USS America to be sunk

[dlndavid]

I heard on the radio that the USS America Aircraft Carrier is to be used for target practice then sunk. They said it was to be sunk in 6000 ft of water off Florida.
Is this true? 6000 ft?
http://ussamerica-museumfoundation.org/

 

[Lead_carrier]

but it would not surprise me. This type of operation would not be the first time the Navy had conducted operations on our own ships.

 

[MtnDiver]

Is there even a 6000' deep area close enough to be considered "off Florida"?

Not sure, just asking. Seems like there aren't that many truly deep places in that part of the world.

 

[dlndavid]

That's what I thought too. But I thought that ships were sunk in shallower water to be artificial reefs and diver accessible.
Here's a global depth topo.
http://topex.ucsd.edu/marine_topo/gif_images/global_topo_large.gif

 

[RonFrank]

Is there even a 6000' deep area close enough to be considered "off Florida"?

Not sure, just asking. Seems like there aren't that many truly deep places in that part of the world.

The Gulf goes RATHER deep, 3000+ feet....

Not sure if one considers that OFF the coast of FL. I'd have to look at the ocean side to determine if it runs that deep.

 

[WJL]

It appears the Florida information is inaccurate. The proposed site for the sinking is "off North Carolina". http://www.dailypress.com/news/dp-76035sy0mar04,0,4951512.story?coll=dp-headlines-topnews

 

[dlndavid]

It appears the Florida information is inaccurate. The proposed site for the sinking is "off North Carolina". http://www.dailypress.com/news/dp-76035sy0mar04,0,4951512.story?coll=dp-headlines-topnews

Thanks, good article. My news source was right about the depth, missed the location by a tad.

 

[DivePartner1]

Thanks, good article. My news source was right about the depth, missed the location by a tad.

The article I read said 300 miles off the coast, and 6000 feet down. They're going to play with explosives on it until it sinks so see what nifty things link zodiacs full of dynamite and torpedoes will do to a modern 1000 foot carrier.

In a related story, some spin off group of Sierra Club was opposing the export of mothballed obsolete warships warehoused at the James River. The were to be towed to Britain to be cut up for scrap. The group claimed this constituted 'export of hazardous materials.' The court didn't buy it.

Some are WWII era and so eaten by rust a hammer can pierce the hull. Maybe they'll sink in shallow enough water to dive?

 

[DA Aquamaster]

Well there is a contradiction here. They have spent months of effort and big bucks to remove all the pcb's off the CV34 to make it suitable as an artificial reef but are going to just take the USS America out, and blow holes in it until it sinks. Granted it is in deeper water, but I don't think the PCB's care much. I think there is room for a similar suit here regarding the USS America regarding disposal of toxic waste.

It seems to me it should be possible to clean the ship to a reasonable degree and then run the same live fire excercises in water shallow enough for the ship to serve as an artifical reef. If it sinks in 200-250 ft of water or 6000 feet, what is the difference. It seems to me we could get double duty out of the ship while safe guarding the environment and could do it for a comparatively small amount of money.

 

[Wristshot]

My guess is that they don't want the explosives going off in places close to shore and people, or in shallow enough water where the explosives could damage the eco-system. Plus there is the potential issue of unexploded ordinance. Not an issue at 3000 ft, but possibly a hazard at 200 ft.

Just my random thoughts.

It would be nice to have another nice diveable wreck though. . . . .


W

PS: According to the MSNBC website:
"The Navy has already removed some materials from the ship that could cause environmental damage after it sinks, Dolan said."

So there you go.