ON A COLLISION COURSE

Even when ships at sea are not 'at war' there is always a danager lurking, and that is why there are 'drills upon drills' in "What-to-do 'IF'".

Below is the "Lead-in" paragraph to the article that not only describes what happen on one such incident.....there is also dianamtic pictures that is actually shocking.

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Carrier-escort collisions during flight operations are one of the most prevalent accidents as sea. The probability of this type of accident is greatly enhanced during night operations as it’s the overall damage to the ships and loss of personnel. On the evening of November 22, 1975, the missile cruiser USS Belknay (CG-26) collied with the USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67) in the Ionian Sea 68 miles east of Sicily. The result was predictable. The Belknap was very nearly destroyed and the carrier emerged with minor damage. This was not the first accident of this nature nor will it be the last. In the late night of April 26, 1952, the USS Hobson (DMS-26) was literally run over by the carrier USS Wasp (CV-18) and sliced in half. Both halves of the destroyer minesweeper quickly sank with 176 of her 237-man crew. Most were asleep and died immediately. Similarly, the destroyer USS Frank E. Evans (DD-754) was cut in half by the Australian aircraft carrier Melbourne (R-21) on June 2, 1969, while on exercises in the early morning hours. In less than two minutes the bow section containing 74 men slid under the Pacific. In both instances the primary blame rested on destroyer officers who were not fully attentive to the hazards of operating in close quarters with fast ships that are many times larger less responsive.

Ok....if you haven't read about the above misshap that occured in Nov. 1975 between the John F. Kennedy and the Belknay....you may wish to click on this "title:"  ON A COLLISION COURSE

This will open your eyes at just how dangerious it is in operations when ships are in close situations....and how quickly situation can go deadly wrong!!!

Hope the article is informative and provides some insight of the ever present danager that is always present at sea.

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