Lost at Sea

The ocean remains one of our last untamed frontiers. It harbours dangerous waves, unpredictable weather patterns, strange wildlife, and vast unexplored undersea terrain. In our quest to conquer the earth, we have invented many vessels to take on challenges of the sea. It is only when these vessels fail us that we realize the ocean still holds true control.

U.S.S. Forrestal (Vietnam 1967): While the U.S.S. Forrestal was conducting combat operations off the coast of Vietnam, a missile was accidentally fired into a parked and armed A-4 Skyhawk plane causing a massive chain reaction of fire and explosions. The carrier became engulfed as fuel and bombs spilled into the holes left by the explosions. The crew fought the fire and dumped armed bombs overboard for 13 hours. The 134 casualties represent the worst loss of life incident on a naval vessel since World War II.

HMS Thetis (England 1939): When the submarine Thetis made a trial dive in shallow water, it did not know that a malfunctioning torpedo tube would cause it to ram into the sea bed below. A miscalculation of the sub's air supply prevented panic among the crew members, and an escape pod was sent to the surface to get help. Rescuers worked with the stern sticking out of the water until the sub flipped over and sank entirely. By this time, the 99 crew members had long since suffocated to death.