What you need to know: On January 14, 1969, the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise suffered one of the worst peacetime disasters in U.S. Navy history as it prepared for its fourth deployment to Vietnam.

-During an operational readiness inspection near Pearl Harbor, a series of explosions rocked the ship after a junior airman’s warnings about an overheating Zuni missile warhead went unheeded.

-The warhead exploded, igniting the fuel and causing a chain reaction of explosions that destroyed 15 planes and blew holes in the flight deck.

– The disaster killed 28 people and injured 314, raising critical questions about the carrier’s on-board safety protocols.

The 1969 USS Enterprise fire: a catastrophic peacetime incident

On January 14, 1969, the aircraft carrier USS Undertaking experienced one of the worst peacetime disasters in the history of the United States Navy.

Participating in an Operational Readiness Inspection (ORI) in the waters off Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, Enterprise prepared for the morning takeoff of several aircraft, including F-4 Phantoms, A-7 Corsairs, RA-5C Vigilantes, EKA Tankers -3Bs, and E- 2A Hawkeyes. The launched planes were supposed to be the last combat exercise of the regiment Undertaking ORI, which would make it ready for a fourth deployment to Vietnam.

At 08:18, an explosion shook the ship’s port area Undertaking flight deck. The Undertaking the skipper reacted quickly, steering the ship in such a way that the wind blew away the smoke and flames from the crew cabin, but subsequent explosions continued to shake the burning Undertaking.

When the fire was finally extinguished, 28 sailors were killed, 314 injured and 15 aircraft destroyed. The damage left the Navy with a bill of $126 (or about $1 billion when adjusted for inflation) and plenty of questions about what went so wrong.

Fire investigation

Moments before the explosion, a junior aviator trainee tried to alert his superiors to a potential problem: the MD-3A’s launch unit had been rigged to blow hot exhaust gases onto the warhead of a 5-inch Zuni MK-32 rocket that was mounted under the wing of a nearby F- 4Phantom. “MD-3A exhaust gas temperatures could reach 590 degrees (F) from a distance of two feet, while only 358 degrees was sufficient to cook the warhead in approximately one minute and 18 seconds,” the Naval History and Heritage Command said.

A junior airman who tried to warn his superiors was either unheard or ignored; The MD-3A was not repositioned, although the junior airman was probably too late to reverse the Zuni warhead overheating. The Zuni warhead exploded. Shrapnel punctured the F-4’s two external fuel tanks, igniting the jet’s JP-5 fuel and causing a fire.

Approximately sixty seconds later, the remaining three Zuni F-4 rockets exploded, piercing the flight deck and allowing the ignited JP-5 to spread below deck.

Three minutes later, another bomb exploded on the F-4; a few minutes later two more 500-pound bombs exploded; then three more 500-pound bombs on a nearby rack exploded, causing the 6,000-gallon fuel tank to burst into a massive fireball. The explosions disrupted fire hoses and “caused the nearest firefighting foam units to become inoperative.”

“A total of 18 explosions occurred, blowing five large holes in the flight deck (though not in the landing zone) and destroying eight F-4s, six A-7s and an EKA-3B tanker” – Naval History and Heritage Command War Reported.

However, human losses were much greater. Twenty-eight sailors would die and 115 would be injured.

The driver of the MD-3A launch unit, ‘Airman John R. Webster, was killed instantly by the first explosion; F-4J Radar Intercept Officer No. 105, LTJF Buddy Pyeatt, was killed in the fire; and the plane’s pilot, LTJF Jim Berry, died of burns several months later. Many of those who died were killed by the second explosion as they rushed to fight the fire.

About the author: Harrison Kass

Harrison Kass is a defense and national security writer who has published more than 1,000 articles on global issues. Harrison, a lawyer, pilot, guitarist and minor professional hockey player, joined the United States Air Force as a pilot trainee but was medically discharged. Harrison holds a bachelor’s degree from Lake Forest College, a Ph.D. from the University of Oregon, and a master’s degree from New York University. Harrison listens to Dokken.

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