The USS America was a classic U.S. Navy aircraft carrier from the dark days of the Cold War. The carrier was built to some real strong specs. When it came time to dispose of her, the Navy tried to sink her in an experiment. It proved to be quite historic: Instead of turning a retired aircraft carrier into a museum, why not test the vessel to see how many explosions it could take in a live-fire situation?
That is exactly what the U.S. Navy did to the USS America in 2005. The America had a sterling service history, having deployed in multiple wars and engagements since its commissioning in 1965. The America was harder to sink than the Navy expected, and these tests informed the design of the next generation of carriers.
Can a Carrier Survive a Major Attack?
The Navy had a simple question: How survivable can a carrier be? To help answer, the America’s final mission was to act as a test and evaluation demonstrator.
The vessel withstood four weeks of explosions – it was tough to sink indeed. The America was finally scuttled after the testing period, and it went to the bottom of the sea southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina – about 400 miles west of Bermuda. The America was the largest warship ever sunk.
An Unusual Exercise
The Navy carried out a so-called SinkEx – a sink at-sea live-fire training exercise.
“We will conduct a variety of comprehensive tests above and below the waterline collecting data for use by naval architects and engineers in creating the nation’s future carrier fleet,” Vice Chief of Naval Operations Admiral John B. Nathman said at the time.
The ship absorbed the punishment. It simply would not sink. The ship’s double-layered hull and its many rooms contributed to the America’s toughness. Some observers believed the carrier was stronger than a better-armored battleship.
Exemplary Service Record
The USS America was a member of the Kitty Hawk-class of upsized carriers. The ship served for over 30 years and deployed to many dangerous parts of the world. Its service included three patrols off the coast of Vietnam during the war in that country. It also launched sorties during Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm, contributing to the success of the First Gulf War.
Workers laid down the USS America’s keel in 1961. Conventionally powered, it had eight steam boilers and four steam turbine engines with four propellers. This enabled a speed of over 30 knots.
The carrier was over three football fields long ,and it displaced 82,200 tons. The flight deck was 252 feet wide, giving it room for about 85 aircraft. More than 5,300 sailors served on board. The America was protected by RIM-7 Sea Sparrow Missiles equipped on an Mk-29 launcher, and it also had a 20mm Phalanx close-in weapon system.
The ship was launched in 1964 and commissioned in 1965. An A-4C Skyhawk was the first airplane to take off from the America. The carrier was decommissioned in 1996.
A Test Unlikely to Be Repeated
The sinking test carried out on the USS America would probably not be replicated by the U.S. Navy today. There would be too much pressure from the public and the media – plus oversight from Congress – to keep a retired carrier as a museum, rather than use it as an explosive test bed. But the exercise did serve a purpose. It helped the Navy learn a carrier’s limitations in a simulated combat environment. Carriers can be difficult to kill, even though there are many types of anti-ship missiles that can threaten these flat-tops. It’s good to know that their design can withstand mighty blows.
Now serving as 1945’s Defense and National Security Editor, Brent M. Eastwood, PhD, is the author of Humans, Machines, and Data: Future Trends in Warfare. He is an Emerging Threats expert and former U.S. Army Infantry officer. You can follow him on Twitter @BMEastwood.
Michael B Newberry
April 27, 2023 at 11:38 pm
She was my ship from 1980-84. We called her America’s flagship. I am very proud to have served on her. She served and represented her country well!
Alexander M Constantopoulos
April 28, 2023 at 11:26 am
I was a tin can sailor for 24 yrs. Operated with the America on a number of occasions. Fine ship. Oh, there are no rooms on a ship. They are called compartments.
Paul Bertan
April 28, 2023 at 12:04 pm
Reminds us of trying unsucessfully to sink the crippled Hornet as we torpedowed the crippled Lexington and Yorktown.
Stephen Kennedy
April 28, 2023 at 4:42 pm
The test would have been more realistic if the ship had been loaded with munitions and fuel. The Moskva was a very large sturdy ship but when Ukrainian Neptune rockets started a major fire on board, the ship was lost.
Alexandra J. Kent
April 29, 2023 at 7:22 am
The very ship stands as a symbolic emblem of US pride in our country.
FLA-ENG
April 29, 2023 at 4:24 pm
It is extremely expensive to keep an aircraft carrier as a museum. The future candidates are nuclear, so multiply maintenance with security. More practical to carve out some sections for a land based museum like with Triton where they kept her sail. It’s hard to give a museum visitor a true feeling of the mult-dimensional immensity of a carrier without being under weigh during flight ops.
Richard R Bunn
May 1, 2023 at 2:52 pm
Interesting test. There is a difference between sinking and doing sufficient damage to negate the ships usefulness in combat. We have a navy built on the Carrier Battle Group (CBG) to the exclusion of other methods to perform the strike missions. In 1994 I wrote a paper on alternatives as part of a Naval War College class. The focus was on alternatives. We now have, and I did not know of the program when I wrote the paper, Four OHIO class subs converted to carry over 100 cruise missiles. My paper looked at the cost over a carrier’s life span to deliver a ton of explosive on target. We still need the CBG for many missions, but we have other more efficient ways to deliver conventional munitions on target.
Jacksonian Libertarian
May 1, 2023 at 3:14 pm
This wasn’t a real test. Carriers in active service are packed full with thousands of tons of fuels, explosives, armed and fueled aircraft, 5,000 squishy people, and are the juiciest targets in warfare.
One hit is all it takes, Kaboom!
Note: Thermite is made from iron and aluminium, like the ship and aircraft, and it burns HOT!
Elliot
May 2, 2023 at 11:04 am
Even if China or any other potential foe may have a hard time sinking an aircraft carrier, all they will need to do is to cripple the flight deck, and the ship will be rendered close to useless. Within the first hour of a kinetic war with China, our carriers will be sunk or heavily damaged. That’s what Biden means when he says he needs to be reelected to finish the job. Our military is made up of lions led by by proper pronoun using sheep.
Marc Epstein
May 7, 2023 at 6:18 am
I served on the America both as ships company (1976 (V1 division)) and then as part of Airwing 6 (1977-1978 (VS-28 AE shop). To me, she was an amazing ship. It was hard to see her go. Made two Med cruises and a cruise down to Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. I have so many fond memories of those times long ago.
To the author of this article, you did a fine job on it.