| Date: 26 October 1966 |
| Aircraft type: A-4E Skyhawk |
| Serial Number: 151075 |
| Military Unit: VA-163 |
| Service: USN |
| Home Base: USS Oriskany |
| Name(s): |
| no aircrew involved (Unknown) |
| On 26 October the Oriskany’s tour of duty off Southeast Asia was cut tragicically short by a disastrous fire, the first of two such incidents to plague the carriers on Yankee Station. The fire broke out at 7:15 on the morning of the 26th on the hangar deck of the ship. Six A-1s and seven A-4s were on the deck having been readied for a night strike but bad weather postponed the launch. The ordnance on the aircraft had to be downloaded and stored until morning. The ordnance included several Mk24 Model 3 magnesium parachute flares. The flares were taken down to the forward hangar deck for stowing in a temporary flare storage compartment. The flares were being moved into the store by hand when one of the flares ignited due to mishandling. Flames and toxic fumes rapidly spread to other parts of the ship. The heat set off ordnance on the hangar deck as it was being prepared for an air strike. About 350 bombs had to be thrown overboard to avert further explosions. It was not until noon that the last of the fires had been put out. A total of 36 officers and eight enlisted men died in the fire including 24 aviators. One of the dead airmen was the Oriskany’s CAG, Cdr Rodney B Carter, who was temporarily replaced by Cdr Dick Bellinger. At least four VA-163 pilots and several from VF-162 also died in the fire. One Skyhawk was destroyed and three others were badly damaged and two Seasprite helicopters were also destroyed. The Oriskany fire is well recorded in several books, notably Zalin Grant’s Over the Beach. The ship sailed back to the USA for a lengthy refit and did not leave her homeport again until 16 June 1967. |
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