USS Forrestal (CV-59)
History of the USS Forrestal Aircraft Carrier
The USS Forrestal was ordered for the U.S. Navy on July 12, 1951. Her keel was laid down at Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company in Virginia on July 14, 1952. She was launched Dec. 11, 1954 and commissioned on Oct. 1, 1955 under the command of Capt. R. L. Johnson.
USS Forrestal spent her early years training aviators off the coast of Virginia and in the Caribbean. She sailed to the eastern Atlantic on Nov. 7, 1956 during the Suez Crisis, where she remained ready to enter the Mediterranean if she were needed. Her first deployment began Jan. 15, 1957, when she sailed to the Mediterranean with the 6th Fleet.
The USS Forrestal participated in a number of training operations, fleet exercises and diplomatic cruises for the next few years. She took part in the NATO Operation Strikeback in the fall of 1957. The aircraft carrier also served as back up for Mediterranean forces during the Lebanon Crisis in the summer of 1958.
After a brief stay at Mayport, Fla., USS Forrestal headed off to her second Mediterranean tour of duty on Sept. 2, 1958. She continued participating in training exercises and patrols during this time. The carrier also served in a ceremonial capacity, receiving foreign dignitaries like King Hussein of Jordan.
In November 1963, the USS Forrestal made history with a C-130 Hercules, setting a record for the largest and heaviest airplane to land on a Navy carrier. Lt. Flatley earned the Distinguished Flying Cross for his efforts in carrier delivery operations.
USS Forrestal headed to Vietnam in July 1967. She carried Attack Carrier Air Wing 17 with her, and the planes conducted strikes against North Vietnamese targets for four days. On July 29, a Zuni rocket misfired and caused a conflagration that killed 134 men, injured 161 others and destroyed 21 aircraft.
The USS Forrestal spent seven deployments to the Mediterranean between 1968 and 1975; the time was not without its losses. During an aircraft recovery accident in October 1968, three of her air crewmen were lost at sea. A fire in the computer room on July 10, 1972 caused $7 million in damage to the ship. She spent three months at Portsmouth, Va., for repairs.
In July 1974, USS Forrestal helped to evacuate American citizens from Cyprus when tensions escalated in the area. The carrier provided air cover while the Navy and Marines evacuated 466 people in five hours, 384 of whom were U.S. citizens.
USS Forrestal was reclassified as a Multipurpose Aircraft Carrier, CV-59 on June 30, 1975. President Gerald Ford came aboard on July 4, 1976 for the International Naval Review and to ring in the bicentennial in New York.
The USS Forrestal participated in explosives testing before heading to Norfolk, Va., for overhaul in September 1977. As she sailed for training and evaluation on Jan. 15, 1978, a plane crashed into her flight deck. Two deck crewmen were killed and 10 others were injured. A fire broke out onboard the USS Forrestal on April 8, 1978 in a machinery room. Three days later, another fire broke out, this time in a catapult steam trunk. On May 10, a flood ruined fresh milk and produce in the food storage rooms. Two more air crashes occurred in June, killing one pilot and injuring another.
In September, the USS Forrestal took part in the NATO Operation Northern Wedding. She then moved on to participate in another NATO exercise, Operation Display Determination. The carrier continued training operations until heading back to Mayport, Fla., for overhaul on Nov. 13, 1978.
USS Forrestal was deployed several more times into the 1980s. She served in readiness during the Syria/Israel missile crisis and shot down two Libyan aircraft when they fired upon U.S. aircraft over international waters. The carrier sailed to the Arctic Circle for NATO’s Ocean Venture of 1981.
After heading back to the United States for repairs, the USS Forrestal sailed to the Mediterranean on June 8, 1982 to support the Lebanon Contingency Force. In September, she sailed through the Suez Canal to the Indian Ocean to join the 7th Fleet. She then headed to Philadelphia via Mayport, Fla., to take part in the Service Life Extension Program on Jan. 18, 1983, where she remained until May 20, 1985.
The USS Forrestal took part in Operation Sea Wind and Display Determination in 1986. In 1987, she headed to the North Atlantic for Ocean Safari 1987. On April 25, 1988, the aircraft carrier headed to the North Arabian Sea to support Operation Earnest Will. When she returned from this deployment on Oct. 7, she received a Meritorious Unit Commendation.
USS Forrestal took part in Fleet Week in New York City in May 1989. That year, she won the Atlantic Fleet’s Marjorie Sterrett Battleship Fund Award. Her next deployment was delayed by damage from another fire that injured 11 sailors.
The end of 1989 brought more exercises and training activities. The USS Forrestal provided support to President George H.W. Bush during the Malta Summit with Mikhail Gorbachev.
The USS Forrestal was supposed to be deployed during Operation Desert Storm, but her orders were canceled. Her final deployment began on May 30, 1991, where she supported Operation Provide Comfort.
USS Forrestal was redesignated AVT-59 on Feb. 4, 1992. She underwent a 14-month overhaul before being decommissioned and struck from the Naval Vessel Register on Sept. 11, 1993.
The use of asbestos was common in shipbuilding components for much of the 20th century because of its resistance to heat, fire, water and corrosion. Because of their asbestos exposure seaman, shipyard workers and longshoreman are at risk for developing asbestos-related diseases like mesothelioma .
Sources include:
John Hedley-Whyte and Debra R Milamed, “Asbestos and Ship-Building: Fatal Consequences,” Ulster Med. J. 77(3):191-200 (Sep 2008)
U.S. Navy, A Brief History of Aircraft Carriers – USS Forrestal Naval Historical Center, Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships—USS Forrestal
