US Navy ships and weapon systems

Nasty fire in San Diego

Details remain limited, but the Wasp class amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD-6) is burning pier-side at Naval Base San Diego. Aerial footage shows thick smoke billowing from the ship's hangar deck as firefighting crews have moved in to try to halt the blaze. Reports state that an unknown number of sailors have been hurt as a result of the fire.

Fire crews from across San Diego have been called in to fight the fire, which some sources state emanates from below the waterline. Loud booms have been heard coming from the ship, but it isn't clear what exactly is causing them.

LHD-6 is one of only nine of the assault ships. The fire looks as if it has really got a hold. There are fire ships pumping water at the ship's side.

Live footage, looks nasty:




Best comment came already: "Damn, that's a lotta smoke, she almost looks like admiral kuznetsov underway."

Just in case some of the usual local fanboys start getting ahead of themselves

Kuznetsiv then the chinese ship... maybe that an answer from Russia and China.

Joke apart, I don't understand why they can't stop a fire before it get that strong. I mean the fire start small so the guy working there can use a fire estinguisher quickly and call help very fast. The ship even if bug is not a city and in two minutes more people can come and help.

I wonder what would happen if it's a oniks that explode inside ? Will it burn united states .

Isos wrote:....Joke apart, I don't understand why they can't stop a fire before it get that strong. I mean the fire start small so the guy working there can use a fire estinguisher quickly and call help very fast. The ship even if bug is not a city and in two minutes more people can come and help. ...

It's Sunday, they most likely just had skeleton crew

By the time anyone noticed it was probably already flaming big time

I remember when I was in the army one of the bulldozers we had sitting in the parking lot just caught fire all by itself, sunlight plus lubricant leak or something and it was off


Hopefully this will finally get all the online fanboys to STFU about fire on Russian ships, both sides have eggs on their faces now

Otherwise known as a disaster for the USN.

Chris Cavas
@CavasShips
·
2h
BHR recently completed a major dry docking overhaul at BAE Systems in San Diego and moved back to 32nd Street Naval Base in February,

Looks pretty bad. Reports say 18 sailors and 45 firemen have been hospitalised so far. And the vessel next to it, USS Fitzgerald is in danger of catching fire as well

Cyberspec wrote:Looks pretty bad. Reports say 18 sailors and 45 firemen have been hospitalised so far. And the vessel next to it, USS Fitzgerald is in danger of catching fire as well

Same USS Fitzgerald that took a ride on the bow of container ship and now a vessel docked next to it gets roasted?

Superstitious folks would think it is cursed and sailors are very superstitious lot

Joke apart, I don't understand why they can't stop a fire before it get that strong.

Burning like an old church in France...

On a ship there are lots of flammable things and access is not straight forward... obviously in bit open areas like a hangar deck a fire in a corner would be easy to see... even though a large area like that will rapidly fill up with smoke, but in more confined areas the place will also fill up with smoke so you might not be able to get within 50m of the things that are actually burning because of the smoke... are you just going to pick up a fire extinguisher and run into the smoke and hope you come across the flames before you run out of breath... oh and by the way when you do run out of breath you need to get back out of the smoke to get a clean breath... do you remember the way? 5m in to the smoke it will be dark so you will have to guess where you are going... if you are working on this ship how familiar are you with the layout... you probably still carry a map to find your way but you need to be able to see the map to use it...

People die in fires on land... on a ship with restricted access and narrow walkways and lack of fire exits makes things much more dangerous...

They're moving the Fitzgerald and another destroyer away to prevent them catching fire as well

The Fitzgerald was moved a few hours back, she was only at the pier a dew days after completing her major repairs. Likely to have her superstructure smoke damaged.

Someone claimed that the BHR will be the first surface ship loss in service in the USN since WW2. The Navy aren't saying that she will burn down to the waterline but it certainly looks like she will end up a burnt out hulk. There is a lot of fuel on board currently under the fire.

At least no deaths and only a few injuries.

Perhaps Trump ordered it in a fit of rage when he learned of the fire on the Kuznetsov and the fire on that Chinese ship... we need our own fire and it had better be bigger than everyone elses....

That tug spraying water on the outside surface trying to cool the metal is a little sad...

Looks like the bridge area is on fire too.... damn...

If the metal is too hot the ship will collapse because the metal loose strenght.

Looking how all is burning it will quickly be used as a target ship for training.

GarryB wrote:...That tug spraying water on the outside surface trying to cool the metal is a little sad...

Looks like the bridge area is on fire too.... damn...

Bridge has collapsed

Landing deck as well yesterday

https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/13/us/uss-bonhomme-richard-fire-monday/index.html

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/34772/uss-bonhomme-richards-bridge-engulfed-in-flames-as-fire-rages-into-the-night

I wonder why they didn't scuttle it- that would put out the fire before she could be salvaged. Even if they save it now, it'll be too costly to return to service.
This could be sabotage by some Black/disgruntled sailors. What a disgrace!

Why a disgrace ?

A US carrier not being usable to bomb civilians is a good thing.

From the POV of USN & other navies, after all the previous disasters. The BHR was to insert Marines/SOFs, not bomb civilians sunbathing on the beach or inland.

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/jul/12/uss-gerald-r-ford-supercarrier-plagued-mechanical-/

Tsavo Lion wrote:From the POV of USN & other navies, after all the previous disasters. The BHR was to insert Marines/SOFs, not bomb civilians sunbathing on the beach or inland.

BHR roles was only different to bombing, not that the Harriers would be bombing of course, in that the Marines would kill the sunbathers if they got in the away as they went up the beach.

The sunbathers would be worned by own gov./media & leave long before Marines come ashore. Guns & tourism don't mix! OTH, landing zones may be in more remote areas, away from civilians.

Marines would guide the bombers so they are part of the bombing.

Anyway my remark wasn't about its operational use, just a remark that it's one ship less that US will use against poor countries.

Tsavo Lion wrote:The sunbathers would be worned by own gov./media & leave long before Marines come ashore. Guns & tourism don't mix! OTH, landing zones may be in more remote areas, away from civilians.

Tell that to french that lived in Normandy back in 1945. They were more killed by US than by germans...

Large scale amphib. landings r over- helos & tiltrotors will be used instead of LSTs.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_Ship,_Tank

The loss of 1 LHA/D won't make too much of an impact- if need be, those that remain will be kept at sea &/ in service longer.

Tsavo Lion wrote:Large scale amphib. landings r over- helos & tiltrotors will be used instead of LSTs.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_Ship,_Tank

The loss of 1 LHA/D won't make too much of an impact- if need be, those that remain will be kept at sea &/ in service longer.

The USN and US Marines are viewing it as a great loss. Given the 'dead time' cycling of these nine ships in and out of repair, R&R and deployment to so many places in the World, I would tend to agree with them.

With their grandiose plans of risking intervention in at least three areas of the World, perhaps they need to pull their horns in a bit. Maybe they have some problems at home that could do with more attention.

The fire started in the Lower Vehicle Hold (18) and spread along and up. Is now in the bow. Task now is to stop it sinking on the spot.

Note that munitions were straight under the fire (14), which may have been the early explosion.





How she used to look

Nobody died and it's not like USN is short on ships or cash so they have that going for them in this situation

I just can't believe it's still on fire, what is there left to burn after all this time? Modern ships are made of metal