1969 — Jan 14, Explosions and Fire, USS Enterprise, off Pearl Harbor, Hawaii             —     28

— 28  Beauregard. “The USS Enterprise (CVAN-65_ fire and munition explosions.” History of…

— 28  US Dept. Navy. “Casualties: US Navy…Marine Corps Personnel Killed and Injured…”

— 27  History.com. This Day in History, Disaster, Jan 14, 1969, “Explosion Rocks…”

— 27  Newspaper Archives. The Daily Perspective. 1969: USS Enterprise Explosion Kills 27.

— 24  National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). Key Dates in Fire History. 1996.

— 24  National Fire Protection Assoc. Spreadsheet on Large Loss of Life Fires (as of Feb 2003).

— 24  NFPA. U.S. Unintentional Fire Death Rates by State. December 2008, p. 21.

 

Narrative Information

 

Beauregard: “The exhaust heat (about 850°F) from an aircraft engine-starting unit (an MD-3A “Huffer”) was inadvertently directed onto a pod containing four 5-inch ZUNI rockets hanging under the wing of an F-4J aircraft. The heat caused one or more of the warheads to detonate in the pod. Each warhead contained about 15 pounds of Composition B. Unlike the accident aboard the USS FORRESTAL (CVA-59) in July 1967, the ZUNI rockets did not launch and strike another aircraft on the flight deck. Rather, the trigger event here was the “cook-off” of the Composition B explosive charge in the warhead.

 

“The explosion of the ZUNI warheads in the pod ruptured the aircraft’s fuel tanks and ignited the JP-5 fuel. Less than one minute after the fire started, three ZUNI warheads in the pod under the port wing detonated. The warhead shaped charges blew three holes through the flight deck. This allowed burning fuel to pour into the next lower level.

 

“The first bomb engulfed in flames under the F-4 detonated about 3 minutes after the initial ZUNI warhead explosion. The blast blew an 8-foot by 7-foot hole through the flight deck and debris punched holes through the decks below. The following is taken from a book written by a sailor who was an eyewitness to this disastrous event:

 

“The heat of the explosive burst the 03 level aflame and shortly, burning JP-5 fuel poured down through, draining from the flight deck and fired the 02 and 01 level compartments … and began leaking down onto the main deck. …everyone was stunned by the explosion and the shrapnel that hit all about the island…. Both twin agent units were knocked out. Hoses flopped about wildly, geysering spumes of foam and salt water. Men were on fire, the wounded moved feebly, the dead were still….”[1]

 

“….This incident resulted in 28 deaths and 344 injuries….” (Beauregard. “The USS Enterprise (CVAN-65) fire and munition explosions.” The History of Insensitive Munitions. 1994-2011.)

 

History.com: “An explosion ripped apart the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise today. The explosion, which occurred during a training mission 75 miles out to sea, killed 27 crewmen and injured hundreds more. “The 90,000-ton Enterprise returned to Pearl Harbor showing the scars of the tragedy which one shipyard worker said put it in the worst condition he had seen any ship since World War II,” reported The Coshocton Tribune on January 14, 1969. NOTE: The cause was linked to an MK-32 Zuni rocket warhead, which overheated because of the exhaust from an airplane starting unit and detonated.”

 

“An explosion aboard the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise kills 27 people in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on this day in 1969. A rocket accidentally detonated, destroying 15 planes and injuring more than 300 people.

 

“The Enterprise was the first-ever nuclear-powered aircraft carrier when it was launched in 1960. It has eight nuclear reactors, six more than all subsequent nuclear carriers. The massive ship is over 1,100 feet long and carries 4,600 crew members.

 

“At 8:19 a.m. on January 14, a MK-32 Zuni rocket that was loaded on an F-4 Phantom jet overheated due to the exhaust from another vehicle. The rocket blew up, setting off a chain reaction of explosions. Fires broke out across the deck of the ship, and when jet fuel flowed into the carrier’s interior, other fires were sparked. Many of the Enterprise’s fire-protection features failed to work properly, but the crew worked heroically and tirelessly to extinguish the fire.

 

“In all, 27 sailors lost their lives and another 314 were seriously injured. Although 15 aircraft (out of the 32 stationed on the Enterprise at the time) were destroyed by the explosions and fire, the Enterprise itself was never threatened.

 

“The USS Enterprise was repaired over several months at Pearl Harbor and returned to action later in the year.” (History.com. This Day in History, Disaster, Jan 14, 1969, “Explosion Rocks”)

 

USN: “USS Enterprise (CVAN-65) suffers ordnance accident resulting in fire and explosions while operating off Hawaii. Fifteen aircraft…destroyed and 17 were damaged. The ship suffered $56. 2 million in damages; aircraft losses totaled over $70 million. 28 killed, 343 injured. 15 Jan. 1969.”^[2] (US Navy. “Casualties: US Navy…Marine Corps Personnel Killed and Injured …”)

 

Newspaper

 

Jan 14: “Pearl Harbor, Hawaii (UPI) – A fire broke out on the flight deck of the nuclear carrier USS Enterprise today and a military source reported casualties ‘may be heavy.’….The fire broke out on the 1,123-foot, 86,000-ton vessel, the largest warship in the world, while it was 75 miles southwest of Honolulu. Its home port is Alameda. It has a crew of 4,600.” (UPI. “Fire Aboard Enterprise: Casualties.” Oakland Tribune, CA, 1-14-1969, p. 1.)

 

Sources

 

Beauregard, Raymond L. “The USS Enterprise (CVAN-65) fire and munition explosions.” The History of Insensitive Munitions. 1994-2011. Accessed 5-23-2015 at: http://www.insensitivemunitions.org/history/the-uss-enterprise-cvan-65-fire-and-munition-explosions/

 

History.com. This Day in History, Disaster, January 14, 1969. “Explosion Rocks USS Enterprise.” Accessed 12-06-2008 at: http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&displayDate=01/14&categoryId=disaster

 

National Fire Protection Association. Key Dates in Fire History. 1996, 2010. Accessed at:  http://www.nfpa.org/itemDetail.asp?categoryID=1352&itemID=30955&URL=Research%20&%20Reports/Fire%20statistics/Key%20dates%20in%20fire%20history&cookie%5Ftest=1

 

National Fire Protection Association. Spreadsheet on Large Loss of Life Fires (as of Feb 2003). (Email attachment to B. W. Blanchard from Jacob Ratliff, NFPA Archivist/Taxonomy Librarian, 7-8-2013.)

 

National Fire Protection Association (John Hall, Jr.). U.S. Unintentional Fire Death Rates by State. Quincy, MA: NFPA, 31 pages, December 2008.

 

Naval Historical Center. “Frequently Asked Questions,  Casualties: U.S. Navy and Marine Corps Personnel Killed and Wounded in Wars, Conflicts, Terrorist Acts, and Other Hostile Incidents.”  Washington DC:  Dept. of the Navy. At:  http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq56-1.htm

 

Newspaperarchive.com. The Daily Perspective. “1969: USS Enterprise Explosion Kills 27.” At http://www.newspaperarchive.com/DailyPerspectiveFullView.aspx?viewdate=01/14/2009&jumpto=#1

 

United Press International. “Fire Aboard Enterprise: Casualties.” Oakland Tribune, CA, 1-14-1969, p. 1. Accessed 5-12-2015 at: http://newspaperarchive.com/us/california/oakland/oakland-tribune/1969/01-14?tag=uss+enterprise&rtserp=tags/?pc=21100&psi=14&pci=7&ndt=bd&pd=14&pm=1&py=1969&pe=30&pem=1&pey=1969&pep=uss-enterprise&psb=dateasc/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[1] Cited: Carlin, Michael J. Trial: Ordeal of the USS Enterprise, 14 Jan 1969. West Grove, PA: Tuscara Press, 1993.

[2] Incorrect date – was Jan 14, 1969.  (BWB)