USS Bonhomme Richard Decommissioned-- Part 2: Too Expensive and Time-Consuming to Repair

More than 400 Bonhomme Richard  sailors assisted federal firefighters in fighting last summer's fire which sent 63 people to the hospital for smoke inhalation and blanketed nearby communities with smoke containing toxic chemicals.

Restoring the ship would have cost  between 2.5 billion and $3.2 billion and would have taken between five to seven years.  This is why it was decided to decommission the ship.

The ship will be towed to  International Shipbreaking Limited,  LLC's facility in Brownsville, Texas, for dismantlement.

There are still four ongoing investigations into the fire.

In August,  defense officials said that arson is suspected as the cause of the fire.  A sailor was questioned.

--Cooter

USS Bonhomme Richard Decommissioned April 15

From the April 15, 2021, UPI  "USS Bonhomme Richard formally decommissioned" by Christen McCurdy.

I wrote about this ship earlier this year as a picture of it was featured on the Paralyzed Veterans of America 2021calendar.  But it was badly damaged by a fire that raged for five days back in July 2020.

The fire-damaged USS Bonhomme Richard was formally decommissioned  in a ceremony at Navy Base San Diego on Wednesday, April 14.

It was the third ship in the U.S. Navy to bear the name which is a rough French translation of "Good Man Richard" which is derived from Benjamin Franklin's pen name.

The ship's history includes deployments to East Timor in 2000 for peacekeeping as well as offloading  Marines and their equipment into Kuwait  during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

The Wasp-class  amphibious assault ship was commissioned in 1998 and expected to have a service life of 40 years.   But then there was that fire.

In November the Navy announced  that the vessel was beyond  affordable repair and would be decommissioned.

--Cooter

United States Warships: USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD-6)

From the Paralyzed Veterans of America 2021 calendar.   November 2020.  I wish I had known they had 2020 months on this as I would have opened it sooner than this month.

A photograph accompanies these ships each month.

USS BONHOMME RICHARD  (LHD-6)

The Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD-6) transits underneath the Golden Gate Bridge during the Parade of Ships as part of San Francisco Fleet Week (SFFW) 2018

SFFW is an opportunity for the American public to meet their Navy, Marine and Coast Guard teams and experience America's sea services.

During fleet week, service members participate in various community service events, showcase capabilities and equipment to the community, and enjoy the hospitality of San Francisco and surrounding areas.

--CooterAway

Still Looking for the Bonhomme Richard

From the July 29th Naval History Blog.

I'm glad they are looking for the wreck of this famous US ship, although I doubt there would be much left after all these years.

For the last two weeks, a US Naval group has been combing over several hundred nautical miles of frigid North Sea waters for the legendary vessel, John Paul Jones' ship in the famous "I have not yet begun to fight" battle with the HMS Serapis.

The weather and seas have been horrible.

The unit is using remotely operated vehicles and Autonomous Underwater Vehicles which are towed behind the search ship. This is also a training opportunity for naval divers.

Here's Hoping for Some Success. --Cooter

Back to the Revolution: The Hunt for the Bonhomme Richard...Part 2: US Navy Underwater Archaeological Branch

Continued from May 17th.

In the last four years, three expeditions have been mounted to find the wreck of John Paul Jones' ship. TV shows "Deep Sea Detectives" on the History Channel" and "Treasure Quest" on the Disney Channel have paid for them.

Locating sunken ships has always been something people have been involved in. In 1995, the Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley was found. The wreck of the CSS Alabama has been found and cannons as well as a toilet bowl raised from it.

One downside to all this interest in shipwrecks is the threat to preservation. People dive on the accessible ones and steal items. Plus, it can be dangerous.

Once an artifact has been preserved, Bob Neyland and the Underwater Archaeology Branch try to find a home for it either in a museum or research facility. Of 9,000 objects owned by the Navy, 7,000 are on loan to museums and universities.

The Underwater Branch also monitors auction sites like eBay.

In September Neyland went on a Navy Survey ship to look for a blockade-runner. They spent ten days using underwater robots and sonar. A british group recently claimed they'd found it, but Neyland has studied dates and the location and doesn't believe they have found it.

I Would Even Be Willing to Come Out of Retirement to Do Something Like This. --DaCoot

Back to the Revolution: The Hunt for the Bonhomme Richard-- Part 1: US Navy Underwater Archaeology Branch

Another Revolutionary War story with a famous quote, even though I had never heard the "Come and Get It" quote before I came across the McIntosh story.

From the Oct. 23, 2010, Seattle Times "Navy in hunt for John Paul Jones' famous sunken ship, the Bonhomme Richard" by Annys Shin.

The search for the famous ship, sunk September 25, 1779, off the coast of Yorkshire, England, has been going on for decades. Even in English waters, the wreck is legally the property of the United States Navy.

Bob Neyland, chief archaeologist of the Navy's Underwater Archaeology Branch based at the Washington Navy Yard, heads up a small unit responsible for identifying and preserving sunken and historically significant vessels from the colonial era to World War II fighter planes.

The branch was created in 1996 and once had eight members, but budgetary problems have reduced it to four members now. (This is a job I'd be willing to come out of retirement for.) Their annual federal budget is $37,000, but that is augmented by other Naval officers, non-profit groups as well as state and federal agency grants.

More to Come. --DaCoot