Recently, Iran-backed Houthi rebels claimed attacking a U.S. aircraft carrier group twice within 24 hours. The Houthis claimed launching 18 missiles and a drone at the “aircraft carrier USS Harry Truman and its accompanying warships” in the Red Sea.
The big question is: how easy is it to sink an Aircraft Carrier?
USS America was the only supercarrier ever sunk. It significantly boosted American power during Operation Desert Storm and the Vietnam War. Its last service to the nation came after it was decommissioned in 1996.
The 1000-foot-long aircraft carrier was bombarded with explosives for several weeks to assess what keeps an aircraft carrier afloat and what makes it sink. USS America, a Kitty Hawk-class aircraft carrier, took hit after hit for over three weeks before it sank.
The classified “SinkEx” was conducted in 2005 to study the survivability of the aircraft carrier in combat and make the future floating flat tops more impregnable in future warfare.
Under international Freedom of Navigation laws, aircraft carriers are sovereign territories in almost all oceans. An aircraft carrier is generally considered the territory of the nation that owns it, just like an embassy or a military base abroad. Even when operating in international waters, the laws of its home country apply onboard. This makes the connotation of an aircraft carrier being hit or sunk in combat all the more ominous.
Questions are constantly being raised about whether aircraft carriers are still relevant, especially if adversaries have submarines and air-to-surface munitions that can sneak past the floating leviathan’s defenses and wreak havoc. These aircraft carriers are becoming more expensive, and some nuclear-powered ones cost more than the annual defense budget of many countries.
Eyebrows were raised when the warship named after the country was chosen to be deliberately sunk at sea. A committee of her former crew members and other supporters tried to save the ship for use as a museum ship. In a letter to them, then-Vice Chief of Naval Operations Admiral John B. Nathman explained:
“(USS) America will make one final and vital contribution to our national defense, this time as a live-fire test and evaluation platform. America’s legacy will serve as a footprint in the design of future carriers — ships that will protect the sons, daughters, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren of American veterans. We will conduct a variety of comprehensive tests above and below the waterline collecting data for use by naval architects and engineers in creating the nation’s future carrier fleet. It is essential we make those ships as highly survivable as possible.
“When that mission is complete, America will slip quietly beneath the sea. I know America has a very special place in your hearts, not only for the name but also for your service aboard her. I ask that you understand why we selected this ship for this one last crucial mission and make note of the critical nature of her final service.”
The carrier was 1000 feet long and displaced 82,200 tons. Its flight deck was 252 feet wide, allowing room for about 85 aircraft. More than 5,300 sailors served on board. The America was protected by RIM-7 Sea Sparrow Missiles equipped on an Mk-29 launcher, and it also had a 20 mm Phalanx close-in weapon system for its defenses.
The Kitty Hawk-class aircraft carrier boasted many unique design features, like the angled launch area that allowed aircraft to take off while another was landing, improving the sortie rate. The warship also made it easier for pilots to land the aircraft through the Optical Mirror Landing System. It consisted of a group of mirrors and lights that enabled safer recovery during night landings when it was more difficult to “Call the Ball.”
The USS America, called “Big A” by the sailors who served on it, was conventionally powered and ran on older steam turbine-powered propellers. This meant there were no worries about nuclear radiation leaking during the SinkEx.
The other factor that contributed to choosing the Kitty Hawk-Class carrier for the exercise was that it did not undergo the U.S. Navy’s Carrier Service Life Extension Prog. Towards its fag end of service, the warship was in bad shape.
The aircraft carrier’s 1990s were riddled with several mishaps. In the early days, one of her flight deck elevators fell with an S-3B aircraft and several sailors on it. There were steam and fuel leaks. According to reports, the largest part of its flight deck catwalks was destroyed during its return journey in the 1990s as it cut through a Hurricane.
Apart from the propulsion, the Kitty Hawk-class was similar to the Nimitz-class carriers in terms of design and size. The SinkEx was critical for perfecting the Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carrier that was under development at the time.
USS America’s Last Stand
USS America had been in retirement for nearly a decade when the Navy decided to conduct the SinkEx. It was to be a live-fire drill off the coast of Virginia. During the exercise, a war-like situation was created to see how much pounding the aircraft carriers could take in a battle.
It would help the Navy to make future aircraft carriers more survivable and to note how they can be destroyed.
The attack was simulated, with explosives mimicking the torpedoes and bombs that could be deployed during a war. The first test was a simulated attack from a submarine, with explosive charges set off below the water line to mimic torpedoes. Then, airplanes launched missiles and dropped bombs to test the resiliency of the flight deck and keel.
The onslaught began on April 19, 2005, and the aircraft carrier was scuttled on May 14. The aircraft slipped and is resting at a depth of over 16000 feet in the Atlantic.
One feature that helped the flat top withstand so much damage was its double-layered hull. This meant that weapons had to penetrate through alternating layers of steel and empty pockets to reach her vital equipment. The battleship’s internal compartmentalization also helped it survive the onslaughts, both above and below the waterline.
Lessons Learned From the SINKEX
The exercise demonstrated that the aircraft carrier can take several hits and stay afloat. An experienced crew can maneuver the aircraft to the nearest port where it can be repaired.
The sinking of the USS America has also shaped modern naval strategy, especially those pertaining to an aircraft carrier’s survivability and defense systems.
The Ford-class carriers are better designed and even underwent shock trials to detect structural and technical weaknesses. The aircraft carrier also required multi-layered defenses consisting of advanced radar, interceptors, electronic warfare, and ship-mounted lasers to counter air, surface, and undersea threats.
Better damage control protocols and reinforced hulls have been designed to keep the carriers withstand sustained bombardment.
The findings of the SinkEx paved the way for how carriers will be positioned in combat scenarios, the requirement of protective escort fleets, and tactics to mitigate threats.
