Uss Forrestal Aircraft Carrier Fire Trial by Fire Movie (1967)

Synopsis

Made in the wake of the disastrous 1967 fire aboard the USS Forrestal, TRIAL BY FIRE recounts the incident and discusses some of the mistakes made by fire fighting teams that made the situation much worse than it might have been. It also shows the numerous systemic and leadership failures that nearly resulted in loss of the carrier. The film also shows the courageous work of the carrier's crew and that of support vessels, to stop the flames and rescue the wounded, and makes clear that the Navy has every intention of changing policies and procedures to make sure that this type of incident does not occur in the future. The background on this film is this: In July 1967, a devastating fire broke out on board the aircraft carrier USS Forrestal. An electrical anomaly had caused the discharge of a Zuni rocket on the flight deck, triggering a chain-reaction of explosions that killed 134 sailors and injured 161. At the time, Forrestal was engaged in combat operations in the Gulf of Tonkin, during the Vietnam War. The ship survived, but with damage exceeding US$72 million (equivalent to $511 million today), not including the damage to aircraft. Future United States Senator John McCain and future four-star admiral and CINCPACFLT Ronald J. Zlatoper were among the survivors. The fire left 134 men dead and 161 more injured. Many aircraft and a large amount of ordnance were jettisoned to prevent them from catching fire or exploding. Twenty-one aircraft also sustained enough damage from…

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Details

Running time

18 minutes

Collection

Ephemeral Films

Internet Archive item

42704trialbyfirevwr

Subjects on the Internet Archive

• Stock Footage

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