The U.S. Navy will file charges against a sailor in “response to the evidence found in the criminal investigation.” The incident started on July 12, 2020, when the amphibious assault ship “Goodman Richard” parked in the San Diego Naval Port had a fire. The fire continued to burn for more than 4 days. It was the worst warship that the U.S. Navy has ever seen outside the battlefield in recent years. Fire.
This is a “quasi-aircraft carrier” with a full load displacement of 40,000 tons. It was commissioned in 1998 and has a crew of up to 1,200. After the fire, the “Goodman Richard” suffered serious damage to the overall structure, electrical and mechanical aspects, and later had to be scrapped, causing billions of dollars in damage to the US Navy. In addition, the fire also injured 63 people, including 40 crew members and 23 civilians. The modified Richard Richard is mainly equipped with F-35B
The LHD-6 “Goodman Richard” amphibious assault ship is one of the quasi-aircraft carriers of the US Air Force. It has a displacement of 40,500 tons. It has been in service for 23 years before the accident. The ship is 257 meters in length, 32 meters in width, and 8.2 meters in draft. With a crew of 1,077, it can carry 48 helicopters and 5 AV-8B attack aircraft.
This warship is one of 10 amphibious assault ships owned by the US Navy. It was undergoing a $250 million conversion and upgrade to carry the next-generation carrier-based fighter F-35B.
If the LHD-6 “Goodman Richard” amphibious assault ship can be modified and upgraded to carry F-35B carrier-based aircraft, then the ship will become a light aircraft carrier, and because it is equipped with F-35B, it can only carry the F-35B than some countries. The carrier of the fourth-generation fighter is more advanced.
The fire caused the Good Man Richard to be too badly damaged
Before the fire broke out, the “Goodman Richard” was at the end of a $250 million upgrade phase. The U.S. Navy’s plan is to upgrade this ship to the capacity to carry 20 F-35B fighters. It is conceivable that even if one F-35B can exchange for 5 fourth-generation fighters, then one LHD-6 is enough to deal with it. All aircraft carriers of any country outside the United States.
The F-35B itself has stealth and powerful modern combat capabilities, and most countries have no coping capabilities at all. That is to say, the improved “Goodman Richard” has turned an amphibious assault ship into a de facto medium-sized aircraft carrier.
In other words, after the upgrade, the ship’s strategic significance has undergone important changes, and its mission attributes have changed from ground-to-ground to overwhelming opponents, and the F-35B fighter can fully take advantage of sea and air.
It is rare to burn a 40,000-ton ship in peacetime
But when the U.S. military had high hopes for the upgrade and modification of the LHD-6 “Goodman Richard” amphibious assault ship, it was unexpected that a fire that ignited on July 12, 2020 would strike the U.S. military’s dream. Got to be shattered.
The fire from the ship continued to burn for 4 days before it was extinguished. The fire engulfed the well deck, the superstructure and the crew’s living and working spaces at the front. The temperature inside the ship reached 1,000 degrees. The overall structure and electrical Both the mechanical and mechanical aspects were severely damaged, and about 63 people were injured in varying degrees.
In the end, after the evaluation result that the cost of re-servicing is not as high as building a new ship, this amphibious assault ship, which represents the powerful maritime power of the United States, was decommissioned and dismantled.Carrying F-35B will make the amphibious assault ship stronger than ordinary aircraft carriers
Now, one year after the incident, the U.S. military finally found out that the fire was deliberately set by a sailor. The name of the sailor was not disclosed, but he was a member of the amphibious assault ship. The Third Fleet has ordered a preliminary hearing on the sailor to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to send him to a military court.
This is almost useless, because this quasi-aircraft carrier worth more than $1 billion has been dismantled, and it takes time for the US military to make up for the loss. In fact, it has also greatly delayed the strategic plan to upgrade the amphibious assault ship to a quasi-aircraft carrier.
More importantly, the LHD-6 “Goodman Richard” belongs to the Seventh Fleet in Japan, which invisibly delayed the strategic process of the United States to contain the eastern powers.
(Military review by Chen Guangwen on July 30, 2021) Naval equipmentReturn to Sohu to see more
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