HMAS HOBART and USS FORRESTAL

Maker Ray Honisett (Australian, 1931 - 2019)

Date1991

Object number00015616

NamePainting

MediumOil on canvas

DimensionsOverall: 600 x 803 mm, 2.4 kg

ClassificationsArt

Credit LineANMM Collection Purchased with USA Bicentennial Gift funds

Collections

Ship portraits

Terms

DescriptionThis painting by Ray Honisett was commissioned by the Australian National Maritime Museum in 1991. It depicts a tragic fire on the flight deck of aircraft carrier USS FORRESTAL in 1967. A helicopter from HMAS HOBART (39) is taking a medical team onboard and a third vessel can be seen in the distance spraying USS FORRESTAL with jets of water. HistoryUSS FORRESTAL was launched on 11 December 1954 and was the first of the American aircraft supercarriers to be built. The vast deck space of FORRSTAL allowed the US Navy to transport greater numbers of aircraft out to sea. It also featured an angled flight deck so multiple planes could take off at the same time. FORRESTALs early service involved operations in the Suez Canal in 1956, in Lebanon in 1958 and Vietnam during 1967. It was during service in Vietnam on 19th July 1967 that a serious fire broke out amongst the aircraft on the USS FORRESTALs flight deck. This incident killed one hundred and thirty-four men, injured one hundred and sixty-one, destroyed twenty-one aircraft and cost the US Navy seventy-two million dollars. The carrier was repaired and used in a number of other operations and training exercises before being decommissioned on 11 September 1993 in Philadelphia. It is currently berthed in Newport, Rhode Island. SignificanceThis painting was produced by a prominent Australian artist and represents the fire onboard USS FORRESTAL on 19 July 1967.