Reefing the USS Oriskany
Written by Greg Johnston
When you see a U.S. Naval aircraft carrier up close, you can't help but be awed by its massive size. Now picture yourself scuba diving over its flight deck – it's almost unimaginable.
For divers visiting Northwest Florida this year, the opportunity to dive on a most spectacular shipwreck is now a reality. The retired aircraft carrier USS Oriskany, a combat veteran ship, has made its final port call to her resting place in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico, approximately 24 miles southeast of the Pensacola coast. Successfully sunk, or "reefed," on May 17, 2006 with the use of controlled charges in 212 feet of water, this 888-foot-long ship is now the largest artificial reef in the world.
When U.S. Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) divers completed their dive of the Oriskany after the reefing, they confirmed that the ship is sitting upright in the north-south orientation requested by the state. They reported that the flight deck was at a depth of 150 feet as the ship settled into the sand – well within recreational dive limits.Divers can now swim above the flight deck among fish such as Goliath grouper, ocean sunfish and eagle rays. Anglers can also enjoy what CNN has called the "Great Carrier Reef" – they can reel in popular game fish such as grouper, snapper and amberjack. And it's all in time for summer.
The Oriskany's last battle was a hotly contested competition between the Gulf states of Texas and Mississippi, and the Atlantic states of South Carolina and Georgia. Even Florida's own ship graveyard off the Miami and Fort Lauderdale coast competed for the grand ship.
The Navy used five main factors for determining the most suitable location for sinking the ship: improvement potential to marine habitat and recreation, management of the reef, public support, local cost-sharing and the area's naval heritage. It seemed most appropriate that the final memorial should be near the Pensacola Naval Air Station where many of its fighter pilots were trained. The most famous being Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.), who flew his last mission as a fighter pilot before he was shot down and taken prisoner in North Vietnam in 1967.
The "Mighty O," as it was affectionately called by its crew, was named for the strategic Battle of Oriskany, which turned the tide of the American Revolutionary War in 1777. Nearly 134 years later, the keel of this Essex-class carrier was laid in the Brooklyn Naval Shipyard on May 1, 1944. The vessel was launched October 13, 1945. However, World War II was over and the Oriskany wasn't completed until the Korean War was in progress.
At nearly three football fields in length, the USS Oriskany, a CVA-34-class vessel, was an attack aircraft carrier. The "O-Boat" was 888 feet in length, 225 feet tall and 197 feet wide. She displaced more than 46,000 tons of water. When on active duty, she carried a crew of 3,500 men, 9,445 tons of ordnance, 20MM ammunition and 80 aircraft. The Oriskany put out to sea 16 times in the Korean and Vietnam Wars, having carried out more than 20,000 combat sorties and having delivered nearly 10,000 tons of ordnance against enemy forces.
In May 1953, the USS Oriskany put aside her guns and shouldered a battery of movie cameras when she became a floating movie set for Hollywood stars William Holden and Mickey Rooney in the film The Bridges of Toko Ri.
Prior to the reefing, a memorial service was held at the National Museum of Naval Aviation in Pensacola to pay tribute to the crew and the ship for their exemplary service. The memorial was conducted with full Navy tradition. The sinking of the USS Oriskany as an artificial reef is unprecedented; outside of actual battles, no one has ever sunk a U.S. warship of this size before.
When you see a U.S. Naval aircraft carrier up close, you can't help but be awed by its massive size. Now picture yourself scuba diving over its flight deck – it's almost unimaginable.
For divers visiting Northwest Florida this year, the opportunity to dive on a most spectacular shipwreck is now a reality. The retired aircraft carrier USS Oriskany, a combat veteran ship, has made its final port call to her resting place in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico, approximately 24 miles southeast of the Pensacola coast. Successfully sunk, or "reefed," on May 17, 2006 with the use of controlled charges in 212 feet of water, this 888-foot-long ship is now the largest artificial reef in the world.
When U.S. Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) divers completed their dive of the Oriskany after the reefing, they confirmed that the ship is sitting upright in the north-south orientation requested by the state. They reported that the flight deck was at a depth of 150 feet as the ship settled into the sand – well within recreational dive limits.Divers can now swim above the flight deck among fish such as Goliath grouper, ocean sunfish and eagle rays. Anglers can also enjoy what CNN has called the "Great Carrier Reef" – they can reel in popular game fish such as grouper, snapper and amberjack. And it's all in time for summer.
The Oriskany's last battle was a hotly contested competition between the Gulf states of Texas and Mississippi, and the Atlantic states of South Carolina and Georgia. Even Florida's own ship graveyard off the Miami and Fort Lauderdale coast competed for the grand ship.
The Navy used five main factors for determining the most suitable location for sinking the ship: improvement potential to marine habitat and recreation, management of the reef, public support, local cost-sharing and the area's naval heritage. It seemed most appropriate that the final memorial should be near the Pensacola Naval Air Station where many of its fighter pilots were trained. The most famous being Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.), who flew his last mission as a fighter pilot before he was shot down and taken prisoner in North Vietnam in 1967.
The "Mighty O," as it was affectionately called by its crew, was named for the strategic Battle of Oriskany, which turned the tide of the American Revolutionary War in 1777. Nearly 134 years later, the keel of this Essex-class carrier was laid in the Brooklyn Naval Shipyard on May 1, 1944. The vessel was launched October 13, 1945. However, World War II was over and the Oriskany wasn't completed until the Korean War was in progress.
At nearly three football fields in length, the USS Oriskany, a CVA-34-class vessel, was an attack aircraft carrier. The "O-Boat" was 888 feet in length, 225 feet tall and 197 feet wide. She displaced more than 46,000 tons of water. When on active duty, she carried a crew of 3,500 men, 9,445 tons of ordnance, 20MM ammunition and 80 aircraft. The Oriskany put out to sea 16 times in the Korean and Vietnam Wars, having carried out more than 20,000 combat sorties and having delivered nearly 10,000 tons of ordnance against enemy forces.
In May 1953, the USS Oriskany put aside her guns and shouldered a battery of movie cameras when she became a floating movie set for Hollywood stars William Holden and Mickey Rooney in the film The Bridges of Toko Ri.
Prior to the reefing, a memorial service was held at the National Museum of Naval Aviation in Pensacola to pay tribute to the crew and the ship for their exemplary service. The memorial was conducted with full Navy tradition. The sinking of the USS Oriskany as an artificial reef is unprecedented; outside of actual battles, no one has ever sunk a U.S. warship of this size before.
posted by Move 2 Paradise | 4:35 PM
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