Fórum Defesa Brasil

USS Valley Forge (CVS-45), 1946-1971 --
Storm Damage to Her Flight Deck, 1959

In early January 1959, while operating in the stormy North Atlantic, Valley Forge encountered heavy seas that broke over her forward flight deck, tearing away part of its port side. This was a dramatic example of the vulnerabilities of the "open bow" design typical of World War II aircraft carrier design, a problem solved by the enclosed "hurricane bow" fitted to carriers newly built or modernized during the mid-1950s and later. Valley Forge's damage was quickly repaired, using flight deck structure cannibalized from the decommissioned USS Franklin (CVS-13).

This page features images of storm damage to USS Valley Forge's flight deck in January 1959.

On 17 December 1944, the ships of Task Force 38, seven fleet and six light carriers, eight battleships, 15 cruisers, and about 50 destroyers were operating about 300 miles east of Luzon in the Philippine Sea. The carriers had just completed three days of heavy raids against Japanese airfields, suppressing enemy aircraft during the American amphibious operations against Mindoro in the Philippines. Although the sea had been becoming rougher all day, the nearby cyclonic disturbance gave relatively little warning of its approach. On 18 December, the small but violent typhoon overtook the Task Force while many of the ships were attempting to refuel. Many of the ships were caught near the center of the storm and buffeted by extreme seas and hurricane force winds. Three destroyers, USS Hull, USS Spence, and USS Monaghan, capsized and went down with practically all hands, while a cruiser, five aircraft carriers, and three destroyers suffered serious damage. Approximately 790 officers and men were lost or killed, with another 80 injured. Fires occurred in three carriers when planes broke loose in their hangars and some 146 planes on various ships were lost or damaged beyond economical repair by fires, impact damage, or by being swept overboard. This storm inflicted more damage on the Navy than any storm since the hurricane at Apia, Samoa in 1889. In the aftermath of this deadly storm, the Pacific Fleet established new weather stations in the Caroline Islands and, as they were secured, Manila, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa. In addition, new weather central offices (for coordinating data) were established at Guam and Leyte.

On 4 June the fleet encountered a typhoon and, on the following day, while she was fighting high winds and powerful waves, Pittsburgh's bow broke off in front of her forward eight-inch gun turret. In a remarkable feat of seamanship and damage control the ship rode out the storm and steamed to Guam, where she received temporary repairs. Installation of a new bow at the Puget Sound Navy Yard lasted into 1946, after which Pittsburgh was placed in reserve. She formally went out of commission in March 1947.

tflash escreveu:Caros foristas. Tem-me surgido algumas dúvidas sobre a capacidade das forças navais com tempo adverso. É óbvio que o mau tempo inviabiliza as operações aeronavais mas gostava de saber mais, dentro do possivel, das limitações dos sonares e das vantagens que se podem conseguir nas operações com submarinos, entre outros problemas.

Penso que este tópico também pode ser usado para postar histórias relacionadas com o tema. Eu estou a lembrar-me de uma história da marinha norte americana em que um destroyer, se não me falha a memória, perdeu uma secção enorme da proa, numa tempestade. Infelizmente não consegui descobrir nada na net.

Obrigado desde já pelas respostas.