USS Worden (CG-18) Pearl Harbor, Hawaii September 1986 to December 1989

		Photo provided by Joe DeMarco.
Battle Group Delta WESTPAC 87						Navy Achievement Medal awarded by Captain Hancock
Underway off of Hawaii 1987	Dependents Cruise Dive off of Maui		UNREP Wave	WESTPAC 87 Maldives		CE Berthing "Home Sweet Home"

Harsh conditions at sea and continual advances in technology eventually render naval ships obsolete. But the U.S. Navy has found innovative ways to use these ships beyond their normal lifetimes.

A U.S. Navy veteran views ex-USS Worden (CG-18) at Pearl Harbor for the last time before it is towed to it's resting place at sea. He served on Worden along the coast of Vietnam in 1965 and 1966. (U.S. Navy photo by PH1 Don Dinsmore.)

During RIMPAC 2000, the largest maritime exercise in the Asia-Pacific region, the ex-USS Worden (CG-18), ex-USS Gen. Hugh J. Gaffey (AP-121), ex-USS Buchanan (DDG-14), and ex-USS Ramsey (FFG-2) have been designated as targets for missile and torpedo firing exercises for RIMPAC participants.

In an ironic twist, these ships, once proud vessels of the U.S. Naval Fleet, will complete their mission as recipients of friendly-fire target practice.

The exercise, called SINKEX, is a multi-nation naval exercise conducted to hone weapons-firing skills and proficiency. All four ships were sunk last week in waters at least 1,200 fathoms deep. The exercises were conducted at the Pacific Missile Range Facility, north of the Hawaiian Island of Kuai.

In preparation for deep-sea ocean sinking these decommissioned ships have met specific criteria outlined by the U.S. Navy and the Environmental Protection Agency. Prior to RIMPAC 2000, a very detailed environmental assessment was conducted in the Hawaiian Islands.

The environmental assessment determined that, although RIMPAC involves forces from several nations, the planned exercise events are similar to activities conducted routinely in Hawaiian Island military operating areas. Preservation of the environment and compliance with applicable environmental restrictions is a high priority for RIMPAC 2000. None of the planned exercise events are anticipated to pose any physical or long-term behavioral disruption to wildlife.

Decommissioned naval ships in the Pacific Fleet are towed to a storage facility often referred to as the "graveyard," located at the Pearl Harbor's Middle Loch. There, ships designated as SINKEX targets are prepared by Inactive Ships Maintenance Facility at Pearl Harbor.

The process involves removing all equipment and materials that could possibly corrode, breech and then contaminate the surrounding ocean depths. Prior to sinking, tons of materials and components of the ships' hulls are removed.

"Components such as chemical storage containers, floatation devices, radiation devices, all mercury gauges and heat sensors, freon containers, fuel tanks and fuel lines must be purged and cleansed," Quality Assurance Supervisor Walt Leonard said. "Loose paint and flaking rust must also be removed as it too, could pose a threat. If electrical wiring and components are exposed this must be ripped out as well."

Workers at the maintenance facility spend as much as three months preparing ships for scuttling. While the ships are being readied, an ocean site is determined for the ships to come to rest. Generally SINKEX sites are in excess of 1,200 fathoms below the surface, nearly a mile, to discourage divers from exploring the resting hulks.

The SINKEX exercises last week tested the missile targeting accuracy of navies from Australia, Canada, Japan, the Republic of Korea and the United States.

During the tests on June 13, the ex-Buchanan proved the most resilient. survived an initial barrage of three Hellfire missile hits, three harpoon hits and a 2,400-pound laser-guided bomb.

When the ship wouldn't sink that night, the next morning 200 pounds of explosives were added to send the ex-Buchanan to her final resting-place. The assaults against the ex-Ramsey and the ex-Gen. Hugh J. Gaffey were launched on June 15. Both vessels sank after taking multiple hits for more than an hour.

The exercise against the ex-Worden was conducted on Saturday, June 17. It sustained a continued attack from HMAS Adelaide (FFG-01), USS Tucson (SSN-770), and from F-14 Tomcat and F-18 Hornet fighters. The last blow was dealt from the air wings. The Worden took 90 minutes to sink leaving only bubbles, no debris. It sank Sunday evening at 6:01 p.m., thus completing the firing exercise.

In their final mission at sea, these Navy ships ended service providing valuable information and training for the next generation of naval ships and sailors who follow them.

A decommissioned Navy ship is being brought back into service June 16 for one final voyage -- a one-way trip to the bottom of the sea.

USS Worden (CG 18) prepares for its final voyage. The ship is the target of a sinking exercise during RIMPAC 2000. The sinking of the decommissioned Worden will not adversely affect the environment, according to a Navy environmental impact report.

USS Worden (CG 18), decommissioned in Oct. 1993 after 30 years of sea duty, will make her final appearance during RIMPAC 2000 off the Hawaiian shoreline, serving as a missile firing target to help sharpen the targeting skills of Gunners Mates aboard several U.S. Navy ships taking part in the bi-annual exercise.

In a twist of irony, the guided missile cruiser -- which in the past unleashed its firepower on America's enemies from the Vietnam War in the 1960s until the Desert Storm show of force in the Arabian Gulf in the early 1990s -- will ultimately sink under a barrage of U.S. Navy weaponry itself during it's final sea tour.

Worden was a past participant of the Rim of the Pacific Exercise, held every two years in the waters around Hawaii. More than 50 ships, 200 aircraft and 22,000 military personnel are involved in the exercise this year.

Commissioned in 1963, the 8,000-ton Worden was recipient of three Humanitarian Service Medals for the rescue of Vietnamese refuges.

Her other awards included the Navy Unit Commendation, two Meritorious Unit Commendations, the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, the Navy Expeditionary Medal, the Kuwait Liberation Medal, the Southwest Asia Service Medal, the Vietnam Campaign Medal, the Combat Action Ribbon, and the Sea Service Deployment Ribbon.

Several former crewmembers of the ships reportedly planned to be at Pearl Harbor to pay their final respects, as Worden is towed two miles off the coast of Oahu to become a Navy firing range target.

Navy Chief Petty Officer John T. McGriff, who maintains a website allowing past crewmembers of Worden to keep in touch with their former shipmates, reflected on losing a part of his past, recalling the highlights of life aboard the ship which was his first sea duty assignment (see "Former crewman recalls his tour of duty aboard USS Worden (CG 18).")

The sinking of the USS Worden will not adversely affect the environment, according to a Navy environmental impact report.

The vessel was selected from a list of U.S. Environment Protection Agency approved ships.

The hulk ship is towed to a designated location where multiple shots will be fired at the hulk.

Missiles fired will include an AGM-142 from a B-52 bomber, Walleye AGM-62 from FA-18 aircraft, and a Harpoon from a P-3C aircraft.

It will take approximately four hours to complete the sinking.

If none of the shots result in the hulk sinking, an explosive charge will be placed on the hull in order to sink the ship, officials said.

 

Tuesday, June 20, 2000

Last of 4 scuttled warships blasted to bottom in RIMPAC

Navy studies sinking to assist design of battle-ready vessels

By Donovan Brooks
Stars and Stripes

PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii - They don't go down easy, those warships.

Crippled and gutted, with all flood doors open, the last of four U.S. Navy gray ghosts sank in deep water near Hawaii on Saturday as part of a military exercise.

Sunk were the former USS Buchanan, Ramsey, Gen. Hugh J. Gaffey and, lastly, the Worden.

For the Worden, a maverick missile was the fatal shot, fired by a fighter from the USS Abraham Lincoln's air wing. The ship sank 90 minutes later, said Ralph Conway of the Pacific Missile Range Facility on Kauai. Conway supervised the weeklong exercise, which was part of the Rim of the Pacific, military exercises going on in and around Hawaii.

While the plane's air-to-surface missile was the final blow, it certainly wasn't the first. The assault on the old guided missile cruiser was first hit by the Australian HMAS Adelaide's arsenal. Then, the attack submarine USS Tucson hit the ship with a torpedo. But the missile damage was fatal, Conway said.

"The ships are designed well," he said. "They take a lot of damage."

The Buchanan proved to be the toughest of the old ships, frustrating American, Canadian and Australian forces who tried to sink her for more than 24 hours.

On June 13, the Buchanan took three hellfire missile hits, three harpoon missile hits and had a 2,400-poun d laser-guided bomb dropped on it. Still, it stayed atop the water. The next day, a Pearl Harbor explosives team returned and placed 200 pounds of explosive in the ship, set it off, and the ship sank in six minutes.

The Ramsey and Gaffey took on a barrage of missiles and bombs Thursday from a multinational flotilla. The Ramsey sank in about 90 minutes. But the Gaffey stayed afloat for eight hours, even after seven direct hits, Navy officials said.

Conway said the Navy would analyze what firepower was needed to sink the ships to understand how the vessel designs can stand up in combat situations.

RIMPAC spokesman Lt. Jeff Madsen said the ships were not subject to sometimes devastating secondary explosions from fuel or stored ammunition that might occur to a fully operational ship.

All the ships had been cleaned to standards agreed to by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Chief of Naval Operations, Conway said.

The ships all sank in water more than 14,000 feet deep, at least 50 miles from land, he said.

RIMPAC is a biennial military exercise taking place through July in and around Hawaii. About 22,000 military members from seven nations are taking part.

 

 

ADMINISTRATIVE MESSAGE

PRIORITY

P 181433Z JUN 00 ZYB

FM PACMISRANFAC HAWAREA BARKING SANDS HI//7333C//

TO CNO WASHINGTON DC//N43/N431/N44/N45/N863E//

INFO CINCPACFLT PEARL HARBOR HI//N3//

OGC WASHINGTON DC//AGC IE//

COMTHIRDFLT

COMCRUDESGRU THREE

COMDESRON THREE ONE

NAVINACTFLT PORTSMOUTH VA//00//

NAVUNSEAWARCEN DET WAIANAE HI//9024FL//

PACMISRANFAC HAWAREA BARKING SANDS HI//7333C//

UNCLAS //N03500//

MSGID/GENADMIN/PACMISRANFAC/7333C//

SUBJ/SINKEX REPORT FOR EX-WORDEN (CG-18)//

POC/RALPH CONWAY/GS-12/PMRF/-/TEL:DSN 471-6802/TEL:COMM 808-335-4802

//

RMKS/1. EX-WORDEN (CG-18) SANK FROM AGM-119,MK-82, AND AGM-65 DAMAGE

17JUN00 AT 18:01W (CONFIRMED BY PMRF UH-3H)

2. THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION WAS RECORDED:

A. COORDINATES OF SUNKEN VESSEL: 22:57.1N 160:00.2W

B. WATER DEPTH: 2,560 FATHOMS

C. WATER TEMP: 83 DEG F

D. DISTANCE FROM LAND: 51NM

E. VESSEL DISPLACEMENT: 4650 TONS (LIGHT)

F. VESSEL LENGTH: 533 FEET//

BT

NNNN