactive monitoring.

The severity of the accident is unclear, but the way it is reported in an

official Navy document indicates that it fits the definition of an official "accident." The accident

has never been reported in the media, and other official documents about the Guardfish do not

acknowledge that an accident occurred. According to the deck log of the USS Guardfish for 21

April 1973, for instance, the submarine was reported as operating "submerged as before" during

the entire day without incident. The command history of the Guardfish for 1973 also makes no

mention of an accident during the year.

Also, the Navy admits to a primary coolant leak aboard

the USS Nimitz (CVN-68) on 11 May 1979, and the attack submarine USS Swordfish (SSN-

579) suffered a propulsion casualty of unknown cause on 24 November 1985.

How many other nuclear reactor accidents have really occurred is unknown since

assessing the number of nuclear reactor "accidents" hinges once again on the U.S. Navy's narrow

definition of what constitutes a nuclear reactor accident.

According to one naval regulation,

such an accident is defined as

An uncontrolled reactor criticality resulting in damage to the reactor core or an event such

as a loss of coolant which results in significant release of fission product from the reactor

core.

The U.S. Navy, however, has no qualms about lambasting the Soviet nuclear reactor

accident record, stating that there have been numerous serious accidents.

"Over the years," the

U.S. Navy reported in 1982, "Soviet nuclear submarines have experienced a number of

propulsion related casualties, evidenced by the need for outside assistance, including towing."

According to the U.S. Navy,

There have been a number of reports from various sources concerning radiation related

illnesses and deaths of Soviet nuclear submarine crewmen and workers, particularly in

earlier units. Soviet nuclear submarine crewmen have been reported to receive what is

Naval Historical Center, Operational Archives Division, "Chronology of U.S. Naval Events: 1973."

USS

Guardfish

(SSN-612), "Command History: 1 January 1973 to 31 December 1973," 19 March 1974

(released under the Freedom of Information Act).

U.S. Pacific Fleet, "Command History of the Command in Chief U.S. Pacific Fleet: 1 January 1985 -- 31

December 1985," p. 56 (partially declassified and released under the Freedom of Information Act).

See, e.g., David Kaplan, "The Nuclear Navy," (Washington, D.C.: Fund for Constitutional Government, 1983);

David E. Kaplan, "When Incidents Are Accidents: The Silent Saga of the Nuclear Navy," Oceans (July 1983); and

Appendix F of Norman Polmar and Thomas B. Allen, Rickover (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1982). Numerous

reports have come out claiming, for example, that a disabled submarine reportedly discharged radioactive coolant

water into Apra Harbor, Guam, in 1975. According to reporting in the New York Times, 20 January 1976, radiation

levels at nearby public beaches reached over 50 times the government limit.

U.S. Navy, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, "Nuclear Reactor and Radiological Accidents: Procedures

and reporting requirements for," OPNAVINST 3040.5B, 3 April 1981 (released under the Freedom of Information

Act). A "radiological accident" is defined as "A loss of control of radiation or radioactive material which presents a

hazard to life, health, or property or which may result in any member of the general population exceeding exposure

limits for ionizing radiation."

HASC, Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program -- 1983, Hearing, 4 March 1983, p. 17.

HASC, Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program -- 1982, Hearing, 29 April 1982, p. 18.

Neptune Paper No. 3: Naval Accidents 1945-1988

referred to as "childless pay" and special treatment for radiation related illnesses.

The most serious Soviet reactor accident involved the Lenin, an icebreaker that began

operations with three reactors installed on 15 September 1959. According to the U.S. Navy,

"There is strong evidence this ship experienced a nuclear related casualty in the 1960s requiring

the ship to be abandoned for over a year before work was begun to ultimately replace the three

reactors with two."

Propulsion casualties are also known to have occurred aboard a Hotel class

ballistic missile submarine in 1961 and in late February 1972; aboard a November class attack

submarine (which sank on 12 April 1970); an Echo II cruise missile submarine in August 1978;

an Echo class attack submarine in August 1980; and the icebreaker Rossia in November 1988.

The accident record of the other nuclear powers is even less well known. With only a few

nuclear-powered submarines in comparison to the U.S. and Soviet Union, the accident rates are

assumed to be less. The Royal Navy claims to have the same "unblemished" record as the U.S.

Navy. Yet according to internal Royal Navy statistics, there were 712 "incidents" between 1962

and 1978 involving nuclear power reactors aboard British attack and ballistic missile

submarines.

Of the first 435 of the 712 report incidents, 205 were caused by mechanical

problems, 107 by operator error, and 123 due to electrical faults. Of the 106 reactor "scrams," 29

were caused by operator error.

Submarine Accidents

The recent sinking of the Soviet Mike submarine has focused attention on the general

question of submarine accidents. Major submarine accidents often prove to be the most

catastrophic of all naval accidents. Since the end of World War II, there have been 359 major

documented submarine accidents, 51 involving ballistic missile submarines and 311 involving

attack and cruise missile boats. The frequency of submarine accidents does not appear to have

declined as newer technologies were introduced.

In recent years, there have been a number of major accidents. A Soviet nuclear-powered

Echo II class attack submarine was spotted on the surface under tow on 13 January 1986, with an

evident propulsion casualty. On 13 March 1986, the nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine,

the USS Nathanael Greene (SSBN-636), ran aground in the Irish Sea, the extent of damage

leading to the vessel being chosen as one of the early Poseidon submarines to be retired to satisfy

SALT II numerical limitations. The nuclear-powered attack submarine USS Atlanta (SSN-712)

also ran aground in the Strait of Gibraltar on 29 April 1986, and the USS Sam Houston (SSN-

609) ran aground in Puget Sound, Washington, on 29 April 1988. The diesel-powered submarine

USS Bonefish (SS-582) suffered explosions and major fires in the Caribbean, killing three, on 24

April 1988.

There have been at least 27 total submarine sinkings since 1945, including five Soviet,

four U.S., three British, and four French submarines. Twenty-one submarines have been lost at

sea, while six have been salvaged either because the sinkings took place in port or in shallow

ibid., p. 19.

ibid., p. 18.

Michael White, "Catalogue of faults in UK nuclear subs," Guardian, 3 March 1988, p. 1; Captain J. Jacobsen, et

al., "The Safe Operation of Nuclear Submarines," Journal of Nuclear Science, Vol. 5, No. 2; Professor J. Edwards,

"Royal Navy Requirements and Achievements in Nuclear Training: Part 2," Journal of Nuclear Science, Vol. 4, No.

Neptune Paper No. 3: Naval Accidents 1945-1988

water. Two U.S. nuclear-powered attack submarines have been lost in the Atlantic, the USS

Thresher (SSN-593) on 10 April 1963, which imploded and sank in 8,500-foot waters 220 miles

east of Boston, Massachusetts, killing 129 crewmen and civilian observers;

and the USS

Scorpion (SSN-589) between 21-27 May 1968, which sank 400 miles southwest of the Azores in

more than 10,000 feet of water, killing all 99 aboard.

Two diesel class U.S. submarines have

also sunk in the postwar era: the USS Cochino (SS-345) off the coast of Norway on 26 August

1949, and the USS Stickleback (SS-415) off the coast of Hawaii on 28 May 1958.

Five Soviet submarines are known to have sunk by the end of 1988. Sometime in the late

1950s, a Northern Fleet Whiskey class submarine which had been converted as a cruise missile

test platform, sank. A Soviet Golf class ballistic missile submarine with three SS-N-5 missiles

and nuclear torpedoes sank about 750 miles northwest of the island of Oahu, Hawaii, on 11 April

1968. On 11 April 1970, a November class attack submarine experienced a nuclear propulsion

casualty while operating in heavy seas approximately 300 nautical miles northwest of Spain.

After failing to rig a tow line to a Soviet bloc merchant ship which was standing nearby, the

submarine apparently sank the following day.

On 3 October 1986, a missile aboard a Yankee I

class nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine exploded while the submarine was on patrol

880 kilometers east of Bermuda. On 6 October, after being taken in tow, the submarine sank with

an estimated 34 nuclear warheads (including two nuclear torpedoes) and two reactors. Two

additional Soviet submarine sinkings are also known, one of a Charlie class submarine in the

Pacific in June 1983 (which was subsequently raised), and one unconfirmed sinking of a nuclear

submarine off the Kola peninsula in 1968.

Other submarine sinkings which have occurred on the high seas include:

- Spanish C-4 submarine (27 Jun 1946),

- French submarine 2326 (5 Dec 1946),

- British submarine HMS Truculent (13 Jan 1950),

- British submarine HMS Affray (16 Apr 1951),

- French La Sibylle (25 Sep 1952),

- Turkish Dumlupiner (4 Apr 1953),

- British submarine HMS Sidon (17 Jun 1955),

- West German submarine Hai (14 Sep 1966),

- Israeli submarine Dakar (22 Jan 1968),

- French submarine Minerve (27 Jan 1968),

- French submarine Eurydice (4 Mar 1970),

- Pakistani midget submarine (2 Jan 1977), and

- a Peruvian submarine (28 August 1988).

Details on other lesser catastrophic submarine accidents -- fires, collisions, groundings,

and the like -- are difficult to collect or confirm.

For the United States, some recently released

"Blind Hunt for the

Thresher

," Proceedings (April 1988): 56.

The cause of the

Scorpion

accident was never determined but it was possibly associated with a collision of the

submarine during a storm in Naples, Italy, on 15 April 1968.

HASC, Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program -- 1982, Hearing, 29 April 1982, p. 19.

Virtually no details are available for the submarine forces of non-U.S. or Soviet navies. For the U.K., there have

been numerous reports of submarine accidents. A fire, for instance, did put at least one Royal Navy nuclear powered

submarine (HMS

Warspite

) out of action for lengthy repairs in recent years.

Neptune Paper No. 3: Naval Accidents 1945-1988

information indicates that submarine accidents occur with great regularity, even though often no

details are revealed to the public as to the specific boats or circumstances. During the five-year

period from 1983 to 1987, for instance, according to the Navy, there were 446 reported material

damage mishaps in the submarine force, with a dollar loss of $36.8 million, and 475 operating

days lost.

A little more than one-third of all material mishaps occurred while ships were on the

high seas, and 20 percent occurred in shipyards. The remainder occurred in or around ports.

The major submarine accidents reported during the five-year period from 1983 to 1987

(see table 7) included:

- Collisions: There were 56 collisions, 50 by submarines, 6 by submarine support ships.

The collisions caused particular damage to submarine sonar domes and propellers. The majority

(22 collisions) occurred to ships that were moored or in the process of mooring or unmooring,

eight occurred to ships that were moored, 13 occurred in restricted waters, and 13 occurred on the

high seas. Seventy-six percent of the collisions occurred while the submarines were on the

surface. There were ten collisions by submarines with other submarines.

- Fires: There were 149 fires in the submarine forces (113 aboard submarines, 36 aboard

support ships); the most frequent type of material mishap accounted for 32 percent of all

mishaps. Forty of the fires occurred while ships were in the shipyard, 36 occurred in port, and 37

occurred at sea.

- Groundings: The accidents included 12 groundings, including six "at sea" submerged

bottomings, five entering or leaving port, and one during mooring/unmooring. According to the

report, "All but one of these 12 groundings involved some lack of supervisory involvement, e.g.,

charts not being updated, inattention to the piloting situation, failure to analyze sounding data,

failure to operate the fathometer properly, running too fast for the conditions, and others."

- Explosions: There were 85 explosive mishaps, 15 percent occurred during loading and

unloading of weapons, and 33 percent occurred during torpedo tube operations. There were 14

non-ordnance explosions,

four in the electrical systems, and three related to diesel engine

crankcases.

- Equipment failures: The were 82 non-ordnance related equipment mishaps, 55 percent

of which were as a result of personnel error.

- Weather conditions: There were 14 heavy weather accidents, seven while submarines

were in port.

- Floodings: There were 48 cases of floodings in the various seawater systems, followed

by flooding as a result of problems with hatches and escape trunks.

The comparable accident statistics for the Soviet Union are not available. But we can

assume that the accident rate is clearly much higher than the documented cases reported here.

The former Director of Naval Intelligence Admiral John L. Butts testified before Congress in

1986 that, "Since the early 1950s, the Soviet submarine force has experienced numerous, serious

submarine casualties -- sinkings, propulsion failures, fires and navigational accidents."

Admiral

James Watkins testified as Chief of Naval Operations in 1985 that "In the last ten years, they [the

Soviets] have had over 200 submarine accidents, some of which have been very serious."

Naval Safety Center, "Submarine Force: Mishap Statistical Summary, Calendar Years 1983 thru 1987," n.d.

(released under the Freedom of Information Act).

Nine explosive detonations are also known to have occurred on submarines between July 1986 and October 1988

as reported in Mech (The Naval Aviation Maintenance Safety Review), April-May 1985 to January-February 1989.

HAC, FY 1987 DOD, Part 4, p. 438.

HAC, FY 1986 DOD, Part 2, p. 928. See also SASC, FY 1986 DOD, Part 8, p. 4359.

Neptune Paper No. 3: Naval Accidents 1945-1988

According to another source, Soviet submarine fires "are far above the norm in proportion to

their numbers."

Dangers of Routine Naval Operations

Naval accidents have been prominently featured in the news media in recent years, not

least of which because many have been spectacular disasters. This higher profile is coincidental

with increasing public interest about the nuclear arms race, arms control, and accidental war. The

peacetime record revealed in this report demonstrates that naval accidents are not rare or isolated

occurrences. They are a routine byproduct of seagoing activity and as such should be a pressing

issue of public concern.

Accidents and naval disasters are also a byproduct of the use of naval forces in gunboat

diplomacy or open warfare. The nature of the navies of the superpowers and most NATO

members, particularly the global mobility of modern blue-water navies, facilitates the deliberate

placement of combatants and support ships in areas where there are ongoing conflicts. Most

recently, we have seen naval vessels of a number of countries involved in attacks in the Persian

Gulf. These attacks -- on the USS Stark (FFG-31) on 17 May 1987 and the USS Samuel B.

Roberts (FFG-58) in March 1988 -- carry with them a danger of potential crisis escalation. The

attack on the Stark, furthermore, as well as the downing of the Iranian civilian airliner by the

USS Vincennes (CG-49), were further complicated by human error during a crisis.

Permanently mobilized military forces, and the frequent use of naval forces for suasion

and political signaling means the intermingling of opposing navies (whether U.S. and Soviet or

those of non-superpowers). This is particularly so during crises mobilizations, and has become

more common in recent years during wide ranging and intense naval exercises.

There have

been 23 documented accidents between the vessels of the United States and the Soviet Union, or

between the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union. These accidents should provide some insight

into the potential costs of routine operations in close proximity to other forces or homelands. The

scrape between the USS Yorktown (CG-48) and the USS Caron (DD-970) and a Soviet

destroyer and frigate in the Black Sea on 12 February 1988, the collision in the Sea of Japan

between the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63) and a Soviet Victor I class nuclear-

powered attack submarine on 21 March 1984, the possible collision between the nuclear-powered

attack submarine USS Augusta (SSN-710) and a Soviet submarine in late October 1986, and the

reported scrape between the British Royal Navy nuclear-powered attack submarine HMS

Splendid and a Soviet submarine in early January 1987 in the Barents Sea off Murmansk, are

just the latest in a line of such confrontations.

Other accidents are also suspected as having occurred. In 1976, the New York Times

reported that there had been "At least nine collisions of nuclear-armed submarines over the past

10 years, many with Soviet submarines."

These collisions occurred during U.S. reconnaissance

patrols near the Soviet Union, a practice which continues to this day. In addition, there have been

a number of submarine confrontations between the superpowers during crises in other parts of

the world. According to a recent book of U.S. counterterrorism policy, for instance, a U.S. and

Soviet submarine collided in the waters off North Africa when an armada of ships from both

Jim Bussert, "The Safety of Soviet Nuclear Submarines," Jane's Defence Weekly, 18 April 1987, p. 715.

See, e.g., John Lehman, "Things That Go Bump in the Sea," Washington Post, 3 April 1984, p. A13; "Some

Bumps in the Night," Newsweek, 2 April 1984, pp. 40-41.

New York Times, 20 December 1976.

Neptune Paper No. 3: Naval Accidents 1945-1988

sides was mobilized there prior to the bombing of Libya in April 1986.

* *

After researching and documenting the naval record, the overwhelming conclusion is that

accidents will happen, that no amount of engineering or mechanical fixes will eliminate the

failures which accompany complex machinery and operations. In narrative after narrative, the

common element is human error and fallibility. The human factor cannot be underestimated,

particularly where there is constant movement in a medium where weather and oceanographic

conditions are unpredictable, and where military ships must contend with increasingly saturated

stimuli caused by dense seas and airspace, all complicated by the proliferation of sensors, sources

of intelligence information, and rapid communications.

The human factor is not only apparent in errors related to equipment handling or poor

command decision-making. There are 31 documented cases of sabotage or arson causing major

accidents, 19 of which occurred in the 1970s. There are also other incidents in which disgruntled

sailors have been involved in serious criminal incidents aboard ships that did not involve damage

to equipment or the ship. For instance, on 11 October 1967, a sailor aboard the USS Mullany

(DD-528) stabbed 11 men and then jumped overboard about 10 miles off Long Beach,

California.

In addition to cases of sabotage and arson, there have been a number of incidents and

accidents which were connected to drug use by the ship's crew. In 1976, 37 crewmen of the

ballistic missile submarine USS Thomas Jefferson (SSBN-618) were removed from the

submarine because of a marijuana investigation. Following a crash of a Marine Corps EA-6B

electronic warfare airplane while landing on the USS Nimitz (CVN-68) on 26 May 1981, killing

14 and injuring 48, a debate was provoked between Rep. Jospeh P. Addabo (D-NY), Chairman

of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee of the House of Representatives and the Navy over

whether drug use on board the carrier may have contributed to the accident.

Suicides are also a serious issue. From 1983 to 1987, there were 31 suicide deaths in the

U.S. submarine force (20 in the Atlantic Fleet, 11 in the Pacific Fleet), including suicide by one

submarine officer.

Overall, the Navy lost 79 persons to suicide in 1986, an increase of 23

percent over the average number of suicides in the Navy between 1982 and 1985.

The rate of

suicides rose from 9.2 per 100,000 in 1984 to 12.4 per 100,000 in 1987.

In an environment where naval accidents occur regularly, and where human mistakes,

sabotage, suicide, and drug use are constant problems, the issue of nuclear weapons and reactor

safety is an obvious one for a concerned public. Many of the accidents described in this report are

affected by the routine presence of nuclear weapons aboard ships and submarines, and the

proliferation of nuclear propulsion. Nuclear weapons were aboard the USS Belknap when it was

operating in the Mediterranean in 1975, including its voyage to the Black Sea near the Soviet

Union. Nuclear weapons were aboard the USS Ticonderoga, when it was operating in the South

China Sea during the Vietnam War, and when it visited Japan for rest and relaxation before

David C. Martin and John Walcott, Best Laid Plans: The Inside Story of America's War Against Terrorism (New

York: Harper & Row, 1988), p. 271.

Naval Safety Center, "Submarine Force: Mishap Statistical Summary, Calendar Years 1983 thru 1987," n.d.

(released under the Freedom of Information Act).

See LCRD Daniel H. Ottaviano, Chaplain Corps, "Shipboard Suicide Prevention," Proceedings (September

1988): 104-6.

Neptune Paper No. 3: Naval Accidents 1945-1988

returning to its bombing operations. Today, nuclear weapons are routinely present on all aircraft

carriers, logistics support ships, submarines, and most surface warships that have the capacity to

carry them.

This routine carrying of nuclear weapons aboard naval vessels has become a much more

controversial issue since the break in U.S.-New Zealand relations, and the hardening of the U.S.

government's policy of "neither confirming nor denying" the presence of nuclear weapons on

ships. In many countries, particularly in Japan and the Nordic nations, the issue has not

diminished with the U.S. show of intransigence. In fact, as has been demonstrated by the recent

Danish elections and base negotiations between the United States and the Philippines and Spain,

the nuclear issue, and increasingly naval nuclear weapons, continue to be of great concern.

The non-nuclear policies of various governments, however, is often expressed as, or

advanced as, a safety issue. Questions are raised as to the adequacy of indemnity agreements and

commitments in the case of accidents, and of the adequacy of emergency and disaster response

plans in ports which regularly host nuclear-powered and nuclear-armed vessels. While this report

does not evaluate those issues, no assessment of dangers could be complete without a historical

record of accidents which have occurred.

As the nuclear issue has heated up in the 1980s, and as local communities have become

more involved in evaluating dangers to themselves, other causes of friction between the navies

and the civilian community have become more pronounced. In this report, 185 of the accidents

involved civilian ships, while 377 of the accidents occurred in ports, or in harbor or bay areas

immediately offshore. A number of collisions and groundings have been the result of the navies'

reluctance to rely on local harbor pilots, or other instances of poor cooperation with local

authorities. A number of miscellaneous incidents involved airplanes or practice ordnance

(missiles or artillery) which accidentally attacked civilian vessels, or land-based homes and

businesses. An inert Sidewinder missile struck the civilian oil tanker Western Sun on 30 July

1986 during an exercise off Norfolk, Virginia, for instance. On 27 July 1987, U.S. Navy planes

conducting night bombing practice near Okinawa, Japan, hit a Malaysian freighter. The Japanese

Defense Force diesel submarine Nadashio collided with a Japanese sports fishing boat in Tokyo

Bay on 23 July 1988, killing 30. An unarmed Harpoon missile from a U.S. F/A-18 fighter

accidentally hit an Indian merchant ship some 200 miles northwest of Hawaii on 11 December

1988, killing one. The needs of the military for larger and larger training areas to practice their

modern weaponry, and the encroachment of the civilian community on military and naval bases

that is occurring worldwide will surely grow as an issue of contention in the future.

Many of the contentious issues clouding military-civilian relations exist and are made

vastly more complicated by the existence and abundant presence of nuclear weapons and military

nuclear reactors. Official secrecy about nuclear weapons is so ingrained that it impedes the flow

of information necessary for public dialogue and debate. But secrecy is not the real issue, nuclear

weapons are. Ongoing debates about the environmental effects of nuclear accidents, or the safety

of specific nuclear weapons, or nuclear reactors, or nuclear strategies, could go on forever with

no resolution, with competing contentions voiced about levels of relative risk and ultimate safety.

The forty-eight nuclear warheads and seven reactors sitting on the bottom of the oceans as a

result of naval accidents should not provoke the question of whether they are safe or not, but how

and why they got there in the first place. Ultimately, society must determine whether the costs are

greater than the good which nuclear weapons supposedly provide. An open record of nuclear

abuses is a great danger to those who support the nuclear system and the status quo. A fuller

airing of the accidents, nuclear testing and research, nuclear diplomacy, nuclear strategies, and

Neptune Paper No. 3: Naval Accidents 1945-1988

the extent to which nuclear waste and residue has been strewn over countless countries and the

seven seas, is shifting the public's views about continuing the nuclear era.

Neptune Paper No. 3: Naval Accidents 1945-1988

Chronology of Naval Accidents: 1945 - 1988

02/01/45: In February the USS

Washington

(BB-56) and USS

Indiana

(BB-58) collide in the Pacific.

02/08/45: A U.S. Navy minesweeper

sinks after colliding with a U.S.

destroyer off Boston Harbor,

Massachusetts.

03/17/45: A new submarine floods and

sinks after a worker opens a torpedo tube

at the Boston Navy Yard.

04/09/45: A U.S. Liberty ship loaded

with aerial bombs explodes, setting three

merchant ships afire and causing many

casualties in Bari harbor, Italy.

04/09/45: The Allied tanker

Nashbulk

collides with the U.S. freighter

St.

Mihiel

in fog off Massachusetts, killing

15.

04/23/45: A U.S. Navy PE-56 patrol

ship sinks after an explosion off Cape

Elizabeth, Maine, killing 49.

05/22/45: Acetylene torch fumes ignite

in the hold of a U.S. Navy attack boat,

Todd Shipyards, Brooklyn, killing two.

06/21/45: The USS

Franklin

(CV-13)

suffers a boiler room fire at New York

Harbor during decoration ceremonies;

damage is slight.

08/25/45: A French minesweeper

explodes near Marseilles, killing five.

09/17/45: The Royal Navy battleship

HMS

Vanguard

is damaged by an

explosion at Clydebank, Scotland.

10/08/45: The Royal Navy destroyer

HMS

Zodiac

suffers an explosion.

10/12/45: The Royal Navy vessel HMS

Loch Eriboll

sinks after colliding with

the U.S. merchant ship

Sidney Sharman

in the English Channel off Start Point,

U.K.

10/27/45: The Royal Navy tug HMS

Swarthy

sinks in a gale at Spithead,

U.K.

11/01/45: A U.S. Navy shore-liberty

boat capsizes in San Francisco Bay,

California.

11/30/45: The Royal Navy destroyer

HMS

Kempenfelt

suffers an explosion.

01/22/46: The Royal Navy cruiser HMS

Cleopatra

experiences an engine room

explosion.

01/30/46: The Royal Navy minesweeper

HMS

Rhyl

runs adrift.

02/04/46: The cruiser USS

Prinz Eugen

(IX-300) collides with a tug on a pre-test

run from Boston to Philadelphia.

02/10/46: The Royal Navy diesel

submarine HMS

Saga

collides with the

trawler

Girl Lena

at night in the English

Channel, sinking the

Girl Lena

02/11/46: Fire damages four Royal

Navy minesweepers docked at Dover,

U.K., threatening the magazine of one.

02/12/46: The lend-lease Royal Navy

dock landing ship HMS

Oceanway

involved in a collision.

02/18/46: A U.S. tank landing ship

suffers an explosion of ammunition in

Shanghai, China, killing six and injuring

44.

03/01/46: In March the French diesel

submarine

Orphee

explodes in

Casablanca, Morocco, killing two.

04/17/46: The USS

Wasp

(CV-18) runs

aground off New Jersey.

05/01/46: The USS

Solar

(DE-221) is

destroyed by an explosion while

unloading ammunition at Earle, New

Jersey.

05/14/46: The USS

Franklin

(CV-13)

leaks carbon dioxide fumes while at the

Brooklyn Naval Shipyard, New York,

killing two.

05/30/46: The flagship USS

Estes

(AGC-12) is slightly damaged after a

collision with the USS

Los Angeles

(CA-135), off Shanghai, China.

06/27/46: A Spanish C-4 submarine

sinks after colliding with the Spanish

destroyer

Lepanto

off the Balearic

Islands, killing the 46 aboard the

submarine.

08/27/46: The Royal Navy destroyer

HMS

St. James

sinks a tug during firing

practice.

09/24/46: The Royal Navy tanker HMS

Green Ranger

is struck by a torpedo

during naval firing practice in Portland

harbor, U.K. The vessel is struck below

the waterline but stays afloat.

11/06/46: A U.S. Navy launch hits a

buoy and capsizes in Portland harbor,

U.K.

11/15/46: The USS

Frank Knox

(DD-742) and USS

Higbee

(DD-806)

are damaged after colliding off Oahu,

Hawaii.

11/20/46: The USS

Antietam

(CV-36)

suffers an explosion at the Hunters Point

Navy Yard in San Francisco, killing one

and injuring 34.

12/05/46: The French submarine 2326,

an ex-German U-boat, sinks 20 miles off

Toulon in the Mediterranean while

carrying out diving tests, killing 21.

12/13/46: The USS

Missouri

(BB-63) is

hit by a star shell during target practice

in the North Atlantic.

Neptune Paper No. 3: Naval Accidents 1945-1988

04/04/47: The USS

Ernest G. Small

(DD-838) runs aground off Block Island,

Rhode Island.

04/15/47: The Royal Navy battleship

HMS

Nelson

is damaged in a collision

with the diesel submarine HMS

Sceptre

in Portland harbor, U.K.

05/27/47: The USS

Johnston

(DD-821)

and the USS

Torsk

(SS-423) are

damaged in a collision off New London,

Connecticut.

06/04/47: The Royal Navy diesel

submarine HMS

Seneschal

suffers an

explosion.

06/12/47: The USS

Valley Forge

(CV-45) suffers an explosion at the

Philadelphia Naval Base, injuring 17.

07/01/47: The Italian munitions ship

Panigaglia

explodes while unloading

munitions at Santo Stefano, Sardinia,

Italy, killing 68.

07/02/47: The Royal Navy diesel

submarine HMS

Aurochs

is involved in

a collision.

07/17/47: The Canadian destroyer

Micmac

is damaged in a collision with

the freighter

Yarmouth County

Halifax, Nova Scotia, killing five.

09/29/47: The USS

Douglas H. Fox

(DD-779) hits a mine in the Adriatic Sea

18 miles from Trieste, Italy, killing three.

11/24/47: The U.S. Army transport

Clarksdale Victory

is wrecked off

Hippa Island near British Columbia,

Canada.

02/18/48: A USS

Midway

(CV-41)

launch capsizes off Hyeres, France,

killing eight.

02/23/48: The Royal Navy diesel

submarine HMS

Aeneas

runs aground

and is refloated the same day.

03/02/48: The USS

Duncan

(DD-874)

is damaged by an explosion in the

Pacific, killing one.

03/11/48: A Royal Navy firing practice

inadvertently places fishermen under fire

off Walton-on-the-Naze, U.K.

04/19/48: The U.S. Navy drydock

O'Boyle

No. 24 sinks off Cape Hatteras,

North Carolina.

06/01/48: A U.S. Navy launch nearing

an aircraft carrier sinks in heavy seas off

Norfolk, Virginia, drowning 30.

07/13/48: The USS

Portsmouth

(CL-102) runs its prow into a mudbank

in the St. Lawrence River but is

subsequently refloated.

09/04/48: The U.S. minesweeper No. 46

runs aground off Pigeon Island Light,

Lake Ontario, New York.

10/19/48: A liberty boat of the Royal

Navy aircraft carrier HMS

Illustrious

sinks in Portland harbor, U.K., drowning

29.

11/25/48: The USS

Chandler

(DMS-9)

and the USS

Ozbourn

(DD-846) collide

in the Yellow Sea.

02/15/49: The Royal Navy sloop HMS

Sparrow

proceeds to Port Stanley in the

Falkland Islands after freeing itself from

ice in Admiralty Bay.

02/26/49: The Royal Navy aircraft

carrier HMS

Vengeance

is holed by ice

during testing of special armament and

equipment in the Arctic.

02/28/49: The USS

Taussig

(DD-746)

and USS

Marsh

(DE-699) are damaged

in a collision during maneuvers in the

Pacific.

03/23/49: The USS

Perch

(SS-313) and

the USS

Orleck

(DD-886) are damaged

in a collision during maneuvers off San

Diego, California.

03/26/49: The Royal Navy destroyer

HMS

Broadsword

accidentally

discharges an artillery shell over

Portsmouth, U.K.

04/15/49: A gun accidently explodes

aboard the USS

Hollister

(DD-788)

during maneuvers near Pearl Harbor,

Hawaii, killing four.

04/23/49: The USS

Fechteler

(DD-870)

and USS

Leonard Mason

(DD-852) are

damaged in a collision off Oahu, Hawaii,

injuring two.

04/30/49: The Royal Navy destroyer

HMS

Myngs

is damaged by a practice

torpedo during exercises.

05/07/49: Pan-American Airways says

anti-aircraft fire from a U.S. carrier task

force burst near a plane on a

Bermuda-New York flight.

06/01/49: The Royal Navy destroyer

HMS

Chevron

is damaged in a collision.

06/03/49: The Royal Navy frigate HMS

Loch Fada

experiences an explosion.

08/02/49: The USS

Livermore

(DD-429) runs aground at Bearse Shoal

off Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

08/26/49: The USS

Cochino

(SS-345)

explodes and sinks in Arctic seas off

Norway, drowning six Navy rescuers and

Cochino

technician. On 21 September

the Soviet publication Red Fleet alleges

the Cochino was sunk off Murmansk

while scouting out military information.

09/22/49: The Argentine minesweeper

Fournier

sinks after striking a

submerged rock in the Magellan Straits,

killing 77.

10/09/49: The USS

Chehalis

(AOG-48)

sinks after an explosion and fire in

Tutuila, American Samoa.

11/09/49: The USS

Tusk

(SS-426) is

rammed while submerged by the USS

Aldebaran

(AF-10) 175 miles off

Labrador, Newfoundland, Canada. The

Neptune Paper No. 3: Naval Accidents 1945-1988

submarine suffers damage to its

periscope and superstructure.

12/31/49: In 1949, a Polish ammunition

ship carrying 500 tons of bombs sinks in

the English Channel off Folkestone,

U.K., after a collision. During 1968

harbor clearing operations the ship

explodes with such force it causes

earthquake reports as far away as

Antarctica.

01/13/50: The Royal Navy diesel

submarine HMS

Truculent

sinks after

colliding with the Swedish tanker

Divina

ten miles east of Sheerness, U.K., in the

Thames Estuary, killing 64.

03/18/50: The net-laying ship USS

Elder

(AN-20) is damaged by an

explosion off Kwajalein Atoll in the

Pacific Ocean.

04/08/50: A Royal Navy midget

submarine explodes in Portsmouth

harbor, U.K., killing one.

05/17/50: The USS

General M.B.

Stewart

(AP-140) collides with a buoy

in Port Said Harbor, Eygpt, damaging the

ship's propeller.

06/14/50: The Royal Navy diesel

submarine HMS

Trenchant

suffers an

explosion.

07/15/50: Eight ammunition barges

explode in Portsmouth harbor, U.K. On

18 July British officials say sabotage is a

suspected cause of the explosions.

07/15/50: The Royal Navy aircraft

carrier HMS

Vengeance

drags its

moorings and collides with a quayside at

Stavanger, Norway.

07/18/50: The USS

Missouri

(BB-63)

runs aground in Chesapeake Bay,

suffering light damage. On 19 July, the

Soviet publication Red Fleet ridicules the

grounding of the Missouri.

07/25/50: The USS

Benevolence

(AH-13) collides with SS

Mary

Luckenbach

while on a trial run after

being taken out of mothballs for service

in the Korean War. The

Benevolence

sinks outside San Francisco Bay,

California, killing 18.

08/31/50: The Royal Navy boom

defense vessel HMS

Barwind

experiences an explosion.

09/15/50: The French

weather-observation frigate

La Place

sinks after an explosion while at anchor

in the Baie de la Fresnage near St. Malo,

killing 51. The explosion is believed

caused by a drifting magnetic mine.

09/16/50: The Royal Navy destroyer

HMS

Armada

is involved in a collision.

09/21/50: A torpedo fired from the

British naval range at Bincleaves

deviates from its course and sinks two

sailing boats in Portland harbor, U.K.

09/30/50: The French destroyer

Amyot

Dindeville

is damaged by an explosion

off Indochina.

10/18/50: The Royal Navy cruiser HMS

Phoebe

is involved in a collision.

10/27/50: The Royal Navy cruiser HMS

Newcastle

experiences a fire in a turret.

11/09/50: The USS

Brownson

(DD-868) and USS

Charles H. Roan

(DD-853) collide in the Atlantic during

nighttime fleet maneuvers, killing four.

11/11/50: The USS

Buck

(DD-761) and

USS

Thomason

(DE-203) are damaged

in a collision in the Korean Bay.

01/16/51: The Royal Navy destroyer

HMS

Broadsword

suffers a fire, killing

one.

01/23/51: The Royal Navy destroyer

HMS

Daring

suffers a fire.

02/12/51: The Royal Navy battleship

HMS

Vanguard

is damaged in a

collision with the aircraft carrier HMS

Indomitable

in the Mediterranean.

02/14/51: The Portuguese gunboat

Garo

sinks after colliding with a Portuguese

warship off Portugal.

04/16/51: The Royal Navy diesel

submarine HMS

Affray

sinks in the

English Channel 30 miles north of the

Island of Guernsey, killing 75. Possibly

the submarine was flooded after its

snorkel mast weldment failed. On 22

April all British "A" class submarines are

docked pending an investigation of the

Affray

accident.

04/28/51: The Royal Navy munitions

ship HMS

Bedenham

explodes in

Gibraltar, killing nine.

05/16/51: The small seaplane tender

USS

Valcour

(AVP-55) is set afire in a

collision with a collier. The fire

threatens the ship`s magazine.

05/18/51: The USS

Bairoko

(CVE-115)

suffers a blast, killing five.

05/19/51: The French tank landing ship

Adour

explodes in Nha Trang, Vietnam.

05/23/51: A stray U.S. Navy torpedo

sinks a fishing boat in Narragansett Bay,

Rhode Island.

05/24/51: A U.S. Navy liberty launch

capsizes at Newport, Rhode Island,

killing 19.

06/08/51: The Royal Navy cruiser HMS

Bermuda

suffers an explosion.

08/23/51: The USS

Wisconsin

(BB-64)

is freed after grounding on mud flats in

New York Harbor.

09/08/51: The Royal Navy battleship

HMS

Duke of York

collides with a ferry

in the Mersey River, U.K.

10/03/51: The Royal Navy destroyer

HMS

Grenville

collides with an Italian

vessel.

Neptune Paper No. 3: Naval Accidents 1945-1988

10/15/51: The U.N. troopship

Kongo

Maru

is wrecked by a typhoon off

southern Japan.

11/04/51: The Argentine motorship

Maipu

sinks after colliding with the

troop ship USS

General M.L. Hersey

(AP-148) in fog in the North Sea off

Bremerhaven, West Germany. There are

no reported casualties.

11/10/51: The Royal Navy diesel

submarine HMS

Thorough

is damaged

in a collision.

12/02/51: A converted U.S. Navy

landing craft sinks off San Diego,

California, killing six.

01/19/52: The Royal Navy destroyer

HMS

Chivalrous

is in a collision near

Malta.

03/28/52: The USS

Mount Baker

(AE-4) collides with a South Korean

freighter, killing 24 South Koreans.

04/26/52: The destroyer minesweeper

USS

Hobson

(DMS-26) sinks after

colliding with the USS

Wasp

(CV-18) in

the mid-Atlantic, killing 176 aboard the

Hobson

. The ships were part of a task

force headed for the Mediterranean to

join the Sixth Fleet. The collision

occurred when the

Wasp

turned into the

wind to receive aircraft.

04/26/52: The USS

St. Paul

(CA-73)

suffers a powder blast in a gun turret

while operating off Korea, killing 30.

05/08/52: The Royal Navy destroyer

HMS

Tenacious

is grounded in the

River Foyle, Northern Ireland.

06/10/52: The Royal Navy cruiser HMS

Cumberland

runs aground on Tinker

Shoal, two miles off Plymouth, U.K.

06/14/52: The Royal Navy diesel

submarine HMS

Sleuth

collides with the

destroyer HMS

Zephyr

in heavy fog

while leaving Portsmouth harbor, U.K.

The

Zephyr

suffers flooding in one of its

magazines.

06/14/52: The Royal Navy diesel

submarine HMS

Seneschal

's collision

with the Danish frigate

Thetis

south of

the Isle of Wight is reported. The

submarine's periscope and radar mast are

damaged.

07/11/52: A blast aboard a French

cruiser in Toulon kills one.

08/06/52: An unidentified Royal Navy

submarine carries away the fishing gear

of the Fleetwood

Queen Alexandria

trawler off the Isle of Man, U.K. The

submarine is not damaged.

08/07/52: The USS

Boxer

(CV-21)

suffers an explosion and fire off Korea,

killing nine.

08/14/52: The USS

Gregory

(DD-802)

and USS

Marshall

(DD-676) are slightly

damaged after colliding off San Diego,

California.

09/25/52: The French diesel submarine

Sibylle

(ex-HMS

Sportsman

) fails to

surface after a dive off Toulon, France,

killing 46. The submarine is believed to

have burst.

10/24/52: The USS

Tigrone

(SS-419)

suffers a fire at the Philadelphia naval

base, injuring two civilians.

11/12/52: The high speed transport USS

Ruchamkin

(APD-89) is rammed by a

tanker 60 miles east of Cape Henry,

Virginia, during maneuvers, killing five

soldiers. The tanker captain denies he

knew maneuvers were being conducted

in the area.

11/16/52: The USS

Picking

(DD-685)

and USS

Porter

(DD-800) are slightly

damaged after colliding in dense fog off

Virginia.

11/17/52: The Royal Navy aircraft

carrier HMS

Implacable

is mildly

damaged by a dockside fire in London.

11/23/52: The USS

Wiseman

(DE-667)

strikes a submerged rock in Korean

waters, causing damage to her sonar and

hull. It proceeds to Sasebo, Japan, for

repairs.

11/28/52: An Israeli naval ship

disappears during a storm in the

Mediterranean.

12/11/52: The USS

Sitkoh Bay

(CVE-86) collides with a freighter in the

Pacific, but none are hurt.

01/13/53: The minesweeper USS

Condor

(AMS-5) is heavily damaged by

fire.

01/27/53: The Royal Navy destroyer

HMS

Dutchess

suffers an explosion

while in the U.K., damaging the ship and

killing one.

02/03/53: Sabotage inquiries are under

way in Devonport, U.K., after damage to

the Royal Navy aircraft carriers HMS

Warrior

and HMS

Triumph

reported.

02/03/53: The Royal Navy aircraft

carrier HMS

Indomitable

suffers an

explosion while in Malta, killing three.

02/19/53: The USS

Prichett

(DD-561)

and USS

Cushing

(DD-797) collide

while operating off the coast of Korea.

Both ships require dry docking in

Sasebo, Japan.

03/05/53: The Royal Navy destroyer

HMS

Termagant

suffers a fire.

03/06/53: A bomb dislodged from a

plane landing after a combat mission

over Korea bounces twice across the

deck of the USS

Oriskany

(CV-34) and

explodes, killing two and injuring 15.

03/07/53: The Egyptian minesweeper

Sollum

sinks during a storm off

Alexandria, killing 54.

04/04/53: The Turkish diesel submarine

Dumlupiner

(formerly USS

Blower

Neptune Paper No. 3: Naval Accidents 1945-1988

(SS-325)) sinks after colliding with the

Swedish freighter

Naboland

in the

Dardanelles. The captain of the

Naboland

is held by Turkish authorities

in connection with the incident, and on

11 April Sweden protests his arrest.

04/28/53: The USS

Bennington

(CV-20) suffers an explosion off Cuba,

killing 11.

05/13/53: The USS

Wright

(CVL-49) is

hit by a target drone off Key West,

Florida, killing three.

05/18/53: An unidentified fast patrol

boat suffers fires and explosions in

Aarhus harbor, Denmark, which slightly

damage the Royal Navy vessel HMS

Gay Archer

, moored alongside.

05/20/53: The Royal Navy minesweeper

HMS

Coquette

is in a collision.

07/16/53: The Royal Navy destroyer

HMS

Vigo

suffers a fire.

07/18/53: The Royal Navy destroyer

HMS

Carron

suffers a fire.

08/01/53: In August the USS

Harder

(SS-568) is towed across the Atlantic to

New London, Connecticut, by the USS

Tringa

(ASR-16) after breaking down

off the east coast of Ireland.

08/25/53: The Netherlands charges that

U.S. Navy ships fired on a KLM civilian

airliner over the Caribbean Sea. The

U.S. State Department later reports

anti-aircraft artillery shells were

accidentally fired within two miles of the

plane.

09/13/53: The Royal Navy destroyer

HMS

Delight

is damaged by fire in

Glasgow, Scotland.

09/15/53: The Royal Navy destroyer

HMS

Contest

suffers a fire.

10/01/53: The Royal Navy destroyer

HMS

Diamond

collides with the cruiser

HMS

Swiftsure

during exercises.

10/06/53: The Royal Navy minesweeper

HMS

Rattlesnake

suffers a gun firing

accident.

10/16/53: The USS

Leyte

(CV-32) is

badly damaged by an explosion and

subsequent fire caused by the accidental

ignition of hydraulic fluid on a catapult

while moored at Charlestown Naval

Yard, Boston, killing 36. The fire takes

five hours to extinguish.

12/28/53: The Royal Navy frigate HMS

Amethyst

suffers a fire in its storeroom.

01/18/54: The Royal Navy tanker HMS

Wave Victor

suffers a fire off the Devon

Coast, U.K.

01/21/54: A U.S. troopship rams a U.S.

Navy landing craft off Inchon, South

Korea, drowning 28 Marines.

03/09/54: An Australian destroyer rams

a pier when it attempts to dock without

tugs in Melbourne, Australia.

03/17/54: A U.S. Navy tank landing

ship runs aground at Eleuthera Island,

Bahamas.

03/17/54: The Royal Navy destroyer

HMS

Zest

suffers a fire.

05/13/54: The Japanese fishing boat

Kine-Maru

sustains damage as a result

of shots fired by vessels of the

Netherlands, Australia, and New Zealand

during target practice in "Area George."

The Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs

later presents a claim against the United

States on the grounds that Japan had

permitted the use of "Area George" to

U.S. forces, but had not approved its use

by other countries. The U.S. State

Department rejects the claim, saying that

"Area George" is located on the high

seas and that its use does not require

permission from the Japanese

government.

05/26/54: The USS

Bennington

(CV-20) is damaged by an explosion and

fire off Newport, Rhode Island, killing

103 and injuring 201.

05/27/54: The Royal Navy frigate HMS

Curzon

runs aground and is later

refloated.

07/01/54: The Royal Navy destroyer

HMS

Vigo

suffers a fire.

07/14/54: The Royal Navy tanker HMS

Wave Commander

is involved in a

collision.

09/03/54: The Royal Navy aircraft

carrier HMS

Eagle

is damaged by an

aviation fuel-tank blast at the Devonport

dock, killing one.

09/16/54: Several weeks before its first

sea trials, a small steam pipe in the

reactor compartment of the USS

Nautilus

(SSN-571) bursts, filling the

area with steam during a test of the steam

system while the ship is at the Electric

Boat Shipyard in Groton, Connecticut.

The test is part of a quality control effort

to check the adequacy of the shipyard's

inspection system. The incident initially

appears to be minor. There are slight

personnel injuries and no radiation

hazards. However, subsequent

investigation shows the situation is more

serious. Specifications called for

seamless pipe, but ordinary stanchion

pipe had been used. All suspect pipe is

ripped out and the mistake leads to more

stringent quality control measures.

10/08/54: The USS

Laffey

(DD-724)

hits and sinks the distressed yacht

Able

Lady

while attempting rescue.

10/08/54: The Royal Navy destroyer

HMS

Chevron

is involved in a minor

collision.

10/24/54: The Royal Navy destroyers

HMS

Battleaxe

and HMS

Scorpion

collide during an exercise in the Bay of

Biscay. The

Battleaxe

suffers a

five-foot-hole in its bow, but is able to

return to Plymouth Sound, U.K.,

unassisted.

Neptune Paper No. 3: Naval Accidents 1945-1988

10/27/54: The Royal Navy frigates HMS

Relentless

and HMS

Vigilant

collide off

western Scotland during night exercises.

10/31/54: The USS

Norris

(DDE-859)

rams the superstructure of the USS

Bergall

(SS-320) during war games off

Norfolk, Virginia. The

Norris

suffers

flooding in five of its compartments and

the

Bergall

suffers damage to its

superstructure. Both proceed to port for

repairs.

11/09/54: A Canadian Navy ship

collides with a ferry in Halifax, Canada,

killing three.

12/12/54: A Norwegian submarine is

damaged by an explosion at Bergen,

Norway.

12/15/54: The Royal Navy diesel

submarine HMS

Talent

, undergoing a

refit, is swept out of a Chatham dockyard

by an inrush of water, due to a mistake in

estimating the size of the tide.

01/04/55: The USS

Monterey

(CVL-26) is slightly damaged after

colliding with a freighter near the mouth

of the Mississippi River.

01/07/55: Three U.S. Navy

dock-landing craft capsize in heavy seas

off Beaufort, North Carolina. Faulty

steering gear blamed.

01/12/55: The USS

Power

(DD-839)

and USS

Warrington

(DD-843) collide

during night exercises off Puerto Rico.

01/14/55: The USS

Tench

(SS-417) is

grounded off Cape Henry Lighthouse,

Virginia.

01/22/55: The Royal Navy frigate HMS

Flint Castle

experiences a fire.

02/21/55: The USS

Pomodon

(SS-486)

is damaged by an explosion and fire

caused by excess hydrogen formation

during battery charging in the San

Francisco Naval Yard, California, killing

five.

03/11/55: A U.S. Navy tank landing

ship rams a trawler in Puget Sound,

Washington, killing three.

03/18/55: The USS

General R.E.

Callan

(AP-139) runs aground at Red

Hook Flats, New York Harbor. News

reports are censored for 24 hours.

03/18/55: The USS

Cassin Young

(DD-793) is driven aground by high

winds at Fall River, Massachusetts.

05/10/55: A small military ship (of

unspecified nationality) explodes at

Kaohsiung, Taiwan, killing 49.

05/11/55: The USS

Nautilus

(SSN-571)

suffers a small leak in a freshwater line

in the steam plant as it leaves on its

shakedown cruise from Groton,

Connecticut, forcing the ship to return to

port for quick repairs. The Navy says

the leak did not involve the reactor.

05/31/55: The Royal Navy minesweeper

HMS

Northumbria

is involved in a

collision.

06/02/55: A Yugoslavian naval vessel

sinks in the Adriatic Sea, killing 26.

06/17/55: The Royal Navy diesel

submarine HMS

Sidon

sinks after a

torpedo explosion in the forward torpedo

compartment while the ship is in

Portland harbor, U.K., killing 13.

07/09/55: The Royal Navy diesel

submarine HMS

Sturdy

suffers an

explosion.

07/14/55: The Royal Navy cruiser HMS

Blake

suffers a fire.

07/19/55: The Royal Navy destroyer

HMS

Chevron

is involved in a collision.

07/27/55: The Danish diesel submarine

Saelen

is gutted by fire in Copenhagen.

08/14/55: The Royal Navy battleship

HMS

King George V

runs aground

while being towed into the Firth of

Clyde, Scotland.

09/26/55: The Royal Navy aircraft

carrier HMS

Hermes

loses power when

a marking buoy wedges in a propeller

bracket. The ship is towed to Belfast,

Northern Ireland.

10/07/55: The Royal Navy frigate HMS

Venus

suffers engine room damage.

10/19/55: The USS

Wisconsin

(BB-64)

is grounded for one hour in the East

River, New York Harbor.

10/19/55: The Royal Navy cruiser HMS

Ceylon

suffers a fire.

10/31/55: The USS

English

(DD-696)

and the USS

Wallace L. Lind

(DD-703)

collide in heavy seas during

antisubmarine exercises off Norfolk,

Virginia. The

English

has 31 feet of its

bow bent and broken off and the

Lind

suffers an eight-foot hole. Both head for

Norfolk under escort.

10/31/55: A Soviet cruiser hits a mine

and sinks sometime in October.

Conflicting reports described in the New

York Times of 25 April 1956 place the

sinking in the Black and Baltic Seas.

Possibly the ship is an Italian warship

given to the Soviet Union as war

reparations, called the

Novosibirsk

11/11/55: The USS

Boyd

(DD-544) is

towed to port after striking a Japanese

freighter off San Diego, California.

11/12/55: A U.S. Navy plane crashes

into the USS

Hopewell

(DD-681) during

maneuvers off San Diego, California,

killing three fliers and two sailors.

11/14/55: The radar ship USS

Searcher

(AGR-4) is damaged by explosions and

fire off Cape May, New Jersey, killing

three.

11/22/55: Heavy winds damage six U.S.

Navy destroyers moored at Newport,

Neptune Paper No. 3: Naval Accidents 1945-1988

Rhode Island.

11/23/55: Six sailors are killed as a

result of a jet landing mishap on the deck

of the USS

Ticonderoga

(CV-14) in the

Mediterranean Sea.

12/04/55: A British troopship is blown

aground by heavy winds in the River

Clyde, Scotland.

01/04/56: The Royal Navy frigate HMS

Venus

suffers a fire.

01/06/56: The USS

Basilone

(DD-824)

runs aground near Hampton Roads,

Virginia.

01/20/56: The USS

James V. Forrestal

(CVA-59) collides with the USS

Pinnacle

(MSO-462) at Norfolk,

Virginia, slightly damaging the

Pinnacle

01/21/56: The Royal Navy diesel

submarine HMS

Artemis

collides with a

motor fishing vessel off the Isle of Wight

in the English Channel. The submarine

is undamaged and continues on

exercises.

01/23/56: The Royal Navy destroyer

HMS

Scorpion

crashes into the

Londonderry, Northern Ireland,

dockside.

01/25/56: The Royal Navy minesweeper

HMS

Mutine

suffers a fire.

01/27/56: The Royal Navy frigate HMS

Puma

experiences a fire.

02/04/56: The Royal Navy diesel

submarine HMS

Scorcher

is damaged in

a collision.

02/10/56: The Royal Navy destroyer

HMS

Chieftain

collides with the naval

tanker HMS

Blue Ranger

in foul

weather while en route from Malta to

Beirut, Lebanon, and suffers damage to

its bows.

02/21/56: The Royal Navy frigate HMS

Eastbourne

suffers an explosion.

03/11/56: The USS

Columbus

(CA-74)

and USS

Floyd B. Parks

(DD-884) are

damaged after colliding off Luzon,

Philippines.

03/18/56: Fifteen ships of a U.S.

destroyer fleet break their moorings

during a storm off Newport, Rhode

Island.

03/18/56: The USS

Willis A. Lee

(DL-4) runs aground off Jamestown,

Rhode Island.

04/22/56: The USS

Nautilus

(SSN-571)

is snared in the nets of a fishing vessel

off the New Jersey coast 140 miles

southeast of New York, while running at

a depth of 150 feet. The submarine

nearly drags the vessel under water, but

the

Nautilus

is unaware of the mishap,

does not surface, and continues to

Groton, Connecticut. The estimated

damage is $1,300 to each vessel.

04/26/56: The USS

Remey

(DD-688)

runs aground in the Persian Gulf.

04/28/56: The USS

Nautilus

(SSN-571)

suffers a fire caused by a welder's torch,

while berthed at New London,

Connecticut, during repair of damage

caused by snaring of a fishing net on 22

April. The blaze ignites cork insulation

and burns paint from the hull. The Navy

reports that damage from the fire, the

third to break out on the

Nautilus

, is

slight.

05/07/56: The USS

Eaton

(DD-510)

and USS

Wisconsin

(BB-64) are badly

damaged after a collision in fog off

Virginia. Commander Varley of the

Eaton

is later court-martialed and found

negligent.

05/08/56: The Royal Navy frigate HMS

Redpole

collides with a yacht in

Copenhagen, Denmark.

05/10/56: The Royal Navy diesel

submarine HMS

Talent

is involved in a

collision.

08/04/56: The USS

Windham Bay

(CVE-92) is heavily damaged by fire

while in Alameda, California.

08/19/56: The experimental

sodium-cooled nuclear reactor of the

USS

Seawolf

(SSN-575) suffers a failure

in the steam plant during a full power test

run while the new ship is at Groton,

Connecticut. A leak of

sodium-potassium alloy being used as

the third fluid in the steam generator

aggravates stress corrosion in the system,

causing two cracks in steam piping and a

leak in a superheater. Makeshift repairs

permit the

Seawolf

to complete its initial

sea trials on reduced power in February

1957. Due to the difficulties of running a

sodium-cooled reactor, the Navy decides

to replace the

Seawolf

's sodium-cooled

reactor with a water-cooled reactor, and

use only water-cooled designs in the

future.

09/22/56: The Royal Navy destroyer

HMS

Decoy

suffers an explosion.

09/29/56: The Royal Navy

minesweepers HMS

Broadly

, HMS

Etchingham

, and HMS

Bisham

are

extensively damaged by fire at

Portsmouth harbor, U.K.

09/29/56: A shell explodes aboard the

USS

Buck

(DD-761), killing one.

10/06/56: The Royal Navy frigate HMS

Keppel

collides with a Torpoint ferry,

near Plymouth, U.K.

10/06/56: The Royal Navy frigate HMS

Orwell

is involved in a collision.

10/13/56: The Royal Navy diesel

submarine HMS

Anchorite

runs aground

in Rothesay Bay, U.K., and is refloated

two days later.

10/15/56: During the height of the Suez

crisis the USS

Nautilus

(SSN-571)

accidentally fires two dummy practice

torpedoes at a British merchantman

during naval maneuvers in European

Neptune Paper No. 3: Naval Accidents 1945-1988

waters. The

Nautilus

mistakes the ship

for an aircraft carrier on its sonar.

10/23/56: The USS

Antietam

(CVS-36)

is grounded for six hours off Brest,

France.

11/22/56: The Royal Navy diesel

submarine HMS

Scorcher

suffers a fire

during exercises.

01/03/57: The Royal Navy coastal

minesweeper HMS

Ilmington

suffers a

fire.

03/07/57: The USS

Mission San

Francisco

(AO-123) suffers explosions

and fires when it collides with the

Liberian freighter

Elna II

in the

Delaware River near New Castle,

Delaware, killing ten.

05/15/57: A U.S. Navy A3D Skywarrior

aircraft crashes while landing on the USS

Bon Homme Richard

(CVA-31) off San

Diego, California, killing three.

05/15/57: The USS

Franklin D.

Roosevelt

(CVA-42) reportedly hits a

submerged object off Florida. The

object is not thought to be a submarine.

The Navy later denies that the carrier had

hit an object, claiming instead that a

propeller had broken.

05/20/57: The USS

Antietam

(CVS-36)

crashes into a river wharf in New

Orleans, Louisiana. The wharf is heavily

damaged, while damage to the carrier is

light.

05/21/57: A U.S. Navy experimental

X-1 submarine is damaged by a blast at

the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. There

are no injuries.

06/08/57: Eleven depth charges explode

prematurely off the stern of the USS

Whitehurst

(DE-634) 18 miles off Pearl

Harbor, endangering the lives of a

Hollywood movie cast on board to shoot

a movie scene.

06/19/57: A high-pressure steam line

explodes aboard the USS

Franklin D.

Roosevelt

(CVA-42) off Jacksonville,

Florida, killing two and injuring five.

07/06/57: The Royal Navy aircraft

carrier HMS

Eagle

suffers a fire.

07/13/57: The Royal Navy frigate HMS

Redpole

is involved in a collision.

07/15/57: A Royal Navy destroyer depot

ship suffers a fire.

07/18/57: A TNT device aboard the

USS

Somersworth

(PCER-849)

explodes off Montauk Point, New York,

killing three.

07/27/57: The USS

Mauna Loa

(AE-8)

suffers a fire off New York. The fire is

extinguished before it reaches the ship's

3,500-ton cargo of explosives.

08/07/57: The USS

Cobbler

(SS-344)

and USS

Tusk

(SS-426) are slightly

damaged after an underwater collision

during maneuvers off New Jersey.

08/19/57: The USS

Wisconsin

(BB-64)

scrapes its bottom near a sea buoy off

Cape Henry, Virginia, during a storm.

08/25/57: The USS

Lenawee

(APA-195) and USS

Wantuck

(APD-125) collide in the Pacific, killing

one.

08/28/57: The Peruvian diesel

submarine

Iquique

is freed from a sand

bar where it had run aground during

trials in the Long Island Sound, New

York.

08/29/57: The Royal Navy coastal

minesweeper HMS

Badminton

is in a

collision.

09/01/57: In the first few days of

September, the USS

Nautilus

(SSN-571)

suffers damage to two periscopes while

rising under ice conditions during an

exploratory trip under the Arctic icepack.

The

Nautilus

returns from under the

icepack to the open sea to perform

repairs on the surface. It takes 12 hours

in rough seas, freezing temperatures, and

gale winds to fix one periscope. The

other is damaged beyond repair.

09/05/57: The Royal Navy destroyer

HMS

Decoy

runs aground.

09/11/57: The Royal Navy cruiser HMS

Blake

suffers an explosion and fire while

in Glasgow, Scotland.

09/12/57: The USS

Wasp

(CVS-18)

suffers a second fire while in drydock in

Boston, Massachusetts, causing minor

damage.

09/20/57: The Royal Navy diesel

submarine HMS

Taciturn

collides with

a merchant ship during exercises off

Brighton, U.K., in the English Channel.

No damage is reported.

09/21/57: The Royal Navy destroyer

HMS

Delight

is rammed by the Clyde

tug

Forager

at the Princess Pier,

Greenock, Scotland.

09/26/57: A U.S. Navy A3D Skywarrior

crashes while attempting to land on the

USS

Forrestal

(CVA-59) during NATO

exercises in the Norwegian Sea.

09/29/57: The USS

Purdy

(DD-734)

and the British trawler

British Columbia

collide off The Netherlands, sinking the

trawler. A small hole is punched in the

Purdy

's hull above the waterline.

10/09/57: The USS

Mission San

Miguel

(AO-129) runs aground on a reef

in the mid-Pacific.

10/23/57: The USS

Forrestal

(CVA-59)

is slightly damaged after a collision with

an oiler at sea.

11/16/57: The Washington Post reports

that the reactor compartment of the USS

Nautilus

(SSN-571) flooded several

days ago after a small leak developed

while the submarine was in port in

Connecticut. The leak was due to the

malfunctioning of a valve, and according

Neptune Paper No. 3: Naval Accidents 1945-1988

to the Navy caused no radioactive

contamination or damage to the power

plant.

12/11/57: The Royal Navy minesweeper

HMS

Alcaston

loses power.

12/12/57: The USS

Manley

(DD-940)

is badly damaged in heavy seas in the

eastern Atlantic.

01/10/58: A plane catapult explodes

aboard the USS

Kearsage

(CVA-33) off

Yokosuka, Japan, killing three.

01/14/58: The Royal Navy boom

defense vessel HMS

Barcombe

runs

aground off the Island of Oronsay,

Argyll, Scotland.

01/18/58: The USS

Essex

(CVA-9) is

damaged by fire at sea.

01/31/58: A bomber explodes on the

flight deck of the USS

Hancock

(CVA-19), killing two.

02/04/58: The Swedish diesel submarine

Illern

sinks in a shipyard, Malmo,

Sweden.

02/12/58: A rocket propelled

antisubmarine weapon backfires aboard

the USS

Eaton

(DD-510), killing one.

02/16/58: The fuel supply submarine

USS

Guavina

(ASSO-362) runs aground

in high winds and foul weather after

dragging its anchor in San Salvador, El

Salvador.

02/27/58: The USS

Tripoli

(CVU-64) is

towed to Bremerhaven, West Germany,

after running aground in the Weser

estuary.

03/03/58: The Royal Navy destroyer

HMS

Decoy

suffers a fire.

04/01/58: The USS

Corregidor

(CVU-58) cracks its hull in a storm off

the Azores.

04/02/58: The Royal Navy fleet supply

ship HMS

Fort Duquesne

suffers a fire.

04/17/58: The Royal Navy aircraft

carrier HMS

Bulwark

is involved in a

collision in the Suez Canal.

04/24/58: The USS

Yarnall

(DD-541)

is damaged by a dummy torpedo fired by

a submarine during practice.

04/25/58: The USS

Nautilus

(SSN-571)

springs a small saltwater leak in one of

the steam condensers shortly after

leaving Groton, Connecticut, as the

submarine heads south toward the

Panama Canal to transit to the Pacific for

its expedition to the North Pole. After

passing through the Canal and

experiencing a fire (5/4/58), the

Nautilus

puts into Mare Island Naval Shipyard,

near San Francisco, California, for

repairs. The source of the leak cannot be

pinpointed, however, and the ship

proceeds to Seattle, Washington. During

the trip to Seattle, the captain decides to

use the same type of additive that is sold

for leaky car radiators to try to repair the

leak in the condenser. Upon arriving in

Seattle in late May or early June, 140

quarts are purchased and half are poured

into the cooling system. The reactor

plant is started and the leak stopped.

05/04/58: The USS

Nautilus

(SSN-571)

suffers a fire in the insulation around one

of its turbines as the ship is running

submerged in the Pacific shortly after

leaving Panama on its way to its Arctic

mission. The insulation had become

oil-soaked during the submarine's three

years of operation and had caught fire.

The fire is put out with minor injuries,

but the submarine must surface to

ventilate.

05/23/58: The Royal Navy cruiser HMS

Lion

suffers a fire.

05/28/58: The USS

Stickleback

(SS-415) sinks after being rammed by

the USS

Silverstein

(DE-534) off Pearl

Harbor, Hawaii. There are no casualties.

The submarine had lost power and

drifted into the

Silverstein

's path.

06/11/58: The trawler

St. Clair

catches

a Royal Navy submarine in its net off

Land's End, U.K. There is little damage.

06/20/58: The Royal Navy minesweeper

HMS

Hound

is involved in a collision.

07/03/58: The USS

Chemung

(AO-30)

runs aground 500 yards off Alcatraz

Island in San Francisco Bay, California,

during a naval procession.

07/06/58: The USS

Caney

(AO-95)

loses power during a monsoon in the

Arabian Sea, and is in danger for several

days until it can be towed by U.S. ships.

07/08/58: A U.S. Navy barge used for

research in underwater explosions suffers

an explosion and flash fire while in port

at Norfolk, Virginia.

07/19/58: The USS

Piper

(SS-409) runs

aground on a sandbar off Provincetown,

Massachusetts, but is pulled free after

seven hours with minor damage.

07/23/58: A fuel tank accidentally falls

from a FJ4B Fury fighter being launched

from the USS

Ticonderoga

(CV-14)

while operating off California, killing

two.

07/24/58: The USS

Skate

(SSN-578)

suffers damage to its propeller when it

collides with the USS

Fulton

(AS-11)

while the tender is moored to a pier in

New London, Connecticut.

08/22/58: The USS

Prestige

(MSO-465) sinks after running aground

off Shikoku, Japan.

09/03/58: The Royal Navy diesel

submarine HMS

Amphion

hits a British

naval training ship.

09/24/58: The Royal Navy destroyer

HMS

Camperdown

suffers a fire.

09/29/58: The Royal Navy destroyer

HMS

Hogue

collides with the British

trawler

Northern Foam

while trying to

Neptune Paper No. 3: Naval Accidents 1945-1988

prevent the arrest of the trawler by an

Icelandic patrol boat for illegally fishing

in Icelandic waters.

10/10/58: The Royal Navy diesel

submarine HMS

Andrew

is involved in

a collision.

10/14/58: An explosion floods the

engineering room of the USS

Saratoga

(CVA-60) at Jacksonville, Florida.

10/21/58: The USS

Rich

(DD-820),

USS

Moale

(DD-693), USS

Ellyson

(DD-454), and the destroyer USS

Sumner

are damaged in a severe storm

off North Carolina.

10/23/58: The USS

Lindenwald

(LSD-6) is disabled off Greenland when

the steering engines fail.

10/23/58: The Royal Navy frigate HMS

Grenville

inadvertently surges forward

while preparing to leave Portland harbor,

U.K., and collides with the minesweeper

HMS

Shoulton

and the submarine

support ship HMS

Chaser

10/27/58: The Royal Navy frigates HMS

Undine

and HMS

Ulysses

are both

damaged above the waterline in a

collision off the Ile d'Ouessant, Brittany,

France.

11/05/58: The USS

Growler

(SSG-577)

springs a leak during a deep-sea dive but

surfaces without damage off the Isle of

Shoals, southeast of Portsmouth, New

Hampshire. The

Growler

, designed for

launching the Regulus II sea-to-land

missile, was several hundred feet below

the surface when the leak developed in

an improperly adjusted sonar

compartment fitting for an electrical

cable.

11/06/58: The Royal Navy destroyer

HMS

Alamein

experiences a fire.

11/10/58: The USS

Ranger

(CVA-61)

suffers an explosion in the magazine area

seven decks below the waterline while

off San Francisco, California, killing

two. A careless act by two crewmen

trying to obtain gunpowder from the

magazine to fuel a minature ram jet

engine they had built caused the

explosion. The Navy said the two men

were known rocket enthusiasts and were

not authorized to be in the magazine area

at the time of the explosion. The

"relatively minor" damage takes about a

month to repair due to the location of the

accident.

11/12/58: The Royal Navy diesel

submarine HMS

Alaric

collides with a

jetty.

11/18/58: The Royal Navy diesel

submarine HMS

Rorqual

experiences a

fire.

11/28/58: The Royal Navy destroyer

HMS

Caesar

suffers a fire.

12/23/58: The Royal Navy frigate HMS

Undaunted

collides with the

minesweeper HMS

Maxton

off Cyprus.

12/30/58: The Royal Navy destroyers

HMS

Jutland

and HMS

Dunkirk

collide during daytime maneuvers off

Malta, causing slight damage.

12/31/58: In the late 1950s, a Soviet

Northern Fleet diesel-powered

submarine, possibly a Whiskey class

submarine, reportedly sinks. The vessel

was specially converted to be a test

platform for a Soviet cruise missile,

which was under development. The

submarine went to sea carrying empty

missile containers and sank on its return

voyage.

01/11/59: The USS

Valley Forge

(CVS-45) is damaged in a storm off

North Carolina.

01/28/59: The port propeller of the USS

Skate

(SSN-578) is damaged in a

collision with the USS

Cubera

(SS-347).

The accident occurs during routine

operations off the U.S. east coast just

after the

Cubera

delivered mail to the

Skate

and moved away. The Navy says

nobody was hurt.

03/02/59: A depth charge explodes

aboard the USS

Conway

(DD-507) in

the Atlantic, injuring two.

03/05/59: The USS

Kenneth D. Bailey

(DDR-713) and the USS

Haiti Victory

(T-AK-238) collide in the Strait of

Gibraltar, killing one.

03/16/59: The Royal Navy destroyers

HMS

Corunna

and HMS

Barrosa

collide.

04/07/59: The USS

Triton

(SSN-586)

suffers a galley fire caused by testing of a

deep-fat fryer, while in New London,

Connecticut. According to the Navy, the

fire spread from the galley into the

ventilation lines of the crew's mess. But

quick action by crew members "resulted

in the saving of the ship's equipment and

possible loss of life."

04/09/59: The U.S. Navy announces the

USS

Raton

(SSR-270) and the USS

George K. Mackenzie

(DD-836)

recently collided during maneuvers in the

western Pacific.

04/09/59: The Royal Navy aircraft

carrier HMS

Ark Royal

is damaged by

fire in Devonport, U.K., while

undergoing a refit.

04/13/59: The British admiralty

discounts sabotage in three small fires

aboard the Royal Navy aircraft carrier

HMS

Eagle

05/01/59: The USS

Randolph

(CVA-15) suffers a flash electrical

explosion at the Norfolk Naval Base,

Virginia, killing one.

05/21/59: The Royal Navy boom

defense vessel HMS

Barnard

runs

aground.

05/21/59: The Royal Navy frigate HMS

Rocket

collides with a buoy.

05/28/59: A U.S. Navy FJ Fury jet

Neptune Paper No. 3: Naval Accidents 1945-1988

crashes aboard the USS

Essex

(CVA-9)

east of Jacksonville, Florida, causing

explosions and fire, killing two, and

injuring 21.

06/18/59: The Royal Navy submarine

depot ship HMS

Maidstone

suffers a

fire.

06/30/59: The starboard rudder guard of

the USS

Macon

(CA-132) is scraped off

in the Welland Canal (connecting Lake

Erie to Lake Ontario), delaying shipping

for 17 hours.

07/08/59: The Royal Navy cruiser HMS

Birmingham

and destroyer HMS

Delight

collide during exercises off

Malta, killing two.

07/11/59: The USS

Gearing

(DD-710)

is damaged after colliding with a

freighter in Chesapeake Bay.

07/31/59: The USS

Upshur

(AP-198) is

heavily damaged by fire at the Brooklyn

Army Terminal, New York.

08/11/59: The Royal Navy destroyer

HMS

Broadsword

suffers a fire off

Iceland.

08/13/59: A Soviet warship, believed to

be a destroyer shadowing NATO

maneuvers, collides with the West

German coastal vessel

Christel

in fog 30

miles off Kiel, West Germany. The

Soviet ship reportedly stands by with its

engines stopped while the

Christel

crew works to plug a hole, then steams

off when the

Christel

is out of

immediate danger.

08/15/59: The U.S. Navy discloses that

a ruptured water pipe aboard the USS

Nautilus

(SSN-571) partly flooded a

compartment while the ship was

submerged off Newfoundland four

months ago. No injuries resulted.

08/18/59: The USS

Wasp

(CVS-18) is

heavily damaged by an explosion and

subsequent fires when a helicopter

engine explodes while being tested in

hangar bay Number 1 as the ship is

operating 250 miles east of Norfolk,

Virginia. The fires and reflashes take

over two hours to control. The ship was

carrying nuclear weapons. In the first 30

minutes as the fires burned out of control

and the forward magazines were flooded,

preliminary preparations also were made

to flood the nuclear weapon magazine. It

was not flooded, however, and 30

minutes later the nuclear weapon

magazine reported no significant rise in

temperature. But water from the

fire-fighting efforts eventually leaked

into the nuclear weapon magazine

around electrical cables.

08/25/59: A U.S. Navy F8U Crusader

jet crashes into the rear of the USS

Independence

(CVA-62) off Norfolk,

Virginia, killing one man and causing a

fire.

08/27/59: The Royal Navy destroyer

HMS

Hogue

is involved in a collision.

08/29/59: The USS

Decatur

(DD-936)

suffers an engine room fire while docked

in Naples, Italy. The fire is extinguished

after two hours during which the

ammunition stores are flooded as a

precautionary measure.

09/01/59: The Royal Navy diving tender

HMS

Deepwater

suffers a fire.

09/29/59: The USS

Bristol

(DD-857)

collides with the Italian merchant vessel

Italia Fassio

in fog in the Nantucket

Shoals area off Massachusetts. The

Bristol

is slightly damaged.

10/04/59: The USS

Tench

(SS-417)

runs aground on a mudbank in

Portsmouth, U.K. The submarine is

lifted off the mudbank without damage.

10/04/59: The USS

Franklin D.

Roosevelt

(CVA-42) collides with the

USS

Pawcatuck

(AO-108) during

refueling off Virginia. Both vessels are

slightly damaged.

10/05/59: The USS

Seadragon

(SSN-584) on the surface at night during

its sea trials collides with a whale, or

possibly a large shark, off Portsmouth,

New Hampshire, bending one of its

propellers. The submarine proceeds to

Portsmouth for repairs on its own power

using its other propeller.

10/07/59: The Royal Navy frigate HMS

Redpole

collides with an oil lighter,

sustaining an eight-foot hole in its bow.

10/15/59: "Apparently intentional"

damage to electrical cables of the USS

Nautilus

(SSN-571) is discovered during

overhaul at the naval shipyard in

Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The Navy

says the damage appears to confined to

the electrical system and "does not

extend to the nuclear reactor plant." The

Navy disclosure of the incident follows

an article in the Portsmouth Herald

which reports a series of incidents

involving "sabotage-type" damage to the

craft including fires, cut cables, broken

pipes, and other damage to vital parts.

11/04/59: The USS

Willis A. Lee

(DL-4) suffers a fire after an explosion of

an anti-aircraft round during exercises

off Newport, Rhode Island.

11/06/59: The USS

Threadfin

(SS-410)

is rammed by the Greek freighter

Nikolas Mikhalos

at the entrance to the

Suez Canal as both ships are exiting to

the Red Sea.

11/08/59: The Soviet cruiser

Sverdlovsk

collides with the German

coastal vessel

Hilda Rebecca

in the Kiel

Canal. The

Sverdlovsk

continues into

the Baltic while the

Hilda Rebecca

has

to be beached for repairs.

11/09/59: A fire is discovered in the

pump room of the USS

Midway

(CVA-41) at the Subic Bay Navy Base,

Philippines. Arson is blamed for the

incident.

11/27/59: The Royal Navy cruiser HMS

Tiger

suffers a fire.

Neptune Paper No. 3: Naval Accidents 1945-1988

12/16/59: The USS

Searcher

(AGR-4)

reaches Boston, Massachusetts, safely

under tow after being disabled at sea for

five days with boiler trouble.

01/11/60: An arresting gear cable

aboard the USS

Independence

(CVA-62) breaks as an aircraft lands

while the ship is operating off the Florida

coast, killing one.

02/04/60: Eleven men are swept

overboard from the USS

Daly

(DD-519)

during sea trials 200 miles off the

Virginia coast, killing seven.

02/13/60: The USS

Skate

(SSN-578)

suffers "very minor" damage after

colliding with a concrete pier at Electric

Boatyard, Groton, Connecticut.

02/28/60: In late February in the

Atlantic the USS

Triton

(SSN-586),

shortly after departure for a submerged

global circumnavigation, suffers a leak in

a main condenser circulating water

pump, necessitating the shutdown of the

port reactor for five hours to effect

repairs.

03/01/60: In the beginning of March the

USS

Triton

(SSN-586), while traveling

down the Atlantic, springs a severe leak

in its starboard propeller shaft due to

loose bolts and an improperly installed

water seal.

03/19/60: The USS

Darby

(DE-218)

collides with the Swedish ore carrier

Soya Atlantic

off Cape Henry while

returning from exercises off the Virginia

Capes, killing two.

04/04/60: The Royal Navy diesel

submarine HMS

Narwhal

runs aground

in high winds off Scotland.

04/07/60: The USS

Shangri-La

(CV-38) suffers an explosion of an air

separator operated by a gasoline motor

while near Valparaiso, Chile, injuring

three.

04/24/60: The USS

Triton

(SSN-586)

suffers a serious casualty in the after

torpedo room when a hydraulic line to

the stern plane mechanism bursts just

prior to the end of its global

circumnavigation. Quick action by crew

members prevents the accident from

getting out of control. The leak is

stopped and hydraulic power is restored.

05/25/60: The USS

Saratoga

(CVA-60)

collides with the ore carrier

Bernd

Leonhardt

off North Carolina. The

accident touches off a jet fuel fire on the

Saratoga

which is quickly extinguished.

05/30/60: The USS

Saratoga

(CVA-60)

suffers an oil-fed flash fire at the Norfolk

Naval Shipyard, Virginia, where the

carrier had docked after a collision on 25

May. The fire scorches the vessel's

amidships hull.

06/08/60: Sabotage is suspected in an

incident involving damage to a shipyard

fire hose used on board the USS

Nautilus

(SSN-571) for testing the ship's

evaporators while the ship is undergoing

overhaul at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard,

New Hampshire. The Navy says, "No

damage occurred to the ship."

06/14/60: The USS

Sargo

(SSN-583)

suffers an explosion and fire in its aft end

while docked in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

The fire starts from a leak in a

high-pressure line that was pumping

oxygen aboard. The explosion occurs a

few moments later. When dock units and

boats are unable to bring the fire under

control quickly, officers take the

Sargo

short distance from the dock and

deliberately submerge it with the stern

torpedo hatch open to put out the blaze.

The Navy says the ship's nuclear reactors

were sealed off, and there was

"absolutely no danger of an explosion

from the reactor compartment." The

submarine is extensively damaged and is

drydocked taking three months to repair.

The

Sargo

is the first nuclear ship in the

Pacific Fleet and was scheduled to take

the visiting King and Queen of Thailand

on a cruise the next day.

07/19/60: The USS

Ammen

(DD-527)

and USS

Collett

(DD-730) collide in

heavy fog off Newport Beach,

California. Eleven of the

Ammen

's crew

are killed and 20 are injured, and the

ship is damaged beyond repair.

08/10/60: The USS

Bennington

(CV-20) and USS

Edwards

(DD-619)

collide during refueling 175 miles off

California. A Navy spokesman later says

that the

Edwards

"apparently lost

steering control" and its superstructure

smashed into the

Bennington

's Number

3 elevator. The destroyer is extensively

damaged while the carrier is only slightly

damaged.

08/12/60: The USS

Exultant

(MSO-441) suffers an oil fire in the

engine room while operating off

Georgia, killing five.

08/24/60: A U.S. Navy minesweeper is

swamped at Charleston, South Carolina.

08/28/60: Unexplained engine room

damage delays the sailing of the Royal

Navy destroyer HMS

Dainty

. Sabotage

is suspected.

09/14/60: The Australian destroyer

Anzuc

accidentally fires a salvo into the

hull of the Australian destroyer

Tobruk

opening a hole above the waterline

during maneuvers off Australia.

11/04/60: The USS

Cree

(ATF-84) is

accidentally bombed by a plane from the

USS

Coral Sea

(CVA-43) during

exercises in the western Pacific.

11/28/60: About this date six men are

soaked by reactor coolant while working

on the USS

Nautilus

(SSN-571) at

Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, New

Hampshire. One man accidentally

bumped a valve releasing the water onto

himself and the others. Clothes and

dosimeters were thrown away, making

radiation measurement impossible.

12/19/60: Fire breaks out on the hangar

deck of the USS

Constellation

Neptune Paper No. 3: Naval Accidents 1945-1988

(CVA-64) in the last stages of

construction at the New York Naval

Shipyard. Reports list 50 dead and an

estimated damage of $45 million. A

Navy court of inquiry investigation later

finds there were 42 small fires earlier in

the year. The fire delays the ship's

commissioning by several months to 27

October 1961.

01/06/61: A Sea Vixen helicopter

crashes into the sea at night after a deck

accident on the Royal Navy aircraft

carrier HMS

Ark Royal

while the ship is

near Malta.

01/12/61: The Royal Navy diesel

submarine HMS

Oberon

runs aground at

Rothesay Bay in the Firth of Clyde,

Scotland, while maneuvering to tie up to

a buoy. The

Oberon

is refloated the

next day without damage.

01/14/61: The USS

Johnston

(DD-821)

and USS

Keppler

(DD-765) are slightly

damaged in a "glancing collision" 200

miles off the North Carolina coast.

01/18/61: The Royal Navy frigate HMS

Brighton

suffers a fire.

01/23/61: The USS

Saratoga

(CVA-60)

suffers a fire caused by a ruptured oil

line while in the Ionian Sea en route to

Athens, Greece, killing seven.

01/27/61: The USS

Ticonderoga

(CV-14) suffers a brief fire when a diesel

generator blows up while the ship is at

Naval Air Station North Island, San

Diego, California.

02/03/61: The Royal Navy diesel

submarine HMS

Alaric

strikes a

sandbank and is grounded for 20 minutes

near Sheerness off the east coast of the

U.K.

03/02/61: The USS

Glacier

(AGB-4)

and USS

Staten Island

(AGB-5) break

free after being stuck in the ice in

Antarctica for nine days.

04/12/61: The Royal Navy diesel

submarine HMS

Finwhale

arrives in the

Firth of Clyde, Scotland, with a

six-by-two-foot hole in her casing caused

by heavy seas in a gale as she sailed to

the Arctic for underwater tests. A dent

on the aluminum casing forward of the

sail measures 20 by 6 feet.

04/25/61: A boiler explosion occurs

aboard the USS

Intrepid

(CVS-11),

injuring 11.

04/27/61: The USS

Diamond Head

(AE-19) is holed above the waterline in a

collision with the USS

Independence

(CVA-62) in the Caribbean.

04/30/61: The USS

Baldwin

(DD-624)

runs aground off Montauk Point, New

York. One sailor is killed and one hurt

when a steel cable whiplashes during an

attempt to free the ship. The ship is

subsequently scuttled.

07/10/61: The munitions ship

Save

runs

aground and explodes off Mozambique.

07/21/61: The USS

Angler

(SS-240) is

slightly damaged in a minor collision

with the freighter

Export Adventurer

during maneuvers with a destroyer 15

miles south of Block Island, Rhode

Island.

08/09/61: The USS

Kitty Hawk

(CVA-63) suffers a boiler breakdown

involving ruptured tubes at Norfolk,

Virginia, just prior to its shakedown

cruise.

08/19/61: The Royal Navy destroyer

HMS

Broadsword

suffers a damaged

boiler.

09/26/61: The USS

Charr

(SS-328)

suffers an engine room flood while

submerged at 100 feet and operating 150

miles west of San Diego, California.

Two sailors seal themselves in the

flooded compartment and save the

submarine and its 76 crewmen by

manning the controls until the submarine

surfaces.

09/26/61: A U.S. Navy tanker catches

fire and explodes while in port at

Morehead City, North Carolina, killing

one. Flames from the burning ship

threaten seven huge storage tanks

containing more than ten million gallons

of high octane aviation fuel.

10/16/61: The USS

Randolph

(CVS-15) collides with the Liberian

tanker

Atlantic Viscountess

325 miles

east of Charleston, South Carolina. The

collision ruptures a gasoline line on the

carrier causing a flash fire which is

extinguished in less than five minu

11/02/61: During its sea trials the USS

Thresher

(SSN-593) docks at San Juan,

Puerto Rico. Its reactor is shut down and

a diesel generator is started up to provide

electricty in keeping with usual docking

procedures. But after seven or eight

hours of operation the diesel generator

breaks down. While sailors work on the

generator, electricity is provided by an

electric storage battery. The generator

takes much longer than expected to

repair, however, and so the decision is

made to restart the reactor. But, a

nuclear reactor takes several hours and

considerable electricity to restart, and the

Thresher

's battery is depleted before the

reactor becomes critical. With no

electricity to keep the ventilation system

going, the submarine starts to heat up.

Temperatures in the machinery spaces

reach approximately 140 degrees. Some

men are ordered out suffering from the

heat and fumes, and the captain fears the

heat and humidity could damage

electrical equipment and lead to a

general evacuation. Ultimately the

problem is solved by hooking up

electrical cables to the diesel-electric

powered submarine

Cavalla

(SS-244)

which is moored alongside early the next

morning. With electricity from the

Cavalla

, the

Thresher

's reactor is able

to be restarted.

11/06/61: A fire on the

newly-commissioned USS

Constellation

(CVA-64) breaks out at sea, killing four

and severely injuring nine.

Neptune Paper No. 3: Naval Accidents 1945-1988

12/05/61: The Royal Navy frigate HMS

Falmouth

collides with the naval

auxiliary HMS

Tide Flow

during

antisubmarine warfare exercises in Lyme

Bay off the Dorset coast, U.K. The

Falmouth

is holed above and below the

waterline, but returns to Portland, U.K.,

under its own power. The

Tide Flow

suffers superficial damage.

12/21/61: A rocket motor aboard the

USS

Meredith

(DD-890) ignites and

burns on its launcher, causing an intense

fire of short duration, while the ship is at

Mayport, Florida. The commander of

the destroyer squadron to which the

Meredith

is attached says that safety

features prevented the rocket from

leaving the ship.

12/31/61: In 1961 an accident in the

nuclear power plant of an early class of

Soviet nuclear-powered ballistic missile

submarine (probably a Hotel class)

reportedly occurs near the coast of

England while ship is returning from a

training exercise. Crew members were

seriously contaminated and parts of the

ship and its missiles were also

contaminated when a cooling pipe broke.

The level of radiation is reported to have

been five roentgens per hour in the space

where the pipe broke. After a two-month

ventilation of the submarine, a decision

is made to transfer the missiles to two

diesel-powered submarines for their test

launches.

01/06/62: Western intelligence sources

report that a submarine belonging to the

United States or another NATO power

was damaged and forced to the surface

by a 20-megaton underwater nuclear test

blast set off by the Soviet Union in the

Barents Sea. The detonation point is

said to have been about 100 miles from

the submarine whose commander is

quoted as saying, "If we had been much

closer we might not have survived."

01/16/62: The Royal Navy aircraft

carrier HMS

Ark Royal

suffers propeller

damage when it runs aground in

Plymouth Sound on its way through a

deep water channel to the Devonport,

U.K., dockyard.

01/31/62: The Royal Navy aircraft

carrier HMS

Eagle

suffers unknown

damage in an accident.

02/03/62: The Royal Navy destroyer

HMS

Carron

suffers damage caused by

sailors.

02/20/62: The USS

Balao

(SS-285) is

snagged by the tow-line of the ocean tug

Torrent IV

while cruising 110 feet

below the surface off the Florida coast.

The accident damages one of the

Balao

masthead lights, punches two small holes

in the superstructure supporting the

periscope, and breaks one radar antenna

and damages another. Neither the tug

nor the barge under tow receives

damage.

03/05/62: An aircraft arresting cable

aboard the USS

Forrestal

(CVA-59)

snaps while the carrier is en route from

Guantanamo Naval Base, Cuba, to

Norfolk, Virginia, killing one.

03/06/62: The USS

Monssen

(DD-798)

is grounded by a storm at Beach Haven,

New Jersey.

03/12/62: The USS

Proteus

(AS-19)

suffers a brief fire during a weekend

training cruise in the Irish Sea. The fire,

which causes only slight damage,

apparently started in a pile of rags.

03/21/62: The Royal Navy frigate HMS

Rothesay

rams the Turkish diesel

submarine

Gur

in the western

Mediterranean during the NATO

exercise "Dawn Breeze." Both ships

suffer damage and proceed to Gibraltar.

03/26/62: The Royal Navy

nuclear-powered attack submarine HMS

Dreadnought

suffers a fire in a cabin

while the ship is under construction at

Barrow-in-Furness, U.K.

03/30/62: The USS

England

(DLG-22)

suffers an explosion and fire at San

Pedro, California, injuring 18 workmen

before the fire is brought under control.

04/09/62: The USS

Thomas A. Edison

(SSBN-610) collides with the USS

Wadleigh

(DD-689) during

antisubmarine warfare exercises 200

miles east of Norfolk, Virginia. The

Edison

's topside rudder is slightly bent

and the destroyer's forward bottom plates

are pierced. The

Edison

is repaired at

Newport News, Virginia, in several

hours while the

Wadleigh

goes into

drydock for several weeks. According to

a Navy spokesman the collision resulted

from a misunderstanding between the

two ships and occurred as the

Edison

was surfacing. No one is injured.

04/11/62: Fire breaks out in the rudder

section of the USS

Thomas A. Edison

(SSBN-610) at Norfolk, Virginia. The

fire is caused by the heat from a

workman's acetylene torch and is brought

under control within 30 minutes.

04/29/62: A British Gannet aircraft

crashes on the Royal Navy aircraft

carrier HMS

Ark Royal

while the ship

participates in a SEATO exercise in the

South China Sea, killing one.

05/03/62: Police investigate damaged

electrical cables on the Royal Navy

aircraft carrier HMS

Eagle

. Further

damage is found the next day.

05/10/62: The USS

Permit

(SSN-594)

is run over by the cargo ship

Hawaiian

Citizen

while the

Permit

is on a

submerged test run near the Farallon

Islands 30 miles from San Francisco,

California. A Navy spokesman said the

only damage to the submarine was a

bending of the doors to the conning

tower. The crew had to force the doors

open to raise the radio antenna to

communicate with freighters standing by.

06/03/62: The USS

Thresher

(SSN-593) is damaged in a collision with

a commercial tug that was berthing it at

Port Canaveral, Florida, receiving a

Neptune Paper No. 3: Naval Accidents 1945-1988

three-foot gash in the submarine's ballast

tanks about a foot below the waterline.

The submarine went to New London,

Connecticut, under its own power to

effect repairs.

06/07/62: The U.S. destroyer USS

Sumner

runs aground off Golfe Juan in

the Mediterranean during a windstorm.

06/15/62: The Royal Navy frigate HMS

Blackpool

suffers damage caused by a

sailor.

06/25/62: The USS

Tiru

(SS-416)

suffers a fire which forces the vessel to

make an emergency surfacing 15 miles

southwest of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, with

18 men suffering from smoke inhalation.

A malfunction of a practice torpedo in

the torpedo room caused the fire.

07/01/62: A U.S. Navy F8U Crusader

aircraft crashes into the USS

Ranger

(CVA-61) at sea off California, injuring

two.

08/01/62: The Royal Navy destroyer

HMS

Battleaxe

collides with the frigate

HMS

Ursa

in the Clyde river, Scotland,

during the night. The

Battleaxe

subsequently scrapped.

08/28/62: A British Meteor aircraft hits

the mast of the Royal Navy minesweeper

HMS

Appleton

while exercising off

Malta. The aircraft is piloted safely to

Luqa airport, Malta.

08/29/62: The Royal Navy aircraft

carrier HMS

Ark Royal

suffers a gale

mishap.

09/13/62: A Japanese fishing boat

collides with a submarine, believed to be

Soviet, and sinks off Northern Japan.

The crew of 16 escapes on rafts and

rubber boats.

10/04/62: The Royal Navy frigate HMS

Ashanti

breaks down during sea trials in

the Caribbean Sea.

10/09/62: A Danish diesel submarine

gets caught in the net of a British fishing

trawler. The submarine surfaces with

damage to neither vessel and apologies

were exchanged.

10/10/62: The USS

Triton

(SSN-586)

suffers a fire during repairs in New

London, Connecticut. A spokesman for

Electric Boat Division of General

Dynamics Corporation said there was

only minor damage to one compartment

and that no one was injured. He said no

radioactivity was involved. The cause of

the fire was said to be undetermined.

10/13/62: The Royal Navy diesel

submarine HMS

Odin

touches the bed of

the English Channel at 150 feet five

miles south of Portland Bill during a

night exercise, damaging the rudder.

The submarine is towed back to Portland

harbor, U.K.

10/15/62: The New York Times reports

that one of six Soviet diesel-powered

attack submarines operating in the

Caribbean during the Cuban missile

crisis experiences mechanical trouble

and is unable to submerge except for

short periods. On 15 November the

Associated Press reports that a Canadian

Air Force patrol plane sighted the Soviet

submarine off Halifax still unable to

submerge. It eventually returns to the

Soviet Union on the surface with a

trawler escort.

10/25/62: The New York Times reports

that well before the Cuban missile crisis

a mechanical breakdown occurred in a

Soviet diesel-powered submarine in the

Gulf of Alaska. The submarine could

not submerge and was escorted home by

a trawler.

11/05/62: The USS

Kearsarge

(CVS-33) and USS

Mattaponi

(AO-41)

are slightly damaged in a collision during

refueling off California.

11/14/62: The USS

Wasp

(CVS-18) and

the USS

Holder

(DDE-819) collide

during refueling while in the Atlantic

while taking part in the U.S. quarantine

of Cuba during the Cuban missile crisis.

11/20/62: The Royal Navy aircraft

carrier HMS

Centaur

suffers a steam

leak in the boiler room, killing five.

11/26/62: The Royal Navy aircraft

carrier HMS

Albion

collides with a tug

in Aden harbor, Aden. The tug sinks

with two missing.

12/03/62: The USS

Kearsarge

(CVS-33) and the SS

Oriana

collide in

dense fog off Long Beach, California.

The

Oriana

suffers a 20-foot hole near

its bow and the

Kearsarge

suffers a

25-foot rip about ten feet aft on the

starboard side.

12/14/62: The Royal Navy diesel

submarine HMS

Otter

rams a trawler off

Plymouth, U.K. The crew of the trawler

abandon ship and are rescued by a

nearby launch.

12/31/62: During 1962, the engine room

of the USS

Skate

(SSN-578) begins to

flood after a seawater circulation line

fails while the submarine is submerged at

400 feet on the way through Baffin Bay

off Thule, Greenland. Seawater sprays

in and starts to flood the engine room.

The submarine does not lose power and

surfaces safely. On the surface, with the

water pressure greatly reduced, the

flooding is successfully stopped.

01/03/63: The USS

Core

(AKV-41)

runs aground in heavy fog off Fort Baker

under the Golden Gate Bridge, San

Francisco, California.

01/15/63: A jet fighter attempting to

land snaps a cable aboard the USS

Constellation

(CVA-64) while the ship

is operating in the eastern Pacific,

injuring 11, including three whose legs

have to be amputated.

02/09/63: In the mid-Atlantic a wave

washes over the Number 1 elevator on

the USS

Enterprise

(CVAN-65) while

the elevator is in the down position.

Four men are washed overboard. Two

Neptune Paper No. 3: Naval Accidents 1945-1988

are rescued, but one later dies.

02/20/63: An aircraft crash aboard the

USS

Enterprise

(CVAN-65) sweeps the

carrier's deck with fire while it is

operating in the Atlantic, killing two.

02/28/63: The USS

Baussell

(DD-845)

runs aground off Djakarta, Indonesia,

prior to a scheduled visit to that city.

The ship is refloated four days later.

03/13/63: The side of the USS

Valley

Forge

(CV-45) is slightly damaged by a

fire when an oil film on the water is

ignited by sparks from a welder's torch at

Long Beach, California.

04/01/63: The Royal Navy diesel

submarine HMS

Grampus

returns to

Gosport, U.K., after spending three

weeks under the polar icecap looking for

holes in the ice. During the patrol it

superficially damages its hull on the ice.

04/01/63: The Royal Navy diesel

submarine HMS

Tabard

collides with a

wharf damaging its sonar equipment

while berthing in Brisbane, Australia.

04/01/63: In April the Royal Navy

minelayer HMS

Manxman

runs

aground.

04/05/63: The USS

Ranger

(CVA-61)

suffers an explosion and fire in the boiler

uptakes while en route from Beppu,

Japan, to Iwakuni, Japan.

04/05/63: The USS

Great Sitkin

(AE-17) suffers slight damage during a

fire of unknown origin while tied up at

the Main Ship Repair Corporation in

Brooklyn, New York.

04/08/63: An unidentified submarine

becomes entangled in the nets of the

trawler

Sunappee

off New England and

drags overboard about $3,000 worth of

fishing gear.

04/10/63: The USS

Thresher

(SSN-593) sinks in approximately 8,400

feet of water 220 miles east of Boston

while conducting post-overhaul trials,

killing all 129 men on board. The Navy

Court of Inquiry concludes a flooding

casualty in the engine room brought

about by a piping system failure in one of

the submarine's saltwater systems is the

most probable cause of the sinking. The

Thresher

is never recovered.

05/04/63: The Royal Navy destroyer

HMS

Diamond

suffers an engine room

fire.

05/07/63: A fire occurs aboard the USS

Flasher

(SSN-613) at the Electric Boat

shipyard, Groton, Connecticut, killing

three and injuring two. Damage to the

ship is reportedly negligible. The fire

occurred in the trimming tank of the

submarine, scheduled to be launched on

14 June.

05/08/63: The submerged Royal Navy

diesel submarine HMS

Tabard

collides

with the Royal Australian Navy frigate

Queensborough

off Jervis Bay, New

South Wales, Australia, during exercises.

The submarine suffers superficial

damage and a bent fin and returns to

Sydney.

05/08/63: The USS

Woodrow Wilson

(SSBN-624) suffers a fire while under

construction at Mare Island Naval

Shipyard in Vallejo, California, injuring

three. The fire causes only minor

damage to the

Wilson

and occurs when a

heavy cable comes in contact with a

switchboard on the submarine.

05/22/63: The Royal Navy destroyer

HMS

Devonshire

suffers engine trouble.

05/29/63: A flash fire breaks out in the

boiler room of the USS

Blandy

(DD-943) shortly after it arrives in

Portland, Maine, to participate in

Memorial Day exercises.

06/04/63: The USS

Asterion

(AF-63)

and the Japanese freighter

Kokoku

Maru

collide.

06/07/63: The USS

Tinosa

(SSN-606)

collides with the USS

John Adams

(SSBN-620) while being moved in the

Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, New

Hampshire, when a tug towline snaps.

The

Tinosa

received, what the Navy

said, was a "small dent below the

waterline" in the bow.

06/10/63: The Royal Navy diesel

submarine HMS

Rorqual

is caught in a

trawler's net.

07/04/63: The USS

Salmon

(SS-573)

suffers personnel casualties when

mercury from a broken thermometer

comes into contact with a hot grid,

creating toxic mercury vapor, resulting in

the intoxication of 14 crewmembers.

07/22/63: The USS

William C. Lawe

(DD-763) rams and sinks a U.S. Navy

tug when the tug loses steering control

and crosses into the path of the destroyer

in the St. John's River near Jacksonville,

Florida.

07/27/63: The U.S. freighter

Irish

Spruce

strikes the docked USS

Pratt

(DE-363) at Norfolk, Virginia.

07/29/63: The Royal Navy frigate HMS

Leopard

is in a collision.

08/02/63: The USS

Tingey

(DD-539)

and USS

Vammen

(DE-644) collide

during a Naval Reserve exercise 200

miles off southern California. The

Tingey

is partly flooded from a deep

gash in its starboard side and the

Vammen

suffers a damaged bow, but

both ships make it back to their

homeports.

08/15/63: A F3H Demon aircraft lands

on the fouled deck of the USS

Saratoga

(CVA-60) while the ship is operating in

the Mediterranean, killing two and

seriously injuring nine. Fifteen aircraft

sustain damage.

08/19/63: The USS

Constellation

(CVA-64) suffers an arresting gear

accident while operating in the western

Pacific.

Neptune Paper No. 3: Naval Accidents 1945-1988

08/27/63: The USS

Grayback

(SSG-574) suffers a serious fire in the

after crew's berthing as a result of a

casualty to the main propulsion circuit

breaker while operating in the northern

Pacific, killing one man and injuring

five.

09/10/63: The USS

McDermut

(DD-677) collides with the USS

Gregory

(DD-802) during night

antisubmarine warfare exercises off

southern California. The

McDermut

suffers damage to its bow and the

Gregory

suffers a split in her starboard

side to the main deck.

09/21/63: The USS

Grouse

(MSCO-15)

runs aground on Cape Ann,

Massachusetts. After attempts to free the

ship fail, the

Grouse

is destroyed by fire.

09/26/63: Fire breaks out in a fuel

system of the Royal Navy aircraft carrier

HMS

Centaur

at the Portsmouth naval

base, U.K., killing one.

09/27/63: The USS

Barry

(DD-933)

accidently discharges a torpedo into the

deck house of the USS

Decatur

(DD-936) moored alongside in Newport,

Rhode Island. There are no injuries or

significant damage.

10/03/63: The USS

Medregal

(SS-480)

is struck by an MK-37 torpedo fired by

the USS

Sabalo

(SS-302) during

exercises. Damage is not major.

10/09/63: The USS

Caliente

(AO-53)

and USS

Nereus

(AS-17) collide in the

San Diego, California, operating area

during refueling exercises. Both ships

are damaged.

10/18/63: The Royal Navy diesel

submarine HMS

Porpoise

collides with

the aircraft carrier HMS

Centaur

when

it is caught by an ebb tide and drifts

broadside onto the bows of the berthed

carrier while leaving Portsmouth harbor,

U.K. The submarine suffers superficial

damage.

10/24/63: The USS

Roberts

(DE-749)

collides with the Swedish ore carrier

Luossa

inside the Baltimore, Maryland,

harbor in dense fog. The

Roberts

suffers minor flooding due to a small

gash in its starboard quarter.

11/29/63: A U.S. Navy tanker and a

runaway barge each loaded with gasoline

collide at New Orleans, Louisiana,

putting an eight-foot gash in the side of

the tanker.

12/16/63: The USS

Essex

(CVS-9) en

route to the United States is struck by

two heavy waves while west of the

Azores, causing a radar mast to snap.

The mast falls to the deck, damaging

both the radar and aircraft.

12/20/63: The second Royal Navy

nuclear-powered attack submarine HMS

Valiant

suffers a fire at the

Vickers-Armstrong Yard at

Barrow-in-Furness, U.K., while the ship

is fitting out after being launched on 3

December. The fire is in the reactor

compartment in a wooden structure

where workers change their clothing.

Mr. R. M. Nicholson, the shipyard

general manager, says there is no nuclear

hazard since the core of the reactor was

not installed.

01/04/64: The Royal Navy diesel

submarine HMS

Trump

tows a yacht.

01/10/64: The USS

Lake Champlain

(CVS-39) loses 41 feet of its catwalk in a

storm in the Virginia Capes area.

01/10/64: The Royal Navy diesel

submarine HMS

Tiptoe

runs aground in

the Clyde River, Scotland, coincidently

right in front of the house of the area's

senior naval officer.

01/14/64: The Royal Navy cable ship

HMS

Bullfinch

runs aground.

01/24/64: The Royal Navy aircraft

carrier HMS

Hermes

suffers a fire,

believed to be caused deliberately.

02/09/64: The USS

Blue Jacket

(T-AF-51) collides with the German

fishing boat

Coaster Dirk

, killing six of

the fishing boat's seven-member crew.

02/10/64: The Royal Australian Navy

destroyer

Voyager

sinks after colliding

with the Australian aircraft carrier

Melbourne

off New South Wales,

killing 82.

02/16/64: An A3J Vigilante aircraft

crashes aboard the USS

Hornet

(CVS-12) operating in the Pacific before

the barricade could be rigged, killing the

pilot and injuring two crew members.

03/03/64: The USS

Newman K. Perry

(DD-883) collides with a sulfur barge in

Tampa Bay, Florida, sinking the barge

and flooding the destroyer from stem to

Frame 8.

03/11/64: The USS

Searcher

(AGR-4),

on station off the U.S. east coast, loses a

propeller in heavy seas. A Coast Guard

ship takes the

Searcher

in tow.

03/27/64: The USS

Antares

(T-AKR-294) suffers a fire 40 miles off

North Carolina.

04/01/64: During night flight operations,

the Number 3 elevator of the USS

Randolph

(CVS-15) tears loose from its

mountings, dropping five men and a

S-2F Tracker antisubmarine warfare

plane into the Atlantic. Only three men

are rescued.

04/02/64: The Royal Navy frigate HMS

Nubian

is in a collision.

04/02/64: The USS

Harlan R. Dickson

(DD-708) runs aground a mile east of

Deer Island Light off Boston,

Massachusetts. The ship is refloated in

two hours with damage to screws, the

sonar dome, and plating.

04/04/64: The USS

General Simon B.

Buckner

(AP-123) collides with a

Liberian freighter in high winds in the

Neptune Paper No. 3: Naval Accidents 1945-1988

harbor at Upper Bay, New York.

04/16/64: The USS

Mission San

Antonio

(AO-119) and a small South

Korean fishing craft collide off the west

coast of Korea in foggy weather. There

is no damage to the tanker and five

Koreans are rescued, but two are killed.

05/06/64: The USS

Lake Champlain

(CVS-39) and USS

Decatur

(DD-936)

collide in the Atlantic 150 miles east of

Cape Henry, Virginia. The

Decatur

sustains heavy damage to its

superstructure, but there are no personnel

injuries.

05/22/64: The Royal Navy destroyer

HMS

Cavalier

is damaged in a collision.

06/03/64: The USS

Lake Champlain

(CVS-39) collides with the Norwegian

freighter

Skauvaag

in the Chesapeake

Bay. There are no injuries.

06/12/64: The USS

Bon Homme

Richard

(CVA-31) suffers a major

propulsion system casualty while

participating in an exercise about 160

miles southwest of Sasebo, Japan. The

casualty results in the loss of 50 percent

propulsion capability.

06/12/64: The Royal Navy frigate HMS

Puma

suffers a fire.

06/13/64: Fire damages the hull of the

USS

Haddock

(SSN-621) still under

construction at Pascagoula, Mississippi.

Captain John B. Guerry, supervisor of

shipbuilding for the Navy, said no

radioactive material was installed in the

Haddock

06/13/64: A fire slightly damages the

USS

Randolph

(CVS-15) while the ship

is in Norfolk, Virginia.

06/26/64: The Royal Navy destroyer

HMS

Diamond

collides with the frigate

HMS

Salisbury

06/28/64: The USS

Sea Leopard

(SS-483) suffers a fire in the forward

engine room during overhaul at the

Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Virginia.

07/01/64: The USS

Henry Clay

(SSBN-625) runs aground on a shoal in

the mouth of the James River and is

pulled free an hour later by two tugs.

The submarine was en route from

Newport News, Virginia, across

Hampton Roads to pick up Deputy

Secretary of Defense Cyrus Vance in

Norfolk, Virginia. No damage is

reported.

07/26/64: A suddenly intensifying storm

causes damage to three navy ships

anchored in Buckner Bay, Okinawa. The

USS

George Clymer

(APA-27) and the

USS

Eldorado

(AGC-11) collide after

dragging their anchors, and the USS

Weiss

(APD-135) is grounded when the

anchor chain parts. There are no

injuries.

08/15/64: The Royal Navy depot ship

HMS

Tyne

experiences a flooded

magazine.

09/05/64: The Royal Navy cruiser HMS

Lion

collides with the frigate HMS

Lowestoft

09/11/64: A rocket motor used to boost

aircraft explodes aboard the USS

Constellation

(CVA-64) while the ship

cruises in the South China Sea, killing

one and injuring three.

09/12/64: Flooding damages the

command ship USS

Wright

(CC-2), the

National Emergency Command Post

Afloat, including the steering

compartments so that the ship has no

rudder control and can only maneuver

with the aid of tugs.

09/29/64: The USS

Franklin D.

Roosevelt

(CVA-42) sustains damage to

its Number 1 propeller during normal

operations in the Mediterranean. The

USS

Independence

(CVA-62) relieves

the

Roosevelt

on Mediterranean duty

and it returns to the U.S. to drydock.

09/29/64: An explosion aboard the USS

Sproston

(DD-577) in Pearl Harbor,

Hawaii, is caused by a short circuit

during work on an indicator light. The

propellant in a rocket ignites and the

magazine is flooded to prevent further

damage. Three people are extensively

burned.

10/08/64: Three U.S. Navy officers and

three Filipino civilian workers are killed

in an explosion and fire aboard the

floating drydock AFDM-8 at Guam.

10/13/64: The Royal Navy aircraft

carrier HMS

Ark Royal

suffers an

electrical fire when an electrical circuit is

tested, which in turn ignites some

cardboard boxes in a storeroom, while

the ship is in a Devonport, U.K.,

dockyard undergoing a refit.

10/15/64: The Royal Navy frigate HMS

Keppel

suffers damage.

11/03/64: The Canadian aircraft carrier

Bonaventure

suffers an explosion and

fire in a refrigeration unit while the ship

is undergoing refit in Saint John, New

Brunswick, Canada, killing one dock

worker and injuring four.

01/09/65: The USS

Ethan Allen

(SSBN-608) collides with the Norwegian

freighter

Octavian

in the eastern

Mediterranean while at periscope depth.

The U.S. Department of Defense says

"damage was negligible," no casualties

occurred, and both the submarine and the

freighter continued on their way after

exchanging identification.

01/16/65: The USS

Whitehurst

(DE-634), a Naval Reserve Training

Ship, collides with the Norweigian

freighter

Hoyander

at the entrance of

Vancouver harbor 2,500 yards west of

the Lions Gate Bridge, British Columbia,

Canada, in dense fog at night as both

ships are leaving the harbor. Both ships

are grounded and the

Whitehurst

holed in the stern. The

Whitehurst

refloated the next day.

Neptune Paper No. 3: Naval Accidents 1945-1988

02/27/65: A plane from the USS

Midway

(CVA-41) is inadvertently shot

down by a USS

Preble

(DLG-15)

missile when it overflies the missile

range during southern California

maneuvers for the "Silver Lance"

exercise. The pilot is killed.

04/15/65: The USS

Ranger

(CVA-61)

suffers an engine room fire off South

Vietnam, killing one.

06/16/65: The USS

Hartley

(DE-1029)

collides with the Norwegian

merchantman

Blue Master

off Cape

Henry, Virginia. Its engine room floods

as a result and the

Hartley

is towed to

Norfolk, Virginia, by the USS

Kiowa

(ATF-72).

06/20/65: The Royal Navy aircraft

carrier HMS

Hermes

suffers damage to

a number of gauges while the ship is

undergoing a major refit at Devonport,

U.K. Sabotage is suspected.

07/09/65: The Royal Navy diesel

submarine HMS

Orpheus

is in a

collision.

07/13/65: The USS

Medregal

(SS-480)

collides with the Lebanese merchant ship

The Rodos

in the South China Sea

suffering some damage in international

waters 18 miles south of Hainan island.

The U.S. Department of Defense says the

submarine was on routine operations, but

China claims the incident took place

within its territorial waters.

07/14/65: The Royal Navy diesel

submarine HMS

Tiptoe

collides with the

frigate HMS

Yarmouth

07/17/65: The USS

Frank Knox

(DDR-742) runs aground on Pratas Reef

in the South China Sea while underway

to Taiwan. The ship is pulled free on 22

August.

07/21/65: The Royal Navy destroyer

HMS

Devonshire

suffers an engine

fault.

07/24/65: The fishing trawler

Snoopy

explodes apparently after snagging a

torpedo off the North Carolina coast,

killing eight.

08/26/65: The USS

Shangri-La

(CVA-38) and USS

Newman K. Perry

(DD-883) collide off Sardinia, killing

one sailor and injuring another on the

destroyer. The

Perry

's bow is crushed

and twisted to starboard. Both are

repaired at Naples and return to duty

with the Sixth Fleet.

09/22/65: The United Kingdom

announces that HMS

Dreadnought

, its

first nuclear-powered submarine, will be

withdrawn from service due to metal

failures which involve hairline cracks in

its internal bulkheads. The submarine

returns to service on 2 February 1966

modifications are made to the hull.

10/12/65: The USS

Franklin D.

Roosevelt

(CVA-42) and the French

merchantman

Charles le Borgne

collide

off southern France. The carrier sustains

little damage and continues its

participation in "Lafayette IX," a

two-day bilateral U.S.-French exercise in

the western Mediterranean. The

merchantman sustains minor structural

damage and proceeds under its own

power to Marseilles escorted by the USS

Douglas H. Fox

(DD-779).

10/13/65: The USS

Barb

(SSN-596)

and USS

Sargo

(SSN-583) collide while

on maneuvers 15 miles west of Oahu,

Hawaii. Minor damaged resulted to the

forward end of one submarine and to the

mast and sail of the other, but there were

no injuries and both ships returned to

port under their own power.

10/30/65: The Royal Navy aircraft

carrier HMS

Ark Royal

suffers a fire in

a boiler room, which causes considerable

damage to wiring and other equipment

and puts the ship out of operation for

three weeks while the ship is undergoing

routine overhaul in a Singapore

dockyard.

12/05/65: At 2:50 p.m. local time, while

the USS

Ticonderoga

(CVA-14) is en

route from operations off Vietnam to

Yokosuka, Japan, an A-4E aircraft of

Attack Squadron 56 loaded with one B43

nuclear weapon goes overboard. The

aircraft was being rolled from the

Number 2 Hangar Bay to the Number 2

Elevator when it rolled off the elevator

with the pilot Lieutenant Junior Grade D.

M. Webster and the bomb and sank in

2700 fathoms of water. Searchers fail to

find the pilot. The Department of

Defense states this accident took place

"more than 500 miles from land" when it

reveals the accident in 1981. However

Navy documents show the accident

occurred about 80 miles east of the

Japanese Ryukyu Island chain and 250

miles south of Kyushu Island, Japan, and

about 200 miles east of Okinawa.

12/06/65: The USS

Bushnell

(AS-15)

suffers a major fire in the Gulf of

Mexico. The fire is extinguished with

the aid of the USS

Penguin

(ASR-12).

12/07/65: Fire breaks out in a machinery

room on the USS

Kitty Hawk

(CVA-63)

in the South China Sea, killing two and

injuring 28. An ammunition magazine is

flooded as a precautionary measure.

12/13/65: An aircraft fuel tank ruptures

on takeoff from the USS

Independence

(CVA-62) starting a fire 220 miles

southeast of Norfolk, Virginia, injuring

15.

12/20/65: The Royal Navy

nuclear-powered attack submarine HMS

Dreadnought

suffers a fire in its control

room while undergoing repairs at Rosyth,

Scotland. It is quickly put out by the

crew.

12/31/65: Mid 1960s -- the New York

Times (5/25/75) reports that at a

mid-1960s briefing on a naval

intelligence gathering operation,

codenamed Holystone, a U.S. official is

shown a photograph of the underside of a

Soviet Echo class nuclear-powered

submarine apparently taken inside

Neptune Paper No. 3: Naval Accidents 1945-1988

Vladivostock harbor. He recalls being

told the submarine scraped the bottom of

a Soviet Echo class submarine and

knocked off some of its equipment

during this mission. Briefing

participants are told this happened at

least two other times as well (see 5/25/75

entry).

01/14/66: The USS

General Daniel I.

Sultan

(T-AP-120) suffers extensive hull

damage and a ruptured fuel tank when it

runs aground in shoal water west of

Okinawa. No casualties are reported.

The

Sultan

is refloated on 15 January.

01/19/66: An "actual nuclear incident"

occurs when the nuclear warhead on a

Terrier anti-air missile separates from the

missile and drops about eight feet on the

USS

Luce

(DLG-7) while the ship is

docked at Mayport Naval Station,

Florida. It is recorded "there were no

personnel casualties, and aside from the

dent in the warhead, no equipment was

damaged."

01/22/66: The missile tracking ship USS

American Mariner

(AGM-12) runs

aground off Cape Kennedy, Florida.

01/23/66: A U.S. Navy tank landing

ship explodes while docked in Kawasaki,

Japan, killing four Japanese workers.

01/27/66: The USS

Wasp

(CVS-18) is

extensively damaged during a storm in

the Caribbean.

02/04/66: The USS

Brinkley Bass

(DD-887) and USS

Waddell

(DDG-24)

are heavily damaged in a collision while

forming for operations in the Gulf of

Tonkin.

03/11/66: The USS

Summit County

(LST-1146) runs aground while entering

the inner harbor at Chu Lai, South

Vietnam, puncturing the hull plating and

flooding the main engine room.

03/23/66: The Royal Navy frigate HMS

Juno

suffers a fire.

04/05/66: The USS

Alamo

(LSD-33)

and USS

Kawishiwi

(AO-146) collide

during underway replenishment at sea.

05/21/66: The USS

Coral Sea

(CVA-43) and the USS

Iwo Jima

(LPH-2) brush briefly in San Diego,

California, causing slight damage.

05/22/66: The Royal Navy survey ship

HMS

Vidal

collides with the freighter

Hong Kong Fair

in the mid-Atlantic.

Both are damaged, but stay afloat.

05/27/66: The USS

Mars

(AFS-1) is

slightly damaged in a collision with the

merchant ship

Seiwa Maru

in dense fog

at the entrance to Tokyo Bay, Japan.

06/03/66: The Royal Navy frigate HMS

Galatea

is in a collision.

06/04/66: The USS

Banner

(AKL-25)

collides with the Soviet vessel

Anemometer

in the Sea of Japan. Both

ships suffer minor damage.

06/25/66: USS

Stalwart

(MSO-493)

explodes, burns, capsizes, and sinks at a

pier in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The

minesweeper is later towed to Norfolk,

Virginia.

06/29/66: The Royal Navy destroyer

HMS

Cambrian

's accidental firing on a

Hong Kong village is investigated.

08/10/66: Cracks in welds are

discovered in the Royal Navy

nuclear-powered attack submarine HMS

Valiant

during the final stages of its

construction at Barrow-in-Furness, U.K.

British steel firms say the cracks do not

represent a serious structural failure and

are not dangerous to the vessel or its

crew.

08/11/66: The Royal Navy cruiser HMS

Tiger

fires a dummy shell into a dock

wall.

08/19/66: The USS

Raleigh

(LPD-1)

bumps the cruise liner

France

at the

Hudson River pier in New York City,

none are hurt.

08/30/66: The Royal Navy diesel

submarine HMS

Rorqual

suffers an

explosion off Mozambique while en

route to Singapore, killing two and

injuring 20.

09/01/66: The Royal Navy destroyer

HMS

Devonshire

is in a collision.

09/14/66: The West German training

diesel submarine

Hai

sinks in the North

Sea in 140 feet of water 175 miles

northwest of Wilhelmshaven, West

Germany, during a storm, killing 19.

09/15/66: The HMS

Resolution

, the

Royal Navy's first Polaris

nuclear-powered ballistic missile

submarine, is launched at

Barrow-in-Furness, England. A week

later cracks are reported to be found in

the steel hull similar to cracks found in

other nuclear submarines built in Britain.

The cracks occur in thick steel welding.

The Navy has known about the cracks

ever since it was discovered that the

original specification for steel for the

submarines was not of high enough

standard. The cracks do not mean the

submarines will not go to sea, but if there

are too many the metal will have to be

rewelded. And, if cracks develop

quicker than expected, Polaris

submarines would require excessive

amounts of welding when they come in

for refits between patrols.

09/16/66: The Royal Navy destroyer

HMS

Relentless

suffers a fire.

10/26/66: A major fire on the USS

Oriskany

(CVA-34) occurs while the

carrier is operating off Vietnam. The fire

starts when a crewman panics and throws

a flare, which had accidently ignited

while being moved, into a storage locker

located at the forward starboard corner

of Hanger Bay 1. The locker contains

some 650 other flares, which ignite in

turn. The resulting fire takes three hours

to control, kills 44, destroys or damages

six aircraft, and puts the carrier out of

Neptune Paper No. 3: Naval Accidents 1945-1988

action for several months.

11/03/66: The USS

Tiru

(SS-416) runs

aground on Frederick Reef in the Coral

Sea and is freed on 6 November.

11/04/66: A flash fire occurs in a

storage compartment containing oil and

hydraulic fluid four decks below the

hangar deck of the USS

Franklin D.

Roosevelt

(CVA-42) while the ship is on

station in the South China Sea, killing

seven.

11/10/66: The USS

Nautilus

(SSN-571)

collides with the USS

Essex

(CVS-9)

while running submerged about 350

miles east of Morehead City, North

Carolina, during underway replenishment

exercises. Both ships return to port

unassisted. The submarine receives

extensive damage to its sail area and

goes to New London, Connecticut. The

carrier sustains an open hull cut in the

bow area and proceeds to Norfolk,

Virginia.

12/07/66: The USS

Manley

(DD-940)

suffers an accidental shell explosion and

small fire while in South Vietnam,

injuring three.

12/30/66: The USS

Mahnomen County

(LST-912) runs aground at Chu Lai,

South Vietnam. The ship is

decommissioned and abandoned on 31

January 1967 after four weeks of

unsuccessful salvage efforts.

12/31/66: According to raw CIA

intelligence reports, around 1966, a leak

occurs "in the reactor shielding of a

[Soviet] nuclear submarine home based

in Polyarnyy" on the Kola Penisula. "As

the submarine entered the port the

captain requested permission to proceed

directly to the shipyard. Permission was

not granted but the captain took the

vessel there nonetheless.... A 'special

brigade' was formed to repair the

submarine and part of the crew was sent

to a special center on an island near

Murmansk where naval personnel with

radiation sickness were sent to be

treated.... Those sent to the island did

not come back."

12/31/66: In the late 1960's (1966-67

according to some accounts), the Soviet

nuclear-powered icebreaker

Lenin

experiences a reactor meltdown

according to raw CIA intelligence

reports, or at least a "nuclear related

casualty" according to the U.S. Navy.

The CIA reports suggest that up to 30

people may have died and many others

were affected by radiation sickness. The

ship is abandoned for over a year before

work to replace the

Lenin

's three

reactors with two begins.

12/31/66: According to raw CIA

intelligence reports, the Soviet

November class nuclear-powered attack

submarine,

Leninskyj Komsomol

, burns

near the North Pole sometime in

1966-68. "The accident involved crew

members being burned inside a bulkhead

that was locked from the outside on both

sides. The fire was caused by a spark of

oxygen and did not involve the

propulsion unit." The submarine was

saved. The submarine "was one of

several submarines which reached the

North Pole under ice. The expedition

was publicized in the Soviet press at the

time without mention of the incident."

01/03/67: The Royal Navy destroyer

HMS

Caprice

suffers a breakdown.

01/10/67: The Royal Navy diesel

submarine HMS

Amphion

is in a

collision.

01/15/67: A U.S. Navy minesweeper is

hit by the freighter

Muifinh

in Saigon

harbor, South Vietnam, and sinks.

01/15/67: The South Korean

destroyer-escort

Chungnam-Ho

and

ferry

Hanil-Ho

collide off South Korea,

sinking the ferry, killing at least 13, with

over 60 missing.

01/27/67: The USS

Essex

(CVS-9) runs

aground during training operations five

miles off Puerto Rico.

02/02/67: The USS

McMorris

(DE-1036) and USS

Tombigbee

(AOG-11) collide during a training

exercise 75 miles southeast of Honolulu,

Hawaii, killing two and injuring seven.

02/04/67: The USS

Clamagore

(SS-343) collides with the catamaran

Mango

outside of San Juan harbor,

Puerto Rico.

02/11/67: The Royal Navy diesel

submarine HMS

Walrus

suffers a fire.

02/15/67: The Royal Navy diesel

submarines HMS

Orpheus

and HMS

Opportune

collide at the entrance to

Portsmouth harbor, U.K., in darkness

and heavy weather.

03/09/67: A U.S. Navy river patrol boat

is rammed by a British freighter and split

in two in the Saigon channel, South

Vietnam.

03/13/67: The Royal Navy destroyer

HMS

London

suffers a fire.

03/17/67: A five-inch artillery shell

accidently explodes aboard the USS

Manley

(DD-940), causing a fire and

injuring five off Da Nang, South

Vietnam.

03/21/67: The USS

La Salle

(LPD-3)

and the Israeli freighter

Deganya

are in a

minor collision in fog off Cape Henry,

Virginia.

03/24/67: The USS

Wasp

(CVS-18) and

the USS

Salamonie

(AO-26) collide

while refueling east of San Juan, Puerto

Rico. No one was injured, but both ships

took "moderate damage."

04/20/67: An explosion occurs in a gun

mount aboard the USS

Bigelow

(DD-942) operating in the Vietnam area,

injuring six.

05/10/67: During joint maneuvers of

Japanese and U.S. fleets taking place in

the Sea of Japan the Soviet Kotlin class

Neptune Paper No. 3: Naval Accidents 1945-1988

destroyer

Besslednyi

scrapes the USS

Walker

(DD-517) despite repeated

warnings not to get too close. Both ships

suffer minor damage.

05/10/67: The Royal Navy destroyer

HMS

Hampshire

suffers an explosion.

05/11/67: For the second time in two

days a Soviet destroyer and the USS

Walker

(DD-517) collide in the Sea of

Japan. This second incident occurs when

the Soviet destroyer "turned into and

toward" the

Walker

, and, according to

the U.S. Department of Defense

announcement, the two ships "brushed

together." The United States delivers

what the Department of State describes

as a severe protest over the incident,

which again involved a Navy task force

conducting antisubmarine warfare

exercises.

05/26/67: The Royal Navy

nuclear-powered attack submarine HMS

Warspite

suffers a water leak in one

compartment while undergoing routine

maintenance in Faslane, Scotland. The

U.K. Ministry of Defense says the

"defect is not connected in any way with

her nuclear plant. Her damage is slight

and there are no casualties. The leakage

of water was brought quickly under

control by

Warspite

herself."

05/28/67: A 750-lb. bomb explodes

during a loading operation on a

Vietnam-bound ship at the U.S. Navy

ammunition shipping piers at Naval

Weapons Station, Concord, Port

Chicago, California.

06/01/67: In June the Royal Navy

assault ship HMS

Intrepid

suffers an

overheated starboard turbine,

necessitating 12 weeks of repair in

Devonport, U.K.

06/12/67: The USS

Repose

(AH-16) is

superficially damaged and the USS

Tappahannock

(AO-43) is slightly

damaged when they collide during

routine underway replenishment

operations off Vietnam.

06/16/67: The USS

Kitty Hawk

(CVA-63) collides with the USS

Platte

(AO-24) during refueling west of San

Francisco, California.

06/21/67: The Royal Navy frigate HMS

Blackwood

is damaged by ice floes.

06/22/67: A steam line ruptures aboard

the USS

Raleigh

(LPD-1) as it is being

repaired while the ship is moored at

Norfolk Naval Air Station, Virginia,

killing two.

06/29/67: The USS

Coconino County

(LST-603) loses all propulsion and

auxiliary power after suffering two

underwater explosions while off-loading

near Dong Ha, South Vietnam.

07/23/67: The USS

Greenling

(SSN-614) strikes a buoy off Hingham,

Massachusetts. There is only minor

damage and little interuption to training.

07/24/67: The Royal Navy inshore

minesweeper HMS

Birdham

suffers a

fire.

07/29/67: A Zuni rocket is inadvertently

fired from one of several aircraft being

readied for launch over Vietnam from

the USS

Forrestal

(CVA-59). The

rocket travels across the flight deck,

strikes the fully-fueled drop tank of

another aircraft, and explodes. The

resulting fire kills 134, damages or

destroys 63 aircraft, and puts the ship

temporarily out of action.

08/31/67: The USS

Simon Bolivar

(SSBN-641) armed with 16 Polaris

missiles collides with the target ship USS

Betelgeuse

(T-AK-260) when practicing

a torpedo attack, 70 miles southeast of

Charleston, South Carolina. No one is

hurt, but the

Bolivar

suffers about $1

million damage to its periscope and

communications antennae. The

Betelgeuse

suffers a hole in its hull. The

Navy tells a press conference that the

missiles aboard the

Bolivar

were not

armed and there was no danger of

explosion or nuclear radiation. The

missiles were undamaged the Navy

emphasizes. The

Bolivar

surfaces and

the crew cuts away a 4-foot-high,

15-foot-long section of the conning

tower so the submarine could proceed to

port.

09/05/67: The USS

Corporal

(SS-346)

collides with the racing sloop

Media IV

in Block Island Sound off Rhode Island.

The sloop's owner claims the submarine

rammed the sloop and left without

offering aid. The Navy says the

submarine was stopped dead when hit.

09/10/67: The USS

Wasp

(CVS-18)

suffers a fire in the combat information

center while in drydock at the South

Boston Annex of the Boston Naval

Shipyard, causing minor damage.

10/01/67: The Royal Navy assault ship

HMS

Intrepid

sails for sea trials, but

within 48 hours is forced to return to

Devonport, U.K., when a leak develops

in a steam pipe, taking five or six days to

repair.

10/18/67: The Royal Navy assault ship

HMS

Intrepid

suffers a fault in a valve

in her main engines, taking several days

to repair.

10/26/67: The USS

Lexington

(CVS-16) hits a wharf three times in

docking in New Orleans, Louisiana.

10/27/67: The USS

Coral Sea

(CVA-43) suffers a rocket explosion

while operating in the Tonkin Gulf, off

Vietnam, injuring nine.

11/05/67: The Royal Navy

nuclear-powered ballistic missile

submarine HMS

Repulse

goes aground

in Walney Channel, Barrow-in-Furness,

U.K., 30 minutes after her launch at

Vicker's shipyard. Seven tugs are

required to pull her free. She then docks

at the fitting-out berth in Devonshire

Dock, Barrow, U.K.

11/12/67: The Royal Navy aircraft

Neptune Paper No. 3: Naval Accidents 1945-1988

carrier HMS

Victorious

suffers a fire

while at drydock in Portsmouth, U.K.,

wrecking part of the chief petty officers'

mess and killing one.

11/21/67: Navy ships arrive at the scene

of the grounding of the USS

Clarke

County

(LST-601) at Duc Pho, Vietnam,

observing that the ship is now

perpendicular to the beach with the bow

directly into the sea and the stern

anchored by two army tanks.

11/24/67: The Royal Navy aircraft

carrier HMS

Victorious

suffers a fire,

while in Portsmouth, U.K. It is confined

to the tobacco store and damage is slight.

11/24/67: The U.S. nuclear-powered

cargo ship

Savannah

springs a leak in its

reactor auxiliary cooling system off New

Jersey. The Atomic Energy Commission

and the Maritime Administration say no

radioactive materials escaped as a result

of the leak. The ship returned to

Hoboken, New Jersey, for repairs.

11/27/67: The Royal Navy destroyer

HMS

Diamond

suffers a fire.

12/18/67: The USS

Kitty Hawk

(CVA-63) suffers a three-hour fire which

was centered in an airplane tire stowage

area while the ship is docked in Subic

Bay, Philippines.

12/23/67: The USS

Kearsarge

(CVS-33) suffers a fire while docked in

Sasebo, Japan, for the holidays, killing

three and injuring two.

12/24/67: The USS

Guardfish

(SSN-612) runs aground on a reef in

Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The Navy says

the vessel rested on a World War II

bomb which turned out to be a

sand-filled practice bomb.

12/25/67: The Observer (1/7/68) reports

that speculation is circulating that a U.S.

nuclear-powered ballistic missile

submarine suffered serious damage

during maneuvers in northern waters just

before Christmas. The U.S. Navy

declines to confirm or deny the reports

which come from unidentified sources at

the U.S. Naval Base in Rota, Spain, due

to security reasons. In London it was

suggested the damage was caused by

pressure changes during a deep dive.

12/26/67: The USS

Lynde McCormick

(DDG-8) suffers an explosion while in

Sasebo, Japan, injuring two.

12/31/67: Before January 1968, the USS

Ronquil

(SS-396) reportedly narrowly

avoids capture by Soviet naval forces

while engaged in a Holystone

intelligence gathering mission. The

submarine caught fire near the Soviet

coast and was surrounded by Soviet

destroyers which attempted to force it to

surface. The

Ronquil

eluded the Soviet

ships and escaped to safety (also see

5/25/75 entry).

12/31/67: In 1967 a Soviet November

class nuclear-powered attack submarine

has a mishap in the Mediterranean

believed to be related to its propulsion

system. The submarine is towed.

01/09/68: The London Times reports

that the Royal Navy nuclear-powered

ballistic missile submarine HMS

Resolution

recently developed a defect

in its electrical generator while on its

final trials in the Atlantic before test

missile firings at Cape Canaveral,

Florida. On 8 January the submarine

was on the surface sailing back to

Faslane, Scotland, for repairs. U.K.

officials said the repairs would not delay

the

Resolution

's arrival at Cape

Canaveral.

01/11/68: The French trawler

Fomalhaut

snags the Royal Navy diesel

submarine HMS

Grampus

in its net in

the English Channel. The

Grampus

surfaces and both crews spend more than

three hours disentangling the nets.

01/13/68: The Royal Navy diesel

submarine HMS

Alliance

runs aground

and is stuck for three days on a rocky

ledge off the Isle of Wight in the English

Channel.

01/22/68: The Israeli diesel submarine

Dakar

with 52 aboard disappears in the

eastern Mediterranean 250 miles off

Israel. The USS

Turner

(DDR-834),

USS

Conyngham

(DDG-17), and USS

Charles H. Roan

(DD-853) are

subsequently diverted to search for the

missing submarine, but it is not found.

01/27/68: The French diesel submarine

Minerve

with 52 aboard sinks in the

Mediterranean off Toulon.

01/30/68: The USS

Seawolf

(SSN-575)

runs aground while submerged

approximately 65 miles east of Cape

Cod, Massachusetts, and damages its

rudder. There are no injuries and the

submarine returns to Groton,

Connecticut, for repairs.

01/31/68: The USS

Rowan

(DD-782) is

slightly damaged when it is struck by the

Soviet merchant ship

Kapitan

Visiobokov

in the Sea of Japan about

100 miles east of Pohang, South Korea.

There are no casualties, but the destroyer

suffers a three-foot hole above the

waterline in the port bow.

02/01/68: Early 1968 (shortly after the

Pueblo was seized on 22 January 1968)

The USS

Sergeant Joseph E. Muller

(AG-171) loses power and drifts toward

Cuban waters under emergency

protection of combat air patrol. After

several failures, the ship is towed to

safety by its escorting destroyer.

02/06/68: The USS

Bache

(DD-470)

drags anchor off Rhodes harbor, Greece,

in hurricane force winds and runs

aground on rocks, splitting the ship from

stem to stern, but there are no serious

injuries. On 17 February the ship suffers

further damage in a two-day storm. The

ship is so badly damaged, rather than

refloated it is decommissioned on 26

February.

02/06/68: A U.S. Navy rescue ship sinks

after being hit by an errant Bullpup

Neptune Paper No. 3: Naval Accidents 1945-1988

missile launched from an A-4 Skyhawk

aircraft during firing exercises near Point

Mugu, California. There are no injuries.

03/18/68: The USS

Theodore

Roosevelt

(SSBN-600) runs aground

while submerged off the coast of

Scotland. There were no injuries, but the

bow of the submarine is damaged.

04/09/68: The USS

Robert E. Lee

(SSBN-601) snags the nets of the French

trawler

Lorraine-Bretagne

in the Irish

Sea, causing the trawler to lose

considerable amounts of fishing

equipment. The submarine is

undamaged.

04/11/68: A Soviet diesel-powered Golf

class ballistic missile submarine sinks

about 750 miles northwest of the island

of Oahu, Hawaii, in about 16,000 feet of

water, killing approximately 80. In late

March 1975 numerous papers carry

stories on the CIA's attempt, called

"Project Jennifer," to raise the submarine

in the summer of 1974 using the

specially constructed

Glomar Explorer

deep-water salvage ship. Part of the

submarine is raised on 4 July 1974. The

submarine was carrying three

nuclear-armed ballistic missiles and

unnamed official sources are quoted as

saying the evidence also suggests that

nuclear-tipped torpedoes were on board.

04/13/68: The USS

Independence

(CVA-62) collides with the USS

Wrangell

(AE-12) off South Carolina

during underway replenishment,

damaging both ships slightly.

04/15/68: The USS

Scorpion

(SSN-589) collides with a barge during a

storm in Naples harbor, Italy. The

submarine was alongside the barge which

was used as a buffer between the

submarine and another U.S. warship. The

barge and the

Scorpion

's stern came

together and then the barge was

swamped and went down. The

Scorpion

returned to Naples on 20 April

and divers descending to untangle a

fishing line from its propeller made a

partial inspection of its and reported no

damage.

05/09/68: The USS

Guadalcanal

(LPH-7) is adrift off North Carolina due

to a burned out bearing in the propulsion

system.

05/27/68: The USS

Scorpion

(SSN-589) sinks about 400 miles

southwest of the Azores, killing all 99

men on board. The U.S. Department of

Defense reveals in 1981 that in the

Spring of 1968 a nuclear weapons

accident occurred in the Atlantic, the

details of which remain classified.

Despite the Pentagon's equivocation, this

is taken to refer to the

Scorpion

and,

nevertheless, it is generally known that

two nuclear-armed ASTOR torpedoes

were on board when the submarine sank.

06/03/68: Shells from the Royal Navy

frigate HMS

Arethusa

fall into

farmland.

06/12/68: The USS

Wasp

(CVS-18) and

the USS

Truckee

(AO-147) are badly

damaged in a collision during underway

replenishment off the U.S. east coast.

06/13/68: The USS

Waldron

(DD-699)

and the USS

Kiowa

(ATF-72) collide

during operations off the U.S. east coast.

06/15/68: The USS

Cossatot

(AO-77),

carrying 130,000 barrels of jet fuel, is

badly damaged in a collision with the

merchant ship

Copper State

in fog off

Santa Cruz, California. The tanker loses

20 feet of its bow.

06/16/68: U.S. Air Force F-4 jets sink a

U.S. patrol boat and attack the USS

Boston

(CAG-1) and the Australian

destroyer

Hobart

near the demilitarized

zone off Vietnam, mistaking the ships for

low-flying enemy helicopters.

07/02/68: The Norfolk Ledger-Star

reports that several months ago a U.S.

nuclear-powered attack submarine

collided with a Soviet submarine,

causing severe damage to the U.S. vessel

which spent two months in Rota, Spain,

for repair. The Navy declined to

comment on the story by the paper's

military correspondent who quoted a

usually reliable source. The reporter

noted that it is known that during recent

months Soviet attack submarines have

lain off overseas U.S. Polaris submarine

ports, and that U.S. submarines have

been given "wiping off" missions to

prevent the Soviet submarines from

following the Polaris boats. These

missions apparently can get quite rough,

amounting to what one officer says is

"underwater chicken," with U.S. and

Soviet submarines set on collision

courses until the "chicken" turns away.

"Presumably this is what happened" to

the U.S. and Soviet submarines.

07/03/68: The Royal Navy survey vessel

HMS

Fox

suffers a gas accident, killing

one.

08/01/68: The USS

Caliente

(AO-53)

runs aground on a mud bank while

entering Auckland Harbor, New Zealand.

The oiler is pulled clear with no hull

damage.

08/09/68: The USS

Von Steuben

(SSBN-632) collides with the towed

commercial tanker

Sealady

about 40

miles off the southern Spanish coast.

The

Von Steuben

was submerged when

struck or was struck by a submerged tow

cable connecting a tug and the

Sealady

The submarine surfaces immediately and

then collides with the towed ship. The

submarine sustains minor external

damage to the superstructure and main

deck.

08/15/68: Two small fires occur aboard

the Royal Navy nuclear-powered attack

submarine HMS

Valiant

while it is in

dock at Chatham, U.K. Damage to the

ship is slight and there are no casualties.

08/31/68: An East German naval vessel

collides with a Swedish ferry and sinks

off Denmark. Six East German sailors

are reported missing.

Neptune Paper No. 3: Naval Accidents 1945-1988

09/08/68: The USS

Douglas H. Fox

(DD-779) suffers a fire en route to

Charleston, South Carolina, killing two

and injuring six.

09/13/68: A shell goes through the

rigging of a trawler in Lyme Bay off

Dorset, U.K., during Royal Navy

gunnery practice.

10/19/68: The Royal Navy

nuclear-powered attack submarine HMS

Warspite

is damaged by ice during

exercises in the North Atlantic, suffering

slight damage to its conning tower and

superstructure. The Royal Navy says

there was not risk of "radioactive

leakage." The submarine returns to

Faslane, Scotland, for repairs.

11/12/68: The Royal Navy diesel

submarine HMS

Alliance

suffers a fire.

11/26/68: The USS

Hancock

(CVA-19)

and the USS

Camden

(AOE-2) collide

during underway replenishment off

South Vietnam. There are no injuries but

the Camden is slightly damaged.

12/30/68: An inquiry into an explosion

aboard the Royal Navy destroyer HMS

Antrim

is held.

12/31/68: Late 1960s -- Reportedly a

U.S. government official is briefed about

a collision between a U.S. submarine

engaged in a Holystone intelligence

gathering mission and a North

Vietnamese minesweeper in the Gulf of

Tonkin. The minesweeper sinks within

minutes (see 5/25/75 entry).

12/31/68: According to raw CIA

intelligence reports, in 1968, a Soviet

nuclear submarine sinks off Severomorsk

on the Kola Penisula, killing all 90 on

board. The submarine was overdue from

patrol, and after waiting one or two days

authorities initiated a search. Divers

found the submarine on the bottom of the

estuary to the Kolskiy Zaliv. When the

submarine was recovered it was

determined that all food had been

consumed and it was estimated the

submarine had been at the location for 30

days.

01/01/69: During the winter -- the

French trawler

Belle Poule

catches the

Royal Navy diesel submarine HMS

Porpoise

in its nets off the U.K. or

France.

01/14/69: The USS

Enterprise

(CVAN-65) suffers explosions and a fire

during its two-and-a-half-day

Operational Readiness Inspection 70

miles southwest of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii,

killing 28 and injuring 343. The fire

starts when a tractor used to start aircraft

is backed under the wing of a F-4

Phantom aircraft loaded with Zuni

rockets. The tractor has a small jet

engine mounted on its rear, the hot

exhaust of which is put directly onto a

Zuni rocket's warhead. In about a minute

the warhead cooks off, spraying shrapnel

over the flight deck, puncturing tanks

and starting fires. The fires cause other

Zuni rockets and 500-lb. bombs loaded

on planes and piled on deck to cook off,

exploding planes, blowing holes in the

solid steel deck, and spilling aviation

fuel from punctured fuel storage tanks.

The captain of the ship recalls his

concern over containing the fire to the aft

part of the flight deck, since so little

firefighting equipment was on the flight

deck, commenting "If the fire had spread

to the hangar deck, we could have very

easily lost the ship." Despite the lack of

equipment the fire is successfully

contained and after three hours burns

itself out, whereupon the ship proceeds

back to Pearl Harbor. Damage includes

15 aircraft destroyed and 17 damaged.

01/22/69: The Royal Navy cruiser HMS

Blake

suffers a fire.

02/19/69: The USS

Chopper

(SS-342)

plunges to the sea bottom after suffering

a control casualty off Cuba on a routine

training mission, injuring two and

causing minor damage to the submarine.

05/10/69: The Swedish diesel submarine

Sjoebpjoernen

hits the bottom after

diving too fast and suffers slight damage.

05/15/69: The USS

Guitarro

(SSN-665) undergoing final fitting-out at

the San Francisco Bay Naval Shipyard at

Vallejo, California, sinks in 35 feet of

water next to the pier. No fissionable

material is on board. The report of the

U.S. Congress House Armed Services

Subcommittee convened to investigate

the accident charges culpable negligence

on the part of shipyard workers

responsible for the submarine: two

civilian work crews pumped water into

fore and aft sections of the boat; neither

crew knowing what the other was doing.

05/25/69: The USS

King

(DLG-10)

suffers a fire in the fireroom while

operating off North Vietnam, killing

four. The ship proceeds to the

Philippines for repairs.

05/26/69: The Japanese fishing vessel

Tayo Maru

sinks after colliding with a

Soviet patrol boat which was chasing it

off the Kurile Islands, eight are rescued.

05/27/69: The Royal Navy cruiser HMS

Blake

suffers another fire.

06/01/69: The USS

Lowry

(DD-770)

suffers a gun explosion during a training

mission off Puerto Rico, killing one and

injuring eight.

06/01/69: In June a Japanese freighter

passing off De-Kastri in the Tartar Strait

is severly hit and damaged by dozens of

splinters from a Soviet missile, which the

Japanese government later identifies as a

Soviet SS-N-3 Shaddock cruise missile.

06/02/69: The USS

Frank E. Evans

(DD-754) collides with the Australian

aircraft carrier

Melbourne

in the South

China Sea approximately 650 miles

southwest of Manila, cutting the

destroyer in two. The bow section of the

Evans

sinks in about two minutes, killing

74, while the aft section of the

Evans

quickly secured alongside the

Melbourne

. The collision occurred

during the SEATO exercise "Sea Spirit."

Neptune Paper No. 3: Naval Accidents 1945-1988

06/12/69: The Royal Navy aircraft

carrier HMS

Ark Royal

suffers a fire in

a Devonport dockyard, U.K., while

undergoing an extensive overhaul.

06/13/69: The Royal Navy diesel

submarine HMS

Rorqual

bumps into the

USS

Endurance

(MSO-435) while

docking at River Point pier in Subic Bay,

Philippines.

07/08/69: The USS

Cambria

(APA-36)

and USS

Shadwell

(LSD-15) collide off

Malta during a night exercise.

07/15/69: The USS

Forrestal

(CVA-59)

suffers a small, localized fire while the

ship is in the Norfolk Naval Shipyard,

Virginia.

08/09/69: A Japanese fishing boat

collides with a Soviet patrol boat off

Hokkaido, killing 11. Japan rejects

Soviet claims the fishing boat violated

Soviet territorial waters.

08/22/69: The USS

Coral Sea

(CVA-43) collides with a tug and Navy

barge in San Francisco Bay, California,

injuring one barge crewman.

09/04/69: The USS

Dewey

(DLG-14)

suffers an explosion and fire in the boiler

room while preparing to sail from

Toulon, France; killing three.

09/05/69: The French trawler

Pointe de

Barfleur

catches the Royal Navy diesel

submarine HMS

Onyx

in its nets about

20 miles north-northeast of Cherbourg in

the English Channel. The trawler faced

some resistance when it hauled up its

nets. A flare was seen shooting up and

then the submarine broke the surface.

After some explanation the two boats

went their way.

09/08/69: The USS

Lexington

(CVS-16) suffers a fire in a boiler room

as the ship is in drydock in Boston,

Massachusetts, injuring two.

09/08/69: The USS

Intrepid

(CVS-11)

runs aground off Jamestown, Rhode

Island, but is freed after two hours.

10/13/69: The Royal Navy

nuclear-powered ballistic missile

submarine HMS

Renown

collides with

the Irish motor vessel

Moyle

as it is

surfacing during the night in the Mull of

Kintyre off the west coast of Scotland.

The U.K. Navy Department says damage

was slight and at no time was there a risk

of a nuclear explosion. There are no

casualties. Apparently the

Renown

was

carrying out work-up trials preparatory to

going on its first operational cruise in a

few weeks, but was not carrying any

missiles.

10/30/69: The Royal Navy destroyer

HMS

Glamorgan

fires a missile which

lands near a farm, causing damage.

10/31/69: Fall 1969 -- reportedly 18

months prior to 31 March 1971 -- a U.S.

submarine engaged in Holystone

intelligence gathering operations is

beached for about two hours off the

Soviet Union's coast, creating concern in

the U.S. National Security Council

because of the possibility of an

international incident if the submarine is

discovered (see 3/31/71 and 5/25/75

entries).

11/10/69: An unarmed torpedo fired

from a Royal Navy submarine on

exercise narrowly misses the Clyde ferry

Countess of Breadalbane

in the Loch

Long, Scotland. The U.K. Ministry of

Defense says the torpedo's mechanism

went wrong after being fired correctly on

course.

11/14/69: The New York Times (7/6/75)

reports the USS

Gato

(SSN-615)

collides with a Soviet submarine the

night of the 14 or 15 of November 15 to

25 miles from the entrance of the White

Sea in the Barents Sea. A crewmember

is quoted as saying the

Gato

was struck

in the heavy plating that serves as a

protective shield around the nuclear

reactor, but the ship sustained no serious

damage. However the ship's weapons

officer immediately ran down two decks

and prepared for orders to arm a

nuclear-armed SUBROC antisubmarine

warfare missile and three nuclear-armed

torpedoes. The accident reportedly

occurred during a Holystone operation

(see 5/25/75). According to former

Gato

crewmembers their commanding officer

was ordered to prepare false reports

showing the submarine had suffered a

breakdown and halted its patrol two days

prior to the collision. The

Gato

commanding officer refused to comment

when he was contacted due to security

reasons.

11/14/69: The Royal Navy diesel

submarine HMS

Otter

strikes a 20-foot

wooden ferry in the Manchester Ship

Canal, U.K. The two passengers in the

ferry jump into the water when they see

the outline of the submarine bearing

down on them. The submarine strikes the

ferry a light blow, slightly damaging the

ferry. The men swim safely to shore.

The

Otter

was one of four submarines

on a four-day goodwill visit to

Manchester.

12/12/69: The USS

Parsons

(DD-949)

collides with the Filipino fishing boat

Orient

off southern California. The

Orient

sinks but its crew is rescued.

12/27/69: The ammunition aboard the

merchant ship

Badger State

comes loose

and explodes when a big wave throws

the ship on its side 1,500 miles northeast

of Hawaii as it is en route to Vietnam

with a cargo of ordnance; 26 are dead or

missing. The ship is rocked by

explosions and fire for a week, leading

the Navy to abandon salvage plans. The

ship subsequently is sunk with gunfire.

01/10/70: The Royal Navy

nuclear-powered attack submarine HMS

Dreadnought

encounters serious

problems at the Rosyth, Scotland,

dockyard during the first nuclear reactor

refueling at a British yard, delaying the

completion of the refit for at least ten

months.

Neptune Paper No. 3: Naval Accidents 1945-1988

01/10/70: A Soviet Foxtrot class

diesel-powered submarine loses 20 feet

of its bow section in a collision

somewhere in the Mediterranean in

January. Reports variously attribute the

accident to a collision with another

Soviet naval vessel or with the Italian

liner

Angelina Laura

near the Bay of

Naples. The damaged submarine was

anchored off Morocco in early February

and departed into the Atlantic with an

escort on 7 February.

01/10/70: The USS

Shangri-La

(CVA-38) suffers a fire during training

off Jacksonville, Florida, when an A-4

Skyhawk aircraft parked on the flight

deck ignites, killing one.

01/17/70: The USS

Volador

(SS-490)

and the Japanese freighter

Miyahime

Maru

are lightly damaged in a collision

at the mouth of Tokyo Bay, Japan.

01/21/70: The USS

Yancey

(AKA-93)

is driven through a section of the

Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel by

strong winds, which tore it from its

anchorage near Hampton Roads,

Virginia. No injuries are reported on the

ship or on the roadway, but the roadway

is closed to traffic.

01/29/70: The USS

Nathanael Greene

(SSBN-636) is grounded for seven hours

in thick fog in Charleston harbor, South

Carolina. The Navy closes the harbor

while the submarine is refloated.

Officials will not say whether any Polaris

missiles are on board, but a Navy

spokesman says there appears to be no

danger of nuclear leakage or reactor

damage. The next day the Navy says the

ship suffered no damage.

02/10/70: A Bullpup missile aboard the

USS

Bon Homme Richard

(CVA-31)

cracks and leaks toxic gases and liquids

when its pneumatic hoist fails and drops

it on the deck of the weapons magazine

while the ship is berthed at Naval Station

North Island in San Diego, California. A

Navy spokesman says the missile is

capable of carrying a nuclear warhead

but was not believed to be armed at the

time. Two hundred crewmembers are

evacuated from the surrounding areas

and the rest of the 3500-person crew

stands by to take the ship to sea if

necessary as a precaution. The broken

rocket motor is safely lifted out of the

ship and transferred to the dock.

02/10/70: The USS

Semmes

(DDG-18)

is heavily damaged and the USS

Samuel

B. Roberts

(DD-823), USS

Charles F.

Adams

(DDG-2), and USS

Yellowstone

(AD-27) are slightly damaged when a

Greek freighter sideswipes the four ships

in Naples harbor, Italy.

02/10/70: Coincidently, minutes before

the Bullpup missile drops in a starboard

magazine, an electrical fire breaks out in

a port side magazine aboard the USS

Bon Homme Richard

(CVA-31) while

the ship is docked at Naval Air Station

North Island, San Diego, California.

02/11/70: The Royal Navy diesel

submarine HMS

Auriga

suffers a battery

explosion while submerged in the

Gibraltar area during NATO exercises.

Ten people are injured, but the vessel

surfaces safely and returns to port.

02/13/70: The USS

Point Defiance

(LSD-31) and USS

Ponchatoula

(AO-148) are slightly damaged in a

collision during refueling operations

north of Hawaii, injuring three.

03/04/70: The French diesel submarine

Eurydice

explodes and sinks during dive

35 miles east of Toulon, killing all 57

crewmen on board.

03/19/70: The USS

Orleck

(DD-886)

collides with the USS

Neches

(AO-47)

during underway replenishment off the

coast of Vietnam. The

Neches

loses its

starboard side replenishment capability.

03/20/70: The USS

McKean

(DD-784)

and the USS

Cacapon

(AO-52) sustain

minor damage in a collision during

underway replenishment off Okinawa.

04/12/70: A Soviet November class

nuclear-powered submarine sinks in the

Atlantic Ocean approximately 300 miles

northwest of Spain. On 11 April the

submarine is sighted dead in the water

with personnel on deck trying to rig a

tow line to two accompanying Soviet

ships. By the morning of 12 April U.S.

Navy P-3 patrol planes find only two oil

slicks on the surface where the

submarine had been, and the submarine

is considered lost at sea. The accident is

believed to be related to a problem in the

nuclear propulsion system. After the

sinking Soviet survey vessels reportedly

guard the area almost continuously for

six months. Thereafter routine patrols

are conducted until 1979, after which

only occasional visits are made.

04/20/70: The Royal Navy frigate HMS

Plymouth

collides with the French

frigate

Enseigne de Vaiseau Henry

05/19/70: An inquiry is held into a fire

aboard the Royal Navy minelayer HMS

Manxman

05/28/70: The USS

Daniel Boone

(SSBN-629) proceeding on its initial sea

trials collides with the Philippine

merchant ship

President Quezon

off

Cape Henry, Virginia. The submarine

incurs minor damage, but the

President

Quezon

receives extensive damage to

her bow.

05/31/70: The West German destroyer

Bayern

suffers a gas explosion in an

empty munitions storeroom, ripping a

hole in the side of the ship, killing one

and injuring two.

06/01/70: The Royal Navy oiler HMS

Ennerdale

sinks after running aground

in the Seychelles.

06/13/70: The USS

Little Rock

(CLG-4) is in a minor collision with the

Greek destroyer

Lonzhi

in the Gulf of

Laconia off Greece during the NATO

exercise "Dawn Patrol 70."

06/18/70: The USS

Eugene A. Greene

Neptune Paper No. 3: Naval Accidents 1945-1988

(DD-711) and the USS

Waccamaw

(AO-109) are in a minor collision in the

eastern Mediterranean during refueling

operations.

07/08/70: An inquiry is held into the fire

aboard the Royal Navy aircraft carrier

HMS

Eagle

07/17/70: A sailor is found guilty of

causing a power failure aboard the Royal

Navy frigate HMS

Ajax

07/25/70: A fitter at the Chatham Naval

Dockyard, U.K., working on the Royal

Navy nuclear-powered attack submarine

HMS

Valiant

receives a radiation

dosage when he accidentally inhales

radioactive material. According to the

Ministry of Defense, the fitter "feels no

ill effects and seems to be well," but is

banned for a year from further work

involving radioactivity.

07/30/70: Suspected sabotage to the

main gearbox of the Royal Navy

nuclear-powered attack submarine HMS

Conqueror

in the final stages of

completion at the Cammel Laird

shipyard Birkenhead, U.K., is under

investigation. The shipyard says the

damaged gearbox does not affect nuclear

safety as it is separated from the reactor

compartment.

08/04/70: The USS

Rogers

(DD-876)

collides with a Singapore-bound

commercial tug in the South China Sea.

There are no injuries.

08/19/70: A Soviet vessel reportedly

equipped with electronic surveillance

gear capsizes in the North Sea, near

where NATO ships are maneuvering as

part of exercise "Minflotex 70." Before

the NATO ships could come to its aid, a

Soviet tug took in her in tow. The ship

sinks in heavy seas on 25 August.

08/20/70: The French diesel submarine

Galatee

and the South African diesel

submarine

Maria von Riebeeck

collide

on the surface off Toulon, France, killing

four.

09/11/70: The Royal Navy

nuclear-powered attack submarine HMS

Dreadnought

suffers an air pipe fault,

delaying its sea trials.

09/18/70: The Royal Navy coastal

minesweeper HMS

Wolverton

collides

with a yacht on which a family was

spending its holiday, sinking the yacht at

its moorings in Great Yarmouth harbor,

U.K. The family leaves the yacht safely.

10/01/70: The Royal Navy aircraft

carrier HMS

Ark Royal

suffers faults to

its flight-deck machinery and has to

return to Devonport, U.K., for

unscheduled repairs.

10/14/70: The Royal Navy aircraft

carrier HMS

Eagle

is sent into drydock

after a collision.

11/04/70: A boiler room explosion

occurs aboard the USS

Goldsborough

(DDG-20) six hours out of Taiwan,

killing two and injuring four.

11/09/70: A Soviet Kotlin class

destroyer and the Royal Navy aircraft

carrier HMS

Ark Royal

collide in the

eastern Mediterranean. The

Ark Royal

is only slightly damaged, while the

Soviet ship is badly scraped along her

port side.

11/14/70: The USS

Seawolf

(SSN-575)

suffers a breakdown in the engine room

main drain south of Guantanamo Bay,

Cuba, en route to the Pacific. It surfaces

dead in the water and asks for assistance.

The USS

Blandy

(DD-943) gets

underway to rendezvous and escort or

tow the submarine. The next day the

submarine is able to correct the problem

itself and gets underway on its own

power for Guantanamo.

11/16/70: The Royal Navy destroyer

HMS

Fife

catches fire during "Lime Jug

70" exercises.

11/21/70: The Royal Navy frigate HMS

Ulster

is damaged by hitting a Swansea,

U.K., quay.

11/28/70: The USS

Sylvania

(AFS-2)

and the USS

Concord

(AFS-5) are

slightly damaged in a collision in Rota,

Spain, when the

Sylvania

attempts under

pilot to moor alongside the

Concord

11/29/70: Fire breaks out in a baggage

storeroom in the stern of the submarine

tender USS

Canopus

(AS-34) while it is

in the Holy Loch submarine base,

Scotland. The Daily Telegraph reports

that it was carrying nuclear-armed

missiles and that two U.S.

nuclear-powered ballistic missile

submarines, the

Francis Scott Key

(SSBN-657) and

James K. Polk

(SSBN-645), were moored alongside.

The

Francis Scott Key

cast off, but the

Polk

remained alongside. U.S. naval

authorties in Holy Loch and London

dismiss any suggestion that a nuclear

explosion aboard the

Canopus

could

have occurred or that "even a remote

danger" from missiles or other materials

existed. "We have drills and precautions

which rule out any danger whatsoever,"

the London spokesman says. There are

precautions against every eventuality in

Holy Loch." The fire was brought under

control after four hours. Three men were

killed and the cause of the fire was

unknown. U.S. Navy documents record

that "damage was extensive in the small

area in which the fire was contained," but

"repairs were effected on site and

Canopus

was never 'off the line'".

01/01/71: The USS

Sphinx

(ARL-24)

loses power about 120 nautical miles

northwest of Okinawa.

01/15/71: U.S. Navy barge loaded with

diesel fuel sinks off Puerto Rico and

spreads a mile-long oil slick.

01/19/71: The USS

Roark

(DE-1053) is

badly damaged by an engine room fire in

the western Pacific. The ship is taken in

tow by the USS

Towers

(DDG-9)

toward Midway Island from whence it

will be towed to Pearl Harbor.

Neptune Paper No. 3: Naval Accidents 1945-1988

01/20/71: The USS

Wasp

(CVS-18) and

USS

Chukawan

(AO-100) collide while

refueling southwest of Bermuda.

01/24/71: The USS

Hamner

(DD-718)

and USS

Camden

(AOE-2) collide

during underway replenishment in the

Gulf of Tonkin.

02/02/71: The French nuclear-powered

ballistic missile submarine

Redoutable

collides with a fishing trawler off Brest,

France. The trawler is holed, but the

crew is safely picked up by a French

navy escort vessel.

02/03/71: The Royal Navy diesel

submarine HMS

Opportune

collides

with an unidentified merchant vessel in

the English Channel while running

submerged, receiving slight

superstructure damage.

02/12/71: The USS

Great Sitkin

(AE-17) arrives under tow at Roosevelt

Roads, Puerto Rico, having lost power

off the Virgin Islands when four spring

bearings wiped. Sabotage is suspected.

02/19/71: Water breaks into the French

diesel submarine

Flore

when a valve of

the snorkel device malfunctions as the

submarine cruises submerged at a depth

of 15 to 20 feet off Toulon. The

submarine surfaces, but water had

damaged its electrical circuits, and the

engines could not be started. The

submarine is slowly towed to Toulon

through rough seas.

03/01/71: In March the USS

Detroit

(AOE-4) collides with a Navy oiler 70

miles off the South Carolina coast.

Damage was slight.

03/26/71: The Royal Navy aircraft

carrier HMS

Albion

suffers a fault in a

drive shaft bearing and returns to

Portsmouth, U.K., for repairs.

03/31/71: The New York Times reports

that a U.S. Navy Sturgeon class

nuclear-powered attack submarine

collides with a Soviet submarine 17

nautical miles off the coast of the Soviet

Union while on a secret reconnaissance

mission as part of the Holystone

submarine intelligence gathering

operations (see 5/25/75 entry).

04/03/71: The Royal Navy

nuclear-powered attack submarine HMS

Conqueror

suffers flooding due to a

failure of material while in a fitting-out

basin in Cammel Laird shipyard,

Birkenhead, U.K., over the weekend.

Firemen and yardworkers spend about 17

hours pumping seven feet of water out of

the submarine.

04/21/71: A fire of electrical origin and

short duration occurs aboard the USS

John F. Kennedy

(CVA-67) in the

Virginia Capes area.

05/01/71: The Royal Navy destroyer

HMS

Sheffield

suffers an explosion as it

is fitting out, killing several workmen.

05/06/71: The USS

Bigelow

(DD-942)

suffers a possible momentary grounding

while en route to an anchorage in Aarhus

Bay, Denmark, causing minor damage.

05/06/71: The USS

Hanson

(DD-832)

collides with the Soviet fleet tug

Diomid

in the Korean Straits, causing minor

damage but no injuries. The

Hanson

conjectures the accident was caused by a

deliberate attempt by the tug (with an

icebreaker bow) to ram the

Hanson

. A

sliding collision, however, was the only

result.

05/08/71: A Nationalist Chinese fishing

boat sinks off Kaohsiung, Taiwan, when

it attempts to pass between the tug USS

Molala

(ATF-106) and its tow ARD-22,

striking first the bridle and then the bow

of the ARD.

06/07/71: The French escort ship

Surcouf

and the Soviet tanker

Busharov

collide in the Mediterranean 60 miles

south of Cartagena, Spain, at night,

cutting the

Surcouf

in half and killing

nine. The front half sinks, but the stern

section is taken in tow by the French

destroyer

Tartu

06/28/71: The casing of a valve ruptures

filling the engine spaces with steam

aboard the USS

Trenton

(LPD-14)

while the ship is undergoing shakedown

training in the Guantanamo Bay, Cuba,

operating area, killing four and seriously

injuring seven.

07/01/71: The Royal Navy diesel

submarine HMS

Artemis

sinks without

warning while moored in 30 feet of water

at Gosport, England.

07/10/71: The USS

Constellation

(CVA-64) suffers a one-hour machinery

room fire while moored at San Diego,

California.

07/16/71: An unidentified U.S. Navy

ship spills 40,000 gallons of oil off New

York, subsequently contaminating the

waterfronts of Coney Island and Staten

Island, New York.

07/27/71: The USS

Harlan R. Dickson

(DD-708) runs aground off Cape Cod

Canal, Massachusetts, after a mechanical

failure, but is freed the next day.

08/15/71: The USS

Saratoga

(CVA-60)

suffers flooding in an engine room while

anchored off Athens, Greece.

08/17/71: The USS

Regulus

(AF-57) is

severely damaged when, struck by

typhoon Rose, it is torn from its

moorings and tossed aground on Kau Yi

Chau Island near Hong Kong.

08/20/71: The USS

Saratoga

(CVA-60)

suffers another engine room flood shortly

after leaving Athens, Greece, where

repair from a similar flood of 15 August

just was completed.

09/08/71: The Royal Navy diesel

submarine HMS

Odin

suffers a fire.

09/26/71: The USS

Holder

(DD-819)

runs aground momentarily in Vieques

Passage off Puerto Rico. There is no

damage.

Neptune Paper No. 3: Naval Accidents 1945-1988

09/30/71: The Royal Navy diesel

submarine HMS

Alliance

suffers a

hydrogen buildup and explosion in a

battery compartment due to a faulty

ventilation system while in Portsmouth,

U.K., killing one and injuring 14.

10/11/71: The USS

Talbot

(DEG-4)

suffers an engineering casualty and is

towed by the USS

Skylark

(ASR-20) to

Newport, Rhode Island.

10/15/71: In mid-October the Royal

Navy aircraft carrier HMS

Ark Royal

suffers a fire while in Portsmouth, U.K.

10/21/71: The Royal Navy aircraft

carrier HMS

Ark Royal

suffers a second

fire while in Portsmouth, U.K., taking six

hours to control.

10/26/71: The Japanese fishing boat

Minato Maru

collides with an

unidentified submarine in the Sea of

Japan about 300 miles northwest of

Niigata, Japan.

10/30/71: The USS

Benjamin Stoddert

(DDG-22) suffers a four-and-one-half

hour fire in the motor generator set room

while undergoing overhaul at Pearl

Harbor, Hawaii.

10/31/71: The USS

Niagara Falls

(AFS-3) is slightly damaged by a main

deck fire while moored at Hong Kong.

The fire is later determined to be caused

by arson.

11/01/71: The USS

Hardhead

(SS-365)

suffers minor structural damage when it

is struck by an Italian ferry in the Straits

of Messina, off Italy.

12/29/71: The USS

Dace

(SSN-607)

inadvertently discharges 500 gallons of

water used as coolant for its nuclear

reactor into the Thames River at New

London, Connecticut, during a routine

water transfer between the submarine

and the USS

Fulton

(AS-11). The Navy

says measurements in the area showed

"no increase in radioactivity of the

environment" on the following day and

claims the coolant contains a "very small

amount of radioactivity." Navy sources

at the Pentagon acknowledge there have

been a "a few" leakages at the base

during such transfers in the past,

although none were disclosed, but also

none were of sufficient size to endanger

anybody. Reportedly the Navy

disclosed this accident only when rumors

of a nuclear incident started circulating

in New London.

12/31/71: On two occasions in 1971

defective U.S. nuclear-powered ballistic

missile submarine distress buoys

accidently shot to the surface signalling

the submarines had been sunk by enemy

action and each set off "a massive U.S.

alert," raising the "threat of accidental

war." A spokesman for the Pentagon

admitted there had been two involuntary

releases in 1971, one in the

Mediterranean and one in the North

Atlantic. But in each case, he said, the

submarine informed its home base

immediately and "There was no alert of

any kind." One release was due to a

mechanical problem and one to a human

error. The Navy said technical

corrections had been made since 1971 to

prevent a recurrence of the accidental

launchings.

01/16/72: The USS

Albert David

(DE-1050) collides with a North

Vietnamese junk in the Gulf of Tonkin

and two people from the junk are lost.

01/24/72: The USS

Sea Horse

(SSN-669) is grounded for two hours

while outbound from Charleston, South

Carolina.

02/01/72: In February the Royal Navy

diesel submarine HMS

Alliance

's engine

room begins to flood while the ship is

submerged during a trial dive off

Plymouth, U.K., in the English Channel.

The submarine touches the seabed at

122 feet after diving too steeply due to

incorrect trimming in response to the

flooding. The

Alliance

leaves the

bottom after bouncing off the seabed.

02/07/72: The USS

Wahoo

(SS-565)

sustains damage to its starboard shaft

when it collides with Queens Pier in

Hong Kong after being carried by a tidal

current.

02/19/72: The hull of the USS

Preserver

(ARS-8) is cracked in three

places when it strikes a rock while

entering Portsmouth, New Hampshire,

harbor during stormy weather.

02/23/72: The USS

Shreveport

(LPD-12) and USS

Nashville

(LPD-13)

are slightly damaged in a collision during

exercises in the Caribbean.

02/24/72: A U.S. Navy P-3 Orion patrol

plane sights a Soviet Hotel II class

nuclear-powered ballistic missile

submarine on the surface 600 miles

northeast of Newfoundland. The

submarine had an apparent nuclear

propulsion problem which resulted in the

loss of all power. Several deaths are

thought to have occurred. The next day

the U.S. Coast Guard cutter

Boutwell

sights the disabled submarine in

company with five Soviet ships. An

offer of assistance by the

Boutwell

receives no reply. The Soviet ships start

back to the submarine's home base

through heavy, stormy seas. On 18

March the submarine is still slowly

moving across the north Atlantic now

accompanied by nine Soviet ships and

the U.S. Coast Guard cutter

Gallatin

On 5 April, the West German Navy

reports the submarine had reached its

home waters in the White Sea.

02/25/72: The USS

Beacon

(PG-99)

suffers a large hole and an engine room

flood after colliding with the Dutch

fishing ship

Syriname

east of Cape

Maisi, Cuba, and is towed to

Guantanamo Bay.

03/15/72: The USS

Joseph Hewes

(DE-1078) loses power about 600 miles

east of Jacksonville, Florida, when a

main engine line shaft bearing breaks in

stormy seas.

Neptune Paper No. 3: Naval Accidents 1945-1988

03/16/72: The U.S. Navy reports the

rare sighting of a Soviet Yankee class

nuclear-powered ballistic missile

submarine on the surface northeast of

Iceland. It was not clear whether the

submarine was in difficulty.

04/11/72: The USS

Benjamin Franklin

(SSBN-640) collides with and sinks a

tugboat at the General Dynamics Electric

Boat Division docks at Groton,

Connecticut. The submarine, being

overhauled at the shipyard, was not

damaged.

04/16/72: Two antiradiation missiles

inadvertently fired by a U.S. support

aircraft explode near the USS

Worden

(DLG-18) while the ship operates off

Vietnam, killing one, injuring nine, and

putting the ship out of action. The ship

proceeds to Subic Bay, Philippines for

ten days of repairs.

06/28/72: The USS

Oriskany

(CVA-34) and USS

Nitro

(AE-23) are in

a minor collision during underway

replenishment 150 nautical miles east of

Da Nang, South Vietnam.

07/06/72: The USS

Guadalupe

(AO-32) sustains damage to its bow,

bridge, and fueling probe in a collision

with the USS

Alamo

(LSD-33) 30 miles

north of Da Nang, South Vietnam,

during underway replenishment when the

Alamo

's rudder jams hard left and does

not respond.

07/10/72: The computer system of the

USS

Forrestal

(CVA-59) is damaged by

a fire determined to have been caused by

arson while in Norfolk, Virgina.

07/19/72: Damage to the reduction gears

of the USS

Ranger

(CVA-61) while in

San Diego, California, is determined to

have been caused by sabotage.

07/20/72: The USS

Oriskany

(CVA-34) loses a propeller and a section

of the propeller's tail shaft while

operating in the Pacific, thus limiting the

carrier to three engines.

07/20/72: A sailor who is said to have

started fires aboard the Royal Navy

frigate HMS

Puma

because the first

lieutenant got on his nerves, is sentenced

by a Portsmouth, U.K., court-martial.

08/16/72: The Royal Navy diesel

submarine HMS

Onyx

suffers a fire

started by chemicals while undergoing

refit at a Portsmouth, U.K., dockyard,

causing slight damage.

10/01/72: The USS

Newport News

(CA-148) suffers an accidental explosion

in a gun turret while operating off

Vietnam, killing 19, injuring ten (one

mortally) and putting the ship out

operation.

10/05/72: The USS

Mizar

(T-AGOR-11) and the U.S. Coast Guard

cutter

Edisto

collide about 720 miles

north of Iceland in the Greenland Sea, as

the

Edisto

tows the disabled

Mizar

Both are disabled and are in danger of

being beset by ice.

10/06/72: The USS

Tullibee

(SSN-597)

collides with the West German freighter

Hagen

as it is cruising just beneath the

surface about 150 nautical miles east of

Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, during

stormy weather, causing slight damage to

the submarine. The collision did not

impair the operations of either ship.

10/11/72: The French diesel submarine

La Sirene

sinks at its moorings after

emergency bulkheads fail to prevent an

inrush of water through an open torpedo

tube, no reported injuries.

10/22/72: The USS

Silas Bent

(T-AGS-26) is badly damaged by fire

while conducting surveillance off the

South Korean coast. There are no

casualties and the ship returns to Pusan

under its own power.

10/25/72: The USS

Snook

(SSN-592) is

slightly damaged when it strikes bottom

in Dabob Bay, Washington, while on a

celebration run. The submarine surfaced

without any problems.

10/29/72: The USS

Saratoga

(CVA-60)

suffers a machine room fire while in port

at Singapore, killing three.

10/30/72: The USS

Florikan

(ASR-9)

suffers a fire in a forward hold, killing

one and injuring another.

10/31/72: While the USS

Mississinewa

(AO-144) is getting underway, sabotage

is discovered in the ship's boiler system

which is shut down before damage is

incurred.

11/03/72: A flash fire in the after fire

room of the USS

Henderson

(DD-785)

puts the Number 4 boiler out of

commission. However, the ship

continues operations off southern

California.

11/12/72: The USS

Kretchmer

(DER-329) while crossing the Atlantic is

forced to divert to Ponta Delgado,

Azores, after suffering a series of

material casualties.

11/14/72: The Royal Navy frigate HMS

Russell

is damaged in a gale.

11/15/72: The USS

Preserver

(ARS-8)

completes a month-long trans-Atlantic

tow of the USS

Brumby

(DE-1044)

from Greenock, Scotland, to Charleston,

South Carolina, after the

Brumby

suffers

damage to its steam generators.

12/01/72: According to raw CIA

intelligence reports, in December a

Soviet nuclear-powered submarine from

the Northern Fleet suffers a nuclear

radiation accident while on patrol off the

eastern coast of North America. The

accident involved leakage from a

nuclear-armed torpedo in the

Mine-Torpedo Department in the

forward section of the submarine.

Reportedly, "Doors were immediately

secured in accordance with regulations

and some crew members were trapped

within the space where the nuclear

Neptune Paper No. 3: Naval Accidents 1945-1988

radiation leakage occurred."

12/02/72: The USS

Proteus

(AS-19)

experiences a blast in a boiler room

while in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, suffering

only slight damage.

12/13/72: The USS

Ranger

(CVA-61)

suffers a fire in the main machinery room

while the ship operates off Vietnam. The

fire takes two hours to control.

12/31/72: According to raw CIA

intelligence reports, probably in

December 1972 or January 1973 an

undetermined accident during Soviet

naval operations cripples a Soviet

nuclear-powered submarine in the

Atlantic. Reportedly, the submarine is

towed "at a speed of two to three knots"

for six weeks to Severomorsk on the

Kola Peninsula, arriving in February

1973. Also, "The crew members trapped

in the forward space initially consumed

dry rations that were permanently stored

in the compartment and later they

received food through a small opening

from the weather deck. Upon arrival at

Severomorsk, crew members were

permitted to debark the submarine.

Several men died shortly after the

accident, others later.... The majority of

the submarine crew members suffered

from some form of radiation sickness."

01/05/73: The USS

Henry B. Wilson

(DDG-7) while outside Saigon, South

Vietnam, suffers an in-bore premature

explosion in Mount 51 which destroys a

foot of the barrel and injures two

crewmen.

01/21/73: The USS

Cascade

(AD-16)

experiences flooding and small fires in

port at Sigonella, Italy. Sabotage is

suspected.

01/22/73: The USS

Batfish

(SSN-681)

suffers bottom damage after running hard

aground at Charleston, South Carolina,

while proceeding to sea. The submarine

is pulled free by tugs and returns to the

dock.

01/23/73: The Royal Navy fleet

auxiliary

Scarab

collides with the

Cleddau King ferry at Neyland,

Pembrokshire, Wales. An engineer on

the ferry, which crosses the Cleddau

River, is hurt when the impact threw him

against the engines.

01/23/73: The Royal Navy frigate HMS

Scylla

collides with a Tamas River ferry

between Plymouth and Torpoint in the

river. The ferry's hull is split near the

bows, leaving a three-foot-wide gash

from handrail to waterline. The frigate

continued down river for the sea.

01/23/73: The Royal Navy frigates HMS

Russell

and HMS

Hardy

collide with

minor damage in Portsmouth harbor,

U.K. as they maneuver for a formation

departure. Both continued to their

exercise area.

01/27/73: The USS

Jason

(AR-8)

suffers minor damage when struck by the

Japanese cargo ship

Koro Maru

while

en route from Sasebo, Japan, to Keelung,

Taiwan.

02/04/73: The USS

Tolovana

(AO-64)

is slightly damaged by a fire apparently

of electrical origin while in port at Subic

Bay, Philippines.

02/05/73: The USS

Basilone

(DD-824)

suffers a boiler room explosion during

training 120 miles southeast of New

York City, killing seven.

02/07/73: An explosion of fuel leaking

from a broken pipe sets off an engine

room fire on the USS

Agerholm

(DD-826) while the ship is off San

Diego, California, killing three.

02/10/73: The USS

Fairfax County

(LST-1193) is holed by an uncharted

reef during amphibious exercises off

Carbonaras, Spain, but is able to

continue participation.

02/23/73: The USS

Franklin D.

Roosevelt

(CVA-42) suffers minor

damage from a brief fire in the hangar

deck while the carrier is undergoing

restricted availability in Mayport,

Florida.

03/11/73: The USS

Manitowoc

(LST-1180) experiences a brief fire in a

pump room while in port at Little Creek,

Virginia. There are no injuries.

03/27/73: The USS

Hammerhead

(SSN-663), operating east of the Virginia

Capes area at about 300 feet, strikes a

submerged object of unknown nature

thought to be non-metallic, perhaps a

whale. The impact was heavy enough to

be heard and felt throughout the ship.

There was no discernable damage.

03/27/73: The USS

Greenling

(SSN-614) goes below its safe diving

level while training about 250 miles

northwest of Bermuda because a needle

on a depth guage sticks. The true depth

is disclosed on another gauge before the

submarine reaches a depth that would

have crushed her hull. On 30 March the

submarine arrives at its homeport of

Groton, Connecticut. On 10 April the

Greenling

docks at Portsmouth Naval

Shipyard, New Hampshire, for a

thorough check.

04/04/73: The USS

Beacon

(PG-99)

runs aground at Beaufort Inlet, North

Carolina, during "Exotic Dancer VI"

exercises and is refloated the next day.

04/05/73: While sailing in the Virginia

Capes area, the USS

Independence

(CVA-62) suffers a 45-minute fire in a

catapult ventilation system which affects

its operational readiness.

04/10/73: The USS

Guadalupe

(AO-32) runs aground off Harbor Island

in San Diego Bay, California, no

reported injuries.

04/21/73: The USS

Guardfish

(SSN-612) experiences a primary coolant

leak while running submerged about 370

miles south-southwest of Puget Sound.

The submarine surfaces and is ventilated

and decontaminated, and repairs the

Neptune Paper No. 3: Naval Accidents 1945-1988

casualty unassisted. Four crewmen are

transferred to the Puget Sound Naval

Hospital for monitoring.

04/23/73: The USS

Force

(MSO-445)

catches fire and sinks about 820 miles

west of Guam in the Philippine Sea.

Seventy crewmen who abandon the

Force

are picked up the next day by the

British merchant ship

Spratnes

05/21/73: The USS

Sturgeon

(SSN-637) strikes the bottom of the

ocean suffering minor damage while

operating in deep water during a dive off

the U.S. Virgin Islands. The Navy says

there were no injuries to the crew and the

submarine's nuclear power plant was not

affected. The submarine put into the

nearest U.S. port at Frederiksted, St.

Croix, under its own power.

05/28/73: The USS

Charles Berry

(DE-1035) and a Japanese cargo ship

suffer minor damage in a collision in

Kobe harbor, Japan.

06/03/73: The USS

Hull

(DD-945)

suffers a minor fire in an air conditioning

unit while in port at San Diego,

California.

06/04/73: The USS

Higbee

(DD-806)

suffers damage to its sonar dome when it

is grounded for five hours at Subic Bay,

Philippines.

06/06/73: The USS

Skipjack

(SSN-585) hits an uncharted sea mount

during "Dawn Patrol" exercises in the

Mediterranean Sea. The submarine

suffers minor damage and proceeds on

the surface to Soudha Bay, Crete, for

hull inspection.

07/14/73: The USS

Robert H. McCard

(DD-822) damages its sonar dome when

it runs aground on an uncharted sand bar

while exiting Tampa Bay, Florida.

07/17/73: The U.S. Army Reserve

transport ship

Hickory Knoll

collides

with U.S. Coast Guard buoy tender

Firebrush

in Baltimore harbor,

Maryland, shortly after being freed from

a sand bar. Neither ship is seriously

damaged. The Army says the

Firebrush

failed to concede the right of way.

07/28/73: The Canadian diesel

submarine

Okanagan

and the tanker

Grey Rover

collide off the Scottish

coast, no reported injuries.

08/03/73: The USS

Victoria

(AK-281)

experiences an engine room fire while

berthed at Eire Basin, Brooklyn, New

York, delaying its sailing by two weeks

in order to make repairs.

09/05/73: The U.S. Defense Department

reports that a damaged Soviet Echo II

class nuclear-powered cruise missile

submarine has been sighted in the

Caribbean south of Cuba with an

eight-foot gash in the port bow deck.

This is apparently the result of a collision

with another Soviet ship, perhaps a

cruiser with visible scrapes on its hull,

during maneuvers of the Soviet

Caribbean task force. The Pentagon

spokesman said the submarine did not

appear to be in danger of sinking.

09/09/73: The USS

Claud Jones

(DE-1033) experiences an engine room

fire while en route to Pearl Harbor,

Hawaii, causing substantial damage but

no casualties.

09/22/73: The USS

Saratoga

(CVA-60)

experiences a fire on the third deck,

between the flight deck and the hangar

deck, which takes nine hours to

extinguish while the ship is in drydock at

Norfolk, Virginia.

10/07/73: The Soviet Kanin class guided

missile destroyer 252 accidently releases

a torpedo after an explosion in a torpedo

tube while shadowing the Royal Navy

aircraft carrier HMS

Hermes

during

NATO "Swift Move" exercises in the

North Sea. Other torpedoes are

jettisoned to clear the tubes near the fire.

11/01/73: A U.S. Navy 100-foot

underwater demolition team's vessel

rams a minisubmarine in San Diego

harbor, California, as both vessels are

returning to Coronado amphibious base

from routine exercises with 40 other

vessels, killing one.

12/11/73: A fire, probably due to a fuel

line failure, occurs in the main engine

room on board the USS

Kitty Hawk

(CVA-63) while the ship is 700 miles

east of the Philippines, killing six.

12/12/73: An explosion rips through the

stack of the USS

Detroit

's (AOE-4) after

engine room, causing much material

damage while the ship is in Newport,

Rhode Island, for repairs and upkeep.

12/29/73: An oil slick 11 miles in length

results when a fuel tank of the USS

Pvt

Joseph F. Merrell

(T-AK-275) is

opened in a collision with the Liberian

freighter

Pearl Venture

off the

Californian coast. The

Pvt Joseph F.

Merrell

is towed into San Luis Obispo

Bay the next day while the oil slick

dissipates at sea.

01/08/74: The USS

Kittiwake

(ASR-13) receives minor hull damage in

a collision with the USS

Finback

(SSN-670) at the destroyer-submarine

piers at the Norfolk Naval Base,

Virginia.

01/21/74: The U.S. Navy says it is

investigating possible sabotage in the

cutting of electrical wires in the USS

Spadefish

(SSN-668), which is

undergoing a one-year overhaul in the

Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Virginia.

Electrical wires on the submarine had

been cut several times since the fall of

1973, prompting the Navy to investigate.

02/13/74: The USS

Gurke

(DD-783)

experiences an electrical fire while

operating in the Okinawa area, which

damages a switchboard and associated

equipment and injures two.

02/14/74: The USS

Schofield

(DEG-3)

suffers a propulsion casualty and is taken

in tow by the USS

Bainbridge

Neptune Paper No. 3: Naval Accidents 1945-1988

(DLGN-25) near the entrance of the Red

Sea in the Indian Ocean. Repairs are

completed the next day.

04/07/74: The USS

Wyandot

(T-AKA-92) is in collision with

merchant ship

Sacramento Venture

off

the entrance to Keelung, Taiwan. There

were no casualties.

04/17/74: The Royal Navy

nuclear-powered ballistic missile

submarine HMS

Renown

strikes the

seabed while carrying out an exercise in

the Firth of Clyde. The submarine had

just completed an expensive refit in

Rosyth but was not carrying nuclear

warheads. The captain Commander

Robin Whiteside faced a court-martial on

11 June.

04/25/74: The USS

DuPont

(DD-941)

collides with the left swing span of a

bridge at Yorktown, Virginia. The ship

suffers damage to the forward mast while

the bridge is closed to traffic for about an

hour.

05/01/74: In May the USS

Pintado

(SSN-672) reportedly collides almost

head-on with a Soviet Yankee class

nuclear-powered ballistic missile

submarine while cruising 200 feet deep

in the approaches to the Petropavlovsk

naval base on the Kamchatka Peninsula.

The Soviet submarine surfaced

immediately, but the extent of damage

was not known. The

Pintado

departed

from the area at top underwater speed

and proceeded to Guam where it entered

drydock for repairs lasting seven weeks.

The collision smashed much of the

Pintado

's detection sonar, a starboard

side torpedo hatch was jammed shut and

diving plane received moderate damage.

The

Pintado

was on an intelligence

gathering mission in Soviet territorial

waters.

05/06/74: The USS

Jallao

(SS-368)

experiences an explosion in the engine

room while providing services in the

Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, operating area.

An electrical arc ignited the engine room

atmosphere causing a quick flash. The

submarine surfaces and returns to port

needing minor repairs and soot clean-up.

Sixteen crewmembers are hospitalized

with smoke inhalation effects and one

with burns.

05/23/74: An explosion in the hold of

USS

John R. Craig

(DD-885) under

overhaul in drydock at a civilian

shipyard at Swan Island, Oregon, rocks

the destroyer and buckles its plates,

injuring 18. Welding was being done in

the area where the explosion occurred.

07/27/74: The USS

Enterprise

(CVAN-65) suffers a fire in an electrical

maintenance area off California, no

reported injuries.

08/03/74: A wave sweeps over the

forward deck of the USS

Hawkins

(DD-873) as it is refueling from the USS

Marias

(T-AO-57) in the Indian Ocean,

injuring seven. An emergency visit to

Diego Suarez, Madagascar, is made so

the men can be treated at a hospital.

08/05/74: The USS

Lipan

(ATF-85)

collides with the tanker

Atlantic

Prestige

between Vancouver Island and

Washington while towing another vessel.

08/31/74: The Royal Navy coastal

minesweeper HMS

Brinton

collides

with a museum ship.

09/01/74: The first and only Japanese

nuclear-powered merchant ship, the

Mutsu

, develops a reactor leak during its

first test voyage in the Pacific. The

leakage apparently results from a faulty

design in the reactor's shielding system

and involves the release of radiation --

gamma rays and neutrons escaping

through a hatch cover -- rather than an a

leak of actual radioactive materials.

Emergency repairs are made reportedly

with a thick layer of sticky boiled rice.

However, the ship drifts for weeks off

northern Japan due to protests by

fishermen who are concerned about

contamination of their scallop beds in the

vicinity of the ship's homeport of Mutsu

and refuse to allow the the ship to dock.

The fishermen end their protest after the

government promises compensation and

the ship docks in Mutsu on 15 October.

In 1978 the ship is moved to Sasebo,

Japan, and work on repairing the leak

begins in August 1980 at the Sasebo

Heavy Industries Company.

09/03/74: Shortly after getting underway

in Norfolk, Virginia, the USS

Butte

(AE-27) suffers a major fire in the main

switchboard, disrupting all ship support

electrical supply. The

Butte

is towed

back to the naval base for repairs which

include replacing the switchboard.

09/19/74: The Royal Navy

nuclear-powered attack submarine HMS

Sovereign

develops a steering defect

during exercises off the west coast of

Scotland while on the surface. On 23

September the ship is towed from the

Coulport naval base to the submarine

base at Faslane, Scotland, for

investigation and repair.

09/27/74: The New York Times reports

that Turkey's semi-official Anatolian

News Agency said that a Soviet Kashin

class guided missile destroyer exploded

and sank in the Black Sea with no

survivors about two weeks ago. Both

Turkish Navy officials and the U.S.

Defense Department refuse to confirm

reports of the sinking. The Kashin class

can carry nuclear-capable SA-N-1 Goa

surface-to-air missiles, but qualified

sources doubted the destroyer was

carrying any nuclear-armed versions

since the ship was on its sea trials. Later

newspaper accounts based on U.S.

intelligence sources report that 75 or

more people may have been rescued, but

even so a minimum of 275 perished.

10/19/74: The USS

Richard S.

Edwards

(DD-950) experiences

one-foot deep flooding in the fire room

while in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The

water is pumped out.

11/02/74: A four-hour fire aboard the

Royal Navy cruiser HMS

Bristol

Neptune Paper No. 3: Naval Accidents 1945-1988

damages the turbine and boiler rooms

and injures four sailors. The ship was on

sea trials off Pembrokeshire, U.K., and

had to be towed back to port.

11/03/74: The USS

James Madison

(SSBN-627) collides with an unknown

Soviet submarine in the North Sea

according to Jack Anderson's regular

newspaper column of 1 January 1975.

The collision left a nine-foot scrape in

the

Madison

. According to Anderson the

two submarines came within inches of

sinking one another. The

Madison

proceeded to Holy Loch, Scotland, to

effect repairs. The U.S. Navy refused to

comment on the incident.

12/06/74: The USS

Yukon

(T-AO-152)

experiences a fire in the electrical control

board which renders the ship dead in the

water in the western Mediterranean. The

fire occurrs in heavy weather and the

ship drifts toward the Algerian coast.

12/12/74: The USS

Edson

(DD-946)

experiences a fire in the after fire room

while training with USS

Coral Sea

(CVA-43) off Hawaii. The fire was

caused by the ignition of oil which was

spraying from a rupture in a lube oil

guage line. The area was secured and

fire extinguished with no personnel

casualties. The destroyer returned to

Pearl Harbor under its own power for

repairs.

12/13/74: The USS

Saratoga

(CV-60)

suffers a major aircraft accident when a

jet blast deflector is inadvertently raised

into the the turning propeller of a plane

while the ship is involved in exercise

"National Week XVII" in the Tyrrhenian

Sea, injuring five crewmen and

damaging five planes.

12/14/74: The USS

Kamehameha

(SSBN-642) strikes submerged fishing

gear during independent exercises in the

central Mediterranean. Deep hull

scrapes on the port side, a sheared

underwater log sword, and a damaged

screw result. The vessel returns to port

under its own power for repairs.

12/24/74: The Argentine warship

Candido de Lasala

suffers an explosion

in its boiler room in the English Channel,

killing two and injuring three.

12/31/74: Before 1975, a U.S.

submarine engaged in a Holystone

intelligence gathering mission reportedly

is temporarily grounded in Vladivostok

harbor. This apparently occurs when the

vessel was running on low power to

avoid detection and strikes the harbor

bottom. It eventually frees itself. (See

5/25/75 entry. This accident is

specifically reported as separate from

other New York Times accounts of

Holystone operations.)

01/05/75: The USS

Enhance

(MSO-437) is disabled by an engine

room fire when a ruptured "O" ring in a

lube oil filter causes the turbo charger to

explode while operating off San Diego,

California.

01/20/75: The USS

Newman K. Perry

(DD-883) strikes an unknown object off

New Jersey, cutting a small hole in the

engine room and causing minor flooding.

02/16/75: The USS

Swordfish

(SSN-579) runs aground near Lanai,

Hawaii, while conducting post-overhaul

trials. The submarine surfaces safely and

returns to Pearl Harbor for inspection

and repair. The Navy says the submarine

damaged sensor devices mounted on

hull, but there were no breaks in the hull.

The Honolulu Star-Bulletin, however,

receives reports that a torpedo room

flooded. The Navy denies this.

02/24/75: The USS

Kansas City

(AOR-3) is struck by the USS

Henry B.

Wilson

(DDG-7) while moored at Subic

Bay, Philippines, and both ships receive

minor damage.

03/03/75: The USS

Iwo Jima

(LPH-2)

and USS

Nashville

(LPD-13) are

severely damaged when the

Iwo Jima

loses steering control and rams into the

Nashville

during highline transfer about

1,000 miles southwest of the Azores.

03/05/75: The USS

Edward

McDonnell

(FF-1043) is struck from

astern by a Finnish merchant ship while

entering Hamburg, West Germany, in

rain and fog. The collision opens an

eight-foot-square hole above the

waterline of the frigate.

03/24/75: The USS

Dace

(SSN-607)

collides with a fishing vessel while

surfaced in the Narraganset Bay area off

Rhode Island. There was no reported

damage to the submarine.

03/26/75: The USS

Holland

(AS-32)

suffers a Class Alpha fire caused by

spontaneous combustion of fiber glass

materials in a sanding room while

undergoing overhaul at the Puget Sound

Naval Shipyard, Washington.

04/08/75: The USS

Koelsch

(FF-1049)

experiences flooding in the diesel

generator room when an air conditioning

main ruptures while in Mayport, Florida.

04/08/75: The USS

Meredith

(DD-890)

suffers an explosion and fire in a

freshwater tank in the forward fire room

while undergoing overhaul in

Jacksonville, Florida, killing two civilian

workers.

04/23/75: The USS

Snook

(SSN-592)

becomes entangled in a net of a probable

Soviet fishing trawler while submerged

at a depth of 150 feet in a submarine

diving area 30 miles off San Francisco,

California. The

Snook

is pulled to

periscope depth immediately astern of

the fishing ship, however it breaks free

and clears the area. About 25 Soviet

fishing vessels are in the area when the

incident occurrs.

04/29/75: The USS

Patterson

(FF-1061) experiences flooding in a

machinery room when an air compressor

saltwater cooling line ruptures while in

upkeep in Mayport, Florida.

05/25/75: A lengthy story in the New

Neptune Paper No. 3: Naval Accidents 1945-1988

York Times details a secret U.S. Navy

submarine intelligence gathering

program code-named Holystone. Using

specially equipped submarines the Navy

has spied on the Soviet Union and other

countries since the early 1960s, at times

within their three-mile limit. Several

accidents resulted from these missions

including the damaging of a U.S.

submarine which surfaced under a Soviet

ship during a Soviet fleet exercise as well

as accidents listed at 12/31/65, 12/31/67,

12/31/68, 10/31/69, 11/14/69, 3/31/71,

5/1/74, and 12/31/74. Further exposes of

the Holystone program are in the

Washington Post (1/4/74), New York

Times (7/4 and 7/6/75), Village Voice

(2/16/76), Chicago Tribune (12/4/77)

and Baltimore Sun (4/18/81). According

to the reports, most of the submarines

involved in Holystone missions were

Sturgeon class nuclear-powered attack

submarines, which also were armed with

nuclear weapons.

06/10/75: The USS

Kitty Hawk

(CV-63) suffers major flooding in its

Number 1 machinery room while 135

nautical miles northwest of Wake Island,

crossing to the western Pacific.

06/15/75: A boiler flareback explosion

damages two boilers and adjacent

uptakes of the USS

Independence

(CV-62) while moored at Norfolk,

Virginia.

06/20/75: The Navy announces eight

minor fires that occurred aboard the USS

John F. Kennedy

(CV-67) earlier in the

week may have been set by a sailor in an

effort to forestall its departure from

Norfolk, Virginia, on a seven-month

deployment.

08/05/75: The Royal Navy Reserve

minesweeper HMS

Killiecrankie

rams a

yacht, sinking it, and damages two other

pleasure craft in Great Yarmouth harbor,

U.K., when the minesweeper tries to turn

while leaving Yarmouth at the end of a

courtesy visit.

08/07/75: The USS

Dahlgren

(DDG-43) collides with the Panamanian

freighter

Eurybates

about

three-and-one-half miles east of Port

Colon in the Panama Canal Zone. There

are no injuries.

09/29/75: The USS

Albany

(CG-10)

suffers a Class Bravo fire after a fuel oil

strainer explosion east of Norfolk while

en route to northern Europe, killing one.

On 1 October the

Albany

rejoins the

Second Fleet task group headed for

northern Europe, with repairs scheduled

to take place in Europe.

10/24/75: The USS

Farragut

(DDG-37)

is momentarily grounded while departing

Den Helder, Netherlands, for Brest,

France. Both sonar domes are damaged

and the ship proceeds at reduced speed.

11/12/75: The Royal Navy frigate

Achilles

collides with the tanker

Olympic Alliance

in thick fog in the

English Channel, no reported injuries.

11/20/75: The USS

Independence

(CV-62) is in a minor collision with the

USS

Denebola

(AF-56) during night

replenishment in the North Sea.

11/21/75: The USS

Belknap

(CG-26) is

involved in an oil spill during refueling

with the USS

Waccamaw

(T-AO-109)

in the Ionian Sea about 25 nautical miles

from Italy.

11/22/75: The USS

John F. Kennedy

(CV-67) and the USS

Belknap

(CG-26)

collide in rough seas at night during air

exercises about 70 miles east of Sicily.

The overhanging flight deck of the

carrier cuts into the superstructure of the

cruiser setting off fires on the

Belknap

which are not controlled for

two-and-one-half hours on account of

frequent flarebacks. The commander of

Carrier Striking Forces for the U.S. Sixth

fleet, reporting to higher commands

shortly after the collision, declares a

possible nuclear weapons accident -- a

Broken Arrow -- stating there was a

"high probability that nuclear weapons

[W45 Terrier missile warheads] on the

USS

Belknap

were involved in fire and

explosions," but there were "no direct

communications with the

Belknap

at this

time," and "no positive indications that

explosions were directly related to

nuclear weapons." He also notes that

casualties recovered thus far show no

exposure to radiation. Nonetheless,

monitoring and medical teams were

"alerted to the possibility of

contamination." He adds that the nuclear

weapons on board the

Kennedy

were not

affected. An hour after the Broken

Arrow message was sent the USS

Claude V. Ricketts

(DDG-5), alongside

the

Belknap

fighting the fire, reported

that

Belknap

personnel said "no

radiation hazard exists aboard." Six

people aboard the

Belknap

and one

aboard the

Kennedy

are killed. The

Belknap

suffers serious damage, is put

out of commission, and towed back to

the U.S. to effect repairs lasting four

years. It returns to the fleet in 1980.

Smaller fires and other damage on the

Kennedy

are quickly contained and the

carrier continues operations.

11/24/75: An ASROC motor

prematurely ignites seriously burning one

man while the USS

Richard S. Edwards

(DD-950) is en route to the Pacific

Missile Range Facility, Barking Sands,

Kauai, from Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. A

manufacturing defect in one of the rocket

motor components is determined to be

the accident's cause.

11/25/75: A plane attempting to land on

the USS

Midway

(CV-41) strikes the

ramp, bolts, impacts the barricade, and

strikes another plane during post-

"Midlink" exercises in the Indian Ocean.

Flying debris injures two crewmen.

12/06/75: The USS

Haddock

(SSN-621) develops a leak and floods

during a deep dive while on a test run

near Hawaii. The U.S. Navy confirms

the incident, but denies the vessel is

unsafe as crew members had charged in

late October. A number of enlisted men

had protested sending the ship to sea,

claiming it had cracks in the main

Neptune Paper No. 3: Naval Accidents 1945-1988

cooling piping, leaks, and malfunctions

and deficiencies in other systems,

including the steering mechanism. The

Navy replied that in accordance with

strict safety procedures any problems are

corrected before the ship goes to sea.

12/15/75: The USS

Saratoga

(CV-60)

and the USS

Mississinewa

(AO-144) are

in a minor collision during underway

replenishment off the Florida coast.

12/16/75: The USS

Inchon

(LPH-12)

and the USS

Caloosahatchee

(AO-98)

are in a minor collision during refueling

in rough seas west of Italy.

12/20/75: The USS

Santa Barbara

(AE-28) suffers a Class Alpha fire while

moored at Charleston, South Carolina,

without crew and ammunition in

preparation for regular overhaul.

12/31/75: Around 1975, according to

The Virginian-Pilot and The

Ledger-Star, the USS

California

(CGN-36) spills 15 to 20 gallons of

primary coolant while the ship is at the

Norfolk Naval Base, Virginia.

01/27/76: The USS

Guadalcanal

(LPH-7) exiting Augusta Bay, Sicily,

goes aground on a peak of coral which

pushes in areas on either side of the bow,

but does not crack or hole the ship. On

30 January, with cargo, personnel,

helicopters, and fuel off-loaded to assist

the effort, the ship is refloated.

01/27/76: While anchored in Augusta

Bay, Sicily, the USS

Spiegel Grove

(LSD-32) is struck on the bow and

starboard quarter by the Panamanian

merchant vessel

Honesty

which had

dragged anchor during winds of 50

knots.

02/13/76: The USS

Iwo Jima

(LPH-2)

experiences a boiler casualty while

participating in a "Rum Punch" exercise

in the Caribbean. The casualty limits the

ship's speed to 15 knots and half power.

An embarked Royal Netherlands Marine

Unit was airlifted to Roosevelt Roads,

Puerto Rico, and the helicopter carrier

got underway for New Orleans.

02/29/76: The USS

New Orleans

(LPH-11), crossing from the western

Pacific to San Diego, California, suffers

vibrations at speeds above ten knots. It

is discovered that one blade is missing

from the four-bladed screw. On 2 March

it alters course from California to Hawaii

as the damage impedes its progress.

02/29/76: The USS

Sellers

(DDG-11)

conducted an emergency underway at

Iskenderun, Turkey, as heavy weather

made its position at the NATO fuel pier

untenable. The destroyer suffered some

scraping and minor damage along the

main deck but was able to clear without

injuries to crew or damage below the

waterline.

03/21/76: The British iron ore carrier

Cape Ortegal

is hit by a rocket, believed

to be fired by a Japanese defense force

aircraft during an exercise.

03/30/76: The USS

Elmer

Montgomery

(FF-1082) suffers a fire in

a storeroom while in port at Norfolk,

Virginia. The ship's crew with assistance

from the USS

Mitscher

(DDG-35) and

the base fire department extinguish the

fire. No personnel are injured and the

damage is minor.

04/16/76: The USS

Albany

(CG-10)

experiences a nuclear weapons incident

-- Dull Sword -- when during handling

of TALOS nuclear warhead trainers a

top-side hoist fails as the ship is finishing

repairs and upkeep at the Norfolk Naval

Shipyard, Virginia. On 4 May 1976 a

TALOS safety working group convenes

aboard the

Albany

to observe and

evaluate modifications made to the hoist

as a result of the accident.

05/01/76: Early May -- a Norwegian

fishing vessel in international waters off

Murmansk snags a Soviet

nuclear-powered attack submarine's fin at

about 450 feet below the surface. The

Soviet boat surfaced and the fisherman

could see the Soviet crewmen cutting at

the entangling cables with hammer and

chisels. The submarine was later towed

toward Murmansk by Soviet rescue

ships.

05/01/76: In May fuel oil leaks into the

lower level of the ballistic missile

magazine aboard the USS

Proteus

(AS-19) while the ship is in Apra

Harbor, Guam. According to the Navy,

the leak was detected by magazine

personnel and stopped.

05/01/76: The Sixth Fleet flagship USS

Little Rock

(CG-4) experiences a

casualty in the main engine lube oil

system in the Tyrrhenian Sea. On 2 May

it enters Naples for repairs.

05/02/76: The Royal Navy

nuclear-powered attack submarine HMS

Warspite

suffers a fire in a diesel

generating room while berthed in Royal

Seaforth Dock, Crosby on the Mersey,

U.K., injuring three. The Ministry of

Defense says "There is absolutely no

nuclear hazard." Originally it is

anticipated that its patrol would be

delayed one week. However, in January

1979 it is reported that the fire was

caused by a failure of a coupling on a

lubricating oil pipe, which allowed oil to

be sprayed over a diesel generator. And,

that repairs were still believed to be

continuing at a cost of 5,194,000 pounds

sterling.

05/08/76: The USS

Corry

(DD-817)

while sailing outbound on the Delaware

River is struck on the starboard side by

the West German merchantman

Mormannia

. The

Corry

suffers minor

hull damage above the waterline with no

personnel injuries.

05/31/76: The USS

Vesole

(DD-878)

suffers a fire while moored alongside a

pier at Taranto, Italy. It was started by a

yard worker welding on the base of the

Number 1 stack. Electrical cables were

shorted and the destroyer's operational

capability was affected. There were no

injuries.

Neptune Paper No. 3: Naval Accidents 1945-1988

06/09/76: The USS

Wabash

(AOR-5)

and USS

Flint

(AE-32) collide while

conducting towing exercises about 900

nautical miles northwest of Hawaii.

Both ships continue onward to a western

Pacific deployment.

07/01/76: The Norwegian fishing

trawler

Sjovik

snags the bow of a Soviet

November class nuclear-powered attack

submarine and is dragged backward for

about a mile in the Barents Sea north of

the Soviet naval base at Murmansk. The

submarine surfaces, cuts itself free, and

proceeds on the surface toward

Murmansk.

07/02/76: A fire breaks out in the main

engine room of the USS

Kilauea

(AE-26), while it is drydocked for

overhaul at Richmond, Virginia.

08/11/76: The Royal Navy patrol vessel

HMS

Reward

collides with the freighter

Plainsman

and sinks off the coast of

Scotland. All 40 crewmen are rescued.

08/25/76: The USS

Conyngham

(DDG-17) and USS

Josephus Daniels

(CG-27) are in a minor collision during

"National Week 21" exercises in the

western Mediterranean.

08/25/76: The USS

Pollack

(SSN-603)

snags the nets of Japanese fishing boats

in the eastern channel of the the

Tsushima Strait. Two boats cut away

and abandon their nets. The

Pollack

suffers no major damage and there is no

known damage to the fishing boats.

08/28/76: A Soviet Echo II class

nuclear-powered cruise missile

submarine strikes the USS

Voge

(FF-1047) with its sail on the port

quarter below the helicopter hangar,

about 150 miles southwest of Souda Bay,

Crete. The submarine departs the area

under its own power to the Kithera

Anchorage off Greece escorted by Soviet

ships. The

Voge

suffers split bulkheads,

buckled plating, and a damaged propeller

and is towed to Souda Bay by the

Moinster

(FF-1097) and

Preserver

(ARS-8). The submarine damages its

sail. In September the

Voge

is towed to

Toulon, France. On 7 September the

U.S. State Department announces that

the U.S. and Soviet Union had

exchanged notes, each blaming the other

for the collision.

09/01/76: The Turkish diesel submarine

Dumlupinar

and the freighter

Fizik

Vavilov

collide in the Dardanelles, no

reported casualties.

09/14/76: The USS

Raleigh

(LPD-1)

leaves Moorehead City, North Carolina,

after a week's delay caused by

inoperative feed pumps to participate in

the "Teamwork" exercises off Norway.

While crossing the Atlantic, the ship

experiences further engineering

problems, causing the ship to be diverted

to Plymouth, U.K. The ship arrives 24

September for two weeks of repairs to

the feed pumps before sailing on 9

October.

09/14/76: The USS

Bordelon

(DD-881)

experiences steering control difficulties

during refueling and collides with the

USS

John F. Kennedy

(CV-67) 75

miles northwest of Scapa Flow, Scotland,

causing topside damage to the

Bordelon

and injuring six. Damage to the

Kennedy

is minor. The

Bordelon

proceeds to Plymouth, U.K., for repairs

before going to the United States. The

Navy subsequently decommissions the

ship because repairs would be too

expensive.

09/20/76: The Royal Navy frigate HMS

Mermaid

and the minesweeper HMS

Fittleton

collide during the NATO

exercise "Teamwork 76" in the North

Sea. The

Fittleton

capsizes and sinks,

killing 12.

09/24/76: The Royal Navy destroyer

HMS

Glasgow

suffers a fire while being

fitted out at Swan Hunter Tyneside yard,

Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, U.K., killing

eight workmen.

10/01/76: According to raw CIA

intelligence reports, during October the

launch compartment of a Soviet nuclear

submarine of unknown class catches fire

in the Atlantic. Three officers are

reported killed. The submarine is able to

return to port under its own power.

10/08/76: A Japanese fishing vessel

snags a Soviet Charlie class

nuclear-powered cruise missile

submarine off the Kamchatka Peninsula.

The fishing boat is dragged backward

until it reels in its nets and the submarine

surfaces. The nets are cut to free the

submarine.

11/02/76: A major explosion takes place

in a boiler of the USS

Ponchatoula

(AO-148) in port at Pearl Harbor,

Hawaii. The explosion blows out the

side and back wall of the Number 2

boiler.

12/19/76: A F-14 Tomcat aircraft misses

a landing on the USS

Enterprise

(CVN-65), and its wingtip strikes two

other aircraft on the flight deck before it

veers out of control and crashes into the

South China Sea.

12/31/76: In 1976 a barge carrying

500-lb. bombs breaks away from the

USS

Detroit

(AOE-4) and floats down

the York River, Virginia. The barge was

stopped after 30 minutes and no damage

was reported.

12/31/76: According to raw CIA

intelligence reports, during 1976 a sailor

who had served on board a Soviet

nuclear-powered ballistic missile

submarine of unknown class dies of

"excessive exposure to radiation." He

was exposed to radiation on board

through his own negligence at least a

year prior to his death and was in and out

of hospitals before being permanently

hospitalized in 1975.

01/02/77: A Pakistani midget submarine

is lost off Karachi, Pakistan, killing

eight.

Neptune Paper No. 3: Naval Accidents 1945-1988

01/02/77: The USS

Mizar

(T-AGOR-11) suffers a casualty to the

port main propulsion drive shafting while

en route to Karachi, Pakistan, to

participate in Arabian Sea survey

operations.

01/12/77: The USS

Franklin D.

Roosevelt

(CV-42) collides with the

Liberian freighter

Oceanus

as the

Roosevelt

proceeds south through the

Strait of Messina. Both ships are able to

proceed to port under their own power.

01/17/77: An LCM-6 landing boat from

the USS

Trenton

(LPD-14) carrying

more than 100 marines and sailors

returning from liberty overturns in a

collision with the Spanish freighter

Uriea

in Barcelona harbor, Spain, killing

48.

02/08/77: A fire breaks out in the engine

room of the USS

Preserver

(ARS-8)

near the Bahamas. The ship is towed by

the USS

Bowen

(FF-1079) to Mayport,

Florida, for repairs.

02/08/77: A minor boiler explosion

occurs aboard the USS

Fanning

(FF-1076) as the ship operates 15 miles

from San Francisco, California, injuring

three.

02/11/77: The USS

Barnstable County

(LST-1197) collides with the moored

Liberian ship

Pounentes

while clearing

berth under pilot control at Curaao,

Netherlands Antilles, resulting in minor

damage.

02/20/77: The USS

Ranger

(CV-61)

experiences a Class Alpha fire in the

anchor machinery room while drydocked

at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard,

Washington.

03/12/77: The USS

Mauna Kea

(AE-22) loses propulsion because of a

mechanical failure in the Number 1

boiler while en route from Guam to

Okinawa. It enters Apra harbor, Guam,

the next day under tow.

03/16/77: The USS

Manley

(DD-940)

suffers a flash-back in a mount during

gunnery exercises off Guantanamo Bay,

Cuba, injuring four. The mount is placed

out of commission due to fire and water

damage when a second powder casing

explodes after the mount is evacuated.

03/18/77: The USS

Hepburn

(FF-1055)

suffers a Class Alpha fire caused by

spontaneous combustion of refuse while

off San Diego, California.

03/18/77: The Royal Navy coastal

minesweeper HMS

Maxton

accidentally

fires at the Royal Navy frigate HMS

Achilles

off the Scottish coast when live

shells instead of blanks are used in a

practice firing. Two shells hit and cause

moderate damage to the

Achilles

03/20/77: The USS

Dyess

(DD-880)

suffers a wardroom fire apparently

caused by arson while in port at

Mayport, Florida. There is minor

damage.

03/24/77: An inquest records accidental

death verdicts for three sailors who died

in an engine room fire aboard the Royal

Navy frigate HMS

Ashanti

04/07/77: All nine ships in U.S. Navy

Task Group 21.2 including the USS

Independence

(CV-62) suffer varying

amounts of damage when they encounter

a storm with 20-foot seas about 1,000

miles west of Rota, Spain. Some

Independence

planes land at Lajes Air

Base in the Azores.

04/20/77: The USS

Independence

(CV-62) and the USS

Truckee

(AO-147) collide in the Tyrrhenian Sea

during underway replenishment when the

Truckee

loses steering control.

05/14/77: The USS

Neches

(T-AO-183)

runs aground in the inner anchorage at

Port Suez, Egypt, while awaiting a pilot.

It is refloated three days later following

four failed attempts.

05/19/77: The USS

Mizar

(T-AGOR-11) suffers an engine room

explosion and fire while west of

Sumatra, Indonesia. The ship proceeds

on one engine to Singapore for repairs.

05/29/77: The USS

Sampson

(DDG-10)

runs aground at the entrance to San Juan,

Puerto Rico, but is cleared within an

hour by the ship's engines and one tug.

The sonar dome is slightly damaged.

06/06/77: Several U.S. Navy ships,

including the USS

California

(CGN-36)

and the USS

El Paso

(LKA-117), part

their moorings and suffer minor damage

during high winds in the Norfolk,

Virginia, area.

06/15/77: The USS

Trippe

(FF-1075)

suffers damage to its sonar dome during

a search and rescue operation for a

crashed Kuwaiti helicopter in the Persian

Gulf.

07/12/77: The USS

Rich

(DD-820) and

the USS

Caloosahatchee

(AO-98)

collide north of the U.S. Virgin Islands

following underway replenishment when

the

Rich

loses steering control, strikes

the oiler's starboard bow, and then

continues across the bow raking the

Rich

's port side. The

Rich

is escorted to

Mayport, Florida.

07/20/77: The USS

Direct

(MSO-430)

is badly damaged by a two-hour engine

room fire about 120 miles southeast of

Newport, Rhode Island, and is taken

under tow to Newport where it arrives

the next day.

07/22/77: The USS

Henry L. Stimson

(SSBN-655) fouls the fishing nets of a

Spanish trawler while undergoing

refresher training in the Rota area off

Spain.

08/06/77: A major Class Bravo fire

occurs in the forward engine room of

USS

Hunley

(AS-31) while the ship is

part of the Atlantic Fleet. "The excellent

response of the Duty Damage Control

Party and action of other individuals on

board limited the fire to the forward

Neptune Paper No. 3: Naval Accidents 1945-1988

engine room and extinguished it 25

minutes from its start. Fire, smoke,

and/or firefighting water damaged the

Number 2 main engine, Numbers 1 and 2

main propulsion generators, Numbers 1

and 2 ship service generators, Numbers 1

and 2 low pressure air compressors,

Number 2 force draft blower, Number 2

evaporator and salinity indicating

system, plus runs of electrical cable in

the vicinity of the fire. The forward

switchboard, 1S, was grounded by

firefighting water rendering the forward

part of the ship without normal electrical

power."

08/23/77: While the USS

Saratoga

(CV-60) is en route to the Strait of

Messina, an aerosol can explodes in the

Number 2 incinerator of the ship, causing

a fire which threatens the aircraft of

Hangar Bay Number 2. According to the

Navy, "The fast and professional

reaction of the crew and the decision to

call away GQ [General Quarters] can be

directly credited for the successful

handling of the potential disaster."

09/20/77: The USS

Ray

(SSN-653)

strikes the bottom south of Sardinia,

Italy, damaging its bow area. The

Ray

surfaces and proceeds to La Maddalena

naval base on Sardinia escorted by the

USS

Grayling

(SSN-646).

09/29/77: The USS

Archerfish

(SSN-678) and USS

Philadelphia

(SSN-690) collide stern to stern at slow

speeds at the Groton submarine base,

Connecticut, with minor damage

reported.

10/06/77: The USS

Saratoga

(CV-60)

collides with the Austrian container ship

Ville d'Orient

in the Strait of Messina

with no injuries and minor damage

reported.

10/12/77: The USS

Sealift Atlantic

(T-AO-172) becomes dead in the water

about 800 miles northeast of Puerto Rico

after suffering a propeller casualty. On

15 October the ship is placed under tow

by the USS

Gear

(T-ARS-34) headed

toward Puerto Rico.

10/27/77: A seaman is acquitted of

starting fires on the Royal Navy frigate

HMS

Gurkha

11/24/77: The Washington Post reports

NATO sources believe that the Soviet

Navy is experiencing trouble with its

Yak-36 V/STOL aircraft after an

incident where the flight deck of the

Kiev

assault ship was set on fire by one

of the aircraft. The

Kiev

itself had only

been at sea for two weeks since

deployment to the Northern Fleet in Fall

1976.

12/04/77: The USS

W.S. Sims

(FF-1059) loses power after a boiler

casualty results in the loss of a generator

during training 70 miles south of

Bermuda. The frigate is able to get

underway for Mayport, Florida, after the

USS

Ainsworth

(FF-1090) rigs

emergency power from alongside.

12/06/77: The USS

Pintado

(SSN-672)

sustains damage to the top of its rudder

in a minor collision with a South Korean

Navy ship during exercises off Korea.

The

Pintado

initiated emergency deep

dive procedures when the surface ship

turned toward the submarine at close

range.

12/31/77: Around 1977, according to a

report in The Virginian-Pilot and The

Ledger-Star, 40 to 50 gallons of primary

coolant spill from the USS

California

(CGN-36) while the ship is in Norfolk,

Virginia.

12/31/77: According to raw CIA

intelligence reports, in 1977 a Soviet

nuclear-powered submarine suffers an

internal fire while in the Indian Ocean.

The submarine is forced to surface in an

attempt to fight the fire which takes

several days to extinguish. A Soviet

trawler subsequently tows the submarine

to a port near Vladivostok.

12/31/77: According to raw CIA

intelligence reports, in 1977 about 12

Soviet naval officers serving on a

nuclear-powered submarine in the

Atlantic return to Leningrad via an

Aeroflot flight from Canada. The reason

for the return was not announced but it

was known at the time that these officers

were taken from a Soviet submarine in

the Atlantic by a Soviet fishing trawler

and subsequently transported to Canada

where they boarded the plane. The CIA

sources suggest this may have been a

medical emergency connected with

radiation exposure.

12/31/77: Sometime during 1976-77, the

Royal Navy nuclear-powered ballistic

missile submarine HMS

Repulse

suffers

a fire, causing 200,000 pounds sterling

damage.

01/12/78: The French Navy escort

vessel

Duperre

is pulled off by a tug

after it runs aground in a storm off

Brittany at night. The ship is towed into

Brest, France.

01/15/78: An A-7 Corsair II aircraft

crashes upon landing aboard the USS

Forrestal

(CV-59) while the carrier

operates about 50 miles off St.

Augustine, Florida, killing one and

injuring ten.

01/18/78: The USS

Cree

(ATF-84) is

struck by three Mark 82 bombs near a

target ship during exercises by planes of

the USS

Enterprise

(CVN-65) off San

Diego, California. Two explosions close

to the

Cree

cause flooding while a third

lodges in the starboard side and is later

defused by an explosives ordnance

disposal team. The tug is taken in tow

after damage control teams control the

flooding.

02/22/78: The USS

L.Y. Spear

(AS-36)

and the Liberian merchant ship

Zephyros

receive minor damage in a

collision in the Mississippi River.

04/01/78: The USS

Sealift

Mediterranean

(T-AO-173) runs

aground off Rondo Island, Indonesia,

about 30 nautical miles off Sumatra's

Neptune Paper No. 3: Naval Accidents 1945-1988

northwestern tip.

04/03/78: The USS

Fort Snelling

(LSD-30) and the USS

Waccamaw

(T-AO-109) receive structural damage in

a collision north of Corsica, France,

when the

Waccamaw

loses steering

control during refueling. Both proceed

under their own power to Naples, Italy,

for repairs.

04/25/78: The USS

Concord

(AFS-5) is

badly damaged by a fire in its cargo

spaces while moored at Palma de

Majorca, Spain. One hundred and five

people are treated for smoke inhalation

and minor burns.

05/03/78: The USS

Dewey

(DDG-45)

suffers a fire which damages the missile

fire control system while in port at

Naples, Italy.

05/14/78: While surfacing in the western

Pacific the USS

Darter

(SS-576) suffers

flooding when about 45,000 pounds of

seawater enter the engine room after a

snorkel head valve fails. The USS

Schofield

(FFG-3) escorts the submarine

toward Yokosuka, Japan. It arrives 19

May for repairs.

05/23/78: While workers are draining a

piping system aboard the USS

Puffer

(SSN-652), radioactive water spills on

the drydock surface at the Puget Sound

Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, Washington.

A Navy spokesmen says that "less than

5 gallons" of slightly radioactive water

spilled as the workers were draining the

liquid into two five-gallon plastic

containers, a routine operation. The

spill, says the Navy, was due to the

inattention of the personnel doing the

draining. The water being drained

reportedly was part of the submarine's

secondary cooling system. The drydock

drain was contaminated, but was closed

before any spillage escaped into the sea.

According to the Navy, no workers were

contaminated. Shipyard employees

disputed the Navy's account, saying that

the spill was much bigger, about 100

gallons; that response to the spill was

slow; and that several workers suffered

skin contamination. These reports could

not be verified. Subsequently a

contaminated 15-by 20-foot section of

drydock is jackhammered up, sealed in

drums and shipped to a nuclear waste site

in Hanford, Washington.

05/26/78: About two cups of radioactive

water leak from a pipe fitting aboard the

USS

Aspro

(SSN-648) while the

submarine is in the Puget Sound Naval

Shipyard, Washington, when a worker

fails to shut a valve tightly. According to

the Navy, no personnel suffered skin

exposure, but the worker detected a

small spot of radioactivity on his pants,

which was removed and disposed of as

radioactive waste. No radioactivity

escaped to the outside environment.

05/31/78: The USS

Midway

(CV-41)

suffers a fire which originates in the

exhaust ventilation system, quickly

spreads through the 3A boiler uptakes on

the second deck, and terminates in the

main uptake space, while it is docked in

Yokosuka, Japan. The cause of the fire

is later thought to be welding in a vent

system containing a fine oil mist which

ignited and spread.

06/16/78: The propeller shaft of the

USS

Tullibee

(SSN-597) snaps just

outside the hull causing limited engine

room flooding and loss of propulsion

while it is submerged in the

Mediterranean. The flooding is stopped

by tightening the emergency packing on

the propeller shaft. The submarine

quickly surfaces and is assisted by other

U.S. naval vessels. Subsequently it is

towed to Rota, Spain, for repairs.

07/19/78: A helicopter crashes after

striking the Royal Navy destroyer HMS

Devonshire

while executing a flyby of

the ship during an air display off the

U.K.

07/25/78: The USS

Opportune

(ARS-41) is struck by a dummy training

round fired from a U.S. destroyer south

of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, while towing

a target sled during gunnery exercises.

08/19/78: A Soviet Echo II class

nuclear-powered cruise missile

submarine is sighted dead in the water

near Rockall Bank 140 miles northwest

of Scotland after experiencing problems

with her nuclear power plant. On 20

August a U.S. P-3 Orion aircraft

observes the submarine under tow to the

Soviet Union south of the Faroe Islands.

The exact cause of the problem and the

number of possible personnel casualties

is unknown.

08/21/78: While operating in the

Mediterranean, the crew of the USS

Forrestal

(CV-59) is called to general

quarters about noon due to widespread

smoke reported on the third deck

amidships. Shortly afterwards, burning

boxes are discovered in a fourth deck

storeroom. The fire is put out within ten

minutes of the initial alarm.

09/27/78: The USS

Detector

(MSO-429) suffers a fire in the main

engine room ten miles south of New

London, Connecticut, and is towed to

Newport, Rhode Island.

09/28/78: The USS

General H.H.

Arnold

(T-AGM-9) is adrift for several

hours about 300 nautical miles northwest

of Adak, Alaska, in the Bering Sea after

failure of the main reduction gear

bearing.

09/29/78: The USS

Fairfax County

(LST-1193) suffers extensive damage to

its Number 3 engine room and second

division berthing compartment in a major

fire while en route to Naples, Italy. Two

crewmembers are injured and the ship is

placed in tow.

10/19/78: The commander of the Royal

Navy diesel submarine HMS

Oracle

reprimanded for allowing his ship to

touch bottom during trials in the narrow

Loch Fyne, Strathclyde, Scotland. The

bump dented four torpedo tubes, but the

hull remained intact and the submarine

rose safely to the surface. The

Neptune Paper No. 3: Naval Accidents 1945-1988

submarine was running deeper than usual

to avoid a yacht on the surface, but failed

to monitor how close it was to the

bottom.

10/31/78: The Royal Navy frigate HMS

Minerva

suffers an explosion.

11/01/78: In November the Royal Navy

fleet auxiliary HMS

Hebe

suffers a fire

started by a crewmen while at the

Gibraltar naval base.

11/02/78: The Greek trawler

Ayos

Nikolaos

sinks after colliding with a

Turkish

gunboat in the Mediterranean,

killing one.

11/20/78: The USS

Coral Sea

(CV-43)

suffers a fire of unknown origin while

moored at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard,

Washington, which causes damage to the

medical and dental spaces.

11/21/78: The USS

Saratoga

(CV-60)

and the USS

Waccamaw

(T-AO-109)

collide during refueling operations 50

miles south of Crete, with only minor

damage and no injuries.

12/04/78: The Royal Navy diesel

submarine HMS

Olympus

dives too

slowly and is struck by an unknown

merchant ship in the Portland, U.K.,

exercise area.

12/06/78: The USS

Ranger

(CV-61)

experiences an explosion and flash fire

during fleet exercises off Baja California

which result in minor burns to nine

crewmen.

12/13/78: The Royal Navy helicopter

carrier HMS

Hermes

is damaged by fire

in a mess deck. Damage is not severe.

01/17/79: A mechanic who helped to

contain a steam burst after an explosion

in the engine room aboard the Royal

Navy nuclear-powered ballistic missile

submarine HMS

Revenge

wins the

Queen's Gallantry Medal. He crawled

along a foot-wide catwalk below a hot

cloud of escaping high-pressure steam as

he searched for the leak in the

turbo-generator room.

01/22/79: The USS

Aylwin

(FF-1081)

suffers a disabling casualty and is towed

to Charleston, South Carolina, by the

USS

Petrel

(ASR-14).

02/01/79: In February a fire breaks out

in the forward boiler room of the USS

Manley

(DD-940) during preparation to

get underway from Mayport, Florida.

Twelve men are injured, one later dies

and the cost is put at $75 million.

02/09/79: The USS

Davidson

(FF-1045) loses power after a brief fire

puts out a boiler in the Philippine Sea.

The frigate is towed to Subic Bay where

it arrives five day later.

03/01/79: The French diesel submarine

Marsouin

is caught in the nets of the

French trawler

St. Blaise

off Brittany.

Neither vessel is damaged.

03/04/79: The USS

Francis Marion

(LPA-249) is holed above the waterline

and receives structural damage when it is

struck by the Greek bulk carrier

Starlight

near the entrance to

Chesapeake Bay off Cape Henry,

Virginia.

03/07/79: The USS

Alexander

Hamilton

(SSBN-617) becomes tangled

in the nets of a Scottish fishing trawler in

the sound of Jura off the west coast of

Scotland. The

Hamilton

tows the

trawler backward for about 45 minutes

until the nets are cut. No injuries or

serious damage result.

03/14/79: The USS

Wainwright

(CG-28) runs aground for six hours in

Charleston harbor, South Carolina, near

the Mount Pleasant Range.

03/28/79: The USS

Independence

(CV-62) experiences a brief control

room fire in the Roosevelt Roads area off

Puerto Rico. Thirty people suffer from

minor smoke inhalation.

03/29/79: The USS

Ranger

(CV-61)

suffers a main engine turbine casualty

requiring extensive repair while training

in the Subic Bay operations area off the

Philippines.

04/04/79: The USS

Ranger

(CV-61)

sustains substantial damage in a collision

with the Liberian tanker

Fortune

near

the eastern approaches to the Strait of

Malacca. There are no injuries and the

Ranger

heads toward Subic Bay while

the tanker, holed in the port side from the

main deck to the waterline, is towed to

Singapore. On 20 April the

Ranger

voyages to Yokosuka, Japan, after

completing interim repairs to her bow.

04/09/79: Five fires set by an arsonist

aboard the USS

John F. Kennedy

(CV-67) kill one shipyard worker and

injure 34 other people while the carrier

undergoes overhaul at Norfolk Naval

Shipyard, Virginia.

04/27/79: The USS

Pargo

(SSN-650) is

briefly grounded while entering New

London, Connecticut, harbor in heavy

fog.

05/09/79: The USS

Savannah

(AOR-4)

collides with the USS

Forrestal

(CV-59)

after suffering a gyro casualty while

servicing the

Forrestal

in the Caribbean.

Both ships suffer minor damage with no

personnel casualties.

05/11/79: Primary coolant water leaks

from one of the two nuclear reactors

aboard the USS

Nimitz

(CVN-68). A

Navy spokesman says there was no

release of radioactivity, no danger to the

core, and no danger to the ship's crew.

The ship was operating off the Virginia

coast.

05/14/79: The USS

Cook

(FF-1083)

and the USS

Mars

(AFS-1) collide off

Point Loma near San Diego, California,

injuring seven.

05/24/79: The USS

Andrew Jackson

(SSBN-619) incurs slight damage to its

rudder when it runs aground briefly

Neptune Paper No. 3: Naval Accidents 1945-1988

while entering the New London,

Connecticut, harbor in reduced visibility.

05/26/79: The USS

Gray

's (FF-1054)

living barge receives structural damage

of over $1,000,000 in a fire caused by

arson while the ship is berthed at Todd

Pacific Shipyard, Seattle, Washington.

06/04/79: The USS

George

Washington Carver

(SSBN-656) snags

the nets of a Spanish fishing vessel and

drags the boat through the water off

Rota, Spain.

06/04/79: The USS

Woodrow Wilson

(SSBN-624) runs aground in heavy fog

at Race Rock while en route to New

London, Connecticut. The submarine

backs off and proceeds to port for

inspection and damage assessment.

06/05/79: Two fires break out aboard

the USS

John F. Kennedy

(CV-67) at

the Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Virginia,

but cause no injuries or significant

damage.

06/12/79: A Mk 48 conventional

torpedo jams between loading equipment

and a bulkhead when a chain breaks on

the loading mechanism allowing the

torpedo to drop several feet aboard the

USS

Memphis

(SSN-691) docked at the

Norfolk Naval Station, Virginia. The

torpedo is removed two days later. It did

not have a triggering device, but Navy

sources say had it exploded it easily

could have sunk the submarine.

06/20/79: The USS

Hawkbill

(SSN-666) reactor's primary coolant

system develops a leak while the

submarine is on maneuvers in Hawaiian

waters which lasts for four days.

Originally the leak is about two gallons

an hour, but by the time the submarine

docks at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on 23

June, the leak has been reduced to

three-quarts an hour. On 24 June it is

stopped. The Navy says none of the

water escaped, as it was captured and

stored in tanks designed for such

contingencies and that none of the crew

was in danger. Supplemental coolant

water was pumped in to prevent

overheating. According to the Navy,

"The leakage was caused by normal wear

of inside parts of valves. Such leaks

happen occasionally."

06/21/79: The USS

Enterprise

(CVN-65), under overhaul at the Puget

Sound Naval Shipyard, sustains a

two-hour Class Alpha fire in a catapult

room, machine shop, and passageway.

06/26/79: The USS

Forrestal

(CV-59)

suffers three minor fires while in

Mayport, Florida. Arson is suspected.

06/29/79: A steward is sentenced for

setting fires aboard the Royal Navy

frigate HMS

Sirius

while docked at

Devonport, U.K.

07/03/79: The Royal Navy diesel

submarine HMS

Onyx

is freed from the

fishing nets of a stationary trawler off

Holy Island in the Firth of Clyde,

Scotland.

07/03/79: While at Norfolk Naval

Shipyard, a fire sweeps through two

berthing spaces aboard the USS

Iwo

Jima

(LPH-2), injuring five. A sailor is

arrested on arson charges on 6 July.

07/06/79: The USS

Lexington

(AVT-16) suffers a Class Alpha fire off

Pensacola, Florida, and is dead in the

water for over an hour when all boilers

are shut down as a result.

07/12/79: The USS

Sealift China Sea

(T-AO-170) loses power over 150

nautical miles off Subic Bay, Philippines,

as a result of an engine casualty. The

USS

Beaufort

(ATS-2) is directed to

rendezvous and render assistance.

07/13/79: The USS

Conyngham

(DDG-17) suffers two minor fires on

consecutive days in the First Division

Berthing Compartment and the Anchor

Windlass Room. An investigation leads

to the arrest of an arsonist on 14 July, the

day of the second fire.

08/02/79: The USS

Comte de Grasse

(DD-974) incurs extensive smoke

damage in a three-hour engine room fire

while berthed at Norfolk, Virginia.

08/09/79: A fire, caused by a broken

acetylene line, breaks out aboard the

USS

Midway

(CV-41) while berthed at

Yokosuka, Japan, killing one worker and

injuring 17 sailors.

09/02/79: The USS

Truxtun

(CGN-35)

spills some 13 gallons of radioactive

"high-purity water" into San Diego Bay,

California. A U.S. Navy spokesman says

the spill contained a small amount of

radioactivity which was too small to have

an impact on the environment. Initial

reports had said the ship spilled as much

as 80 to 100 gallons of radioactive water.

09/19/79: The Dutch diesel submarine

Tonijn

experiences a fire in the port

engine room and loses power while en

route for Naples, Italy. The USS

Harlan

County

(LST-1196) leaves Cartagena,

Spain, to provide towing assistance to

Gibraltar.

11/06/79: Two part-time officers are

reprimanded after the Royal Navy

coastal minesweeper HMS

Alfriston

runs aground.

12/16/79: Storm-force winds over

southern England cause a giant crane at

the Royal Navy Devonport dockyard to

collapse. Thousands of pounds sterling

damage to the Royal Navy frigates HMS

Minerva

and HMS

Ambuscade

result.

01/03/80: The Malaysian oil tanker

Santo Prestige

loses power and collides

with the USS

Milwaukee

(AOR-2)

moored at portside in Norfolk, Virginia.

The collision results in a 40- by 15-foot

gash in the hull of the

Milwaukee

01/04/80: The USS

Pecos

(AO-65)

collides with the moored USS

Bradley

(FF-1041) at Terminal Island, Los

Angeles, California, injuring one, and

causing minor damage to the

Bradley

Neptune Paper No. 3: Naval Accidents 1945-1988

and a two-foot hole in the

Pecos

01/16/80: The USS

Okinawa

(LPH-3)

is placed in tow when it suffers an

engineering casualty. The casualty is

corrected on 18 January.

02/05/80: The USS

Inchon

(LPH-12)

collides with the USS

Spiegel Grove

(LSD-32) while refueling in the Atlantic

while en route to the Mediterranean Sea,

with reportedly no injuries and only

minor damage.

03/03/80: The USS

William H.

Standley

(CG-32) sustains a ruptured

tube casualty to the Number 1B boiler

during exercises off the Strait of Hormuz

and proceeds to the U.S. Navy Facility at

Diego Garcia.

04/18/80: A Soviet Mirka class frigate

collides with the Danish minesweeper

Fyen

in the Baltic Sea during Warsaw

Pact exercises. The Danish Ministry of

Foreign Affairs protests the incident, but

receives no formal reply.

05/05/80: Two West German Navy

ships collide in the Mediterranean off

Toulon, France; no injuries.

05/13/80: The Royal Navy diesel

submarine HMS

Onyx

runs aground in

Portsmouth harbor, U.K. It takes a tug

20 minutes to pull the ship free.

06/04/80: A lieutenant on the Royal

Navy frigate HMS

Nubian

reprimanded for negligence following a

collision with a Dutch ship.

06/26/80: The USS

Constellation

(CV-64) collides with a Bangladesh

merchant ship in the Arabian Sea. The

U.S. Navy says there was minor damage

to both ships.

07/08/80: The small Danish Home

Guard cutter

MHV 94

is rammed by the

East German minesweeper

Komet

nine

miles south of Gedser, Denmark, in the

Baltic Sea. The collision causes severe

damage to the front of the cutter.

Denmark protests to East Germany over

incident.

07/20/80: The USS

Gurnard

(SSN-662) spills 30 gallons of water

containing radioactive material into San

Diego Bay, California. A Navy

spokesman says the leak occurred when a

crewman of the

Gurnard

accidentally

opened a valve allowing the water to

escape. The spokesman said a water

sample was taken and there was no

increase in the general background

radioactive level in the area where the

spill happened.

07/26/80: The Royal Navy patrol boat

HMS

Sabre

crashes at Alderney,

Channel Islands, in the English Channel.

07/29/80: The USS

Midway

(CV-41)

collides with the Panamanian merchant

ship

Cactus

while transiting the passage

between Palawan Island of the

Philippines and the coast of Northern

Borneo 450 nautical miles southwest of

Subic Bay en route to Singapore. The

Midway

, the U.S. Navy says, sustained

no serious damage although two U.S.

sailors were killed, three were injured,

and three F-4 Phantom aircraft parked on

the flight deck were damaged.

08/12/80: The Royal Navy

nuclear-powered attack submarine HMS

Sovereign

breaks down during routine

tests in Plymouth Sound, U.K.

According to the Royal Navy the

breakdown was caused by a "minor

mechanical defect." The submarine was

towed back to Devonport, U.K.

08/21/80: A Soviet Echo class

nuclear-powered submarine suffers a

serious casualty and loses power about

85 miles off the east coast of Okinawa.

At least nine crewmembers are believed

to have died from a probable fire in the

propulsion spaces. A Soviet freighter

arrives to evacuate the crew and a

tugboat is readied to tow the submarine

to Vladivostok escorted by several

warships. The next day Japan advises

ships to avoid the area, citing possible

radiation leaks and refuses to allow the

submarine to pass through Japanese

territorial waters unless Moscow

guarantees there are no nuclear weapons

aboard and no danger of radiation leaks.

The Soviets initially refuse to guarantee

the safety of the reactor and enter

Japanese waters despite Japan's

warnings. But on 24 August, Moscow

acquiesces to Japan's demands

concerning safety, and informs Japan

there was no radioactive leakage or

nuclear weapons on board. Subsequently,

Japanese examination of air and water in

the area reportedly finds evidence of

radioactive contamination.

08/31/80: In late August some cracks in

the USS

Vulcan

's (AR-5) outer hull

which allow oil seepage are discovered.

These are repaired while the ship is in

Norfolk, Virginia, and afterward the ship

sails for Norway.

09/09/80: The USS

Valdez

(FF-1096)

suffers a material failure to the ship's sole

gyro compass following a departure from

Antwerp, Belgium. The ship operates on

magnetic compass only for the next six

weeks, throughout exercise "Teamwork

80." This degrades the performance of

weapons systems and satellite navigation,

and makes refueling at sea more

complicated.

10/20/80: The USS

Saratoga

(CV-60)

suffers five minor fires from 20 to 26

October while undergoing a major

overhaul at the Philadelphia Naval

Shipyard, Pennsylvania. The Navy

investigates the possibility of arson.

12/01/80: In December the Royal Navy

frigate HMS

Amazon

strikes a coral reef

off Belize in the Caribbean.

12/01/80: In December, the Royal Navy

nuclear-powered attack submarine HMS

Dreadnought

suffers serious machinery

damage -- reportedly cracks in the

secondary cooling system -- which

necessitate a complete reactor shutdown.

This damage and troubles with

scheduling a refit lead to a decision to

Neptune Paper No. 3: Naval Accidents 1945-1988

retire the aging submarine.

12/03/80: During a test, about 150

gallons of low-level radioactive water

leak from a faulty valve on the USS

Hawkbill

(SSN-666) undergoing

overhaul at the Puget Sound Naval

Shipyard, Washington. Five workers

receive low-level radioactive

contamination. A Navy spokesman says

they received a dose of radiation "less

than that typically received by a chest

X-ray."

12/03/80: The USS

America

(CV-66)

and USS

Caloosahatchee

(AO-98)

collide during an underway

replenishment maneuver 250 miles east

of Charleston, South Carolina, when the

oiler loses rudder control. Despite an

emergency breakaway, the

America

suffers minor damage to a catwalk, a

storage compartment, and a flight deck

safety net rail. But there are no injuries

and both ships continue operations.

01/10/81: The USS

Biddle

(CG-34) and

USS

Raleigh

(LPD-1) are slightly

damaged when the

Biddle

strikes the

moored

Raleigh

while approaching a

pier in Norfolk, Virginia.

01/23/81: The USS

Birmingham

(SSN-695) suffers a failed sonar dome

while operating in the Mediterranean and

is ordered into Gibraltar for damage

assessment. On 30 January the ship is in

Gibraltar for repairs.

01/27/81: The USS

Guam

(LPH-9)

suffers a minor fire of suspicious origin

in an unoccupied compartment while in

Norfolk, Virginia.

01/28/81: The USS

Sylvania

(AFS-2)

and USS

Kalamazoo

(AOR-6) collide

amidships during underway

replenishment in the Virginia Capes area

with no serious damage.

02/20/81: The USS

Downes

(FF-1070)

is under tow by the USS

Narragansett

(T-ATF-167) from Diego Garcia to

Subic Bay, Philippines, for repairs

following casualties to both boilers. On

22 February the

Downes

is able to bring

one boiler back into operation and

continues to Subic Bay on its own power

in company with the

Narragansett

02/21/81: The USS

Okinawa

(LPH-3)

experiences a brief fire during training

off San Clemente Island, California, but

the ship continues its scheduled

operations.

03/14/81: The naval reserve destroyer

USS

Cone

(DD-866) is temporarily

grounded while departing Charleston,

South Carolina. After being freed by a

tug the

Cone

returns to Charleston for

hull damage assessment.

03/19/81: The USS

Yellowstone

(AD-41) and the USS

Robert A. Owens

(DD-827) collide off Florida, causing

extensive damage but no casualties.

03/26/81: The USS

Guardfish

(SSN-612) touches ground while in the

San Pedro Channel on the way to San

Diego, California. There were no

personnel injuries and an on-board

inspection revealed no hull or equipment

damage.

04/03/81: A fire breaks out in the engine

room of the USS

Taluga

(T-AO-62)

while the ship is operating 80 miles west

of San Diego, California. Two injured

crew members are airlifted to San Diego

by helicopter. The fire is extinguished

and the

Taluga

proceeds to port.

04/04/81: Workers at Coastal Drydock

in New York (formerly Brooklyn Navy

Yard) inadvertently cause a fire on the

USS

Aylwin

(FF-1081) while welding.

The frigate's Combat Information Center

is damaged.

04/09/81: The USS

George

Washington

(SSBN-598) collides with

the 2,350-ton Japanese freighter

Nissho

Maru

in the East China Sea about 110

miles south-southwest of Sasebo, Japan.

As it is surfacing, it runs into the

underside of the freighter, damages its it

hull and causes it to sink in

approximately 15 minutes, killing two

Japanese crewmen (13 others are

rescued). The submarine suffers minor

damage to a small section of its sail. The

accident sparks a political furor in Japan,

straining U.S.-Japanese relations a month

before a meeting between Prime Minister

Zenko Suzuki and President Ronald

Reagan. The United States is criticized

because: it took over 24 hours to notify

Japanese authorities; the submarine and a

U.S. P-3 Orion aircraft overhead did not

make a rescue attempt; and the

submarine was operating so close to

Japan, less than 20 miles outside the

12-mile limit. The U.S. Navy initially

says the submarine surfaced but could

not see any ship in distress due to fog

and rain. On 11 April President Reagan

and other U.S. officials express regret

over the accident, make offers of

compensation and reassure the Japanese

there is no cause for worry about

radioactive contamination, but refuse to

say what the submarine was doing so

close to Japan or whether it was armed

with nuclear missiles. Over the next

several months as the controversy

continues, the U.S. Navy: accepts

responsibility to preclude lengthy

litigation; is criticized for its preliminary

report which says the submarine and

Orion claimed not to have realized the

freighter was sinking; and relieves and

reprimands the commanding officer and

officer of the deck of the submarine. On

31 August the Navy releases a final

report which concludes the accident

resulted from a highly coincidental set of

circumstances, compounded by errors on

the part of some members of the

submarine crew.

04/13/81: The USS

William H. Bates

(SSN-680) is reported to run into gillnets

near the Hood Canal in Washington

state.

04/27/81: The USS

Manitowoc

(LST-1180) and the USS

Trenton

(LPD-14) begin a five-day visit to

Alexandria, Egypt. The USS

Jack

(SSN-605) also is in port. The

Trenton

Neptune Paper No. 3: Naval Accidents 1945-1988

and

Jack

suffer minor damage when the

Jack

, moored alongside, surges against

the

Trenton

in a sea swell.

05/01/81: In May the Royal Navy

destroyer HMS

Glasgow

collides with

the Soviet cruiser

Admiral Isakov

in the

Barents Sea. The

Glasgow

's captain

reports the Soviet ship was maneuvering

dangerously.

05/15/81: A hairline crack is discovered

in the main cooling system of the Royal

Navy nuclear-powered attack submarine

HMS

Valiant

as it returns to Devonport,

U.K., after developing a fault in its

cooling system while operating off the

Cornish coast. The crack does not affect

the operation of the reactor and the

vessel returns to Devonport under its

own power. The Royal Navy denies

claims that contaminated water was

discharged into Plymouth Sound, saying

"A very small quantity of water leaked

out and this was drained off into a lead

tank in a barge for treatment." The

reactor is cooled down before the leak is

plugged.

05/26/81: A Marine EA-6B Prowler

aircraft crashes while landing on the USS

Nimitz

(CVN-68) operating 70 miles off

Jacksonville, Florida, killing 14 and

injuring 48. The aircraft reportedly

applied power as it was landing and then

suddenly drifted to the right, running into

parked aircraft, causing ammunition to

explode, and starting numerous fires that

took at least one hour to put out. Three

F-14 Tomcats are destroyed and 16 other

aircraft are damaged, and, overall,

approximately $100 million in damage

results. The

Nimitz

returns to Norfolk,

Virginia, for several days of repairs. The

crash sparks a five-month debate

between Representative Joseph P.

Addabo (D-NY) Chairman of the House

Defense Appropriations Subcommittee

and the Navy over whether drug use on

board the carrier may have contributed to

the crash.

06/01/81: The USS

Nitro

(AE-23) is

badly damaged by a fire in the main

machinery room while en route to

Athens, Greece, 60 miles northeast of

Souda Bay, Crete. It is taken under tow

the next day by the USS

Neosho

(T-AO-143) for Souda Bay.

06/04/81: A Soviet Kondor class

minesweeper suffered heavy damage

when she was in a collision in

international waters with a Danish naval

oiler in the southern area of the Baltic

Sea.

06/10/81: The USS

Detroit

(AOE-4)

runs aground on a sandbar near Old

Point Comfort, Hampton Roads,

Virginia, as the ship is preparing to enter

port at Norfolk. There are no injuries or

apparent damage. The ship is refloated

the next day after off-loading its fuel.

06/29/81: The USS

Dahlgren

(DDG-43) suffers a two-hour fire in the

radiomen's storeroom while in the

Caribbean. The damage is light and the

ship proceeds to Guadeloupe.

07/14/81: The USS

Coontz

(DDG-40)

accidentally fires a Harpoon anti-ship

missile with a high-explosive warhead

during a maintenance test about 70 miles

from St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. The

missile impacts and is lost at sea.

07/19/81: A U.S. Marine Corps Reserve

CH-53 Sea Stallion helicopter crashes

and burns while landing aboard the USS

Guam

(LPH-9) during training

operations in the Atlantic 35 miles

southeast of Moorehead City, North

Carolina, killing four and injuring 11

other Marine and Navy personnel.

08/06/81: Wardroom 1 of the USS

Ranger

(CV-61) catches fire, causing

extensive damage while the ship is

moored at Naval Air Station North

Island, San Diego, California.

Reportedly "reconstruction was

monumental" and "communication's

problems extended into work-ups."

08/15/81: A fire on board the USS

Independence

(CV-62) while in

overhaul at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard,

Virginia, damages the air operations and

carrier control approach spaces. There

are no injuries.

08/27/81: The USS

Dallas

(SSN-700)

damages the lower portion of its rudder

when it runs aground while approaching

the Atlantic Underwater Test and

Evaluation Center site at Andros Island,

Bahamas. The submarine works itself

free after several hours and returns to

New London, Connecticut, on the

surface for repairs.

09/01/81: According to raw CIA

intelligence reports, in September a

Soviet nuclear submarine operating in

the Baltic "underwent a series of strong

and sudden physical shocks. An

emergency was declared and ... crew

members were sealed into the

compartment in which they were

standing duty. The submarine was no

longer navigable following the shocks

and was taken under tow. It was towed

for a total of 36 hours but was actually

only moved during darkness." The

submarine was towed to Kaliningrad and

"the sailors that had been sealed in the

compartment were then flown to Riga

and hospitalized." The CIA source

reports all the sailors exhibited signs of

terminal radiation sickness.

09/06/81: A landing A-7 II Corsair

aircraft collides with a taxiing F-14

Tomcat fighter on the USS

Kitty Hawk

(CV-63) killing one crewman and

injuring two others while the carrier is

operating in the Indian Ocean. The A-7

is recovered and the F-14 crew ejects

safely, but the F-14 rolls overboard.

09/17/81: A U.S. Marine Corps CH-53C

Sea Stallion helicopter crashes while

attempting to land on the USS

Guadalcanal

(LPH-7) during Sixth Fleet

training exercises in the Mediterranean

near Sardinia, Italy, killing all five

crewmen.

09/20/81: The USS

Conyngham

(DDG-17) runs aground momentarily

Neptune Paper No. 3: Naval Accidents 1945-1988

while making a slow approach to the

Mauritian coast causing minor damage to

the sonar.

09/20/81: The Philippine Navy frigate

Datu Kalantiaw

is forced aground by

127 miles per hour winds from Typhoon

Clara while on anchor near Calayan

Island, 340 miles north of Manila, with

only 18 of 97 crew surviving.

09/24/81: The USS

Guadalcanal

(LPH-7) and the USS

Waccamaw

(T-AO-109) collide during underway

replenishment south of Sardinia, Italy,

causing minor damage but no injuries.

09/25/81: An Israeli missile boat runs

aground on a Saudi Arabian reef in the

Gulf of Eilat after its electrical system

goes bad, knocking out its navigational

equipment. The Saudis permit the

Israelis to rescue the boat; 12 days later

it is removed.

09/30/81: The USS

Pegasus

(PHM-1)

collides with the USS

Newport

(LST-1179) while making an approach

to connect for towing north of Cuba,

causing minor damage.

10/07/81: The USS

Inchon

(LPH-12)

suffers a boiler explosion while

preparing to get underway from Norfolk,

Virginia.

10/13/81: The USS

Waccamaw

(T-AO-109) collides with the USS

Raleigh

(LPD-1) while the USS

Detroit

(AOE-4) is alongside. The ships are

underway in the Mediterranean.

10/17/81: The USS

Waccamaw

(T-AO-109) is struck by an Italian tug in

Cagliari, Sardinia, Italy, when the tug

loses control while making an approach

to aid in maneuvering. The oiler is holed

but no pollution results.

10/21/81: The USS

Cook

(FF-1083)

observes a Soviet Foxtrot class

diesel-powered attack submarine under

tow while conducting intelligence

operations off Socotra Island in the

Indian Ocean.

10/27/81: A Soviet Whiskey class

diesel-powered attack submarine runs

aground 10 kilometers from the Swedish

naval base of Karlskrona, 300 miles

south of Stockholm. The Swedish

government alleges the submarine was

engaged in illegal reconnaissance or

mine-laying work and there was good

reason to believe the vessel is carrying

nuclear weapons. The Swedes demand

an apology and an explanation. When

the submarine captain is questioned he

contends bad weather and a faulty

compass led to the inadvertent intrusion

into Swedish waters. But the Swedish

authorities maintain that good navigation

was necessary for the vessel to come this

far into their waters. On 29 October a

Soviet tug is turned back by Swedish

warships and another unidentified

submarine is spotted within Swedish

waters and is pursued by Swedish

antisubmarine warfare helicopters until it

disappears. On 2 November the

submarine is refloated by Swedish tugs

to prevent heavy seas from battering the

ship. On 5 November the Swedish

government announces that the

submarine probably has nuclear weapons

aboard. Foreign Minister Ullsten says "it

must be very embarrassing" to have this

information released when the Soviets

"have created the impression that they

are more in favor than the United States"

of arms control. On 6 November the

submarine is returned to the Soviets.

The same day the Swedish government

expresses the view that previous Soviet

proposals in regard to the Baltic as a "sea

of peace" were no longer credible.

Officials said the incident would affect

Swedish attitudes toward Nordic

nuclear-free-zone proposals from the

Soviet Union. It is later reported on 6

May 1982 that the Soviet government

had agreed to pay Swedish costs of

$212,000 arising from the incident.

11/02/81: At the Holy Loch naval base

in Scotland a Poseidon

submarine-launched ballistic missile is

dropped 13 to 15 feet as it is moved

aboard the submarine tender USS

Holland

(AS-32) after an error by the

crane operator. The fall is arrested by a

safety device, but critics suggest there

was a serious chance that a conventional

explosion could have taken place,

dispersing radioactive material. This

explosion could have occurred because

the Poseidon warhead uses an unstable

conventional high explosive called

LX-09. Moreover, the Navy is

upbraided for not immediately reporting

the incident or notifying surrounding

communities of possible danger. The

U.S. Navy refuses to confirm or deny

whether there were nuclear weapons on

the missile and states "there was no

damage done, no injuries occurred; there

was no danger to personnel."

12/03/81: An arresting wire breaks

during the landing of an A-7 Corsair

aircraft on the USS

John F. Kennedy

(CV-67) while operating in the

Caribbean Sea, killing two men and

injuring three. Four aircraft including

the A-7 are damaged.

01/04/82: A U.S. Navy ship collides

with an Italian tanker in the Straits of

Messina.

01/10/82: The USS

Mispillion

(T-AO-105) and the civilian tanker

Texas Trader

, under Navy contract,

collide during a routine fuel transfer in

the Indian Ocean. There are no

personnel injuries and no serious damage

to either ship.

01/16/82: Five U.S. Navy personnel die

in a diving accident aboard the USS

Grayback

(SS-574) off the coast of

Subic Bay, Philippines.

02/01/82: In early February, the USS

Seattle

(AOE-3) is hit by a tugboat while

getting underway from Craney Island,

Norfolk, Virginia, causing extensive

damage to equipment on the ship's aft

end.

02/02/82: The USS

Ponce

(LPD-15)

collides with the USS

Fort Snelling

Neptune Paper No. 3: Naval Accidents 1945-1988

(LSD-30) during a towing exercise

which causes minor damage to the

Ponce

's port side, mainly to the

accommodation ladder and flight deck

catwalk. The two ships were en route to

Portsmouth, U.K.

02/18/82: The South African Navy

flagship the frigate

President Kreuger

collides with the naval supply ship

Tafelberg

during night maneuvers in

rough seas and gale force winds south of

the Cape of Good Hope and sinks.

Thirteen of her crew are reported missing

and 177 sailors are saved.

03/01/82: In March both of the USS

Inchon

's (LPH-12) emergency diesel

generators become inoperable during

training in the Caribbean. The ship is

unable to finish training. A portable

emergency diesel generator is attached to

the flight deck and the ship is escorted

back to Norfolk, Virginia, by the USS

Pensacola

(LSD-38).

03/13/82: Fourteen aircraft from the

carrier USS

Forrestal

(CV-59) are

diverted to Homestead Air Force Base,

Florida, after a boiler failure causes a

"partial electrical failure" on the carrier.

The ship was on exercises off

Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

03/18/82: The USS

Newport

(LST-1179) suffers a Bravo Class fire in

a main engineering space while anchored

at Berbera, Somalia.

03/22/82: The USS

Jacksonville

(SSN-699) collides with the Turkish

cargo ship the

General Z. Dogan

while

running on the surface 25 miles east of

Cape Charles, Virginia. Damage to the

Jacksonville

is reported as minor and

characterized as "bumps and scrapes,"

while bow damage is reported on the

General Z. Dogan

04/10/82: The West German built

submarine

Pisaqua

, built for Venezuela,

collides in the Danish Straits with a

merchant ship as it is completing its sea

trials. The ship is towed to Kiel,

Germany.

04/19/82: The Irish fishing boat

Sharelga

capsizes and sinks in the Irish

Sea after being dragged by the Royal

Navy diesel submarine HMS

Porpoise

which had become entangled in the

trawler's nets. The British government

initially denies a submarine was in the

area, and then admits responsibility two

weeks later.

04/20/82: Seven people are injured in an

explosion aboard the USS

Garcia

(FF-1040) which is being overhauled at

General Shipyard in Boston,

Massachusetts.

04/20/82: The USS

Brewton

(FF-1086)

suffers a casualty to its service diesel

generator, curtailing the ship's

participation in "Rimpac 82" exercises.

05/08/82: The USS

Chauvenet

(T-AGS-29) runs hard aground on

Dauisan Reef in the Cagayan Islands in

the Sulu Sea while underway from Subic

Bay, Philippines, to survey grounds in

Indonesian waters. After

two-and-one-half weeks of salvage

efforts, the ship is refloated by U.S.

Navy salvage teams and towed to the

Ship Repair Facility in Subic Bay.

05/15/82: Swedish coastal authorities

report a Soviet destroyer or large frigate

is on fire in the Baltic Sea, 22 miles off

Latvia.

05/22/82: The USS

Fletcher

(DD-992)

strikes the USS

Towers

(DDG-9) and

the USS

Francis Hammond

(FF-1067)

causing minor damage while attempting

to moor alongside the two ships in Subic

Bay, Philippines.

06/11/82: The USS

Seattle

(AOE-3)

and the USS

Aylwin

(FF-1081) collide

when the

Seattle

loses steering control

while refueling the frigate during transit

across the Atlantic to the Mediterranean.

06/12/82: The USS

Bonefish

(SS-582)

suffers main engine casualties when all

three main engine spaces are flooded

while operating on the surface in the

Pacific. No material damage on

personnel injuries occur.

06/12/82: The USS

Cleveland

(LPD-7)

and the USS

Ashtabula

(AO-51) collide

in the Gulf of Thailand during underway

replenishment. Damage is minor and

there are no injuries.

06/17/82: Ten persons are injured when

a 1,200-lb. steam valve ruptures aboard

the USS

Saratoga

(CV-60), which is

undergoing a Service Life Extension

Program overhaul in Philadelphia Naval

Shipyard, Pennsylvania.

06/20/82: A target hulk being towed by

the USS

Reclaimer

(ARS-42) scrapes a

Chinese tanker while the vessels are

leaving Singapore. There are no injuries

and damage is minor.

07/12/82: The USS

Seattle

(AOE-3)

suffers a "freak explosion" in the after

portion of the ship while moored

alongside a fuel pier at Porto Torres,

Sardinia, Italy. A chemical reaction

between fuel vapors and a chemical

stored in one of the blast-torn spaces

causes the explosion which damages the

after steering compartment and Enlisted

Dining Facility. The

Seattle

is able to

get underway for Naples less than 12

hours after the general quarters alarm

was first sounded.

07/15/82: In mid-July the 30-foot yacht

Fyfield Five

is struck by an underwater

object off the Tuskar Rock off Ireland

and sinks. The owner Ken Roberts

insists he was sunk by a submarine --

reportedly a periscope crashed up

through the keel of his boat. The press is

initially skeptical, but then a dockyard

worker tells the

Morning Star

newspaper that the Royal Navy diesel

submarine HMS

Opossum

was having

emergency repairs done to her conning

tower in Portsmouth. The Ministry of

Defense admits the

Opossum

was

damaged in a collision at sea 400 miles

west of Plymouth, U.K., on the day

Neptune Paper No. 3: Naval Accidents 1945-1988

Robert's boat sank, but says this is well

to the west of where Robert's vessel went

down. The Ministry of Defense is

unwilling or unable to provide details,

but does not deny reports the

Opossum

was hit by a Soviet spy trawler.

08/19/82: A Royal Navy board is set up

to investigate damage done to the Royal

Navy nuclear-powered ballistic missile

submarine HMS

Revenge

's gearbox

caused by the presence of a small,

extraneous piece of metal as the

submarine is nearing the end of a

two-and-a-half-year major refit at

Rosyth, Scotland. The damage delays

the submarine's scheduled completion

date.

09/21/82: The U.S. shrimp boat

Howard M.

operating in the Pacific off

Washington state snags what may have

been a Soviet submarine, according to

the U.S. Department of Defense. The

skipper of the boat Danny Parker reports

he was dragged about a mile and a half

until a cable snapped.

09/28/82: The USS

Sam Houston

(SSN-609) spills less than 50 gallons of

low-level radioactive water during a test

while it is in the Puget Sound Naval

Shipyard, Bremerton, Washington,

undergoing routine maintenance,

according to the Navy. The spill was

stopped, the water was contained within

the ship, and no radioactivity was

released to the environment. The

submarine's reactor was not operating.

Two individuals were in the area during

the spill and one of these individuals

received low-level radioactive

contamination.

11/29/82: The USS

Thomas A. Edison

(SSN-610) collides with the USS

Leftwich

(DD-984) in the South China

Sea 40 miles east of Subic Bay,

Philippines. The

Edison

was at

periscope depth preparing to surface; it

damaged its sail and sail planes, but there

was no flooding. Both ships remain

operational after the accident.

12/01/82: The Royal Navy

nuclear-powered attack submarine HMS

Spartan

is caught in the nets of the

English trawler

Algrie

off Land's End,

Cornwall, U.K., in the Celtic Sea. As the

trawler is dragged forward the fishermen

radio to shore, and several minutes later

the submarine surfaces with the nets and

tackle laying across the vessel. The nets,

costing 7-8,000 pounds sterling, are cut

free, and the submarine continues on its

patrol.

12/31/82: In late 1982 the USS

Permit

(SSN-594), cruising on the surface,

collides with the USS

La Jolla

(SSN-701), at periscope depth, while

they are on sea trials about 30 miles off

San Francisco. The

Permit

recieves a

ten-foot-long, three-foot-wide "scrape"

in the paint on the keel, while the

Jolla

suffers minor rudder damage.

01/03/83: The USS

Arkansas

(CGN-41) collides with the Italian

merchantman

Megara Ilea

in the Strait

of Messina, and is "slightly damaged on

the port side."

01/19/83: The USS

Kitty Hawk

(CV-63) has a minor collision with the

Canadian Maritime Forces Ship

Yukon

off the coast of Washington state. There

are no personnel injuries or serious

damage.

01/22/83: The East German passenger

ship

Volkerfreundschaft

collides with a

West German

submarine north of

Rostock, East Germany, in the Baltic Sea

with no injuries resulting.

02/10/83: In the Atlantic the USS

Antrim

(FFG-20) suffers a fire in the

wardroom and Computer/Radar

Electronics spaces after it is struck by a

drone during live firing of the Phalanx

self-defense close-in-weapon-system

Gatling gun. A civilian instructor dies

from burns caused by the ignition of

residual fuel in the target drone.

02/25/83: The Royal Navy minehunter

HMS

Brocklesby

and the coastal

minesweeper HMS

Nurton

collide about

two miles off Portland harbor, U.K.,

during routine exercises.

03/11/83: A Danish trawler catches a

Danish submarine in its nets off

Bornholm Island in the Baltic Sea.

03/15/83: About 15 miles south of the

Danish island of Bornholm in the Baltic

Sea, the West German fishing trawler

Gertraud

catches a Soviet or Polish

Whiskey class diesel-powered attack

submarine in its nets. The trawler is

surrounded by Warsaw Pact warships on

maneuvers in the area as the submarine

surfaces so its the crew can cut the

submarine free. The submarine

resubmerges, leaving the trawler with a

damaged net.

03/16/83: The USS

Antrim

(FFG-20)

collides with the USS

Flatley

(FFG-21)

160 miles north of Puerto Rico during

training exercises. Both received only

superficial damage.

04/01/83: In April during an Indian

Ocean deployment the USS

Dale

(CG-19) collides with the Royal Navy

frigate HMS

Ambascade

. The

Ambascade

is laid up in Bombay during

May while work on "new bow material"

is carried out.

04/28/83: The USS

Enterprise

(CVN-65) runs aground within sight of

the port of San Francisco, California,

after eight months at sea; it is stranded

for five hours until the tide and tugs pull

it free.

06/01/83: In June a Soviet Charlie class

nuclear-powered cruise missile

submarine sinks somewhere east of the

Soviet naval base of Petropavlosk, near

the southern tip of the Kamchatka

peninsula in the Pacific. U.S.

intelligence reports most or all of the

90-person crew are lost. The cause of

the accident is not known, but the lack of

radioactive contamination is said to

indicate that the accident was probably

due to mechanical failure, not a nuclear

Neptune Paper No. 3: Naval Accidents 1945-1988

power plant accident. The submarine is

salvaged by the Soviet Navy in early

August 1983.

07/01/83: In July a gunnery computer

malfunction causes the USS

George

Philip

(FFG-12) to fire a 3-inch shell

toward a Mexican merchant vessel

during a drill about 40 miles off San

Francisco, California. According to the

Navy the round landed nine miles behind

the merchant ship, but some

George

Philip

crewmen say it actually landed

just one mile behind the ship.

07/18/83: The USS

Ranger

(CV-61)

collides with the USS

Wichita

(AOR-1)

during refueling 100 miles off San

Diego, California. The

Ranger

's flight

deck elevator is damaged, but no injuries

are reported. The

Wichita

damages its

refueling capability. The port fueling

riggings are put out of commission,

including the loss of all fuel hoses. Also

part of the

Wichita

's aft superstructure is

crushed on the starboard side.

07/19/83: The USS

Texas

(CGN-39) is

holed above the waterline after hitting a

quay while leaving the port of Brisbane,

Australia.

07/26/83: A West German

reconnaissance ship collides with an East

German naval vessel.

08/01/83: In August the USS

Davidson

(FF-1045) suffers a Class Alpha fire

while in the Pacific.

09/18/83: The Royal Navy

nuclear-powered attack submarine HMS

Conqueror

suffers a fire while in

drydock in Devonport, U.K., for a refit.

No injuries are reported.

09/30/83: The Royal Navy assault ship

HMS

Fearless

is slightly damaged in

collision with a West German tanker.

10/26/83: The Brixham, U.K., trawler

Esther Colleen

is badly holed when it

rams the Royal Navy frigate HMS

Ambuscade

in heavy fog off Torbay,

Devon, U.K. The frigate suffered minor

damage.

10/26/83: A seaman is dismissed and

jailed for starting a fire aboard the Royal

Navy frigate HMS

Penelope

10/31/83: The USS

McCloy

(FF-1038)

is towing a sonar array west of Bermuda

when suddenly the cable goes slack. The

next day a Soviet Victor III class

nuclear-powered attack submarine is

sighted motionless on the surface 282

miles west of Bermuda and 470 miles

east of Charleston, South Carolina, by a

U.S. P-3 Orion patrol aircraft. U.S.

Navy officials believe that while the

submarine was following the

McCloy

the sonar array caught in the submarine's

propeller. There is no indication of

leaking radiation, according to a Navy

spokesman. On 5 November the

submarine is taken under tow by a Soviet

salvage ship in the direction of the Cuban

port of Cienfuegos. Further observation

while the submarine is under tow leads

the Navy to believe the damage is

relatively minor and relates to the

submarine's propeller.

11/01/83: A fire breaks out aboard the

USS

Ranger

(CV-61) while deployed in

the North Arabian Sea, killing six and

injuring 35. The fire is in one of the four

main machinery spaces and reportedly is

extinguished within an hour although

there is one reflash which is

extinguished. The vessel continues

operations in the North Arabian Sea.

11/17/83: The Soviet Krivak I class

frigate

Razyaschy

collides with the USS

Fife

(DD-991) in the North Arabian Sea,

causing minor damage to the

Fife

but no

casualties. Reportedly the

Razyaschy

attempted to approach the USS

Ranger

(CV-61). When the

Fife

attempted to

head off the Soviet ship, the two ships

grazed hulls, leaving two 15-foot scrapes

in the

Fife

's paint. Reports say the

Soviet ship earlier narrowly had missed a

collision with another U.S. vessel.

11/22/83: The USS

Kitty Hawk

(CV-63) and the USS

Wabash

(AOR-5)

have a minor collision during refueling in

Oakland, California.

11/27/83: The lead ship of the Soviet

Slava class cruisers returns to the Black

Sea after sustaining possible engine

damage while on its maiden voyage to

the Soviet Northern Fleet. The ship had

left the Black Sea on 16 September.

12/10/83: The crew of the Royal Navy

patrol boat HMS

Vigilant

is rescued

after the vessel gets into difficulties off

Northern Ireland.

12/19/83: The Trident submarine USS

Florida

(SSBN-728) is slightly damaged

when it hits an unidentified object while

submerged during sea trials in Long

Island Sound. No one is injured and a

Navy spokesman says he has no cost

estimate on the damage.

12/31/83: In 1983 hull collision damage

was repaired and the sonar dome rubber

window was changed on the USS

Leftwich

(DD-984).

12/31/83: In 1983 extensive temporary

sail repairs are accomplished on the USS

Thomas A. Edison

(SSN-610).

01/09/84: The USS

Detroit

(AOE-4)

suffers a Class Bravo fire in the 1A1

Forced Draft Blower while moored at

Souda Bay, Crete. Several crew

members are treated for smoke

inhalation.

02/14/84: During attempts to move an

assault craft to Radio Island, near

Moorehead City, North Carolina, the

USS

Ponce

(LPD-15) suffers a major

casualty when her sterngate is damaged

and eventually lost. The

Ponce

goes to

Philadelphia Naval Shipyard for repairs.

02/15/84: The U.S. Navy's Nuclear

Weapons Training Group Atlantic

submits an "OPREP-3 Navy Blue Bent

Spear [nuclear weapons incident] as a

result of a material failure in a W80

trainer [warhead for the] (Tomahawk)

Neptune Paper No. 3: Naval Accidents 1945-1988

[sea-launched cruise missile]."

03/01/84: A Soviet Kresta II class

cruiser suffers a two-hour fire while it is

monitoring a NATO exercise in the

Mediterranean.

03/08/84: An unidentified submarine

drags the Clogerhead, Ireland, trawler

Oriel

astern for two miles east of County

Louth, Ireland. The skipper cuts the nets

to free his boat. An official Irish

Ministry of Transport inquiry takes place

but its findings are never made public.

03/21/84: The USS

Kitty Hawk

(CV-63) is struck during night operations

by a surfacing Soviet Victor I

nuclear-powered attack submarine in the

southern Sea of Japan, approximately

100 miles from mainland Japan, while en

route to the Yellow Sea. The

Kitty

Hawk

sustains a minor hole below the

waterline in an aircraft fuel tank on the

starboard side and continues normal

operations. The Soviet vessel is

observed dead in the water for a while

with a dent across its aft deck. It is

assisted by the Soviet Kara class cruiser

Petropavlovsk

and later is towed by a

Soviet salvage vessel to the Vladivostok

naval base. U.S. Navy officers say there

was no evidence of nuclear leakage from

the submarine. The

Kitty Hawk

had

been taking part in joint U.S.-Korea

"Team Spirit 84" exercises. The

submarine had been following the

Kitty

Hawk

carrier group with other surface

ships for several days. Navy officials

claim the carrier's escort ships

deliberately broke contact with the

submarine after simulating its destruction

15 times to begin a new phase in the

exercise where the

Kitty Hawk

would

use deception techniques to lose the

trailing Soviet surface ships. The Soviet

submarine apparently lost track of the

Kitty Hawk

and was surfacing to find it

when the collision occurred.

03/29/84: The Danish fishing boat

Ane

Kathrine

is dragged under by the West

German diesel submarine

Simpson

which was on sea trials in the North Sea

prior to delivery to Chile, killing three.

04/01/84: In April the USS

Barbour

County

(LST-1195) runs aground on the

Coronado strand in San Diego,

California, but the ship is successfully

extracted in less than 24 hours.

04/02/84: The Glasgow Herald reports

the U.S. Navy at Holy Loch, Scotland

admits that the paint on the USS

Sam

Rayburn

(SSBN-635) was mildly

radioactive when it returned from patrol

in February 1984. The Navy says this is

very low-level radioactivity, so low that

it could not be detected by a geiger

counter. Reports about the radiation had

been circulating for a month, leading to

claims that the

Sam Rayburn

had been

in a collision sometime in the fall of

1983 which had caused the ship to leak

or become contaminated with radiation.

The Navy's statements serve to add to the

controversy.

04/02/84: At midday in the South China

Sea the Soviet carrier

Minsk

fires eight

signal flares at the USS

Harold E. Holt

(FF-1074) when the latter passes the

Minsk

's starboard side at a distance of

300 meters after disregarding a request

from the

Minsk

to stand clear. Three

flares strike the

Holt

but no one is

injured. A U.S. Navy official

acknowledges equal U.S. blame for the

incident.

04/12/84: The Royal Navy frigate HMS

Plymouth

collides with the West

German frigate

Braunschweig

in heavy

fog while taking part in NATO exercises

in the Baltic Sea.

04/23/84: While getting underway from

Norfolk, Virginia, the USS

Kittiwake

(ASR-13) backs down on the USS

Bergall

(SSN-667), causing damage to

the

Bergall

's sonar dome and the

Kittiwake

's propeller.

05/17/84: A fire breaks out aboard the

USS

Guitarro

(SSN-665) during a

training exercise 65 miles northwest of

San Diego, California, near San

Clemente Island. Officials said that the

fire originated in the submarine's battery

well due to high heat from electrical

discharge on one of the cells. A sailor

making rounds discovered heat, steam,

and a glow emitting from the battery well

when he opened a well hatch. The

submarine headed for port and the crew

had the fire under control but still

burning when the submarine arrived.

05/19/84: The Royal Navy Antarctic

support ship HMS

Endurance

returns

from Antarctica with a hole in its hull.

06/06/84: The USS

Sumter

(LST-1181)

undergoes repairs to the starboard

propeller shaft until 18 June at the Little

Creek Amphibious Base, Virginia.

Sections of the pitch control rod and

hydraulic control components within the

starboard shaft and propeller assembly

are repaired.

06/11/84: During work-ups off the coast

of North Carolina the USS

Inchon

(LPH-12) develops a leak in the fuel oil

transfer system and returns to Norfolk,

Virginia, for repairs.

06/14/84: The Royal Navy frigate HMS

Jupiter

hits the London Bridge while

attempting a U-turn in the Thames River.

06/15/84: While operating in the Indian

Ocean, a F-14 Tomcat aircraft from

Fighter Squadron 33 crashes on the flight

deck of the USS

America

(CV-66) in a

Class Alpha accident causing more than

$500,000 in damage but no injuries.

06/20/84: A Soviet Whiskey class

diesel-powered attack submarine is

trapped for three and a half hours in

fishing wire of a Norwegian trawler in

international waters in the North Sea.

The submarine is freed only after

surfacing and being aided by the

Norwegian Coast Guard.

08/11/84: The USS

Nathanael Greene

(SSBN-636) reportedly loses her

propeller in the Irish Sea. The

submarine proceeds back to Holy Loch,

Neptune Paper No. 3: Naval Accidents 1945-1988

Scotland, using its secondary propulsion

system. Facilities at the U.S. base are

unavailable, so the submarine is towed to

the nearby British submarine base at

Faslane, Scotland.

08/11/84: The Royal Navy large fleet

tanker HMS

Olwen

is hit by a storm 700

miles northeast of the Falkland Islands,

killing two.

08/14/84: An unidentified submarine

drags the British trawler

Joanne C.

around the English Channel for three

hours at night after becoming entangled

in the trawler's nets eight miles off the

U.K.'s southwest coast. When the boat

radioed for help the Coast Guard told it

to cut its nets as the Royal Navy did have

a submarine in the area. The Ministry of

Defense later says the only Royal Navy

submarine in the area was 30 miles away

and that no U.S. submarines were

nearby, leading to speculation the

submarine belongs to the Soviet Union

or another Warsaw Pact nation. Yet on

15 September the skipper of the

Joanne

receives compensation of more than

2,000 pounds sterling from the Ministry

of Defense, something the Ministry

earlier said it would do if a Royal Navy

ship was found to be at fault.

08/18/84: A fire reportedly breaks out

on board a drydock at the Faslane Royal

Navy nuclear submarine base in Scotland

while the USS

Nathanael Greene

(SSBN-636) is in the dock for repairs. A

U.K. Ministry of Defense official says

the fire was caused by an electrical fault

in a capstan motor which ignited a small

quantity of canvas atop the motor. He

denies the fire threatened the submarine,

since it broke out in a sealed

compartment some distance from the

boat. A spokesman for the U.S. Navy

confirms the submarine was not

damaged, though he refuses to say

whether the ship had nuclear weapons on

board.

09/10/84: Fire in the exhaust vent of the

USS

Ticonderoga

(CG-47) injures 13

crew members and forces the vessel to

return to its home base of Norfolk,

Virginia, for repairs. The cause of the

fire is unknown.

09/18/84: A Soviet Victor I class

nuclear-powered attack submarine is

badly damaged in a collision with a

Soviet tanker in the Strait of Gibraltar.

The submarine reportedly was travelling

in the "noise shadow" of the tanker while

exiting the Mediterranean Sea. Jane's

Defense Weekly notes that the

alternating layers of cold and warm water

in the narrows of the Strait make it likely

for a submarine "to encounter sudden

thermal gradients which make her

porpoise upwards," and this is thought to

be the cause of the accident. The

collision rips off the twin-hulled

submarine's bow section, exposing the

sonar and torpedo tube compartments.

The submarine proceeds to the Soviet

anchorage at Hammament, Tunisia, for

emergency repairs, before returning to its

homeport on the Kola peninsula in early

October.

09/18/84: The Japanese shrimping boat

Sumiyoshi Maru

catches a submarine in

its net in the Sea of Japan. The vessel is

pulled backward until the 3-centimeter

steel wire holding the net is cut. On 20

September a Soviet Golf II class

diesel-powered ballistic missile

submarine is sighted on the surface with

white smoke coming out of its conning

tower in the Sea of Japan, 380 miles west

of Tokyo. Reports speculate the smoke

comes from a fire started by an electrical

overload caused by the snagging of the

fishing boat's net. Over the next two

days the submarine is attended by several

Soviet ships, before proceeding toward

Vladivostok under its own power on the

23 September.

09/21/84: The USS

Jacksonville

(SSN-699) collides with a Navy barge

off Norfolk, Virginia, while travelling on

the surface. The

Jacksonville

strikes the

barge amidships and is reported to have

caused minor damage to her bow.

09/26/84: The USS

Shasta

(AE-33)

collides with the USS

Cleveland

(LPD-7) during a practice replenishment

at sea 30 miles west of Long Beach,

California. Both ships sustain minor

damage. The

Shasta

is able to continue

normal operations.

10/19/84: The Royal Navy frigate HMS

Glamorgan

collides with the German

frigate

Bremen

in a gale.

10/26/84: The USS

John A. Moore

(FFG-19) collides with the USS

Ouellet

(FF-1077) near Hawaii during "FleetEx

85-1" exercises in the Pacific, causing

minor damage.

10/29/84: The USS

Roanoke

(AOR-7)

is grounded just outside the entrance to

Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, after suffering a

steering casualty, but rides free eight

hours later and returns to port.

12/17/84: The USS

Coral Sea

(CV-43)

suffers a minor engine room fire during

overhaul at Norfolk Naval Shipyard,

Virginia. The fire is extinguished in an

hour with three men injured and $6,000

damage to the vessel.

12/31/84: In 1984 the USS

Tattnall

(DDG-19) suffers a major fire.

12/31/84: In 1984 the USS

Sterett

(CG-31) has an emergency drydocking to

repair the sonar dome rubber window,

replace the inflatable shaft boots, repack

the rudder posts, and do other various

underwater hull work.

12/31/84: In 1984 the USS

Beaufort

(ATS-2) receives underwater hull,

shafting, and controllable pitch propeller

repairs for damage sustained as a result

of a grounding.

12/31/84: In 1984 the USS

Thomaston

(LSD-28) has an emergency drydocking

to accomplish underwater hull repairs

sustained as a result of a grounding.

12/31/84: In 1984 the USS

Ranger

(CV-61) suffers two major fires.

Neptune Paper No. 3: Naval Accidents 1945-1988

12/31/84: In 1984 ship repair

contractors in Sasebo, Japan, accomplish

$288,965 of repair work on the USS

Darter

(SS-576) during an emergency

45-day drydocking to repair damages

following a collision.

02/05/85: The USS

Ingersoll

(DD-990)

suffers a casualty to the port oil

distribution box, requiring the ship to

leave its battle group in the Indian

Ocean.

04/11/85: The USS

Coral Sea

(CV-43)

collides with the Ecuadorean tanker

Napo

during air operations 45 miles

southwest of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. A

30-foot hole in the carrier's bow is

punched in, and some radar and

communications equipment is damaged.

The

Coral Sea

returns to drydock in

Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Virginia.

Eleven aircraft airborne at the time of the

accident are diverted to Guantanamo

Bay. The

Napo

is holed above the

waterline and spills 7,600 barrels of oil

before reaching Guantanamo for repairs.

A formal investigation later blames the

Commanding Officer of the

Coral Sea

for the incident, saying he "used poor

judgment in electing to be absent from

the bridge during the entire launch and

recovery cycle ... with a Soviet vessel

within 1,500 yards and with other vessels

well within" the closest point of

approach limits the captain had

established.

06/10/85: The Royal Navy

nuclear-powered ballistic missile

submarine HMS

Resolution

is struck by

the U.S. yacht

Proud Mary

off Cape

Canaveral, Florida, in the early morning.

The submarine suffers minor damage,

but the yacht has to be towed back to

port. The

Resolution

on its way to

test-fire one of her Polaris missiles on the

U.S. Navy's Atlantic Test Range after

undergoing a major refit in Rosyth naval

shipyard, Scotland.

07/22/85: A dive team embarks on

board the USS

Powhatan

(T-ATF-166)

to debeach the USS

Boulder

(LST-1190) in Chesapeake Bay.

08/05/85: The Royal Navy aircraft

carrier HMS

Ark Royal

is blown from

its berth at Portland, U.K., by

50-mile-per-hour winds. No damage is

done and two Navy tugs move the ship

back into place.

09/01/85: In the Pacific, an H-46

helicopter crashes on board the USS

Fife

(DD-991) and slips off the deck, but is

somehow held to the side by the

Fife

crew. Nearby vessels provide assistance

and no injuries occur.

09/01/85: In September the USS

Darter

(SS-576) collides with a Bahamanian

merchant ship about 10 kilometers off

Pusan, South Korea. The U.S. Navy

says there were no injuries.

09/25/85: The Soviet military training

auxiliary ship

Khasan

collides with the

Turkish fast attack craft

Meltem

in the

Bosporus, slicing it in two. There is

thick fog at the time of the collision.

10/15/85: The USS

Estocin

(FFG-15)

runs aground near Key West, Florida.

10/24/85: The USS

Swordfish

(SSN-579) suffers a propulsion casualty

while operating as part of the U.S.

Pacific Fleet.

10/31/85: A Soviet minesweeper

collides with a Swedish spy ship in the

Baltic Sea.

11/02/85: The USS

Enterprise

(CVN-65) is grounded on Bishop's Rock

shoal about 100 miles west of San Diego,

California. Reports say the

Enterprise

sustains a 60-foot gash in the outer hull

and damages one propeller. The aircraft

carrier continues planned operations,

taking part in the "ReadiEx 86-1"

exercise before going into drydock on 27

November.

11/04/85: The USS

Caloosahatchee

(AO-98) grounds on the Elizabeth River

near Norfolk, Virginia, taking two days

to refloat.

11/17/85: The CH-46 vertical

replenishment helicopter of the USS

San

Diego

(AFS-6) crashes into a parked

Marine Corps helicopter on board the

USS

Iwo Jima

(LPH-2) during a night

replenishment, killing one and injuring

four personnel.

11/25/85: The USS

W.S. Sims

(FF-1059) and USS

Moosbrugger

(DD-980) collide at sea in the

Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, operating area.

12/10/85: The USS

Lockwood

(FF-1064) collides with the Philippine

merchant ship

Santo Nino

while

crossing the Uraga Suido outbound of

traffic lanes at the entrance to Tokyo

Bay, Japan. Damage includes a hole

15-feet wide and 12-feet deep running 25

feet down the starboard side, with three

crew injuries. The

Santo Nino

suffers

damage above the waterline.

12/31/85: The USS

Narwhal

(SSN-671)

drifts for several hours in Palma Bay,

Palma Majorca, Spain, after its mooring

cable breaks on New Year's Eve.

12/31/85: In 1985 the USS

Forrestal

(CV-59) is discovered to have a

reduction gear problem unrelated to its

Service Life Extension Program overhaul

work (which finished 20 May). The

defect forced the ship to return to her

homeport of Mayport, Florida, with one

propeller trailing to undergo repairs later

in the year.

01/13/86: A Japanese maritime patrol

aircraft spots a Soviet Echo II class

nuclear-powered cruise missile

submarine under tow by a Soviet salvage

ship about 280 miles northwest of

Okinawa in the East China Sea, heading

northward. The submarine evidently

suffered a propulsion casualty.

01/29/86: The USS

Ingersoll

(DD-990)

makes a heavy landing against the

Canadian tug

Provider

at Esquimalt,

British Columbia. Responsibility is

Neptune Paper No. 3: Naval Accidents 1945-1988

charged to an inexperienced tug operator

and to brisk winds. Damage to both

vessels is minimal.

02/10/86: The USS

Willamette

(AO-180) collides with the USS

Jason

(AR-8) 75 miles southwest of Pearl

Harbor, Hawaii, during a formation

steaming exercise, killing one and

injuring eight. The collision smashes the

Willamette

's starboard bow from the rail

to below the waterline. A large vertical

rupture from deck to waterline on the

port side of the

Jason

forces the ship to

be towed back to port.

03/13/86: The USS

Nathanael Greene

(SSBN-636) runs aground in the Irish

Sea, suffering external damage to its

ballast tanks and rudder. A spokesman

for the U.S. Navy says "There was no

effect on the propulsion, no injuries and

no damage to the Poseidon nuclear

missiles." The submarine initially sails

to Holy Loch, Scotland, under its own

power for emergency repairs. It then

leaves Scotland on 25 April and travels

submerged to Charleston, South

Carolina. The extent of the damage

subsequently leads to a decision to

decommission the vessel, partly in order

to satisfy SALT II limitations.

03/22/86: The USS

Secota

(YTM-415)

loses power and collides with the stern

planes of the Trident submarine USS

Georgia

(SSBN-729) off Midway Island

in the Pacific and sinks, just after

completing a personnel transfer. Ten

crew are rescued, but two drown. The

Georgia

is undamaged.

03/23/86: The USS

Midway

(CV-41)

collides with a South Korean fishing boat

in the Yellow Sea, damaging the boat but

leaving the carrier unscathed.

04/04/86: The Royal Navy aircraft

carrier HMS

Illustrious

suffers an

explosion and severe gearbox fire,

costing some four million pounds

sterling in repairs.

04/04/86: The USS

William H.

Standley

(CG-32) suffers a main space

fire in its Number 1 engine room during

"Readiex 86-3" exercises, causing minor

damage and no injuries. The

Standley

continues operations.

04/29/86: The USS

Atlanta

(SSN-712)

runs aground in the Strait of Gibraltar,

damaging sonar gear and puncturing a

ballast tank in the bow section. Navy

officials stress that no radiation leaked

from the nuclear reactor and no crew

members were injured. The vessel limps

to Gibraltar for repairs, with water

entering through holes in the ballast tank.

05/14/86: The Soviet Navy logistic

support ship

Berezina

collides with the

Soviet ship Capitan

Soroka

while

proceeding into the Mediterranean near

Istanbul, Turkey. The

Berezina

receives

a breached hull to the waterline on the

port side.

07/02/86: The USS

Roanoke

(AOR-7)

collides with the Liberian oil tanker

Mint Prosperity

while steaming into

Long Beach, California, in low visibility.

The

Roanoke

sustains only minor

damage to its bow and enters Naval

Station Long Beach under its own power.

07/29/86: A inquiry begins into a recent

boiler fire aboard the Royal Navy frigate

HMS

Plymouth

which killed one.

07/30/86: A U.S. Navy Sidewinder

air-to-air missile hits the 30,000-ton

tanker

Western Sun

carrying 26,000

barrels of oil 60 miles east of Norfolk,

Virginia, leaving a reported two-to-three

foot gash in the ship's superstructure.

One report says the impact started

several small fires. The Navy states that

it was an inert missile used by an F-14

Tomcat fighter in an exercise within a

designated warning area, and that a

notice to ships of the exercise had been

sent on 24 July.

07/31/86: In late July the USS

Guitarro

(SSN-665) reportedly suffers a minor

mishap involving a shipboard valve

while at sea. In response to inquiries the

Navy says no serious equipment or safety

problems occurred aboard the

Guitarro

08/13/86: The USS

Inchon

(LPH-12)

suffers a casualty to the ship's

evaporators while underway for

Moorehead City, North Carolina, causing

the ship to return to Norfolk, Virginia,

for two days of repairs.

08/16/86: A freak wave crashes over the

USS

Carl Vinson

(CVN-70) injuring

one man and sweeping seven others into

the Pacific Ocean. They were quickly

rescued.

09/09/86: A CH-46 Sea Knight

helicopter crashes into a CH-53 Sea

Stallion helicopter on the flight deck of

the USS

Saipan

(LHA-2) while

operating off northern Norway during

"Northern Wedding" exercises. The Sea

Knight flips into the water, killing nine.

09/22/86: The USS

Yellowstone

(AD-41) collides with the USS

Truckee

(T-AO-147) during underway

replenishment off Virginia. The

Truckee

has minor superstructure

damage, while the

Yellowstone

sustains

a two-foot gash in the hull on the port

side.

10/03/86: A Soviet Yankee I class

nuclear-powered ballistic missile

submarine suffers an explosion and fire

in one of its missile tubes 480 miles east

of Bermuda, killing at least three.

General Secretary Gorbachev sends

President Reagan a private

communication regarding the accident in

advance of the public announcement on

4 October, assuring him that there was

no danger of nuclear explosion,

radioactive contamination, or accidental

launching of nuclear missiles. U.S.

forces sample the air and water around

the submarine and detect no

radioactivity. The submarine sinks under

tow on 6 October in 18,000 feet of water

about 600 miles northeast of Bermuda.

U.S. sources said that the explosion

probably originated in the liquid fuel of

one of the missiles.

Neptune Paper No. 3: Naval Accidents 1945-1988

10/31/86: In late October the USS

Augusta

(SSN-710) is damaged in an

undersea collision while on a routine

training patrol in the Atlantic. No crew

members are injured and the submarine

returns to Groton, Connecticut, for $2.7

million worth of repairs by year's end.

Reportedly, according to unnamed U.S.

Defense Department sources, it is

unclear whether the submarine struck the

ocean floor or an underwater object, but

there was no risk of the submarine

sinking or danger to the nuclear reactor.

A Defense Department spokesman

refuses to comment on a CBS news

report that the submarine "very

possibly" collided with a Soviet

submarine.

11/03/86: The USS

Towers

(DDG-9)

hits the wharf in the Port of Cairns in

northern Queensland, Australia,

damaging the wharf.

12/31/86: During Fiscal Year 1986 the

USS

William V. Pratt

(DDG-44) runs

aground while going from Naval Station

Charleston, South Carolina, to Naval

Weapons Station Charleston, South

Carolina, causing $1.3 million damage to

her sonar domes.

01/01/87: Sometime in the first half of

January the Royal Navy nuclear-powered

attack submarine HMS

Splendid

loses

its towed array sonar system during a

close encounter with a Soviet submarine

in the Barents Sea off Murmansk.

Reportedly the submarine was a Soviet

Typhoon class nuclear-powered ballistic

missile submarine. It is unclear whether

the Soviet submarine severed the

Splendid

's tow-line accidentally or

deliberately in an effort to obtain the

sensitive technology. The submarine

returns to Devonport, U.K., on 31

January.

01/13/87: The USS

Berkeley

(DDG-15)

suffers a casualty to the forward sonar

dome pressurization system, forcing the

ship to reduce speed to 10 knots in heavy

seas, and necessitating an unexpected

stop in Guam to ascertain the level of

damage and make temporary repairs.

01/14/87: The USS

William H.

Standley

(CG-32) sustains minor

damage when several ammunition barges

which had been secured alongside begin

to break loose and pound the sides of the

ship in heavy winds and high seas while

the ship is anchored in San Francisco

Bay, California. The barges are

promptly secured, preventing significant

damage or their becoming adrift in a

crowded waterway.

01/22/87: The USS

Ogden

(LPD-5)

suffers a Class Charlie fire.

02/18/87: The Irish trawler

Summer

Morn

is dragged backward for 10 to 20

miles for two and one half hours by a

U.S. nuclear-powered submarine before

it cuts its nets to free the submarine

about 14 miles northwest of the Isle of

Man in the Irish Sea. The trawler hauls

in a submarine communications buoy

stuck in its nets. The U.S. Defense

Department confirms the submarine was

American, but declines to say which

submarine it was.

04/07/87: Two sailors are swept from

the deck of the USS

Ulysses S. Grant

(SSBN-631) in rough seas three miles

outside of the Portsmouth, New

Hampshire, harbor; one is rescued but is

pronounced dead and the other is lost at

sea.

04/21/87: The USS

Richard L. Page

(FFG-5) collides with and sinks the

disabled fishing vessel

Chickadee

which was under tow by another fishing

boat, during a high-speed run in heavy

fog off Virginia. The incident leads to

calls for more drug testing of sailors,

though no use on the

Richard L. Page

ever uncovered.

04/25/87: The USS

Daniel Boone

(SSBN-629) goes aground in the St.

James River at Newport News, Virginia,

during sea trials following a $115 million

dollar overhaul. The grounding delays

the ship's return to service.

04/29/87: The USS

LaMoure County

(LST-1194) collides with the USS

Hermitage

(LSD-34) about 300 miles

off the Georgia coast while the ships are

practicing a resupply exercise. The

Hermitage

sustains a five-foot hole in its

bow stem above the waterline while the

LaMoure County

sustains superficial

damage to its left side. The commanding

officer of the

LaMoure County

relieved pending an investigation of the

accident.

05/27/87: The USS

Belleau Wood

(LHA-3) suffers casualties to both

boilers' super heater tubes.

06/03/87: The USS

Patterson

(FF-1061) returns to sea after suffering

several small fires from efforts to restart

a faulty generator while the ship is

conducting drills in the Caribbean. The

ship was towed to the Roosevelt Roads

naval station, Puerto Rico, for one day of

repairs. There were no injuries and no

damage to the ship.

06/15/87: The West German supply

vessel

Neckar

is struck by 46 mm

anti-missile and anti-ship gun shells

reportedly fired from a Polish vessel

while observing a Warsaw Pact exercise

in the Bay of Gdansk, about 375 miles

east of Kiel. Four shells strike the

Neckar

's starboard side and one lodges

near its rear engine room. The ship

springs a leak and fire breaks out, but

damage is only minor. A West German

Defense Ministry spokesman says "there

are indications pointing to technical or

human failure... There is no reason to

think it was done deliberately."

06/25/87: The Royal Australian Navy

ship

Parramatta

hits the wharf at the

Port of Cairns, northern Queensland,

Australia, damaging the wharf.

06/30/87: In late June or early July, the

Trident submarine USS

Nevada

(SSBN-733) suffers a breakdown while

conducting routine operations following

Neptune Paper No. 3: Naval Accidents 1945-1988

the improper installation of a power

transmission gear during a recent

February to April maintenance stop at

the Newport News shipyard, Virginia.

The damage is estimated at several

million dollars, and causes the

Nevada

to cancel a special call at its new home

port of Bangor, Washington. In response

to queries the Navy says "The safety of

the ship and crew was never an issue and

the ship is continuing its operations."

07/27/87: U.S. Navy planes conducting

bombing practice at night near Okinawa

hit the Malaysain freighter

Pomex Saga

injuring one.

08/15/87: The Royal Australian Navy

convenes a board of inquiry to discover

why the diesel submarine

Otama

submerged during exercises off New

South Wales, Australia, while two

submariners were working outside the

pressure hull. Both men were killed.

08/26/87: The Royal Navy

nuclear-powered attack submarine HMS

Conqueror

suffers a fire while at

Devonport, U.K., for a four-month

overhaul, damaging its engine room.

The British Navy stresses that the fire

was far from the submarine's nuclear

reactors.

10/01/87: The Royal Navy

nuclear-powered ballistic missile

submarine HMS

Renown

suffers a leak

of reactor coolant during tests in the

reactor compartment while at the Rosyth

naval base, Scotland, for a refit. The

Navy says it was a minor incident,

"without any radiation hazard."

11/09/87: The Irish County Down

trawler

Angary

is pulled along for a few

seconds until its tackle snaps off at deck

level, breaking a steel chain tested at 32

tons of stress, and disappears without a

trace about 17 miles north of the Isle of

Man in the Irish Sea. The fishermen

suspect a submarine is responsible, but

the U.K. Ministry of Defense says no

British submarine was operating in the

vicinity.

12/01/87: In December the West

German Navy destroyer

Moelders

suffers a major fire while in the English

Channel, returning from the

Mediterranean. The fire originates in the

galley and produces heavy, poisonous

smoke which spreads through vents and

cable conduits to a number of decks and

compartments. It burns for several hours

before being brought under control with

the assistance of the frigate

Niedersachsen

which then tows the ship

to its homeport of Wilhelmshaven.

01/26/88: The Royal Navy

nuclear-powered ballistic missile

submarine HMS

Resolution

suffers an

electrical malfunction while docked in

Faslane, Scotland. The Observer

newspaper claims that the malfunction

shuts down the primary coolant pumps,

almost leading to a core meltdown. And,

that a crew member who was exposed to

radiation had to be scrubbed down for 24

hours. The Ministry of Defense denies

these stories, saying the submarine

suffered a "minor electrical

malfunction;" those that said the

submarine's reactor could have melted

down didn't know what they "are talking

about;" and there had been "absolutely

no danger to the crew or the general

public."

02/12/88: The USS

Yorktown

(CG-48)

and USS

Caron

(DD-970) are bumped

by a Soviet destroyer and frigate,

respectively, nine miles off the coast of

the Crimean Peninsula in the Black Sea.

The action came after the two U.S. ships

entered the Soviet's 12-mile territorial

water limit.

03/06/88: A West German diesel

submarine collides with a Norwegian oil

platform in the North Sea while taking

part in an antisubmarine warfare

exercise. The submarine collided with

the anchor chain of the oil rig Oseberg B,

and while trying get loose struck the rig

at 30 meters. The submarine manages to

surface in about an hour and proceeds to

Bergen, Norway, for inspection and

repair.

04/24/88: The USS

Bonefish

(SS-582)

suffers explosions and fire in its battery

compartment during operations with the

USS

John F. Kennedy

(CV-67) and the

USS

Carr

(FFG-52) in the Caribbean,

killing three. Submarine experts say that

the most likely cause was the

accumulation of hydrogen gas while the

batteries were being recharged, which

probably was ignited by a spark.

04/29/88: The USS

Sam Houston

(SSN-609) runs aground in Carr Inlet off

the southeast tip of Fox Island in Puget

Sound, Washington, while operating in

shallow water to determine how quiet the

vessel is in water. The submarine is

freed the next day by four tugs and the

USS

Florikan

(ASR-9) while the

submarine's 142-man crew remains

aboard. The submarine suffers minor

damage to exterior hull equipment.

05/17/88: The Royal Navy

nuclear-powered attack submarine HMS

Conqueror

suffers a fire while docked

in Gibraltar. The flames are quickly put

out and do not affect the nuclear reactor.

06/01/88: In the first week of June the

Royal Navy nuclear-powered attack

submarine HMS

Conqueror

accidentally hit by an unarmed training

torpedo dropped by an antisubmarine

warfare helicopter during exercises off

the west coast of Scotland. The deck

plating of the submarine is bent on

impact and the submarine proceeds to the

Faslane submarine base, Scotland, for

repairs.

06/18/88: In mid-June the trawler

Strantail

has its nets torn to shreds by a

submarine 18 miles north of Tory Island,

Ireland. The submarine which bore no

identification markings surfaced near the

trawler and cleared itself of the remnants

of the nets.

07/02/88: The Royal Navy

nuclear-powered attack submarine HMS

Courageous

collides with and sinks the

Neptune Paper No. 3: Naval Accidents 1945-1988

privately charted yacht

Dalriada

at night

in the North Channel of the Irish Sea.

The four persons on board the yacht are

rescued by the Royal Navy frigate HMS

Battleaxe

35 minutes later.

07/16/88: The 78-foot racing yacht

Drum

collides with the partially surfaced

Royal Navy diesel submarine HMS

Otus

in the middle of the night as it makes its

way around the Mull of Kintyre off the

west coast of Scotland. The

Drum

suffers a serious gash on the port side,

but is able to make it to Crinan, Scotland,

at reduced speed. The

Otus

comes on

the radio 20 minutes after the incident

offering assistance.

07/17/88: A French navy Super

Etendard fighter crashes into the French

aircraft carrier

Clemenceau

during a

night landing off of Djibouti, killing the

pilot.

07/23/88: The Japanese Defense Force

diesel submarine

Nadashio

collides with

the Japanese sport fishing boat

Fuji

Maru

in Tokyo Bay, sinking the boat,

killing 30 and causing a political furor

over the submarine's lack of efforts to

save drowning seamen.

08/02/88: The USS

Constellation

(CV-64) suffers an engine room fire

which forces the carrier to cancel

scheduled operations and return to port

in San Diego, California. The fire,

believed caused by a fuel oil leak, begins

with an explosion in one of the ship's

four engine rooms around noon and is

finally extinguished about nine hours

later after several subsequent explosions

caused by heat from the initial fire.

Twenty sailors suffer burns, bruises, and

smoke inhalation.

08/28/88: A Japanese freighter collides

with a Peruvian navy diesel submarine

off Peru, sinking the submarine and

killing seven.

08/29/88: The USS

Dwight D.

Eisenhower

(CVN-69) collides with an

anchored coal ship in Hampton Roads,

Virginia, while entering the harbor to

dock at Norfolk Naval Station, when

wind and current push the carrier off

course. Damage is minor to both ships.

09/01/88: In September the Royal Navy

destroyer HMS

Southhampton

collides

with the container vessel

Torbay

kilometers north of the United Arab

Emirates, injuring three aboard the

destroyer.

09/03/88: The USS

Berkeley

(DDG-15)

strikes the civilian tour boat

Coralita

while trying to dock in Cairns Harbor,

northern Queensland, Australia, causing

considerable internal damage to the

Coralita

09/12/88: The Royal Navy frigate HMS

Penelope

collides with the Canadian

naval support ship

Preserver

while

participating in the NATO "Teamwork

88" exercise, suffering considerable

damage.

09/12/88: The USS

Boulder

(LST-1190) runs aground off Norway

during the NATO "Teamwork 88"

exercise due to bad weather or uncharted

underwater obstructions, causing some

major scrapes and tears in the bottom of

the hull.

09/15/88: In mid September a Belgian

naval ship goes aground off Norway

during the NATO "Teamwork 88"

exercise due to bad weather or uncharted

underwater obstructions.

09/15/88: In mid September a Canadian

naval ship goes aground off Norway

during the NATO "Teamwork 88"

exercise due to bad weather or uncharted

underwater obstructions.

09/22/88: An Exocet missile

accidentally drops from the Royal Navy

fleet auxiliary ship HMS

Regent

onto a

barge as it is being unloaded in Plymouth

Sound, U.K., almost hitting two men in

the barge.

10/23/88: The USS

Hayler

(DD-997)

collides with the West German Navy

replenishment tanker

Rhon

while

exercising in the North Sea. Both

vessels take on water. The

Hayler

receives a gash on her starboard side and

proceeds to Rosyth, Scotland, for

emergency repairs.

11/01/88: In November, according to a

Soviet press account, the Soviet

nuclear-powered icebreaker

Rossia

almost suffers a nuclear reactor

meltdown when cooling fluid is

accidentally released while the ship is in

Murmansk. Emergency procedures

prevent the core from overheating,

averting a possible major accident.

11/09/88: The USS

Towers

(DDG-9)

narrowly misses a Japanese helicopter

patrol boat with a volley of exercise

shells, while exercising off the Boso

Peninsula southeast of Tokyo Bay,

resulting in a political incident with the

Japanese.

11/30/88: A 20 mm cannon on an A-7

Corsair aircraft accidentally fires during

maintenance setting six other aircraft

ablaze aboard the USS

Nimitz

(CVN-68), operating in the Arabian Sea,

killing one. The

Nimitz

continues

operations.

12/06/88: The Royal Navy diesel

submarine HMS

Ocelot

is reported to

return to the Clyde, Scotland, with a

forward sonar dome ripped open. The

Ministry of Defense denies the tearing is

caused by a fishing trawl or cable, saying

it was done by wave damage.

12/11/88: A U.S. F/A-18 Hornet aircraft

from the USS

Constellation

(CV-64)

accidentally strikes an Indian merchant

ship with a unarmed Harpoon missile

during training operations about 200

miles northwest of Honolulu, Hawaii,

killing one. The missile confused a

target hulk with the merchant ship which

was in the exercise area.

00/00/00: Undated but after 1964 when

it was commissioned -- The USS

Von

Neptune Paper No. 3: Naval Accidents 1945-1988

Steuben

(SSBN-632) suffers a reactor

scram while the diesel engine is

disassembled for maintenance. Large

amounts of electricity are needed for a

reactor restart, and the battery is

exhausted without restarting the reactor.

The submarine wallows on the surface

for at least several hours as the diesel

motor is reassembled by flashlight.

00/00/00: Undated but seemingly in the

1950s or early 1960s -- The USS

Nautilus

(SSN-571) suffers an

involuntary reactor shutdown which took

24 hours to overcome, during which she

only had steerageway on the surface with

her diesel engines.

Appendix A: Sources and Acknowledgements

This report is based upon a two-year comprehensive search of public information sources,

numerous requests for information under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), research into U.S.

Navy archives and historical documents, and interviews with naval officials and experts. Even so, the

report is incomplete, mainly as a result of government secrecy. Little effort has been made on the part of

the navies to inform the public as to the extent of naval accidents, particularly those which occur on the

high seas. Nuclear weapons and reactor-related accidents, in addition, are hidden by an even greater veil

of secrecy.

Yet in the end, using primary sources, we have been able to identify over 1,200 accidents. The

overwhelming majority of these are U.S. accidents. The suspicion is that the Soviet Union has an even

greater accident record than the U.S., but specific information was not obtainable. A conservative

estimate, however, would put the total of major accidents at over 2,000 since the end of World War II, or

about one accident every week in the postwar era.

The chronology was begun relying on the work done by a number of other researchers and

journalists who have previously looked at nuclear and naval accidents. David Kaplan of the Fund for

Constitutional Government and the Center for Investigative Reporting has done the most extensive work

to date on accidents in the nuclear navy. Kaplan's first report, "The Nuclear Navy," (Washington, D.C.:

FCG, 1983) gives an account of a number of submarine and reactor accidents, some of which could not

be confirmed and were excluded from this report. Subsequent articles by Kaplan and various coauthors

added some additional information, and these were also evaluated, as were the original newspaper reports

Kaplan dug up, as well as his interviews with former crewmen. One set of documents worth mentioning

were released to Kaplan partially redacted under the FOIA. They consist of raw intelligence reports

submitted by the Domestic Collection Division of the Central Intelligence Agency, on Soviet submarine

accidents; they were compiled from interviews with Soviet emigres and defectors, who were asked to

recall what they knew about accidents. The reports are unevaluated intelligence reports submitted to U.S.

intelligence analysts for their use, and do not reflect what the U.S. intelligence community actually

knows about Soviet submarine accidents.

Another set of documents found very useful were released under the FOIA to Ian Lind of the

American Friends Service Committee. These documents, "Summary of Nuclear Weapon Accidents and

Incidents: 1965-1977," (NWEF Technical Report No. 1070 and supplements; Kirtland AFB, New

Mexico: Naval Weapons Evaluation Facility, March 1973) contain statistical data reporting on nuclear

incidents in the Navy over an approximate decade long period. The chapter in the yearbook of the

Neptune Paper No. 3: Naval Accidents 1945-1988

Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) for 1977 by Milton Leitenberg, "Accidents of

Nuclear Weapons Systems," World Armaments and Disarmament SIPRI Yearbook 1977 (Stockholm,

Sweden, 1977) proved a useful departure point for tracking down major accidents.

The annual "Chronology of U.S. Naval Events" compiled by the Operational Archives Division

of the Naval Historical Center from 1960 to 1981, was the main new primary information source. Annual

command histories and daily deck logs of selected individual ships and commands, and the histories of

the Commander of the Pacific Fleet from 1980 to 1987, proved invaluable. The volume of this material

prevented a complete review, but many accidents that were previously unreported were contained in

these documents, which were either provided by the Navy under the Freedom of Information Act, or

reviewed by the authors or research assistants. Files at the National Archives were also consulted. The

official "Narrative Summaries of Accidents Involving Nuclear Weapons," released by the Department of

Defense in April 1981 is the Pentagon's last word on the subject of nuclear weapons accidents. The

criteria for reporting and defining accidents may need to be updated given the new information

uncovered in this report. The study by Robert B. Mahoney, U.S. Navy Responses to International

Incidents and Crises, 1955-1975, (Alexandria, Virginia: Center for Naval Analysis, 1977), released under

the FOIA, was the best chronology of gunboat diplomacy and crisis naval deployments.

The research for the chronology included a comprehensive search of the New York Times and

the Times of London indexes, selected Facts on File Yearbooks and Keesing's Contemporary Archives.

Miscellaneous newspaper articles from around the world and Associated Press files were also consulted,

as well as articles on the subject of naval and nuclear weapons accidents which have appeared in the

military trade press, particularly Jane's Defence Weekly, Proceedings

, Seapower, Naval Forces, Navy

International, Navy Times, The Hook, Submarine Review, and Aviation Week & Space Technology.

Chronologies of the U.S. Naval Institute which appear annually in Proceedings in the May "Naval

Review" issue, and the compilation published by the Naval Institute Press in 1973, Naval and Maritime

Chronology: 1961-1971, proved invaluable. The history and chronologies contained in U.S. Navy, United

States Naval Aviation: 1910-1980 (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1981); David Cooney,

Chronology of the U.S. Navy: 1775-1965 (New York: Franklin Watts, Inc., 1975); the annual Asian

Security (Tokyo, Japan: Research Institute for Peace and Security); and Norman Polmar's Guide to the

Soviet Navy (4th ed. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1986) were most useful.

Other books, studies and articles that were consulted and yielded significant original information

included William R. Anderson and Clay Blair, Jr., Nautilus 90 North (Cleveland, Ohio: The World

Publishing Company, 1959); Edward L. Beach, Around the World Submerged: The Voyage of the Triton

(New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1962); Jan S. Breemer, "Soviet Submarine Accidents:

Background and Chronology," Navy International, May 1986; Richard G. Hewlett and Duncan Francis,

Nuclear Navy: 1946-1962 (University of Chicago Press, 1974); Norman Polmar and Thomas B. Allen,

Rickover (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1982); Jack Sweetman, American Naval History: An

Illustrated Chronology of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps: 1775-Present (Annapolis, Maryland: Naval

Institute Press, 1984); Mikhail Turetsky, The Introduction of Missile Systems into the Soviet Navy

(1945-1962) (Falls Church, Virginia: Delphic Associates, 1983); U.S. Congress, House Armed Services

Committee, "Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program - 1982," Hearings; and Roy Varner and Wayne Collier,

A Matter of Risk: The Incredible Inside Story of the CIA's Hughes Glomar Explorer Mission to Raise a

Russian Submarine (New York: Random House, 1978).

There are some reported accidents which are not included in this analysis. Thirty-four accidents

which were previously recorded in reports, books, or newspaper stories, could not be confirmed. Nine of

these come from Appendix F of the book Rickover (Polmar and Allen), which in turn is taken from a

Soviet book by V. M. Bukalov and A. A. Narusbayev, Proyektirovaniye Atomnykh Podvodnykh Lodok

[Design of Nuclear Submarines] printed in 1968. (David Kaplan included most of these accidents in his

report on the nuclear navy.) The Soviet book lists 38 U.S. and two U.K. accidents involving nuclear-

powered submarines. Thirty of the remaining 31 accidents are corroborated by other sources and are

included in the main chronology. Several of these are listed at different dates than in Rickover, since

Neptune Paper No. 3: Naval Accidents 1945-1988

more precise dates or correct dates could be determined from other sources. One of the accidents listed

was determined to be a double entry and was deleted.

Five Soviet submarine accidents from reports in Jane's Defence Weekly also were excluded. One

accident, the meltdown of an Alfa submarine's reactor, is unconfirmed and is inconsistently reported in

several Jane's reports. The other four are part of a review article containing a chronology of 27 Soviet

submarine accidents with no sources listed. Twenty-two correspond with other information in the public

domain and are included in the main chronology (the twenty-third accident was the Alfa).

The remaining entries concern accidents between trawlers and submarines, nuclear-powered

submarine accidents, and nuclear-capable ship accidents. The trawler-submarine accidents either were

drawn from undocumented or insufficiently documented surveys done in the United Kingdom and

Ireland several years after the reputed accident occurred and could not be confirmed by contemporaneous

press accounts; or there is still some doubt as to whether a submarine was involved; or official

information to substantiate the claimed accident could not be located.

Similarly, the nuclear-powered submarine accidents and nuclear-capable ship accidents were

reported several years after the purported accident occurred and could not be confirmed by

contemporaneous reports or official information.

Special thanks to Matt Carlson, Damian Durrant, Sean Riley, and Amy Wickenheiser for their

primary research help and diligence in slogging through reams of difficult technical material. Also thanks

to Forrest Bittner for computer consulting and expertise with the database, to Michael Ross for

production assistance, to Jackie Walsh and Julie Morrissey for their assistance, and to Nicolau Barcelo,

Jacqui Barrington, Andrew Burrows, Faith Doherty, Amy Halloran, David Kaplan, Walter Kilroy, Hans

Kristensen, Orla Ni Eale, Malcolm Spaven, Kris Thedens, and Karen Topakian for their contributions

and responses to requests for information. Robert S. Norris reviewed the manuscript and offered

numerous useful comments. Special thanks to Ruth Young for editing the report and chronology.

William M. Arkin and Joshua M. Handler, May 1989

Appendix B: U.S. Ship Type

Abbreviations

A. Major Combatants

1. Aircraft Carrier Type

CV Multi-Purpose Aircraft Carrier

CVA Attack Aircraft Carrier

CVAN Nuclear-Powered Attack Aircraft Carrier

CVE Escort Aircraft Carrier

CVL Light Aircraft Carrier

CVN Multipurpose Nuclear-Powered Aircraft

Carrier

CVS Anti-Submarine Warfare/Support

Aircraft Carrier

CVU Utility Aircraft Carrier

2. Surface Combatant Type

BB Battleship

CA Heavy/Gun Cruiser

CAG Guided-Missile Cruiser

CG Guided-Missile Cruiser

CGN Nuclear-Powered Guided-Missile

Cruiser

CL Light Cruiser

CLG Light Guided-Missile Cruiser

DE Destroyer Escort (reclassified to Frigates

(FF) in 1975)

DEG Guided-Missile Destroyer Escort

(reclassified to Guided-Missile Frigates

(FFG) in 1975)

DER Radar Picket Destroyer Escort

DD Destroyer

DDE Escort Destroyer

DDG Guided-Missile Destroyer

DDR Radar Picket Destroyer

DL Frigate (under pre-1975 classification

system)

DLG Guided-Missile Frigate (reclassified to

Guided-Missile Cruiser (CG) in 1975)

DLGN Nuclear-Powered Guided-Missile

Frigate (reclassified to Nuclear-Powered

Guided-Missile Cruiser (CGN) in 1975)

FF Frigate

FFG Guided-Missile Frigate

3. Submarine Type

ASSO Submarine converted to an oiler

SS Diesel-Powered Attack Submarine

SSG Diesel-Powered Cruise Missile

Submarine

SSR Diesel-Powered Radar Picket Submarine

SSN Nuclear-Powered Attack Submarine

SSBN Nuclear-Powered Ballistic Missile

Submarine

B. Other Combatant Classification

1. Patrol Combatant Type

PCER Submarine Chaser Escort Rescue vessel

PG Patrol Combatant

PHM Hydrofoil Guided-Missile Patrol

Combatant

2. Amphibious Warfare Type

AGC Amphibious Force Flagship

LCC Amphibious Command Ship

LHA General Purpose Amphibious Assault

Ship

LKA Amphibious Cargo Ship

LPA Amphibious Transport

LPH Helicopter Amphibious Assault Ship

LSD Dock Landing Ship

LST Tank Landing Ship

3. Mine Warfare Ships

AMS Auxiliary Motor Minesweeper

DMS Destroyer Minesweeper

MSC Coastal Minesweeper

MSCO Coastal Minesweeper, Old

MSO Ocean Minesweeper

C. Auxiliary Ship Classifications

1. Mobile Logistic Type Ships -- Underway

Replenishment

AE Ammunition Ship

AF Stores Ship

AFS Combat Store Ship

AO Oiler

AOE Fast Combat Support Ship

AOR Replenishment Oiler

2. Mobile Logistic Type Ships -- Material

Support

AD Destroyer Tender

AR Repair Ship

AS Submarine Tender

Neptune Paper No. 3: Naval Accidents 1945-1988

3. Support Type Ships -- Fleet Support

ARS Salvage Ship

ASR Submarine Rescue Ship

ATF Fleet Ocean Tug

ATS Salvage and Rescue Ship

4. Support Type Ships -- Other Auxiliaries

AC Collier

AG Miscellaneous

AGB Ice Breaker

AGM Missile Range Instrumentation Ship

AGOR Oceanographic Research Ship

AGR Radar Ship

AGS Surveying Ship

AH Hospital Ship

AK Cargo Ship

AKA Cargo Ship, Attack

AKL Cargo Ship, Light

AKR Vehicle Cargo Ship

AKV Cargo Ship and Aircraft Ferry

AN Net Laying Ship

AOG Gasoline Tanker

AOT Transport Oiler

AP Transport

APA Transport, Attack

APD High Speed Transport

ARL Small Repair Ship

AVP Seaplane Tender, Small

AVT Auxiliary Aircraft Landing Training

Ship

CC Command Ship

D. Support Craft Classifications

1. Tugs (self-propelled)

YTM Medium Harbor Tug

2. Unclassified Miscellaneous Units

IX Unclassified Miscellaneous Unit

E. Military Sealift Command

T-Designates a ship operated by the U.S. Military

Sealift Command.

Neptune Paper No. 3: Naval Accidents 1945-1988

Table 1: Number of Ships by Type Involved in Accidents, 1945 - 1988

Submarine

Aircraft

Carriers

Surface

Ships

Amphibious

Ships

Support

Ships

Other

Military

Total

Ships

19XX

200 0 0 02

1945 1 1 6 0 3 6 17

1946 4 3 9 1 1 9 27

1947 4 1 5 0 2 0 12

1948 1 0 3 0 1 5 10

1949 3 1 11 0 2 4 21

1950 3 1 9 0 11 2 26

1951 2 2 7 2 3 4 20

1952 5 4 12 0 2 2 25

1953 2 7 11 0 0 6 26

1954 4 2 11 3 2 2 24

1955 6 3 21 4 2 4 40

1956 9 3 32 0 1 5 50

1957 7 8 8 0 7 4 34

1958 14 9 20 1 5 6 55

1959 9 9 19 0 6 4 47

1960 8 6 8 0 0 3 25

1961 7 8 7 0 2 4 28

1962 17 12 11 0 1 1 42

1963 16 10 15 0 6 3 50

1964 5 13 13 0 10 2 43

1965 10 8 7 0 1 0 26

1966 8 5 10 6 5 3 37

1967 14 11 14 7 7 3 56

1968 19 3 9 1 7 5 44

1969 12 7 8 2 1 4 34

1970 14 7 18 2 8 3 52

1971 14 8 9 1 10 4 46

1972 12 6 9 3 8 4 42

1973 9 4 13 2 7 6 41

1974 11 2 9 0 4 3 29

1975 5 7 15 3 6 2 38

1976 9 2 12 5 5 3 36

1977 9 7 18 2 11 5 52

1978 7 7 5 3 7 3 32

1979 11 10 11 2 4 2 40

1980 6 4 6 2 5 6 29

1981 10 5 11 10 11 3 50

1982 13 2 9 5 8 3 40

1983 8 5 16 1 2 6 38

1984 13 5 12 6 7 2 45

1985 4 4 6 2 1 4 21

1986 7 3 5 2 6 2 25

1987 10 0 5 4 0 4 23

1988 12 4 12 1 3 1 33

Total: 376 229 487 83 201 157 1533

Total

Accidents

Involving

this Type

of Ship:

359 228 406 75 182 142 1,263

a. Year unknown.

b. Total less than total accidents (1276) because total does not include accidents where the military ship is unknown. Total

is less than total accross (1392) because it is a total of all these types of ships (some accidents involve more than one type of

ship).

Table 2: Naval Accidents by Type of Event, 1945 - 1988

Col-

lision

Fire Ground

ing

Exp-

losion

Equip

Ment

Fail

Sink

ing

Weat

her

Propul

sion

Ord

nance

Aircraft

Crash

Flood

ing

Misc. Event

Total

Accident

Total

19XX 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 2 2

1945 4 2 0 6 0 5 1 0 0 0 1 1 20 15

1946 7 1 1 5 0 3 0 0 2 0 0 3 22 20

1947 4 0 2 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 10 10

1948 1 0 3 1 0 3 1 0 0 0 0 1 10 10

1949 7 0 1 4 0 4 1 0 2 0 0 0 19 17

1950 8 1 1 7 0 3 0 0 1 0 0 1 22 18

1951 7 3 1 4 0 5 1 0 0 0 0 2 23 19

1952 10 3 3 2 1 3 1 0 1 0 0 0 24 20

1953 4 9 0 4 1 2 1 0 2 1 0 1 25 23

1954 9 4 2 3 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 22 20

1955 8 6 6 4 2 3 4 1 1 2 0 1 38 31

1956 12 7 5 2 0 0 3 1 2 0 0 1 33 30

1957 11 7 4 5 1 1 2 1 1 2 1 0 36 31

1958 13 9 6 5 0 4 3 4 1 2 1 1 49 44

1959 16 12 2 2 1 0 1 1 2 2 1 1 41 38

1960 5 5 1 1 3 0 1 2 2 1 1 3 25 22

1961 5 7 4 2 2 0 2 2 0 1 1 0 26 24

1962 13 6 4 1 4 0 3 0 0 3 1 5 40 38

1963 16 12 4 1 3 2 4 0 2 3 0 1 48 41

1964 13 9 5 4 2 1 4 1 0 1 2 2 44 37

1965 10 6 2 0 2 0 1 0 3 1 0 2 27 23

1966 10 7 5 4 2 1 2 2 3 0 0 0 36 33

1967 17 11 4 6 6 2 1 2 2 0 1 0 52 49

1968 14 3 5 1 3 6 2 2 3 0 0 4 43 36

1969 13 9 2 4 1 2 1 0 4 0 0 2 38 30

1970 18 6 2 3 5 5 1 3 1 0 0 3 47 40

1971 11 8 3 2 7 3 1 2 0 0 4 3 44 39

1972 10 8 3 2 6 2 4 2 2 0 3 6 48 36

1973 12 12 7 4 1 1 0 1 1 0 1 1 41 37

1974 9 7 1 4 1 1 1 2 0 0 1 2 29 27

1975 14 7 2 3 2 1 0 1 1 1 5 2 39 31

1976 13 6 1 1 3 0 2 3 1 1 0 3 34 32

1977 9 12 3 3 2 1 2 4 1 1 0 3 41 38

1978 5 10 3 2 1 0 0 4 1 2 2 2 32 29

1979 8 15 5 1 3 0 1 4 1 0 0 6 44 37

1980 11 2 2 0 6 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 25 23

1981 12 8 7 2 4 1 2 3 1 5 0 1 46 41

1982 17 2 1 2 4 2 1 1 0 0 1 2 33 30

1983 19 4 1 0 2 1 0 0 2 0 0 2 31 29

1984 16 9 4 0 5 0 3 0 2 1 0 2 42 38

1985 7 0 4 0 3 0 2 1 0 2 0 1 20 18

1986 9 4 3 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 0 1 27 22

1987 7 4 1 0 3 1 2 1 1 0 0 2 22 20

1988 12 4 4 2 3 3 2 1 4 1 0 3 39 28

Total: 456 267 130 114 98 75 65 59 54 34 27 80 1,459

1,276

a. Number of events greater than number of accidents because some accidents involved more than one event.

Neptune Paper No. 3: Naval Accidents 1945-1988

Table 3: Surface Ship Explosive Mishaps, 1985 - 1988

Type of Explosive Mishap Loss

Detonation Malfunction Other

Death Injuries

Jan-Oct 1988 11 46 83 0 5

1987 21 53 148 0 14

1986 15 87 226 1 13

1985

2 40 101 0 2

Total: 49 226 558 1 34

Source

: Mech (The Naval Aviation Maintenance Safety Review), issues April-May 1985 to January-February 1989.

a. Ordnance item failed to pass test, had observed defect, or other recorded mishap.

b. Incomplete data for the year.

Table 4: U.S. Naval Nuclear Weapons Incidents, 1965 - 1977

Nuclear Weapon Type Involved

Year Air-launched Surface-launched Sub-launched Other/Unknown Total

1965 16 11 6 3 36

1966 15 11 6 0 32

1967 4 12 5 0 21

1968 10 11 5 1 27

1969 13 12 7 4 36

1970 7 12 7 0 26

1971 16 14 8 0 38

1972 17 16 9 0 42

1973 14 16 2 1 33

1974 7 6 2 4 19

1975 8 9 1 6 24

1976 12 5 4 1 22

1977 6 9 2 10 27

Total: 145 144 64 30 383

Source

: Official U.S. Navy statistics compiled by the Naval Weapons Evaluation Facility, based upon documents

released under the Freedom of Information Act to Ian Lind of the American Friends Services Committee.

a. This includes 13 incidents and six significant incidents.

b. This includes 21 incidents and three significant incidents.

c. This includes 20 incidents and two significant incidents.

d. This includes 27 incidents and one significant incident.

Neptune Paper No. 3: Naval Accidents 1945-1988

Table 5: Nuclear Weapons and Reactors Lost in the Oceans

10 Mar 1956: A U.S. Air Force B-47 bomber carrying two capsules of nuclear materials for

nuclear bombs, en route from MacDill AFB, Florida, to Europe, fails to meet its aerial refueling

plane over the Mediterranean Sea. An extensive search fails to locate any traces of the missing

aircraft or crew.

18 Apr 1959: The U.S. Navy dumps the sodium-cooled liquid metal reactor vessel and the

reactor plant components of the USS Seawolf (SSN-575) into 9,000 feet of water about 120

miles off the Delaware-Maryland coast in the Atlantic Ocean. (38,30N, 76,06W)

4 Jun 1962: A nuclear test device atop a Thor rocket booster falls into the Pacific Ocean near

Johnston Island after the rocket has to be destroyed as part of the United States' first high altitude

atmospheric nuclear test attempt.

20 Jun 1962: A second attempt to detonate a nuclear device in the atmosphere fails when a Thor

booster is destroyed over Johnston Island, and the nuclear device falls into the Pacific Ocean.

10 Apr 1963: The USS Thresher (SSN-593) implodes and sinks 100 miles east of Cape Cod,

Massachusetts, in approximately 8,500 feet of water, killing all 129 aboard, including 17 civilian

observers.

5 Dec 1965: An A-4E Skyhawk attack jet loaded with a B43 nuclear bomb rolls off the Number

2 elevator of the aircraft carrier USS Ticonderoga (CVA-14) and sinks in 2700 fathoms of water

about 250 miles south of Kyushu Island and about 200 miles east of Okinawa (at 27,35,2N,

131,19.3E).

11 Apr 1968: A Soviet Golf class ballistic missile submarine with three SS-N-5 missiles and

probably two nuclear torpedoes sinks in the Pacific, about 750 miles northwest of the island of

Oahu, Hawaii.

21-27 May 1968: The USS Scorpion (SSN-589) sinks 400 miles southwest of the Azores in

more than 10,000 feet of water, killing 99 crewmen. The ship was reportedly carrying two

ASTOR nuclear torpedoes.

12 Apr 1970: A Soviet November class nuclear-powered attack submarine experiences a nuclear

propulsion casualty while operating in heavy seas approximately 300 nautical miles northwest of

Spain. After failing to rig a tow line to a Soviet bloc merchant ship which was standing nearby,

the submarine apparently sank. The submarine was probably carrying two nuclear torpedoes.

6 Oct 1986: A Soviet Yankee I class nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine with 16 SS-N-

6 missiles and probably two nuclear torpedoes sinks 600 miles northeast of Bermuda. A fire and

explosion, originating in the liquid fuel of a ballistic missile on 3 October led to the sinking.

Neptune Paper No. 3: Naval Accidents 1945-1988

Table 6: Accidents Involving Nuclear Powered Ships and Submarines, 1954 - 1988

Year Ballistic Missile

Submarines

Attack and Cruise

Missile Submarines

Aircraft

Carriers

Other

Surface

Ships

Total

19XX 1 1 0 0 2

1954 0 1 0 0 1

1955 0 1 0 0 1

1956 0 4 0 0 4

1957 0 2 0 0 2

1958 0 3 0 0 3

1959 0 5 0 0 5

1960 0 7 0 0 7

1961 1 1 0 0 2

1962 2 5 0 0 7

1963 2 4 2 0 8

1964 1 1 0 0 2

1965 1 6 0 0 7

1966 0 5 0 0 5

1967 3 4 0 0 7

1968 4 7 0 0 11

1969 1 2 1 0 4

1970 2 6 0 0 8

1971 3 3 0 0 6

1972 3 5 0 0 8

1973 0 7 0 0 7

1974 4 5 1 0 10

1975 0 5 0 1 6

1976 1 7 1 0 9

1977 2 6 0 2 10

1978 0 4 0 0 4

1979 5 3 2 1 11

1980 0 5 0 0 5

1981 1 7 1 0 9

1982 1 6 0 0 7

1983 1 4 1 2 8

1984 2 5 0 0 7

1985 1 2 1 0 4

1986 3 4 1 0 8

1987 4 4 0 0 8

1988 1 4 2 0 7

Total Ships: 50 151 13 6 220

Total Accidents

Involving this

Type of Ship:

49 146 13 6 212

a. Totals do not add across because some accidents involved more than one type of ship.

Neptune Paper No. 3: Naval Accidents 1945-1988

Table 7: Submarine Force Mishaps, 1983 - 1987

1983 1984 1985 1986 1987

Atl Pac Atl Pac Atl Pac Atl Pac Atl Pac Total

-Groundings 2002203012

-Collisions 16 5735313103

Submarines 134535313103

Support Ships 3120000000

-Fires 22 14 19 14 23 3 15 7 26 6

149

Submarines 18 14 13 11 16 3 11 6 16 5

113

Support Ships 40637041101

-Floodings 11 373637152

Submarines 11342435132

Support Ships 0031202020

-Ordnance Mishaps 10660821812914

Submarines 95608210849

Support Ships 1100008455

-Equipment Mishaps 121012 4 10 7 7 3 12 5

-Explosions 0031323011

-Heavy Weather 2220203120

-Suicides 6432424231

Source

: Naval Safety Center, "Submarine Force: Mishap Statistical Summary, Calendar Years 1983 thru 1987," n.d.

(released under the Freedom of Information Act).

Note

: According to the source, data presented is representative of a statistically sound sample, but includes less than

50 percent of the required reportable mishaps. Does not include incidents directly involving nuclear reactors or

nuclear weapons.

Neptune Paper No. 3: Naval Accidents 1945-1988

Figure 1: Naval Accidents by Year, 1945-1988

1945

1946

1947

1948

1949

1950

1951

1952

1953

1954

1955

1956

1957

1958

1959

1960

1961

1962

1963

1964

1965

1966

1967

1968

1969

1970

1971

1972

1973

1974

1975

1976

1977

1978

1979

1980

1981

1982

1983

1984

1985

1986

1987

1988

Year

No. of Accidents