Neptune Paper No. 3: Naval Accidents 1945-1988
61
and
Jack
suffer minor damage when the
Jack
, moored alongside, surges against
the
Trenton
in a sea swell.
05/01/81: In May the Royal Navy
destroyer HMS
Glasgow
collides with
the Soviet cruiser
Admiral Isakov
in the
Barents Sea. The
Glasgow
's captain
reports the Soviet ship was maneuvering
dangerously.
05/15/81: A hairline crack is discovered
in the main cooling system of the Royal
Navy nuclear-powered attack submarine
HMS
Valiant
as it returns to Devonport,
U.K., after developing a fault in its
cooling system while operating off the
Cornish coast. The crack does not affect
the operation of the reactor and the
vessel returns to Devonport under its
own power. The Royal Navy denies
claims that contaminated water was
discharged into Plymouth Sound, saying
"A very small quantity of water leaked
out and this was drained off into a lead
tank in a barge for treatment." The
reactor is cooled down before the leak is
plugged.
05/26/81: A Marine EA-6B Prowler
aircraft crashes while landing on the USS
Nimitz
(CVN-68) operating 70 miles off
Jacksonville, Florida, killing 14 and
injuring 48. The aircraft reportedly
applied power as it was landing and then
suddenly drifted to the right, running into
parked aircraft, causing ammunition to
explode, and starting numerous fires that
took at least one hour to put out. Three
F-14 Tomcats are destroyed and 16 other
aircraft are damaged, and, overall,
approximately $100 million in damage
results. The
Nimitz
returns to Norfolk,
Virginia, for several days of repairs. The
crash sparks a five-month debate
between Representative Joseph P.
Addabo (D-NY) Chairman of the House
Defense Appropriations Subcommittee
and the Navy over whether drug use on
board the carrier may have contributed to
the crash.
06/01/81: The USS
Nitro
(AE-23) is
badly damaged by a fire in the main
machinery room while en route to
Athens, Greece, 60 miles northeast of
Souda Bay, Crete. It is taken under tow
the next day by the USS
Neosho
(T-AO-143) for Souda Bay.
06/04/81: A Soviet Kondor class
minesweeper suffered heavy damage
when she was in a collision in
international waters with a Danish naval
oiler in the southern area of the Baltic
Sea.
06/10/81: The USS
Detroit
(AOE-4)
runs aground on a sandbar near Old
Point Comfort, Hampton Roads,
Virginia, as the ship is preparing to enter
port at Norfolk. There are no injuries or
apparent damage. The ship is refloated
the next day after off-loading its fuel.
06/29/81: The USS
Dahlgren
(DDG-43) suffers a two-hour fire in the
radiomen's storeroom while in the
Caribbean. The damage is light and the
ship proceeds to Guadeloupe.
07/14/81: The USS
Coontz
(DDG-40)
accidentally fires a Harpoon anti-ship
missile with a high-explosive warhead
during a maintenance test about 70 miles
from St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. The
missile impacts and is lost at sea.
07/19/81: A U.S. Marine Corps Reserve
CH-53 Sea Stallion helicopter crashes
and burns while landing aboard the USS
Guam
(LPH-9) during training
operations in the Atlantic 35 miles
southeast of Moorehead City, North
Carolina, killing four and injuring 11
other Marine and Navy personnel.
08/06/81: Wardroom 1 of the USS
Ranger
(CV-61) catches fire, causing
extensive damage while the ship is
moored at Naval Air Station North
Island, San Diego, California.
Reportedly "reconstruction was
monumental" and "communication's
problems extended into work-ups."
08/15/81: A fire on board the USS
Independence
(CV-62) while in
overhaul at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard,
Virginia, damages the air operations and
carrier control approach spaces. There
are no injuries.
08/27/81: The USS
Dallas
(SSN-700)
damages the lower portion of its rudder
when it runs aground while approaching
the Atlantic Underwater Test and
Evaluation Center site at Andros Island,
Bahamas. The submarine works itself
free after several hours and returns to
New London, Connecticut, on the
surface for repairs.
09/01/81: According to raw CIA
intelligence reports, in September a
Soviet nuclear submarine operating in
the Baltic "underwent a series of strong
and sudden physical shocks. An
emergency was declared and ... crew
members were sealed into the
compartment in which they were
standing duty. The submarine was no
longer navigable following the shocks
and was taken under tow. It was towed
for a total of 36 hours but was actually
only moved during darkness." The
submarine was towed to Kaliningrad and
"the sailors that had been sealed in the
compartment were then flown to Riga
and hospitalized." The CIA source
reports all the sailors exhibited signs of
terminal radiation sickness.
09/06/81: A landing A-7 II Corsair
aircraft collides with a taxiing F-14
Tomcat fighter on the USS
Kitty Hawk
(CV-63) killing one crewman and
injuring two others while the carrier is
operating in the Indian Ocean. The A-7
is recovered and the F-14 crew ejects
safely, but the F-14 rolls overboard.
09/17/81: A U.S. Marine Corps CH-53C
Sea Stallion helicopter crashes while
attempting to land on the USS
Guadalcanal
(LPH-7) during Sixth Fleet
training exercises in the Mediterranean
near Sardinia, Italy, killing all five
crewmen.
09/20/81: The USS
Conyngham
(DDG-17) runs aground momentarily