Bow view of USS Forrestal CV-59 taken through USS Torsk’s periscope. Details from Captain Edwards:
“The pictures were taken during a Med deployment in the Fall of ’63 or Spring of ’64.
Torsk was opposing a transit of a large task force. The carrier CO and the Screen
Commander insisted no green flares (simulated torpedo firing) were sighted and no screen
penetration had taken place. When I produced the photos, both just about wet their pants.
Fred.”
On February 6, 2014 Senator John McCain of Arizona asked for and was granted permission to address the United States Senate regarding the decommissioning of the U.S. S. Forrestal:
“Mr. President, today marks the last voyage of the Ex-USS Forrestal, the world’s first supercarrier. On this occasion, I believe it is fitting to recognize the ship and all who sailed on her in service to a grateful nation. Launched almost 60 years ago in Newport News, VA, she was named after former Navy Secretary and first Secretary of Defense James Forrestal.”
“Forrestal represented American ingenuity and shipbuilding excellence, integrating operational needs, and engineering insight that created the first steam catapult, angled flight deck, and use of optical landing systems. During her 38 years of active service, Forrestal and its attached air wings were involved in missions around the globe. At the beginning of her sea life, she was sent to the eastern Mediterranean during the Suez and Lebanon Crises and over the course of her service life was involved in dozens of NATO operations, overseas deployments, patrol missions, and strategic port visits around the Atlantic and Sixth Fleets. She was “home” to thousands of the Nation’s finest sailors and aviators this country has ever known”, he said.
“Forrestal’s contributions to the war effort in Vietnam are well documented. Unfortunately, so is the terrible fire that engulfed the flight deck on July 29, 1967, killing 134 shipmates, injuring 161 more, and destroying more than 20 aircraft. I will never forget when that Zuni rocket hit my A-4 Skyhawk after it was accidentally fired from across the flight deck, rupturing the fuel tank and setting that horrific, costly fire. I will always remember and honor my brave comrades who died in the Forrestal fire. Although the ship is being towed to Brownsville, TX, to be physically dismembered, her legacy, the bonds forged, and memories created among shipmates will live forever. I bid her a final “fair winds and following seas”, said Senator McCain (source: Congressional Record http://thomas.loc.gov/).
NOTE: The USS Forrestal was scrapped fro a single U.S. penny and heads for its final voyage to a Texas scrapyard – what a waste!