USS Bonhomme Richard burning.
keets
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Hold a good thought for Sailors and all involved in San Diego. As a ex-Sailor myself who drilled for this sort of thing a ship is nowhere for a fire.
Al H.
5
Comments
Hope no one is injured, and all is well.
I was USN also (DD 933), we had a small grease fire while underway off the east coast, about 200 miles out.
Bearings on one of the shafts caught on fire. I was on duty, and that day I understood why we drilled.
Nice Comitia Americana - he was one heck of a sailor. That battle on the medal was insane.
He was out gunned, outmanned, his ship was sinking, on fire and he still won. Amazing.
Go Navy!
Here's mine in silver.
Sugar magnolia blossoms blooming, heads all empty and I don't care ...
Gorgeous medal.
The USS Bonhomme Richard was named after the ship of the same name commanded by John Paul Jones. The ship was donated by France to support the American cause during the Revolutionary War. Bonhomme Richard is French and it translates into Good Man Richard. It was Ben Franklin's pen name when he was writing Poor Richards Almanac. So this ship has a direct tie to the Franklin Half Dollar which depicts Bonhomme Richard.
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
This is a cliche from the John W. Adams Collection last year. It has the words "Bonhomme Richard" in Dupre's handwriting on the reverse.
I bid on this but lost out as I was holding my budget for a later Dupre / Adams piece.
All sailors off and accounted for. Minor injuries only as of now.
Yes. I hear there are 11 "injuries." God only knows what those injuries are. Horrific . My father was on a carrier that was sunk in the Pacific in WW11. My father - in - law was a merchant marine in WW11. He was aboard a Victory Ship that was sunk in the North Atlantic. They never, NEVER, talked about it........ Happy childhood memories of mine?.......watching the big ships come and go in San Diego harbor. Majastic! Sometimes getting to go aboard. God bless those who serve.
SEMPER FI
Concur. Prayers out
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Ben Franklin also play a key role in getting the John Paul Jones medal made.
John Paul Jones captured the Serapis, but the Bonhomme Richard sank while towing her to port.
Sugar magnolia blossoms blooming, heads all empty and I don't care ...
John Paul Jones captured the Serapis, but the Bonhomme Richard sank while towing her to port.
it was during this battle that John Paul Jones uttered his immortal words, "Sir, I have not yet begun to fight!" when called upon by the British commander to surrender. the battle and subsequent victory by Jones played a role in the French Crown deciding to back and assist the American Colonies in the War for Independence.
Live cam
Prayers to the crew, from an old sailor, to the new
“We are only their care-takers,” he posed, “if we take good care of them, then centuries from now they may still be here … ”
Todd - BHNC #242
Just south of where I live.
peacockcoins
Look at those little fire- boats. Like pi**ing in the ocean. Oh....the Time we live in.
Me too. Too close to home!
My company works with the Navy. We service fire protection equipment for the Navel yards in San Diego and for the Navel air stations in California and Nevada. It is our privilege to do so. They have the best fire suppression systems on earth. Bar none. We take pride in our contribution. The guys in the shop know that lives are on the line....and they do their jobs accordingly. But.....from my experience, that fire looks bad.Sometimes it just gets out of control. My prayers are with the sailors. God Bless and protect them.....and GOD Bless America.
I woke up this morning to the putrid smell of chemicals burning. The smoke from the fire has wafted inland to where I live (Escondido), about 20-25 miles away.
mbogoman
https://pcgs.com/setregistry/collectors-showcase/classic-issues-colonials-through-1964/zambezi-collection-trade-dollars/7345Asesabi Lutho
I have already been out gunned by some much rarer pieces here, but I'll post my example anyway. This John Paul Jones medal was struck at the Paris Mint during the era from 1845 to 1860. It has the "pointing hand" punch on the edge which dates it.
Here is a modern example that was struck much more recently. It has a "yellow bronze" finish. It was also struck by the French.
And here is the edge which dates this modern piece.
Here are the original dies which were used to strike the medal. They are on display at the John Paul Jones crypt which is at the U.S. Naval Accademy.
The fire cause is still unknown, but theory is it started in a lower cargo hold.... so far, 17 sailors and 4 civilians injured. Being former Navy, I can tell you, this is bad. We train for these disasters, but reality is always worse. Cheers, RickO
Look at those little fire- boats. Like piing in the ocean. Oh....the Time we live in**.
you should know better than to post that.
it looks to me like they're trying to cool the side of the ship just above the water-line. trust me, they know what they're doing and why.
I recall one morning, after I had pulled 12 hours at sea during a Med Cruise onboard USS America, that we had a fire drill. I had eaten breakfast and was walking across the hangar bay headed to our berthing quarters when the alarm sounded. almost before I knew what was happening I was the lead man on a hose team. although the USS Bonhomme Richard was moored, the drills and the understanding of what's happening are almost second nature, the knowledge that your "Home" is on fire and there's nowhere to go sets in fast.
I was surprised when I read just now that this ship is still burning and in serious trouble. over a day of continuos burning at temp's over 1,000 degrees F. that have melted/warped parts of the ship. this is bad for San Diego.
--- It is thought that two decks separate the fire from the ship's fuel reserves. The Admiral says the Navy is doing everything they can to make sure it doesn't migrate there.
--- No welding was reported in the area of the fire when it broke out.
--- At least significant parts of the automated halon firefighting systems were offline at the time of the fire. Enhanced pier-side fire watch readiness posture was supposedly in place.
--- 415 Bambi Buckets of water have been dropped on the ship by three MH-60S Seahawks from Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron Three (HSC-3) based out of nearby Naval Air Station North Island.
--- 160 people were on the ship when the fire began.
--- 400 sailors are now involved with fighting the fire aboard the ship.
--- The area where the fire started, which was the lower vehicle storage area, was filled with cardboard, rags, drywall, and other combustible material.
--- The fire is producing temperatures as high as 1,000 degrees.
--- Extreme heat in and under the island and in the bow.
--- There is a list that they are trying to correct via dewatering as part of a larger balancing act of keeping the ship stable while also fighting the fire
--- Five remain hospitalized and in stable condition out of 57 that have been treated at the hospital.
--- There is burn damage throughout the skin of the ship.
--- Due to the ship undergoing maintenance, there is debris scattered throughout the passageways of the ship making it challenging to safely fight the fire.
--- There are no plans to let the ship burn down to the waterline.
--- The Admiral is not aware of the fire being in the ship's critical engineering spaces.
--- Crews are keeping a close eye on the environmental air quality and so far it has been within EPA limits.
Air smelled weird for a day or so
Liberty: Parent of Science & Industry
Having spent a couple of months on Navy Destroyers and Cruisers during my civilian career, I can attest to the seriousness fire drills take on, and the extensive training the crew gets. When underway, it seemed like a daily occurrence. We, the civilian guests, always liked to get advance warning on when they were to occur. Best to be out of the way, and in our work spaces!
I'm guessing it's probably NOT a coincidence that this happened while undergoing in-port maintenance. Normal safeguards were probably bypassed to make room for workers, materials, and processes that were also not the norm. Watches may have been altered, and control of some spaces may have been given over to civilian workers. Sadly, they will probably only figure out what extra risk was introduced AFTER the fact.
Saw the first medal posted and thought that it is super (it is). Recalled when I collected NA medals that mine was nice too. Then I saw @baddogss post his SILVER version. Wow! Always cool to see a rarity like that!
This certainly looks bad. 3.7 million liters of fuel oil onboard.
Can you imagine the conditions fighting that fire? The heat must be tremendous.
Terrible.
m
Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
Having spent most of my Navy years on a ship (DER), I can tell you that fire drills are frequent and important. Emergencies at sea must be dealt with quickly for obvious reasons...Although this ship is in port, it is still critical and the damage is obviously going to be extensive. If salvageable, she will be in dry dock for a long while. Cheers, RickO