For nearly four decades, the USS Forrestal (CV-59) served as a cornerstone of U.S. naval power, carrying out missions across the globe. Yet the ship is most widely remembered for the catastrophic events of July 29, 1967. The tragedy began when a malfunctioning rocket fired across the crowded flight deck, rupturing fuel tanks and triggering a chain reaction of massive explosions. In minutes, fire swept through the ship, killing 134 sailors and injuring many more—making it one of the worst peacetime disasters in Navy history.
In the aftermath, the Navy conducted an extensive investigation and enacted sweeping reforms. These included stricter ordnance-handling rules, upgraded firefighting equipment, and significantly improved damage-control training. The hard lessons learned from the Forrestal fire reshaped carrier safety standards across the fleet, preventing countless future casualties and leaving a profound, lasting legacy on naval aviation.
The USS Forrestal‘s early service in the Atlantic and Mediterranean
The USS Forrestal was the lead ship in her class of aircraft carriers, commissioned on October 1, 1955. As the first carrier specifically designed to operate jet aircraft, she earned the distinction of being the Navy’s first “supercarrier.”
Forrestal began her service in the Atlantic, playing a role in the Suez Crisis, and was later deployed to the Mediterranean with the U.S. Sixth Fleet. Prior to providing air support during the Vietnam War, she was stationed off the coast of Beirut for three days during the 1958 Lebanon crisis.
In November 1963, Forrestal made history when a Lockheed C-130 Hercules successfully completed 21 full-stop landings and takeoffs on her flight deck, setting a record for the largest and heaviest aircraft to ever land on an aircraft carrier. The following year, U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson sent the carrier to Brazil to support the successful military coup that ousted President João Goulart.
The explosion on that fateful day
In June 1967, the USS Forrestal was positioned in the Gulf of Tonkin, near Vietnam’s northern coast in the South China Sea. During this time, aircraft from Attack Carrier Air Wing 17 (CVW-17) carried out numerous successful missions from the carrier, marking it as the Navy’s most intense air raid operation up to that point.
On July 29, 1967, an electrical malfunction aboard a McDonnell Douglas F-4B Phantom IIs on the Forrestal caused an Mk 32 “Zuni” Five-Inch Folding-Fin Aircraft Rocket (FFAR) to accidentally fire. It streaked across the deck and struck a parked, combat-ready Douglas A-4E Skyhawk, dislodging its 400-gallon external fuel tank. Senator John McCain was in the Skyhawk but managed to escape from the cockpit.
The collision ignited fuel from the A-4E, starting a fire that quickly spread. The initial explosion killed the first two firefighting teams trying to contain the blaze. Over the next five minutes, nine more explosions occurred following the rocket launch. The growing inferno eventually detonated a 1,000-pound AN-M65 bomb.
The losses onboard the USS Forrestal were devastating
The 1967 fire aboard the USS Forrestal spread with terrifying speed, racing across the carrier’s flight deck and trapping several pilots in their cockpits before they could escape. The initial explosion tore a gaping hole through the deck, sending burning jet fuel pouring into the compartments below. That fuel ignited a series of secondary blasts, including one directly above a sleeping quarters that killed 50 sailors in their bunks.
Help arrived almost immediately from the nearby destroyers USS Rupertus (DD-851) and USS George K. MacKenzie (DD-836), whose crews brought firefighting equipment and manpower to reinforce the struggling sailors aboard Forrestal. The most severely wounded were evacuated to the hospital ship USS Repose (AH-16), positioned nearby in support of Vietnam War operations.
By the time the inferno was finally contained, the scale of the destruction was overwhelming. A total of 134 sailors had lost their lives, dozens more were injured, and more than 20 aircraft—including A-4 Skyhawks, F-4 Phantom IIs, and RA-5C Vigilantes—had been destroyed. Damage to the ship was more than $70 million, but the human toll was immeasurable.
Aboard a warship, fire leaves no refuge—only harsh decisions. Some sailors jumped overboard to survive, while others stayed behind to fight a blaze that threatened to consume the ship. The Forrestal disaster remains the deadliest peacetime accident in the U.S. Navy since the Second World War, a stark reminder of the ever-present dangers faced by those who serve at sea.
The US Navy changed its training
Following the incident, the Navy conducted a detailed review of its firefighting training and safety procedures. The investigation exposed a lax approach to safety, inadequate firefighting skills among sailors, and slow emergency response times.
The Aircraft Carrier Safety Review Panel, led by Rear Adm. Forsyth Massey, investigated the disaster. The panel concluded that, “Poor and outdated doctrinal and technical documentation of ordnance and aircraft equipment and procedures, evident at all levels of command, was a contributing cause of the accidental rocket firing.”
As a direct result of the USS Forrestal disaster, the Navy overhauled its training programs, introducing new safety protocols and firefighting procedures. Though the incident was tragic, it led to essential reforms that continue to protect sailors and prevent similar accidents today.
The USS Forrestal remained in service for several years after
Despite the massive explosions on July 29, 1967, the USS Forrestal was not permanently taken out of service. Following extensive repairs, the aircraft carrier returned to active duty, completing several deployments to the Mediterranean Sea. Over the years, Forrestal participated in key events such as the 1981 Gulf of Sidra incident, supported Operation Earnest Will in the Middle East, and remained on alert during the Gulf War.
In 1991, Forrestal provided crucial air support during Operation Provide Comfort before transitioning into a training role, receiving the new designation AVT-59. The ship was officially decommissioned in 1993. Although there were attempts to preserve the Forrestal as a museum, these efforts ultimately failed, and the vessel was dismantled in 2015.
Today, a detailed model of the USS Forrestal is exhibited as part of the “America’s War in Vietnam” display at the National Museum of the U.S. Navy.