You’ve heard of anti-ship missiles killing aircraft carriers from China that pose a major threat to US Navy aircraft carriers, but sometimes floating airports are threatened by geographical features close to shore. In 1985, nuclear The USS Enterprise nearly sank after crashing into a shallow seamount. The collision caused a 60-foot gash that damaged three propellers and ripped off the port keel. Let’s take a closer look at this story as one of the Navy’s most famous aircraft carriers nearly sank.
What happened?
In 1985, the Enterprise was operating in the Southern California area of operations for readiness exercises. While sailing 100 miles south-southwest of San Diego near Cortes Bank, on November 2, 1985, the Enterprise struck a 13-mile stretch of Bishop Rock, which damaged her hull. The crew “counter-flooded the void and controlled the flooding”, according to the account of the incident by Seaforces.org. But the number one screw was broken and two others were damaged. There was also a short term loss of 24 JP-5 fuel storage tanks.
Brave divers assessed the damage
The damage necessitated repairs which required dry docking quickly. Enterprise rooted in San Francisco Bay before moving to Hunters Point Shipyard. Afterwards, a more thorough damage assessment was carried out on board to inspect the wreckage. Divers fell 25 times in actions that took 400 man hours to assess the destruction.
The captain’s attention was on the plane
In the account of the events leading up to the accident, it is reported that the ship’s captain Robert L. Leuschner encountered a difficult cruise. The carrier’s air group was performing mock attacks and bombardments and the planes were having difficulty hitting the targets and additional planes were landing and taking off quickly.
Captain and crew were distracted
Task and objective described what happened next. “The navigator alerted him to the proximity of Cortes Bank and plotted a course correction. At this point Captain Leuschner became distracted by what turned out to be a false report from an armed man under During the precious moments when communications and outreach were linked, no one noticed the carrier’s approach to the bank. Leuschner was later relieved after the wreckage caused $17 million in damage.
Brief company history
The Enterprise, the first nuclear-powered carrier, was introduced in 1960. It was considered ahead of its time due to new reactor technology. Most of Enterprise’s service was valiant in the Vietnam War, but the ship endure a tragic fire who killed 27 sailors and injured 314 in 1969. He also ran aground heading for a port outside of San Francisco in 1983.
The moments leading up to the accident are mysterious
The Navy should be commended for righting the ship after the collision and putting it in drydock. The divers bravely did their job. Questions remain. What was the situation below decks that distracted the captain and sailors on the bridge? It would be a shooter. It sounds mysterious and even wacky. But the false alarm was enough to divert the sailors’ attention from the task at hand – keeping the ship safe at all times.
It’s unclear what kind of investigation the Navy conducted into this accident, but Enterprise was lucky it wasn’t worse. This should be a lesson learned by Americans who today have applications in the East and South China Seas where the Chinese Navy also patrols. Dealing with rival ships can be a distraction, and the US Navy will need to avoid further incidents that could damage its ships while navigating contested waters.
Now as 1945 Defense and National Security Editor, Brent M. EastwoodPhD, is the author of Humans, Machines and Data: Future Trends in Warfare. He is an emerging threat expert and former US Army infantry officer. You can follow him on Twitter @BMEastwood.