At 11:30 a.m. The USS America, an aircraft carrier, was destroyed and sank to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean on May 14, 2005. This was a significant moment for the US military at the time.
The crew of the USS America aircraft carrier claimed that the ship was intentionally scuttled during a test to determine how the carrier reacts to enemy strikes. The US has gathered priceless information by sacrificing this ship.
Importance of Kitty Hawk-class aircraft carrier USS America
The US initially intended to construct the USS America aircraft carrier using nuclear energy. The USS America was given conventional power, nevertheless, because design and installation expenses rose. 4 steam turbines give it a 280,000 horsepower capacity. The ship will be 319 metres long when it is finished, with a maximum displacement of more than 80,000 tonnes. The railway has a 63 km/h top speed, a 19,000 km range, and can transport 80 planes. The 4,600 persons on board the ship made up the crew. It is capable of transporting three Phalanx close-in defence systems, 24 Sea Sparrow (sea sparrow) air defence missiles, and the RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM) short-range interceptor missiles.
The USS America was an aircraft carrier that mostly served in the Atlantic and Mediterranean during her time in service. Additionally, it made 23 deployments to the Pacific. The US has participated in or been actively involved in a number of conflicts during the course of its three decades of operation of this aircraft carrier, including Operation El Dorado Canyon and Operation Desert Storm, the Arab-Israeli war.
The USS America has lost its relevance by the 1990s with the emergence of modern nuclear-powered aircraft carriers. The aircraft carrier service life extension programme (SLEP), however, was created by the US Navy because it wanted the USS America to make a greater contribution. This allowed the ship to continue serving until 2010. The USS America was forced to “retire” due to financial cuts, though.
In 1996, a retirement ceremony for the USS America was held at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard. The decommissioned ship maintenance facility in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, received the ship next.
The reason the ship was sunk
The US Navy initially intended to demolish the USS America in order to repurpose the machinery. This strategy wasn’t carried out, though. Instead, the ship was chosen to take part in a live-fire drill, a test that might decide its ultimate fate.
Navy veterans from the US voiced their strong opposition to this. They protested against sinking the ship “America” and urged that it be placed in a museum. Admiral John B. Nathman, who was the naval warfare deputy commander at the time, nevertheless explained the plan in a letter.
“USS America will provide the final and most significant contribution to our defence,” the letter stated. This time, it was a real-world test to see how the ship handled enemy assaults. Future aircraft carriers, which will defend the offspring of American warriors, will be built with the legacy of the USS America as a key design element.”
The USS America will be used for a variety of tests both above and below the water’s surface in order to collect the information required by naval architects and engineers to build the powerful aircraft carrier fleet of the future. Once the mission is complete, the USS America will quietly sink to the bottom of the ocean.”
A ceremony to say goodbye to the USS America was held by the US Navy on February 25, 2005. The ship was deployed to sea following the event. The live-fire test started on April 19, 2005.
During the exercise, the US Navy attacked the USS America with a variety of armaments, including cruise missiles, torpedoes, and bombs. The fact that the hull was divided into numerous watertight compartments and prevented seawater from penetrating and sunk the ship, among other factors, contributed to the ship’s continued strength despite being subjected to ferocious attacks for nearly four weeks. The navy needs to focus on key locations in order to capsize the ship.
Mechanical engineer Lake Horner claimed the USS America is exceptionally sturdy in addition to being significantly greater in size than battleships from World War 2. The hull has two levels, although it lacks the battleships’ thick armour protection. In order to access the inner steel layer, the weapon must first cut through the buffer in the middle and the outer layer of hardened steel. Compared to a battleship, the ship’s internal spaces were far better planned. The ship’s size also meant that there was a lot of empty space that needed to be filled with water in order for it to sink.
Additionally, the USS America is not combustible when attacked because it doesn’t carry fuel or munitions.
At 11:30 a.m., after numerous attempts to sink it, the ship was scuttled. on May 14, 2005. Before sinking to a depth of more than 5,000 metres near the southeast corner of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, USA, it floated for miles.
