In March 1965, then-U.S. President Johnson signed the approval order for Operation Rolling Thunder, and the U.S. Air Force officially began a massive bombing campaign against North Vietnam. Subsequently, the U.S. homegrown army, composed of U.S. Marines, entered Vietnam to directly participate in the operation of NATO troops, and the Vietnam War officially broke out.
What the United States did not expect, however, was that after the Korean War more than 10 years ago, another Asian country resisted its offensive pace. In November 1965, the U.S. army and the North Vietnamese army encountered the first large-scale head-to-head confrontation, the Battle of the Tak Lung Valley.
The outcome of the battle was comical, with both sides believing they had won a great victory. However, the fact is that the casualties on both sides are almost the same, no more than a thousand people. However, after this battle, the American and Vietnamese armies all adopted different ways of fighting than before. The North Vietnamese army changed its previous "brave and forward" style and began to fight guerrilla warfare, and the United States began to rely more and more on fighter bombing.
In April 1967, due to the protracted bombing of the Vietnamese battlefield by the United States, the anti-war sentiment of the domestic population was increasingly high. In New York, the largest city in the United States, more than 300,000 people even broke out anti-war marches. Under pressure, U.S. President Johnson had to deliver a national speech, saying that the United States would unilaterally stop bombing parts of North Vietnam and send more troops to end the war as soon as possible.
Unexpectedly, however, the US military went there, but it was "severely beaten" by the North Vietnamese army. The U.S. Army lost successively in the Vietnam theater, and the military demanded a full resumption of bombing and an expansion of the allowable bombing range. Johnson, in a dilemma, had no choice but to mobilize the aircraft carrier Forrest, which was on a mission near the Mediterranean Sea at the time, to the Vietnam battlefield to implement a new bombing plan.
What everyone didn't expect, however, was that shortly after the Forrest arrived in the Pacific, a huge accident occurred. On July 29, 1967, the Forrest, which was on a bombing mission, suddenly exploded in the waters of the Beibu Gulf of the South China Sea, and then the flames burst into the sky, and all the crew on board fell into panic.
So, who did this sudden catastrophe? Is it a person with lofty ideals who wants to teach the United States a lesson, or does the United States want to blame our country for its defeat, or is it just an accident?
After World War II, the world realized that nuclear weapons would be a decisive factor in the future battle. To this end, countries around the world began to step up the manufacture of nuclear weapons such as atomic bombs, and the United States, as a pioneer, set its sights on building bomber supercarriers with bombers capable of carrying 5 tons of heavy nuclear weapons.
On July 29, 1948, Truman, the "founder" of hegemonism, approved plans for the construction of supercarriers. Unexpectedly, this resolution was strongly opposed by the US Air Force. And if you investigate the reasons, it is also very clear, that is, two words - interests.
Since the United States entered World War II, the U.S. Air Force has been shining as an ace on various battlefields. The U.S. Navy's plan to build a supercarrier was meant to curb the formation of a land-based heavy strategic bomber fleet that the U.S. Air Force was pushing for. As a result, a heavy confrontation like "storm" was staged. Even in the end, it was transformed from a "war of words and words" to a "bayonet red".
In March 1949, James Forrest, the first promoter of the supercarrier program, the former Secretary of the Navy and then the first U.S. Secretary of Defense, was forced to resign by the U.S. Air Force and major chaebol forces. Louis Johnson, who took over, turned the other cheek and began to openly support the U.S. Air Force.
On April 18, 1949, the first aircraft carrier of the supercarrier program, the USS America, was officially planted with keels at the Newport News Shipyard. Unexpectedly, Louis Johnson ordered the cancellation of the construction plan on his own initiative without notifying Congress and the Navy five days later. This made the top level of the US Navy extremely angry, led by John Sullivan, who was then the US Secretary of the Navy, and many senior leaders of the US Navy submitted resignation letters in protest.
As a result, the largest rift in the history of the United States, the army, navy and air force, broke out, and the waist beheading of the "American" became a common goal of the US Air Force and the Army. As the proposer and first promoter of the supercarrier program, James Forrest committed suicide on May 22 to counter the squeeze of the Army and Air Force, just to build the "American".
However, in the face of the cruel facts of interest, the death of James Forrest could not stop the joint efforts of the army and air force. Not only that, in the following two years, due to the suppression of the army and air force, many of the US Navy's military budgets were slashed by the US Congress. It was not until the United States was defeated by our People's Volunteers in the Korean battlefield that the United States Congress had to put the supercarrier program on the agenda again to strengthen the strategic export of the United States abroad.
In 1952, under the impetus of Secretary of the Navy Francis Matthews, the supercarrier program was officially revived. In honor of James Forrest, who died for this plan, the U.S. Navy changed the first new aircraft carrier planned to be built by the supercarrier from the original "Uss" to "Forrest".
The Forrest was officially launched into service in 1955, and as the "first aircraft carrier" at that time, the Forrest, as the main force of the US Navy, has long been responsible for overseas strategic exports. Until 1967, this well-deserved main force of the US Navy folded in the waters of the South China Sea.
On July 24, 1967, the Forrest sailed from the Atlantic to the Pacific. In order to highlight the super combat power of this "first aircraft carrier", it did not stop after foremost arrived, and bombed north Vietnam's oil and gas storage depots, ammunition depots, bridges and other important facilities for 4 consecutive days.
During these four days, the Forrest blew up important buildings in the north and more than 150 of its own fighters without any casualties. This made the US Air Force and the rest of the Navy, which were originally stationed here, fully praised, because the fighter planes they had sent to bomb North Vietnam were more or less shot down.
However, the 4-day endless bombing mission caused the Forrest to carry exhausted the ammunition it carried, and if you want to continue the bombing mission, you can only go to the US military base in the Philippines to get supplied ammunition. On July 28, the U.S. Navy supply ship Diamond arrived at a U.S. military base in the Philippines to equip it with resupply ammunition.
However, when local workers in the Philippines carried the supplied ammunition onto the ship, it made the crew of the Diamond frown. Because the wooden box containing the ammunition has been corroded in many places, and the serious ones have even been exposed by bombs. Finally, the captain of the supply ship couldn't help asking, "Where did you get these bombs from?" ”
The foreman carrying the ammunition replied, "Oh, these are all transported from the nearly abandoned ammunition yard near the base, because they have fallen into disrepair and are almost open," so these boxes look a little worn." ”
Hearing this, the captain of the supply ship frowned deeper and hurried to the head of the naval base to inquire. Unexpectedly, the person in charge actually glanced at the captain in front of him with contempt, and then said: The ammunition requested by the superiors to bomb must be 450 kilograms of bombs, and the new bombs shipped from the mainland have not yet arrived, and there are only these old-fashioned bombs.
Then, the head of the navy turned his face and said: "These were all produced more than 10 years ago, originally prepared for the Korean War, but as you know, instead of letting them lie in this damp jade forest until they are scrapped, it is better to invest in the Vietnam battlefield to achieve their own value." ”
Seeing that the negotiations were fruitless, the captain of the supply ship had to rush back to the Forrest overnight with these old-fashioned 450-kilogram bombs. When Forrest's ordnance officer saw these "antique" bombs, he immediately had a bad premonition. He then approached Belin, the commander of the Forrest, and described to him the dangers of the munitions.
Behring immediately approached the head of the supply ship and told him to return to the Philippines to reload the new ammunition. But when the captain of the supply ship recounted the words of the head of the military base, Belling could not help but fall into contemplation. At this moment, the superior issued an order to order the Forrest ship to continue to carry out the bombing mission with 450 kg bombs tomorrow.
In desperation, Belling had to order them to put these old-fashioned bombs on the deck first, and to load some tomorrow to see if they could be thrown normally, but they did not think that the tragedy would cause it.
On the morning of 29 July, after the first bombers on the Forrest took off, the crew prepared the second bombers for battle. At this point, all that remained of the Forrest was the old 450-kilogram bomb that had just arrived the previous night, and in the tentative sense of departure, after assembling the ammunition, Bellin ordered one of the planes to take the lead.
At about 10:50, the Bhangett pilot, who was in charge of this task, started the fighter, but before he could take off the plane, the rockets under the wings roared uncontrollably toward the approaching fighters. The rocket directly hit a Skyhawk attack aircraft numbered 405, and the violent explosion immediately swept several people in the vicinity into the fire.
When the fire broke out, the staff on the Forrest hurriedly took various assemblies to find seawater to extinguish the fire. Farrell, the leader of the ship's 8th Fire Group, is well aware that the best way to catch fires in aircraft and aviation fuel is to use foam fire extinguishers. To this end, Farrell took the team members to fight the fire with foam fire extinguishers, and at the same time reported the situation to Commander Berin.
Bellin, who got the news, immediately organized personnel to carry foam fire extinguishers to help. However, due to the huge fire and the fierce wind and waves that day, the 405 Skyhawk attack aircraft was quickly swallowed up by flames. To make matters worse, the old-fashioned 450-kilogram bomb it carried on it also fell due to the rapidity of the fire at this time.
Seeing this scene, Farrell immediately shouted, "Evacuate!" However, it was still a step too late to investigate, and the old 450-kilogram bomb that fell was detonated in an instant, and 27 of the 35 people who surrounded the 405 Skyhawk fighter were killed on the spot by the explosion, and the rest of the people were also seriously damaged and fell to the ground.
However, wave after wave has risen, and although the 450 kg bomb dropped is almost obsolete, the energy contained in it is still not to be underestimated. In the following minutes, seven old 450 bombs and multiple missiles were affected, and a new round of explosions occurred.
As the "butterfly effect" of explosions rose one after another, the deck was broken and the fuel storage tanks shattered by the explosion flowed out of nearly 150,000 liters of aviation fuel. With the help of the wind and constant explosions, the forrest's deck was suddenly in flames. For a moment, wailing and hissing flames echoed in the ears of those who had not yet been affected, like a letter from hell.
At this point, the only person who was calm was probably Commander Belling. He picked up the microphone and shouted at the crew members who were stuck in place, ordering them to push all the fighters with 450 vintage bombs and the unassequipped 450 bombs on the deck into the sea. The firefighters on the ship are looking for all foam fire extinguishers and non-combustibles to isolate the area where the fire will occur.
After the efforts of the ship's personnel, the open fire on the deck was controlled at about 11:50 and no longer spread, but firefighting was still a problem. What's more, below deck, the fire that burned because of the fuel leak was more of a headache than the fire that accompanied the explosion on the deck.
It was not until the next morning, with the help of the navies on other aircraft carriers, that the fire at the Forrest was extinguished. The search and rescue work in the next few days was still unbearable under the overtime. According to statistics, the fire caused a total of 134 deaths, more than 160 injuries, 21 warplanes were destroyed, and the total economic loss of the direct loss was as high as 72 million US dollars.
And the Forrest, which was known as the "first aircraft carrier" at that time, also fell to the altar. After an overhaul, the Forrest was converted into a multi-purpose carrier, and was more responsible for training naval pilots as a training aircraft carrier.
In 1993, the former glory of the first aircraft carrier was officially retired. However, due to its many internal hidden dangers and the fact that the US Department of Defense does not allow the sale of aircraft carriers to other countries, the Forrest has been moored in Rhode Island since its retirement.
Unable to sell, the U.S. Department of the Navy has wanted to donate the Forrest as a souvenir to the museum to make some contributions to education, but no museum has been willing to accept the aircraft carrier for more than a decade. In the end, the U.S. Department of the Navy, forced to drive the Forrest to Philadelphia in 2010, waiting to be sold cheaply or sunk to the bottom of the sea as an artificial reef.
In October 2013, All-Star Metal bought the historic aircraft carrier for a comical price of 1 cent, and its purpose was to be dismantled as scrap even more awkwardly.
Poorly, the "heavy weapon of the country" that the United States regarded as an invasion and bombing of other countries was finally destroyed on the cornerstone ammunition prepared to plunder the resources of other countries. I wonder whether the tragic experience of the American Forrest is the epitome of the many unrighteous acts of the United States that will kill itself, or whether it is too greedy to do itself.