USS Oriskany Sunk and becomes Artificial Reef
A team of Navy personnel accomplished the sinking of the ship on 17 May 2006, supported by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Escambia County Department of Natural Resources, the U.S. Coast Guard, the Pensacola Police Department, and several sheriff departments of Escambia County and surrounding counties.
A Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal team from Panama City, FL detonated C-4 explosive charges of approximately 500 lb (230 kg) net explosive weight, strategically placed on 22 sea connection pipes in various machinery spaces.
The ship sank stern first 37 minutes after detonation in 210 ft (64 m) of water in the Gulf of Mexico.
As was intended, the ship came to rest lying upright. The flight deck was at a depth of 135 ft (41 m), and its island rose to 70 ft (21 m). Following Hurricane Gustav, the ship shifted 10 feet deeper leaving the flight deck at 145 feet (44 m).
The island structure is accessible to recreational divers, but the flight deck will require additional training and equipment. It is now popularly known as the Great Carrier Reef, a reference to Australia's Great Barrier Reef.
Diving Pensacola, FL and the USS Oriskany
Pensacola, FL is the premiere dive destination in the United States. Just a short drive from many major cities, Pensacola is home to the best wreck diving you can find. Pensacola also is home to the aircraft carrier USS Oriskany, the world's largest artificial reef!
USS Oriskany from the Inside
The Intruders of the Deep take you deep inside the aircraft carrier USS Oriskany off the coast of Pensacola Florida sampling a variety of sights available to the most experienced of tech diving wreck penetrators. No one else has been where these 3 have gone since the sinking in May of 2006.
Navy Sinks USS Oriskany to Become an Artificial Reef.wmv
Carrier Vessel 34, the ex-USS Oriskany, is the first artificial reef in the Navys Ships-to-Reefs program. The Oriskany is the largest ship ever scuttled to create an artificial reef and was sunk to the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico off the Florida coast in 2006. The former warship slipped under the water about 24 miles south of Pensacola, Florida. The Oriskany was 888 feet long, and weighed 32,000 tons. It sank in water about 212 feet deep.
Oriskany Aircraft Carrier Shipwreck Pensacola Florida
The Oriskany aircraft carrier was intentionally sunk in Pensacola Florida in 220 feet of water. The top of the tower is at 86 feet and the flight deck is at 145 feet. This was my first video with my GoPro camera and it's the last time I will hold the camera with just one hand. The shakiness is atrocious.
Diving the USS Oriskany in Pensacola, FL
Diving the USS Oriskany, the world's largest artificial reef, from Viking Diving in Pensacola, FL. An aircraft carrier built during World War II, sank in 2006 as an artificial reef.
USS Oriskany -- nicknamed Mighty O, and occasionally referred to as the O-boat -- was one of 24 Essex-class aircraft carriers completed during or shortly after World War II for the United States Navy. The ship was the third US Navy ship to bear the name, and was named for the Revolutionary War Battle of Oriskany.
The history of Oriskany differs considerably from that of her sister ships. Originally designed as a long-hulled Essex-class ship her construction was suspended in 1947. She eventually was commissioned in 1950 after conversion to an updated design called SCB-27, which became the template for modernization of 14 other Essex-class ships.
She operated primarily in the Pacific into the 1970s, earning two battle stars for service in the Korean War, and five for service in the Vietnam War. In 1966 one of the worst shipboard fires since World War II broke out on Oriskany when a magnesium flare was accidentally ignited; forty-four men died in the fire. --- Wikipedia
USS Oriskany - Part 2
USS Oriskany (part 2 of 3 parts) is a historical documentary tracing this magnificent aircraft carrier from its origin to its final resting place at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico, 22 miles off the shoreline of Pensacola, Florida. Divers from all over the globe come to explore the world's largest man-made reef. Learn about its history and the courageous fighter pilots and who took off from its deck to fight missions in Vietnam and their return home on her deck on inky black nights. Hear from the crew members, in their own words, what life on the USS Oriskany was all about.
USS Oriskany - Florida Panhandle Shipwreck Trail
A one-of-a-kind diving experience, the sunken aircraft carrier USS Oriskany is the largest artificial reef in the world. Built shortly after World War II, the Mighty O served primarily in the Pacific, earning two battle stars for service in the Korean War and ten battle stars for service in the Vietnam War. USS Oriskany was sunk in 2006, 22 miles south of Pensacola in more than 200 feet of water. Nicknamed the Great Carrier Reef, the site is one of the most popular diving destinations in the United States. With a myriad of pelagic and sedentary marine life, opportunities for underwater video and photography are superb. Water depth to the top of the ship is 80 feet, and the flight deck is at 145 feet. There's plenty of ship to explore above 100 feet, making this a unique dive for a variety of skill levels.
1963 TOUR OF THE USS ORISKANY (CV-34) PREVIOUSLY UNSEEN 16mm FILM
The actual date of the film is questionable but as near as the camera man can remember it was right around President Kennedy's visit that same year in June. You may see someone you know or served with in this film as there are several shots of enlisted men and Officers at work. There is even a few shots of the Officers Mess with the Captain. Clips of many aircraft, the radio room navigation and the A/C flight control center. This is the only footage I could find with so much of the inside of the carrier filmed.
YOU CAN SEE THIS PROUD SHIPS EVENTUAL DEMISE IN THE VIDEO FROM THE LINK BELOW.
officeofimagearchaeology.com
George Mihal
USS Oriskany (CV-34) at sea - October 1966
USS Oriskany, a 27,100 ton Ticonderoga class aircraft carrier, was built at the New York Navy Yard. Though she was launched in October 1945, construction was suspended in August 1947 and she was completed to a revised design that was also used in modernizing several other ships of the Essex and Ticonderoga classes. Commissioned in September 1950, Oriskany deployed to the Mediterranean Sea between May and October 1951 and steamed around Cape Horn to join the Pacific Fleet in May 1952. She made one Korean War combat cruise, from September 1952 to May 1953.
Following the end of the Korean conflict, Oriskany continued her Pacific Fleet service for more than two more decades, deploying regularly to the Western Pacific for tours of duty with the Seventh Fleet. She was out of commission from January 1957 until March 1959, during which time she was modernized with a new angled flight deck, steam catapults, an enclosed hurricane bow and many other improvements that permitted safer operation of high-performance aircraft. In 1961, she became the first aircraft carrier to be fitted with the revolutionary Naval Tactical Data System (NTDS).
Oriskany's second war began with her 1965 WestPac cruise, during which her planes hit targets in North and South Vietnam. Several more combat tours followed as the Southeast Asian conflict waxed and waned. Tragedy struck the carrier on 26 October 1966, during her second Vietnam War deployment, when fire ravaged her forward compartments, killing 44 members of her crew and air group. Oriskany was repaired in the U.S., returned to the war zone in mid-1967 and rendered assistance to USS Forrestal when that carrier also suffered a major fire. Following twenty-six years of service, USS Oriskany was decommissioned in September 1976. She was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register in July 1989 and sold for scrapping in 1994. However, after a prolonged effort that exhibited the perilous state of the domestic ship-breaking industry at the end of the Twentieth Century, she was repossessed in 1997 and spent nearly a decade awaiting final disposition. On 17 May 2006, following careful preparations, Oriskany was deliberately sunk off Pensacola, Florida, to serve as an artificial reef and sport diving attraction.
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Diving the USS Oriskany in Pensacola, FL
Diving the USS Oriskany, the world's largest artificial reef, from Viking Diving in Pensacola, FL. An aircraft carrier built during World War II, sank in 2006 as an artificial reef.
USS Oriskany -- nicknamed Mighty O, and occasionally referred to as the O-boat -- was one of 24 Essex-class aircraft carriers completed during or shortly after World War II for the United States Navy. The ship was the third US Navy ship to bear the name, and was named for the Revolutionary War Battle of Oriskany.
The history of Oriskany differs considerably from that of her sister ships. Originally designed as a long-hulled Essex-class ship her construction was suspended in 1947. She eventually was commissioned in 1950 after conversion to an updated design called SCB-27, which became the template for modernization of 14 other Essex-class ships.
She operated primarily in the Pacific into the 1970s, earning two battle stars for service in the Korean War, and five for service in the Vietnam War. In 1966 one of the worst shipboard fires since World War II broke out on Oriskany when a magnesium flare was accidentally ignited; forty-four men died in the fire. --- Wikipedia
USS Oriskany - Part-3 (Final)
USS Oriskany (part 3 of 3 parts) is a historical documentary tracing this magnificent aircraft carrier from its origin to its final resting place at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico, 22 miles off the shoreline of Pensacola, Florida. Divers from all over the globe come to explore the world's largest man-made reef. Learn about its history and the courageous fighter pilots and who took off from its deck to fight missions in Vietnam and their return home on her deck on inky black nights. Hear from the crew members, in their own words, what life on the USS Oriskany was all about.
Oriskany Sinking
The sinking of the USS Oriskany off Pensacola, FL.
I have added to and enhanced a little the official USN video.
Oriskany Reefing in Pensacola, Florida
Once in a lifetime opportunity to see the reefing of a retired Naval Aircraft Carrier--The Mighty Oriskany! Go to OriskanyMemorial.com to see more.
Tjoe and Alex USS Oriskany Dive, Pensacola, Fl - August 2019
A one-of-a-kind diving experience, the sunken aircraft carrier USS Oriskany is the largest artificial reef in the world. Built shortly after World War II, the “Mighty O” served primarily in the Pacific, earning two battle stars for service in the Korean War and ten battle stars for service in the Vietnam War. USS Oriskany was sunk in 2006, 22 miles south of Pensacola in more than 200 feet of water. Nicknamed “the Great Carrier Reef,” the site is one of the most popular diving destinations in the United States. With a myriad of pelagic and sedentary marine life, opportunities for underwater video and photography are superb. Water depth to the top of the ship is 80 feet, and the flight deck is at 145 feet. There’s plenty of ship to explore above 100 feet, making this a unique dive for a variety of skill levels.
USS Oriskany the worlds Largest Artifical Reef
This artificial reef is a great dive. Visability on the day we went was about 10' until you got to about 30' when it opened up to 70'+. It was awsome. There is already after only 2 years a lot of life on it.
USS Oriskany sinking
The Navy announced on 5 April 2004 that it would transfer the former aircraft carrier to the State of Florida for use as an artificial reef. In September 2003, the Navy awarded a contract to Resolve Marine Group / ESCO Marine Joint Venture for the environmental remediation work necessary for sinking the ship as an artificial reef. The contractor towed the ship to Corpus Christi, TX in January 2004 and completed the environmental preparation work in December 2004.
Oriskany was the first United States warship slated to become an artificial reef, under authority granted by the fiscal 2004 National Defense Authorization Act (Public Law 108-136). Oriskany was towed to Pensacola in December 2004 and was originally scheduled to be sunk with controlled charges 24 mi (39 km) south of Pensacola by June 2005. Exhaustive ecological and human health studies were conducted by Navy scientists in consultation with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to demonstrate no adverse impact from reefing the ship. Failure to gain EPA approval caused a delay, so Oriskany was then towed back to Texas in June to ride out the 2005 hurricane season. Completion and peer review of a complex Prospective Risk Assessment Model developed in consultation with EPA, the first for any ship reefing project, was necessary to support EPA's February 2006 decision to issue a risk-based PCB disposal approval for the estimated 750 lb (340 kg) of polychlorinated biphenyls contained in solid form, mostly integral in the insulation layers of the electrical cabling throughout the ship.
Based on EPA's approval, after a public comment period, the ship was towed to Pensacola, FL in March 2006 for final preparations for sinking under a Navy contract. A team of Navy personnel accomplished the sinking of the ship on 17 May 2006, supported by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Escambia County Department of Natural Resources, the U.S. Coast Guard, the Pensacola Police Department, and several sheriff departments of Escambia County and surrounding counties. A Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal team from Panama City, FL detonated C-4 explosive charges of approximately 500 lb (230 kg) net explosive weight, strategically placed on 22 sea connection pipes in various machinery spaces. 37 minutes after detonation, the ship sank stern first in 210 ft (64 m) of water in the Gulf of Mexico.
Oriskany flight deck 7aug13
USS Oriskanny Dive 4th of July 2018
2 fantastic dives out of Pensacola with Niuhi Dive Charters. Filmed with GoPro Hero+ and Light and Motion Sidekick. French angelfish, butterflyfish, octopus, spotted eel, amberjacks, and a really big boat!
USS Oriskany
Oriskany has sunk...
by: Larry Wheeler May 17th, 2006
Pensacola News Journal, Pensacola Florida
Oriskany has sunk. The last tip of the Oriskany's hurricane bow disappeared into the Gulf at approximately 11 a.m.
Local officials are hopeful the Oriskany settled on the sea floor in an upright position. But they won't know for sure until Navy divers check the vessel later today....