Presented by the U.S. Navy, U.S.S. Forrestal (MN 8087) is a 1956 film that shows the construction of the Forrestal at the shipyards of the Newport News Shipbuilding company, the ship’s christening and commissioning, and its first sea trials. The ship is named after James Forrestal, the first US Secretary of Defense; it is first launched on 11 December 1954 and commissioned on 1 October 1955. It is the first U.S. carrier to be built with an angled flight deck. The film opens with shot of the U.S.S. Forrestal, the Navy’s newest aircraft carrier, cruising at sea. Crowds gather for the christening of the Forrestal (00:47). Two men watch the ship leave the docks and head out to sea. Construction cranes move materials into place and men work to lay the ship’s keel (02:09). The film shows the construction of the ship, including the bottom of the hull, the gasoline tank, deck structures up to the flight deck, plus footage of the hull filling out. There is a number of shots that show men going to work on the ship. Men layout the ship in wood (03:49), based on blueprints, then cut out steel patterns to replace the wood. Men weld the subassemblies of the ship, including the bow assembly and elevator platforms. A giant crane delivers a subassembly to the main ship (05:40), easing in the massive steel sections. In one of the shops, a large propeller is tested (06:24). A steam turbine is lowered into the ship’s hull (06:46). There are shots of the ship’s construction from the point-of-view from atop a crane. A propeller is lowered into position. Admiral Thomas C. Hart delivers the invocation at the ship’s christening (08:21). A blimp flies over the ship (09:14); the film provides viewers a glimpse of the ship from the deck of the blimp. Inside the ship, men clean machinery (11:24). A man lights the ship’s boilers. There are shots of various rooms and utilities aboard the ship, including photo labs and living quarters (13:08). Another man sets up chairs in a recreation area. Men work in the engine control room (13:40), monitoring the ship’s engines. In an empty hanger deck, men prepare for when the ship becomes active (13:53). The film then shows the elevator platforms and the operations tower of the ship (14:04). The ship continues to be outfitted at night (14:50). The Forrestal sets out for sea trials (15:05). Members of the crew stand at the bridge during the sea trials. Aerial shots show the ship cruising at sea, as it gradually increases its speeds to “all engines ahead.” The men in the engine room monitor gauges (18:02). The Forrestal is commissioned (18:40), and the film ends with footage of the ship sailing at sea.
USS Forrestal (CV-59) (later CVA-59, then AVT-59), was a supercarrier named after the first Secretary of Defense James Forrestal. Commissioned in 1955, she was the first completed supercarrier, and was the lead ship of her class. Unlike the successor Nimitz class, Forrestal and her class were conventionally powered. The other carriers of her class were USS Saratoga, USS Ranger and USS Independence. She surpassed the World War II Japanese carrier Shinano as the largest carrier yet built, and was the first designed to support jet aircraft.
Forrestal served for nearly four decades in the Atlantic, Mediterranean, and Pacific. She was decommissioned in 1993, and made available as a museum. Attempts to save her were unsuccessful, and in February 2014 she was towed to Brownsville, Texas, to be scrapped. Scrapping was completed in December 2015.
In June 1967, Forrestal departed Norfolk for duty in waters off Vietnam. In the Gulf of Tonkin on 29 July, Forrestal had been launching aircraft from her flight deck. For four days, the planes of Attack Carrier Air Wing 17 flew about 150 missions against targets in North Vietnam from the ship. On 29 July 1967, during preparation for another strike, a Zuni rocket installed on an F-4 Phantom (#110), misfired, impacting an armed A-4 Skyhawks side #405, parked on the port side. The rocket’s impact dislodged and ruptured the Skyhawk’s 400-gallon external fuel tank. Fuel from the leaking tank caught fire, creating a serious conflagration that burned for hours, killing 134, injuring 161, destroying 21 aircraft and costing the Navy US$72 million. On the flight deck that day was Lieutenant Commander (later Senator) John McCain.
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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com
