US Navy Ship loses anchor and chain

[@JP-in-OH]

Am I the only one who is binge watching anchor fails? Thanks KZbin...

[@atypical_moto]

Nope, I didn't know this was a thing until 3 videos ago. I'll be an anchor expert by nightfall.

[@pb7379-j2k]

This is my third one, they are remarkably similar. How many WEREN'T filmed???

[@KlaasDeSmedt]

on the same youtube train, 17u behind :s

[@Krokussify]

same here bros

[@SLACKLINEDUDE]

Jason Parrish too bad nobody stood over it with the chain moving in-between his legs, he would of been so cool.

[@TheGarryhall]

I have not viewed this video in over a decade. The good news was no one was killed in this incident. This took place in an extremely busy Hong Kong Harbor. I was on the bridge giving the orders during this evolution. The anchor is lowered to the bottom, chain is let out, the brake holds while the flukes are set. Once you are holding, chain is let out. It is the weight of the chain that holds a ship in position. The chain link in this incident gets wedged on the lip of the chain pipe. The brake men released too much brake to get the chain moving. When it finally broke free there was no friction and once the momentum built there was no stopping the chain. Everyone cleared the area quickly and injuries were prevented. The team shifted to the alternate anchor and we anchored quickly and safely. The anchors today are the same as they were in WW II and a replacement came from a mothballed WW II ship. This was a final port visit following a 7 month deployment with operations in East Timor, Somalia, and Kuwait where the crew and embarked Marines performed flawlessly. The guy in khakis with his hands in his pockets was a fresh minted knucklehead baby ensign onboard less than a month. Thanks for posting Haze Gray - That is all!

[@fkarno]

+Garry Hall Were the chain and anchor recovered?

[@fkarno]

+jo schmo (stepsider4life) The inboard end of the chain is connected to the chain locker but with a weak link - you want the chain to break loose before it pulls a chunk out of the hull.The fault here was not in the attachment of the bitter end but in the failure to supervise the two brakemen. Once the link is jammed in the pipe, you either wait until the pull of the anchor and the reverse motion of the ship free it, or you winch in a small amount to free the capsized link. Opening the brake excessively does nothing useful.There is no suggestion that BOTH chains were lost, as you suggest. This happened in Hong Kong harbour and my guess is that in such relatively shallow water the US Navy found and recovered their chain and anchor quickly and without much trouble. The total weight may have been over 100 tons, but you don't need to lift it all in one lump. Once you have a cable attached to the bitter end of the chain you just winch it back in.

[@fkarno]

+jo schmo (stepsider4life) (1). There is absolutely NOTHING on a ship that will resist the shock load of 104 tons of chain and anchor once it takes off. (2). The bitter end attachment has nothing to do with the brake and is never used as a brake. This particular type of brake works perfectly well and is still being fitted to new ships but on this occasion it was misused by unskilled sailors under a bosun who was not paying attention. Having a rookie ensign in charge made it a dangerous combination.

[@fkarno]

+jo schmo (stepsider4life) We will have to disagree on that. On a ship there is great merit in keeping things simple and if you make the brake hydraulic and have it controlled by a computer with a human pushing the buttons, there are far too many things that can go wrong. A mechanical brake still works even after the electricity has failed, the hydraulic hoses have burst and the computer has crashed. Remember, this accident was caused by the two dopes opening the brake too far. There has never been any suggestion that the system was not in perfect working order. It was simply being misused and no one spotted it. I agree with your view about the huge cast that was farting around, but that is the Navy for you. Even on the largest supertanker dropping anchor is done by two men - a brakeman to turn the wheel and a bosun who knows the drill.

[@ronniepaulinc]

+fkarno tractor trailers go down the road daily with millions and millions of miles operating on air brakes with redundant features with a single point of failure that is inspected routinely, and by routinely I mean once a day or more. Most drivers only pretend to do this inspection and the redundant systems still operate to perfection. The only time there is an issue with them is in a runaway due to steep grades and excessive speeds, this is driver error and will cost him his job.

[@Coiltec]

A good anchor drop is when the anchor reaches the seabed. A perfect anchor drop is when the anchor remains attached to the ship.

[@wendygoerl9162]

Hopefully with the ship still on the surface. (unless you're a submarine)

[@scorinth]

@@wendygoerl9162 Huh. I've never thought about submarines dropping anchor. I sort of assumed modern ones never do.

[@ShimrraJamaane]

​@@scorinth Can't find any information on Ohio-class (shocker) but I did find aft schematics on the Virginia-class: www.nr.edu/cadd/details/aftsectiondetail2.jpg

[@663rainmaker]

China China 🇨🇳 steels entire sunken ships 🚢 re cycle

[@663rainmaker]

@@scorinth Russia 🇷🇺 EVRAZ group of Moscow loves America 🇺🇸 very much? EVRAZ Chicago Illinois USA 🇺🇸 and EVRAZ Plc London United Kingdom 🇬🇧 plaY dough Nations

[@CurmudgeonExtraordinaire]

Back in my day, you wouldn't see a Chief standing around with his hands in his pockets like that. It was physically impossible since one hand had a coffee cup permanently attached to it. :)

[@concordiaranger2169]

When I stood torpedo room watch, I would require all Ensigns entering my room to continually snap both fingers. That way I knew where they were and they weren't touching anything.

[@cirian75]

and that cup was......never......ever......cleaned

[@Drewsky840]

@@cirian75 adds flavor

[@CurmudgeonExtraordinaire]

@@cirian75 -- To clean it would require sandblasting it...

[@Terryray123]

Or have a pissed off CS3/MS3 that girlfriend work at Starbucks and gave him coffee urn cleaner...

[@freds.6108]

I was a Marine onboard when this happened. It sounded like something was ripping the ship in half! Crazy to see it on video all these years later.

[@doctorgway]

I was on the ship as well. My now husband was also on the ship. He was a FMF Corpsman.

[@freds.6108]

@@doctorgway🙌🙌

[@steelfan77]

I remember it like it was yesterday. So glad no one was harmed.

[@Lost-In-Blank]

For those asking, if an anchor chain is firmly attached to the ship, and that anchor runs away, the part of the ship it is attached to will be ripped off, because the anchors immense weight gives it great inertia. You do not want a big part of the ship's hull or framework ripped off. So you let the anchor go and fish it up later.

[@seadogradio]

No idea what you are talking about.

[@SuperUltimateLP]

@@seadogradio there is a breakable connection on every ship with this heavy of a anchor, pre WW2 ships had them for the exact same reason. Of the anchorbreak fails or the chain locks on to something you don't want all this inertia stored in the moving ship to rip parts off your ship... The energy's involved on ships are mind bending... Just look at the HP numbers in ships.. they still aint fast but you need huge amounts of energy... So in conclusion.. you much rather lose a anchor and chain then to risk getting ripped apart from your own chain...

[@Poctyk]

So basically you are saying That the front would fall off

[@DarkRavin07]

@@Poctyk I mean if they where firmly mounted with no break off point, yea probably. I mean US destroyer chain is around 30ts and they only get bigger for bigger ships. Can't imagine any hull that could take a 30ton pull moving at free fall speeds.

[@justsayingforafriend7010]

No in the chain locker the chain is attached to the ship with the ship's wedding ring the wedding ring is designed to fail before the bulkhead is damaged. The pad I is installed to five times the strength of the ship's wedding ring.

[@royallhawaii]

I was on the USS Repose (AH-16) in Viet Nam 69-70. We not only lost one anchor AND chain, We then lost the flukes of the 2nd anchor off of the stem (the part where the chain attaches to the anchor) while trying to salvage the first anchor! This was 2 miles off of the coast just north of Da Nang. I was on the bridge with a radioman buddy to watch the action of "letting go" the anchor.. Didn't expect a show like that. On that old ship the anchor came all the way to the top deck and then out through the hawser.. When that chain came up through the deck, it was like a live snake! The loose end slapped the holey hell out of things on its way heading out hawser!! My friend sent me down off the bridge real fast as the Old Man's face was RED!! Lot of chatter from other ships in the fleet laughing at us for loosing both anchors!! Ah, the memories of an old guy!!

[@royallhawaii]

Thanks DS... They did find out why they lost the first anchor. Somebody didn't put a clevis pin back in correctly on the brake. So when they turned the brake wheel, nothing happened. They think the second anchors flukes broke off possibly from landing on the first anchor when looking for it. We'll never know for sure about that part.

[@oldi184]

Its really interesting. Thanks. btw Is this really that big deal? Loosing the anchor i mean? How many meters long is the chain? Sorry I am a landlubber. I know nothing about sea and ships :)

[@royallhawaii]

If a ship was always in perfect condition with no chance of ever breaking down and always tied up to a pier, they you'd probably never need an anchor. If there is a possibility that the ship may loose power, and you are in a crowded harbor, the anchor is your emergency brake! During the time our ship was with out anchors, we were not allowed into Da Nang harbor. If an someone in engineering, wasn't paying attention and "dropped the load" (lost power coming from the boiler) the she had no steering, no electric (until the emergency generator got started), and no propulsion, forward or reverse. It was Christmas time for us and we had the New Christy Minstrels (60's rock/folk music) on board. Weather was too bad for the helo to land to take them to their next gig. Finally the ship got special permission to make a high speed run into the sheltered water of Da Nang bay and got the helo on deck to get our passengers off in the calm air inside the ring of mountains. To do that though, both boilers had to be on line at the same time... I know.... long story Hope you found it worth the read!! LOL Hope it all made sense!

[@wangruochuan]

So New Christy Minstrels knew what happened there? I wonder what did they say haha.

[@royallhawaii]

Yeah, they were told.. They had to stay with the ship for 2 or 3 days until we had permission to go into DaNang harbor where in the shelter of the mountains, a chopper came in and took them to their next gig...

[@HouseGurke]

"And that's the story of how I almost lost my life" "Yeah, that chain sure was dangerous" "Actually, I was talking about what happend after we lost the anchor"

[@just-dl]

I'm sure the conversation with the CO was....memorable. I mean, I've lost books, bags, screwdrivers, even an voltage tester....but, 208,000# of chain and anchor? um...."sorry boss" just doesn't seem sufficient!

[@1notgilty]

So, did the Captain make the Chief swim down and pull up the lost anchor and chain? Rumor has it that he was thrown over the side and is still down there looking for it.

[@dartmaster501]

@@1notgilty wasn't a chief. Was newbie ensign.

[@ahmedabdullah8700]

Comin outta ya pay!

[@geometricart7851]

@@just-dl Yeah I bet even an Admiral got chewed out on that one.

[@russellthorburn9297]

Every single OSHA inspector fainted while watching this.

[@akamano5]

..ha.. i am not sure .. but I think the military doesnt have to deal with OSHA...!!!..

[@atypical_moto]

Think of the gas mileage they'll get now though.

[@machine-shopbilly6584]

Lmao

[@JamesSpeiser]

haha

[@jeremyturn8516]

Far better acceleration

[@RickRoss440]

@@jeremyturn8516with no brakes tho

[@ScoutSniper3124]

That's what Navy Divers call "Job Security"

[@stevelee3264]

And what the taxpayers think is a waste of money.

[@brianbaird1503]

@@stevelee3264 who gives a flyin freak what they think .....

[@Ass_of_Amalek]

are you implying that they recover anchor chains? I don't think so.

[@TheAlmightyFather]

@@Ass_of_Amalek depends on the depth. But at 180 fathoms I doubt.

[@johnmarshall4442]

@@TheAlmightyFather Sat dive training.

[@dbaider9467]

What shocks me most about this is that no one in 2001 is wearing a mask to protect themselves against the iron oxide dust coming off the chain...that (magnetic) dust in your lungs screws up x-rays (short term) and is very bad in an MRI (possibly long-term). Hope they have amended that practice in the 16 years since...

[@slowpoke96Z28]

That dust is from the failing brake. It wouldnt normally be so thick.

[@tnekkc]

[-]Denroll 291 points 3 years ago Here's what happened: First, they were likely veering the chain out. This is done after setting the anchor. When you release the brake to drop the anchor, it comes out very fast due to the massive weight of the anchor. When setting the anchor, you usually release enough chain to equal 3 times the depth of the water. For example, in 30 meters of water, release 3 shots of chain. 1 shot equals 15 fathoms, or 90 feet. Once this amount of chain is payed out, the brake is set "two-man tight" (insert mom joke here). The ship will be backing down to "set" the anchor in the mud/sand/shell bottom and they will determine if the anchor is holding. If it is holding, then they will veer out more chain. You typically veer to 3-5 times the depth. The two guys turning that wheel were on the brake. They were turning counter-clockwise to release the brake. Quite often in relatively shallow water, there will not be enough weight of the chain payed out to pull the rest of the chain out of the chain locker. That's why it was moving so slow as opposed to how it whips out violently when you drop anchor. The ship should have had on an astern bell to help "pull" the chain out. Big ships like TARAWA are steam driven and take lots of time to come up in speed. When the chain was not feeding out ofter the brake was released, they kept turning, and turning, and turning. There were way too many turns taken off and the brake was nowhere near the engagement point. The ship probably got some sternway (reverse speed) and then the chain was finally pulled out of the locker. When they realized they needed to set the brake, they had to undo all of those needless turns, which is why you could see them frantically turning clockwise. This is just my educated guess from watching the video.

[@NickPopGamezAndTutorials]

wow thanks

[@aculasabacca]

Yes they turned way too many times.

[@jeremywestern7067]

No you are mistaken... The chain is set to roughly FOUR furlongs past the depth marker or eleventy fathoms over the chains plimsoll settings to compensate for tidal drift... Please do more research in future before commenting

[@treegone]

I'm struggling with these weird measurements. How many football fields in a furlong?

[@tnekkc]

Wikipedia is ok if not political. Furlong is 220 yards = 666 feet = 2.2 football fields.

[@hokaloah100]

Its hard to believe that was 12 years ago now. I remember we were all waiting to go ashore in hong kong. I have to admit, our first reaction down in the engineering spaces, when we heard that the boatswains had lost our anchor, was to laugh. We weren't laughing 6 hours later while still waiting for the captain to sort things out so we could go ashore.

[@benthomas1545]

21 years now

[@bodypilot2006]

I remember the same, we actually didn't know what the hell was going on as ACE marines, we were just getting restless sitting there in our shop. Until they told us that they dropped the anchor in the bay, and we pretty much all laughed and said figures.

[@jkhsdjkhfjkhh3]

@@benthomas1545 22

[@steveredacted1394]

Now for a brisk round of "Who tells the Captain?"

[@jeremybenvenuto8862]

1,2,3 NOT IT!!

[@scottthornton9237]

Hopefully it was that junior Ensign! (With his hands in his pockets)

[@DekkerDavis]

Rock...paper...sizzors 🤣

[@wwilcox2726]

LMAO!

[@timothyrobinson2387]

The "greenest" sailor on the ship, I suppose. Or the cook.😂😂😂

[@martinaltria5863]

That is some huge fish to take a hook that size and run away with it like that !!!

[@Nupetiet]

Pffaahahaha nice

[@ronstokes8558]

Nupetiet n

[@hse6144]

Gonna need a bigger boat.

[@timsebastian5758]

Wonder what kinda bait they used?

[@jakedasnake9247]

ok boys were going whale fishing today

[@BornAgainCynic0086]

Not lost, they know exactly where it is... not onboard!

[@centralpicks]

+Jeff H Woah that's so funny.

[@SilverMe2004]

It is also not on the moon

[@ericluk68]

If so, nobody has ever lost money to casinos because all they know that their money goes to the casinos' bank account.

[@mainjockeynumbaone]

Navy joke....

[@Elfnetdesigns]

yeah it's right under the ship...

[@visionist7]

"Eh, I never liked that anchor anyways"

[@KneelB4Bacon]

Folks forget that the individual chain links can weigh a couple hundred pounds each and with each passing second that the chain pays out, you're adding another ton to the overall weight. The more chain that goes into the water, the harder it is to brake.

[@crankbv1]

Catzilla; I was just about to make that same comment re the chain accelerating under its own weight. You said it all I think.

[@TheEvertw]

No. The length of chain in free-fall is limited by the depth of the anchorage. The weight of chain pulling was pretty much constant after the anchor was seated. As they let out 45 fathoms when seating the anchor, there probably was about 30 fathoms of chain actually pulling. Still a lot of weight...

[@hdj81Vlimited]

@@TheEvertw 9.81N/m gravity force is the max.

[@peanutdecided6256]

@@hdj81Vlimitedhis point was that once the anchor is on the seafloor, the only force pulling on the boat comes from the length of chain between the floor and the boat because as you let more chain out, the same amount of chain at the other end starts to rest on the floor. since they were in a harbor, the anchor and much of the chain was already in a resting state

[@Hawaiian80882]

12 years in the Marine Corps...spent sometime onboard ships, those Navy folks are some of the hardest working folks out there. Thanks be to God no one was hurt or worse when this took place.

[@dLimboStick]

The sea was angry that day, my friends - like an old man trying to send back soup in a deli.

[@Garymayo]

Titlest

[@dLimboStick]

@@Garymayo A hole in one!

[@walterkostecke4508]

But I don't want to be a pirate.

[@schlaznger8049]

I realize the military likes everything to be clean but this seems like a ridiculous way to wash the anchor and chain.

[@Vigneto]

You win.

[@gtc1961]

+schlaznger I was never on the f'ocsle when they let the anchor go but I was there (on two aircraft carriers) for various ceremonies and that place was always spotless....I always admired the Boatswain's mates for how well they took care of that area.

[@BigMan798]

+Zach 2 Zach's give you a thumbs up

[@ivegasliveentertainmentinc4698]

gtc1961 BMs are simply the best, PERIOD!..... at cleaning tho.... 😩😭

[@delphilungwyn5308]

This wouldn't happen on a merchant ship.

[@psychopyro5781]

"That's coming out of your paycheck, Johnson."

[@kleetus92]

Nah, just the taxpayers.

[@88mike42]

Officer: Who's the lowest rank here? E-2 Jones: Seaman apprentice Jones sir. Officer: Jones, this all your fault. It's coming out of your pay!

[@Palmerrip]

Amazing how quickly the officer goes from being calm and collected to blaming everyone for loosing the anchor instead of taking responsibility.

[@larrycurrier290]

Of course s*** rolls downhill in the military

[@jayztoob]

No, not amazing at all. It was expected.

[@gegwen7440]

Guess they promoted the idiot after this.

[@GrasshopperKelly]

He'd been on board about a month at most. It was his first station on a ship too.

[@robertf3479]

@@GrasshopperKelly A freshly minted Ensign, first assignment is to Deck Department, likely First Division with around 15 or 20 men under him. The most junior of the enlisted under him probably had more sea time than the Ensign did, the Petty Officers and Chief or Chiefs would (probably) put up with him though I had a Boatswains Mate Senior Chief who would tell the Ensign "go stand in the corner over there and just watch, don't try to interfere ... (begrudgingly) sir."

[@annehaight9963]

It got real quiet in there all of a sudden.

[@Nozerone]

That's when someone knew they fucked up. =P

[@McGuire2778]

+Draggon Reaper yep. I was in that ship. Don't remember what happened to that Boatswain. But it wasn't his only duck up that cruise. We broke a gangplank on his watch too. Trying to remember his name.

[@MeanBeanKerosene]

How deep was he in for losing, what is effectively, the brake?

[@McGuire2778]

Cherry Ripe well he ordered too many turns, allowing the chain to much free fall. There was no stopping it at that point. His impatience got the better of him. But what do you expect from leadership who's walking around with his hands in his pockets? It's my understanding both really happened to him. I'm sure a majority of the blame fell on the skipper. There was a change of command days later. Probably just got brushed aside. I seem to recall that the new skipper was all ready in route before the incident. But I'm not sure. Read more through the comments. I'm pretty sure someone else said the Bosin got a transfer and a promotion. Not that the promotion means all that much. Is performance evaluations probably didn't reflect the timeframe in which all this happened.

[@devontecaples1993]

+McGuire2778 damn I'd be nervous

[@BuckingFastard]

bet that made a good artificial reef somewhere.

[@pforce9]

No way. They send a diver down and he attaches a messenger and they pull the end of the chain back into the ship.

[@BuckingFastard]

ah dang, guess thats a lot of money to just let waste and a free divers life huh lol

[@JustCallMeChad]

pforce9 depends on how deep it actually was there. The RECORD is 1,090 feet. I doubt navy divers go much below 2-300

[@pforce9]

JustCallMeChad I do not think that they would try to anchor in a thousand feet of water.

[@fkarno]

+pforce9 -- Certainly not in Hong Kong harbour, where this happened.

[@BaffinSailor]

This title needs to be changed to “How a Chief loses his anchors”

[@tomjeffersonwasright2288]

About 1:20 you can see 2 guys loosening the brake by turning a big wheel on a threaded rod, and loosening it more and more and more. When it was time to slow the chain, they couldn't tighten the brake in time. In the merchant marine, where we have to buy our gear, we never let the anchor run out unbraked. The momentum of all that falling chain is so great that when it runs wild you can't stop it, and it snatches the welded shackle out of the bulkhead as in this video. We don't expect much from naval officers, but the Bosn should have known better. Probably an inexperienced third mate in charge, dummies on the brake, and the Bosn absent.

[@rusticbox9908]

+tom jackson They don't have to pay for it.....=/

[@BeardMan01]

+Phillip Li They don't, but we do.

[@rightlane7738]

Taxpayers pays for the lost anchor.

[@jawadad802]

+ they'll pay for the recovery too...

[@lexturner2365]

Was the bos'n a male or a WITS?

[@82MB240D]

The last chain link is the "weak link," which is the one that is made up in 2 halves and is put together with molten lead or some other metal that is designed to break when the anchor rode runs out of control. The weak link is there so that the bottom of the ship doesn't get ripped out.

[@astrobookwormsinger]

So it's at the end of the danger zone?

[@marvinwerner1180]

"Just give us a little more chain there." *almost blows up ship in longest, most epic chain drop of all time*

[@joesapiens2871]

it was at this moment that sailor Jimmy knew he messed up.

[@Pro1er]

Some magnet fisherman is going to cash in big time!

[@92HondaEX]

interesting to watch them trying to pull up 200,000 Lbs of anchor and chain...

[@formy5287]

LOL

[@tomthecat268]

bit by bit I guess

[@vincentcastellano4072]

it can be done easily in water....

[@vincentcastellano4072]

just need a little bit of air.

[@Ronrook1]

I was stationed aboard the Tarawa in 81 as part of a Marine onboarding team that rotated marine helos and their crews. Great duty and a great ship.

[@GasCityGuy]

Note to Chief: You're supposed to be setting the example.... get your hands out of your pockets.

[@jacobjames1171]

I noticed that.

[@scottentopper9344]

No shit.

[@conin76]

+GasCityGuy "air force gloves"

[@tc1uscg65]

+JIMMY JIMMY LMAO.. good one.

[@vincent7520]

+GasCityGuy Hands out of pockets do not make you a chief !…

[@jimothyfarthammer]

It's okay. The chain had one of those foam floaty things on it. They turned the boat around and scooped it right up. Easy peasy.

[@AffordBindEquipment]

I don't often laugh at comments but yours just made me laugh and laugh! thanks for the chuckles! You made my day!

[@RoninYoutube]

Yep a 2 ton chain can have a flotie device now lmao

[@simonwatts8338]

Somebody will have salvaged it, worth too much money.

[@inversie3596]

It's actually a 104 ton chain

[@johnfraser8158]

Yeah like the one you put on your keys?

[@derekschwartz6457]

I was on board when this happened as an airmen on the flight deck and when that chain broke loose we knew someone had fucked up. Solid work goes to boats thank God no one was hurt. And that tall skinny kid in the in khakis at the end was an Ensign straight out of Annapolis with 3 weeks on board.

[@red_d849]

i…dont think you know which ship this is

[@red_d849]

even though i dont

[@Grey_Duck]

I guess I just sort of always assumed the other end of the chain would be attached to something...

[@dillonh2118]

it's in case they must rapidly detach from it in combat

[@Grey_Duck]

Little Jimmy Ah I suppose that makes sense.

[@tc1uscg65]

+Little Jimmy Maybe the snipe in the chain locker lost his grip.

[@squidb8]

it was. it's attached to a bulkhead in the chain locker by a breakable link which is designed to part before the bulkhead does.

[@billrussell7672]

+tc1uscg wtf no snipes in bousun locker bad man baaad man blame snipes

[@Jason7t]

Magneto would never have this problem.

[@BaffinSailor]

Need to reword the title. "How a Chief loses his anchors."

[@crucifyrobinhood]

lack of communication and poor judgement by COMMAND, not so much the deck crew. Logically, if your hook is holding without the brake, you DON'T NEED MORE SCOPE! The brake tenders should never have been allowed to unspool the brake like an aerobic exercise. By the time they got it back to engage, there was no fucking hope of stopping it. I got out in '89. I can't help but picture a bunch of women on deck of my old boat the USS Kalamazoo, AOR6, with the same shit happening. Precious. We had the exact same gear. I would also mention that the chain and anchor were never considered "ground tackle" in my day. That term was reserved for stationary, deck mounted tackle such as the pelican hook they should have engaged when the chain was tending with a moderate strain but not running. Duh. Lock the brake, set the pelican hook. What amazed me was the idiots crossing in front of the hawsepipe.

[@mikeu.s.n.9099]

I was part of the tackle crew. Our bosn was at fault. HE took like 70 turns off of that break, then put the break crewman back on. There is like 1 hour of video missing. He got impatient and by the time the ship started backing down, it was already to loose (the break). As far as walking in front of the hause pipe, what do you expect after what happened. No one would be in their right frame of mind.

[@crucifyrobinhood]

MIKE U.S.N. Not about to argue with someone who was there. I just think that the C.O. should have never called for another shot on deck when The chain stopped running. I'm gonna guess your Bos'n was a mustang with a chip on his shoulder, just like ours was. I was the bullnose phone talker for sea and anchor for two years. I saw some wild shit and could probably write a book on Anchorage and mooring do's and don'ts. I meant that I was surprised that ANYONE crossed the hawsepipe while this shit was happening. Man people just don't know how close we came to losing our nuclear shit and all hell breaking loose in the late 80's. Whew, glad we made it. Fair winds and all that, bro.

[@mikeu.s.n.9099]

CrucifyRobinHood he had a huge chip on his shoulder. But since he was the bosn he was in charge. The c.o. left it up to him. It was always like that. He just got impatient bevause of the choppy water. He booted the rig capt. Then tried to put it all on him. That day was the c.o.'s last day. The next day capt. Clark took over. He was the old capt. From the tripoli that hit a mine I think in desert storm. That guy made us hang a small anchor form the captains gig out of the haws pipe and pulled in from deployment with that anchor facing the pier.

[@crucifyrobinhood]

MIKE U.S.N. Oh shit. I can see that seven pound Danforth hanging from the hawsepipe. Classic. P.S. I hit your "follow" button just for shiggles. We were lucky. Our first loouie hated the Bos'n and outranked him. We only saw him during unrep. (the Bosn) He rarely opened his mouth. For the record, CWO3 Rosado was a perfect example of advancement through ethnic leverage. He was from San Berdoo, which says all I needed to know about him. Anecdote: Tying up to a fuelling pier in Sicily amid thousands of anti-nuke demonstrators on the pier. I was at my bullnose position as phone talker. The tug cast off our storm line and pulled away fast, tangling the tug's line handlers foot in the messenger. I screamed; SLACK THE STORM LINE! as the catenary lifted and I watched some Sicilian guy's foot launch a couple hundred feet into the air, missing the body. The BMCM FLIPPED OUT! WHO THE FUC* DO YOU THINK YOU ARE GIVING ORDERS ON MY FOC'SLE?? I got 45&45 plus a loss in rank for that episode. No idea what happened to the Sicilian guy. We left within 12 hours amid a shower of paint filled balloons. (blood red, of course)

[@crucifyrobinhood]

***** Sorry, bud. The small anchor was an insult to the guys that lost the anchor in the first place. Kind of like the new Capitan saying,"we screwed up, we know it" to the rest of the fleet. The anchor they lost weighed several tons, that's why the idea of a seven pound anchor hanging where the original anchor belonged is pretty funny. Back in the 80's, many nations protested "nuclear ships" by throwing paint balloons at any large U.S. vessel. I actually had to stand at the top of the ships boarding ladder for four hours with a .45 pistol threatening to shoot anyone who tried to board. I was 19 and scared to death.

[@RobbieHatley]

Why did the brakemen unscrew the brake so far? From 3:58 to 4:22 I see the brakemen turning the brake wheel CCW 41 turns! Why wasn't someone telling them "don't open the brake that far"? The dude with the white helmet and his hands in his pockets was watching them, but did not appear to intervene. Instead, he turned his back and walked away (towards us) at 4:18. At 4:24 when the chain suddenly starts unspooling out of control, the brakemen are madly trying to close the brake, but by then, it's probably already too late to save the anchor and chain, which exit stage right 1 minute later at 5:26 .

[@WalrusofOz]

+Robbie Hatley Why didn't somebody put their foot on it?

[@James-pc1ku]

+David Miller Why doesn't somebody think of their own comment to write ? Instead of using somebody else's joke from a similar video ?

[@RobbieHatley]

David Miller : Because, this picture: cdn.c.photoshelter.com/img-get/I0000iCqKcnhr0lE/s/600/600/3008709.jpg

[@WalrusofOz]

+Jamie Vorne Maybe I never saw that comment.

[@kimfucku8074]

+Robbie Hatley Ouch! Extreme nail clipping gone wrong.

[@robkitchen1388]

Who the hell walks around on ship with his hands in his pockets? You keep your hands-free in case you have to grab something.

[@ceebeegeegee8293]

Like the end of the chain?

[@faraelwilldabeast9951]

He was out of coffee. I blame the non-rate.

[@daddyrabbit835]

The camera man missed the money shot.

[@_monti142]

also missed death

[@mrreymundo5383]

My suspicion is he is looking directly at the event, rather than through his screen, and loses his aim.

[@AgentJayZ]

By the looks of the video, somebody was hammering on both knees the whole time. Jeez.

[@V0YAG3R]

Dan Vaught Don't worry, your mom didn't 👌🏻

[@Cybakilla]

They hide behind something because there is a chance of the chain whipping around and hitting someone, killing them.

[@jebby16]

Well, at least the boat is a lot faster now.

[@jeremywestern7067]

What boat?

[@McGuire2778]

Technically it's a ship.

[@butwhowasmoto2739]

....USS Tarawa. And dont be a smartass and say 'its a ship not a boat'

[@McGuire2778]

Lol. It was more joking than being an ass.

[@kirknelson156]

I was on the USS Bellaue Wood, and we called it the Drift Wood after losing both boilers and drifting for 3 days. :)

[@dangusprime]

having been stationed on an LHA, I can say first hand those chain rings are M-A-S-S-I-V-E pieces of solid metal, you wouldn't want to have one of those dropped on your toe, much less get smacked by one of them.

[@gregstewart8771]

Does anybody notice the flash pic of the guy at 1:55?

[@jensrobot]

ahahahah leleleolololol, i certainly did not, thanks for the heads up

[@christophernava2284]

that's some ghost story of editing that piece out. Just like Stephen King pop ups in his movies. lol that or wanted to take a camera shot then back to video soon as possible.

[@Dollar_Menu]

Greg Stewart 1:56.5

[@Krokussify]

lol wtf

[@MuchTooStress]

Greg Stewart Tyler durden?

[@andrewcampbellski]

From my experience (on sailing yachts only) the anchor is dropped on the brake to speed the process up as lowing it on the windlass would take a very long time as they are slow. In answer to the "Is the water that deep" question the answer is no because you should always let out 4x the water depth of chain so that a) The anchor is pulling along the seabed and not up, and b) the chain on the seabed provides some grip as well as the anchor itself. I hope this helps.

[@heitorq7795]

the "fresh minted knucklehead baby ensign" didn't fail, you did.

[@BB1951]

"Weigh anchor!" "Twenty tons sir!" "You idiot!!"

[@bcubed72]

Gilligan!!!

[@angelajohnson6659]

And the minnow's anchor would be lost.

[@angelajohnson6659]

Looks like the anchor could use a little wd40!

[@gsus106]

hahaha on merchant vessels only 2 people are on the forecastle to drop the anchor and here are like 20 people and they still mess it up.

[@briane173]

Too many cooks spoil the anchor drop....

[@gravelydiggs2139]

I put this magilla into commision in 1976. Decommissioned and sank off Hawaii few years ago. First of its class. I was on a five year enlistment and one of the last plank owners rang off the quaterdeck when my enlistment was up March 1980.

[@doggonemess1]

Holy crap - is that orange cloud iron oxide dust?

[@mauart.7893]

And people breathing it as fresh air!!!

[@tbob8212]

mau art. Gives new meaning to the term "Iron Lung"

[@HighAway]

that is rust dust! rusty dust! dusty rust!

[@PETE4955]

Hmm very rusty anchor not good for the studs .

[@Chris_Wolfgram]

You mean I watched a 6 min vid, only to have them look away with the camera, right when the chain snapped ?

[@matthewhaverkamp8657]

The camera man probably didn't want to get squashed.

[@philyew3617]

It didn't snap. It's not attached to anything.

[@Endlesspathable]

Be interesting to know what the lesson's learned here are: 1) Get smarter chief's? 2) Have a factual idea of depth to anchor? 3) Better communication environment? 4) Get rid of spectator/clowns in AO? 5) All of the above?

[@johnmastrangel7317]

That's a lot of rust and paint for the shipmates to be sucking into their lungs, shouldn't a respirator be worn when dropping anchor? I'd hate to think the insurance companies are just concerned about a positive urinalyses.

[@McGuire2778]

I was an air dale on that ship when it happened. This is my first time seeing the video, but I was wondering why they didn't wear respirators myself.

[@wildmanofthewynooch7028]

It's Fucking US Navy they aren't worried about a little rust in the lungs and by the time most if these kids get problems from it it will be impossible to prove to the VA that is what caused their lung cancer.

[@McGuire2778]

Wildman of the Wynooch actually, while I cannot speak for other commands, that ships crew was usually pretty vigilant about making sure people had respirators when they were needed. That Bosin was a mook to begin with as it was.

[@devontecaples1993]

smh that's fucked up

[@wildmanofthewynooch7028]

Devonte Tell me about it!

[@desertswo]

It was attached. The so called "bitter end" is attached to the bulkhead in the chain locker. However, it's not really designed to handle that sort of strain. Better it let go than some structural damage done to the ship's hull plating or stringers. Nor was the chain too short. What you see there is the "perfect storm" of anchoring casualties. The enclosed fo'c'sle precluding a view of events from the pilot house is the 1st issue. Can't be helped, but seeing is believing. Captain, USN(Ret)

[@puirYorick]

It seemed like when the chain became stuck partway they just kept on releasing way too much braking then once it came free they essentially no longer had any braking pressure on the chain. A procedural error. Someone in the room needed to take control of what was happening instead of just blindly relaying instructions. Safety relies upon personnel 1) knowing and 2) following a sensible routine regardless of who is barking at them. The brake guys were past the point of having control yet they kept doing the same. The leadership (in the room - not the OD) needs to comprehend the physics of what's happening with the machinery not just parroting what he's being asked for. If there's a problem, give feedback. Masked material failure aside, there's no excuse for this. Hopefully nobody was maimed by this.

[@MrLentomannen3]

Late reply, yes I think I hear "open it full" at 3:55. That was the mistake.

[@PETE4955]

Was that anchor chain lack of maintenance?

[@puirYorick]

@@PETE4955 Chains become tangled sometimes and there would be a CORRECT procedure for recognizing the issue and dealing safely with that. Continuing to blindly open up the braking mechanism as shown here even faster was NOT a correct way to try and fix it. In large groups and organizations (not only the USN) with regular periodic turnover in personnel and internal training by team members who were themselves shown how to do a task then considered qualified to teach so their own instructor could leave you will often get quickly to a state where students essentially are teaching new students things that the supposedly qualified ones may have DONE but do not actually UNDERSTAND THE SCIENCE FOR. This is what happens three or more generations down that timeline for such a group. At least three levels of *authority* but nobody there who actually knows what they're supposed to do in all situations. Just barking orders and blindly obeying. Hopefully things have changed since this was recorded.

[@kpolenz9772]

A big part of the problem might have been the Chief running around with his hands in his pockets. If you were ever in the Navy- you'd understand.

[@clintonbecker9276]

Not just the navy sir, in the army also.

[@ramairgto72]

Clinton Becker Never put my hands in my pockets.. If I remember right, the Jar Heads called pockets "Army gloves".

[@clintonbecker9276]

Lol, most likely. Damn leather necks anyways.... Lol ;)

[@terrible0ne]

K Polenz Yep, I think it was out 1st division chief that always stood around with his hands in his pockets. My divisions Chief did do, but that was to stop his hands from shaking from years of alcohol abuse (I assume).

[@MrSkypony]

K Polenz Im not navy and this might be a dumb question but isn't the end of the chain hooked to something so this can't happen or is the end of the chain not secured?

[@mrwhiteinca]

why does everyone in the navy look like a janitor?

[@Argaia]

*****and THAT, son, is how a man defeats a troll. (nice work Colonel =D )

[@RandominityFTW]

John Johnson Do you know ANYTHING about the military? All service members are janitors.

[@cleverusername6233]

kilrassclown because being in the navy is highly gay.

[@cleverusername6233]

^^^dumbass alert^^^^

[@cleverusername6233]

Shit wrong video comment, sorry ryan, on mobile lol

[@MrSivram28]

I was always nervous dropping the anchor. You gotta know what your doing. You only release the anchor gradually, not keep turning the wheel. WTF

[@Gunners_Mate_Guns]

Yep I was a Gunner's Mate, so I didn't have to deal with this particular evolution, but I hoped that the anchor detail team all had men who were appropriately wary while doing it to avoid things going sideways.

[@jo2lovid]

Amazed the stanchion didn't come loose at 6:16 when the end of the chain wrapped briefly around the post. It certainly took some paint off.

[@whiskerbiscuit6209]

Rip everyones long term hearing that werent wearing protection.

[@tlew1588]

All that build up and he flinched on the money shot. Can't say I wouldn't do the same though

[@TheEvertw]

That loose end of chain will cut a man in half...

[@unusualbydefault]

@@TheEvertw nah it wont _cut_ a man it half, only "tenderize" him xD

[@kyle3427]

my friend, as the video noted the total weight of the ground tackle (anchor and chain) of this particular ship was over 200,000 lbs. All ships have what is called a 'weak link at the very end of the chain that is attached to a bulkhead (wall) in the chain locker designed to break in a scenario such as this. Even if it were possible to stop the chain at that last shot you won't find a windlass (electro-hydraulic motor that controls the anchor) strong enough to pull that weight back up.

[@jamesepperson5940]

Could one ever be made though? To handle that kind of weight

[@handyman75657]

The total weigh would NOT be on the motor. Only the dead weight that was suspended off of the bottom. The majority of the weight was resting on the bottom already. The only weight against that motor would be the suspended chain at whatever the depth was. Possibly 2 shots at most.

[@duanewhite3184]

I think I'd be wanting a mask or respirator to be wearing breathing in all that rust from that Rusty chain

[@BePositiveMindset]

The quickest way to get more iron in the blood.

[@texasrox2010]

I think you're a wimp3

[@i.i.iiii.i.i]

@@BePositiveMindset your blood will start to rust

[@BePositiveMindset]

@@i.i.iiii.i.i It helps with hemoglobin production.

[@i.i.iiii.i.i]

@@BePositiveMindset Yeah but sadly our lungs aren't made to consume solids xD Regularly inhaling iron results in welders lung...

[@eat_ze_bugs]

Money well spent.

[@edbo10]

+Kevin Yeoh you know this is in Hong Kong harbour right - shallow water, they can recover the anchor and chain quite easily.

[@TechnikMeister2]

+edbo10 "quite easily"....all 120 tons of it! It seemed to me that the chain was bound up in the chain locker making it feed slowly. this made the brake guys loosen off too much. If it had been a smaller chain it would have whipped and probably killed everyone there. In our Navy a similar accident occurred. The tail came out a full speed, 32ft/sec, whipped and cut a guy in two at the waist

[@cartwright420able]

+Stephen A got any video of that?

[@ryanbcatatarea51]

+cartwright420able IF there's footage it's probably on LiveLeak somewhere.

[@johnnyfedpost1776]

I thought your profile pic was a... something else😂😂😂😂

[@Ry_Guy]

Somebody ended up doing some push-ups after that for sure. That sucks

[@cutecheetah8688]

Push ups are nothing compared to the curse of senior sailors.

[@kirbylee57]

the man in charge is the one that failed... or made a mistake, what ever.

[@UpcomingJedi]

RyGuy it doesnt matter. just requisition another. keeps anchor and chain makers employed.

[@kirbylee57]

Garras Porgratix Might as well. Might even have a celebration for the first drop of the new anchor.

[@Ry_Guy]

Terry Ilias Haha unfortunately, you are correct.

[@BlazingShackles]

208,000 pounds at $3 per lb is $624,000.

[@musicalsawpetewentworth6102]

They probably pinned the blame on the lowest ranking E-1

[@2Phast4Rocket]

+MusicalSaw Pete Wentworth : I am surprise neither the bosun nor the senior chief notice the situation. All the chiefs showed up after the mishap on the video and you have to wonder where the hell were they. In the Navy, even in bootcamp, you were taught to pay attention to details, and they neglected to do so

[@usnlynn79]

+2Phast4Rocket The chain link was caught on the lip of the Hawse, they released too much tension trying to get it unstuck and when it started going again there was no way they were going to get it stopped. You could tell by shot number 5 it was over. It was fun when the whole ship suddenly listed to one side and ships horns were going off all around us because we didn't stop where we said we were going to and began drifting into an oncoming ship lane.

[@ghstrdr110]

+Russell Lynn I take it you were there? I was on combat cargo and we were in our berthing space, which happened to be right near the forecastle. I feel bad for the salvage divers that had to dive in the Hong Kong harbor. remember the barge with a paddle wheel on the front that used to sail around picking up trash?

[@usnlynn79]

+Joshua Rewerts I was there, TACRON ELEVEN attached to ships staff. Was actually up on top of the super structure and watched another ship swerve around us blowing its horn because we didn't stop and were headed into their lane. They had to get a replacement off a WW2 ship, that one disappeared into the muck. I heard a marine tried to get the dive team to recover a radio he'd dropped and they laughed at him.

[@ghstrdr110]

That's damn funny. Well they did get it back out. But like I said as nasty as that water was, I'd hate to be on the dive team

[@marknoonan3285]

I served on the USS HALEAKALA AE-25. November 1990 to November 1992. When I reported for duty I noticed that the Starboard Anchor was missing. I was told that the Ship lost the anchor and ALL 12 SHOTS of it's chain in the South China Sea earlier that year.

[@brotherjim4875]

I just saw this. Back in '77 I was stationed on the Tarawa LHA-1. I painted that anchor while docked at 32nd. I tell ya, that anchor is cursed. I was in a skiff painting the bottom, they lowered a sailor down the chain pipe with a rope around his waist. Chief was in the viewing cage asked the sailor if he was alright, he shouts back "Yeah, I'm good Chief!" someone hears that and turns on the 14" pneumatic sander and it gyroscopes across both of his wrists... I look up and I am covered in a downpour of blood.... My first thought? do sharks come in this close to the dock?... heheh. That looked like the starboard side, the port side paint job was worse. Glad that anchor is far away from SD. I don't keep track of such things but, to my count that is twice that anchor embarrassed the Captain.

[@viperslate]

At 4:35 the Chef realizes that the speed and sound is not good and out of control. He has a sudden spike of fear and simultaneously knows he will be talking to the CO about what happened.

[@fkarno]

+313south -- The Chief (the Master Gyppo had nothing to do with it) will not be talking to the CO at all; the CO will be doing all the talking. This is known as an interview without coffee.

[@hermangonzalez6438]

ahhh good times, this happened in Hong Kong harbor, I was on the ship about to port. Had to use the long anchor after they lost the short anchor.

[@GhostDrummer]

And to think my anchor dropping binge started with one dropping on a tug...

[@GhostDrummer]

@A Guill I like that. Kind of like, same page different paragraph.

[@pip12111]

Hardly anybody in there, but when the chain go's everybody come out of the woodwork

[@hankschrader149]

ha exactly what I was thinking. and everyone was yelling after the fact!

[@AffordBindEquipment]

must be a govt. job...

[@darkshadow851]

Maybe it's because the many, many thousands of pounds of chain feeding out at an uncontrolled rate? Common sense kinda says to get the fuck out unless you're essential to trying to stop the chain. Same for yelling. No point to yelling and adding to the chaos when nothing will come of it. Express yourself a bit later, when people's lives aren't at risk anymore and instead just have a big shitty mess to clean up. Seriously common sense stuff...

[@McGuire2778]

Only essential personnel are allowed in the forecastle during anchor detail. Obviously, after the fuck up, everyone wanted to see what happened.

[@1949crewchief]

For 63 seconds that anchor room was considered the poop deck......

[@ph11p3540]

You got that right. No one breaks the laws of physics and gets way with it.

[@DICKBUTTPENISDRAGON]

What is the poop deck and why on this green Earth was it named that?

[@1949crewchief]

DICKBUTT PENISDRAGON its a deck of the ship that makes up the roof of a lower deck....i think its a molestation of a french word la poupe...my father was a cw in the navy

[@DICKBUTTPENISDRAGON]

1949crewchief Did your dad ever tell you any good stories you would be comfortable sharing?

[@1949crewchief]

DICKBUTT PENISDRAGON He flew the PBY Catalina and was shot down during an evacuation of injured Marines...he endured 6 months of being a p.o.w. where they nearly killed him. they broke his elbows and hips, drilled out his teeth....his strength and dedication encouraged me to join and fight, to do my part and make him proud....

[@BATTLECATT00]

Crew man " ah Cap, we lost the Anchor..." Cap: "WhAt???!!!, How that happen?" Crew man " Well, we just stood there and watched until the danger marker came up, and watched it go after that..." Cap:(rolls eyes..)

[@RickRufus1]

Live and learn I guess .Thank all those boys for their service.

[@lshaeffer78]

Man, I remember when this happened. I was part of Kilo 3/1 on deployment when this happened. I always wondered what happened after I heard we lost an anchor. Good thing no one was hurt.

[@slowpoke96Z28]

I can only imagine what that sounded like.

[@CenPapi]

You would think that they'd have something large at the end of the chain to keep it from leaving the chainlocker, although maybe that would tear up the deck and capstan. Or maybe some sacrificial steel bars through the links after the warning shot/danger shot, something that will snap but help slow down the chain enough for the brake to catch.

[@DeepDiving]

As nice as saving the chain and anchor would be - Nothing is pulling the entire 200,000lbs of chain and anchor up again - The last link is weakened so it snaps intentionally - It would take a chunk of the hull with it instead- that's 200,000 (approx) lbs of force you're pulling downward. I believe that's equivalent to a Blue Whale or a Spacecraft yanking on your vessel. Take these with a grain of uneducated salt!

[@PETE4955]

Think of the weight of an anchor and chain with that extention 180+ fathoms plus the inertia. It would cause extensive structural damage and dangerous. Cheaper to lose it.

[@Stryke607]

for a ship like this, the winch-breaks are surprisingly low tech. seriously, that must have been the same procedure like at least a hundred years ago.

[@SuperUltimateLP]

Yeah but with the forces involved on ships this is the only way.. The momentum, weight, inertia in ships is mind bending

[@emd40277]

Everyone comments about the incompetence of the crew and the officer in charge. Seems all were a (excuse the pun) a little rusty about the evolution. Maybe the entire department including the officer in charge should have been re - trained several times immediately before the real evolution took place. Fault ultimately lies with senior officers and senior enlisted. The one sailor who commented was right. Weigh the Ancor after being lubricated by the sea water and drop it again slowly under control. Damn lucky no deaths OR deafness. I'd introduce training curriculum and regular anchor detail training intervals and replace the managers.

[@Nozerone]

I think the word you're looking for is "evaluation"? Don't mean to be a dick, just saying because "evolution" there me off. I was trying to figure out what was evolving... I guess the situation?

[@asbestosisathing5997]

Well of course that's what they "should've done." It was a simple slip-up of two people, where their best logic and actions failed at the worst possible time simultaneously. Nobody's perfect, I guess.

[@nigelcarren]

Fascinating video, thank you. I looked in the comments but couldn't see anyone else asking if the chain was later salvaged, because this surely must be a VERY expensive item therefore worth the effort? Cheers 🍻

[@BoatsYoda]

Thank you for viewing. Yes, they did salvage it eventually.

[@nigelcarren]

@@BoatsYoda Thank you mon ami.

[@aethertech]

Enough rust on that chain to turn boston harbor red.

[@matthewclancy6985]

+aethertech the charles is already brown who needs the rust

[@ArielsPhotog]

Its sad to see this on my old ship ('86-'89). I can say that our crew was waaay more squared away than this crew. Thanx for posting BoatsYoda.

[@andrewyaden5209]

Every crew thinks they’re the best to ever grace the navy

[@Saved-by-Zero]

I was on the USS Peleliu LHA-5. Boatswains mate. When underway I was 4 hours on and 4 hours off. On the bridge, helm, lee helm, lookouts, messenger of the watch. When you're on the porch lookout you can see the harrier Jets and helicopters taking off and landing. Being on the bridge with them officers and knowing exactly what's going on. The best job I ever had.

[@atomant451]

How many plugs doe's it take to drop an anchor? who were all those people. God damn that explains the budget. What have you got , three people to a broom?

[@astrazenica7783]

Lucky those columns were there otherwise that was a big fckn whip heading for the cameraman lol

[@markgranger5791]

When the Tarawa came to the fleet in 78, she was the flag ship for amphibious squadron 7. On west pac one morning at quarters she was steaming to our port side about 500 yards when I noticed on her Island the number 1 had a white line over the top and an F and a T were on either side for a big FTN. It had to be someone in deck division that painted the island with FTN and he or they did it at night. I hope you read this that was funnier than hell, you had us laughing our butts off. Thanks.

[@kentison9143]

This also happened again that year. The difference was that we let out a lot of chain and the Chief told the Captain that we were showing a certain color of chain and we shouldn't let out any more. The Captain said, "I'm running this ship, let out more chain". The Chief motioned to me to let out the chain, so I turned the wheel to loosen the brake and the chain started again and the last link went into the water, again. Easily this time. The Chief told he Captain that we lost the chain, and the Captain said, " we have another anchor don't we, drop it". So we dropped the other one. Amazing. But true.

[@fohdeesha]

damn that's crazy! thanks for chiming in. I've never been involved in the armed forces or even ships in general for that matter so all these stories are very interesting to read

[@karikaripen2130]

HAHA, the captains never make an excuse for the things had done like the judges whenever they went wrong.

[@asbestosisathing5997]

...I can't even...

[@Gunners_Mate_Guns]

It sounds as if your old man was a micromanager. The chief is there for a reason, so let him run the show and don't lose patience with how long it takes to (safely) drop anchor.

[@kentison9143]

@@Gunners_Mate_Guns I think you have hit the nail on the head!!

[@islandmick6349]

Fuck being anywhere near that when it lets go!!! That sound....it sounded like someones career going overboard!

[@TheJagjr4450]

My dad talked about the experimental ship he was on losing the anchor in the Atlantic... destroyed the chain lockers, brakes were on fire, ripped the thimble and all through the side of the ship, he said the Boson Mate (?) was white as a ghost... Also about his ship being moored on the wrong side of the pier at tide change and stretching a 6" hauser to less that 2" in diam to the point it was smoking with multiple tugs to keep it from slamming into some special ship.

[@hellcatredeye-g6582]

Don't worry taxpayers can buy a new one🤔

[@akamano5]

..really..they probably just left it and got a new one..

[@ChrisRestores]

+art n with the our money lol

[@STAROBOSSNIK]

They don't. When a link broke off of the chain, and dropped the anchor on my father's ship he served on, the USS Missouri, they actually did get a salvage crew to recover the anchor and chain. I think there may be some maritime law against leaving something like that. Im not 100% sure.

[@blackbird8632]

+Caleb Starovasnik anchor get dropped quite frequently and some shore are littered with them. Very uncommon to recover since a new anchor is so much cheaper.

[@McGuire2778]

+Blackbird agreed. The cost of salvaging the anchor from the ocean floor is way more than the cost of a new one. Plus it actually aids wildlife on the ocean floor. Eventually it will rest away. Plus, that chain with lost off the coast of Hong Kong. Can't see the Navy sending salvage crew all the way out there just for a bigger chain.

[@kentison9143]

This happened on our ship, USS Maury AGS16 in 1967 in Subic Bay, Philippines. (could have been Hong Kong) I was at the windlass and my job to turn the wheel to tighten the brake to stop the chain, and it didn't tighten up. The chain kept running and the Chief Boats said, "clear the forecastle". we all ran back to a safe distance. It had always been said that if that happened the chain would really do a lot of damage. Nope. As the end of the chain ran out, only the last link flipped up a little and hit the gunnel as it went through.

[@tr4nsg0th1ca]

+Ken Tison and what happened to the crew who were dropping the anchor?

[@asbestosisathing5997]

Wait, this is your second comment? This comments section is freaky.

[@kentison9143]

@@asbestosisathing5997 yep, happened two times with me. Like I said though, 2nd time was the Captains fault.

[@kentison9143]

The Navy sent a recovery ship to find the anchor, and some how we got it back on the ship. I do not remember how.

[@kentison9143]

@@tr4nsg0th1ca no one ever said a word to me about it.

[@tmayorca8770]

This happened to the USS America somewhere just outside the Suez Canal but I could be wrong on location possibly off Oman as it was about 40 years ago. We also ran around outside the Suez around Port Alexandria on a sandbar. Sent up the SH-3 and it checked the depth. Next thing the Skipper has her plowing thru it!

[@memadmax69]

Us Machinist Mates down in the pit were like "What da fuq????" And after word would reach us of what had happened, we would be like "fuqin deck crew"....

[@faraelwilldabeast9951]

Better promote him because kicking him out takes awhile. But promotion transfers him faster.

[@douglasmasters9051]

Gives a whole new meaning to the phrase 'Anchors Aweigh'. I'd hate to explain THIS to the Captain.

[@JoelWelter]

Charles Cook You are correct. Perhaps he meant "Away"?? :)

[@douglasmasters9051]

Yeah...for a guy who loves the Navy I seem to be a little land-locked on my terminology.

[@JoelWelter]

No worries. It really went "Away."

[@SeaTraveller2000]

joel1239871 lol!!!

[@johnwilliamduke4110]

Seaman Steve Uriel was on board when the anchor was lost. His reaction: “Did I do thaaaat”?

[@JohnHansknecht]

Where is their hearing protection? They should be required to have dual protection foam inserts and ear muffs. Where is their respiratory protection? OSHA would have never approved this in a commercial setting. I don't see how they even allow personnel in the same space having to turn a big wheel for the brake. Why isn't this remote controlled via hydraulics and then just have an emergency stop if the hydraulics fail?

[@neoextream007]

Lol this is where osha gets all their findings lol the military gets screwed in the process lol trust me I know

[@Stryke607]

Really I think the biggest issue is how close the people operating the break are to the chain itself.

[@ITRIEDEL]

It's 2001.... OSHA was barely even a thing

[@chucksherron]

The way the chain comes out of the floor and I would say that they are in a relatively safe spot. When the chain whipped it went away from where they were standing.

[@drServitis]

OSHA??? This is the American military for god's sake! OSHA???

[@Mike-gz4xn]

Unfortunately the Navy are not professional mariners.. Too many people running these things. Anchoring evolution needs maybe three people to do it. The reason they lost the anchor was they loosened the break WAY to much... Why? Because they anchor was wedge in the hawser, so they though they had to keep loosing the break.. when the anchor started to fall, way to much break was open, and they couldn't close it in time.. when they did start to close it, to much momentum was on the anchor and they couldn't stop it..

[@usnlynn79]

+Marlinspike Mate "professional mariners" it isn't that, its that they are constantly training everyone to be able to do their job. Everyone is qualified to do most of the jobs in their department and several others on the ship. This was a FUBAR but observers are common, it isn't like all those people were involved in the process.

[@zereprd3911]

+Stevedore Ebb - Hey thanks for listing those. I'm not a sea farer, and thought that there would be enough career navy personnel to at least maintain some level of competency, but now I realize how important it is to keep up the military rolls just to be combat-ready.

[@MrWizardjr9]

i mean they get paid right so that makes them professional.