A drawing of the stern of Forrestal showing the
spotting of aircraft at the time. Likely source
of the Zuni was F-4 No. 110. White's and McCain's
aircraft (A-4s No. 405 and 416, respectively) are
in the right-hand circle.
It is not reported but McCain’s irresponsible actions caused the the deadly fire aboard the Navy aircraft carrier, the USS Forrestal, on July 19, 1967 in the Gulf of Tonkin. crewmen and those who have investigated the case that McCain deliberately “wet-started” his A-4E to shake up the guy in the plane behind his A-4. “Wet-starts”, done either deliberately or accidentally, shoot a large flame from the tail of the aircraft.
In McCain’s case, the “wet-start” apparently “cooked off” and launched the Zuni rocket from the rear F-4 that touched off the explosions and massive fire. The F-4 pilot was reportedly killed in the conflagration. “Wet starting” was apparently a common practice among young “hot-dog” pilots. There were 134 fatalities and 161 injured. More than 20 aircraft were destroyed. The damage forced Forrestal to suspend combat operations as a result of McCain’s ego that has long been covered up.
A drawing of the stern of Forrestal showing the
spotting of aircraft at the time. Likely source
of the Zuni was F-4 No. 110. White's and McCain's
aircraft (A-4s No. 405 and 416, respectively) are
in the right-hand circle.
It was reported, but it is fake news. The wet start would have had a fireball like a Saturn V to reach around the stern to an AC parked at his 3 o-clock. This a lefty leftover story from his run against 0.
Your Forrestal story is utter BS. It’s been debunked so many times that there is no excuse for your repeating that BS story anymore.
“wet start”
Thank you for that explanation.
That would make McJuan a 5x "Ace".
I despise McCain, but you are not correct.
You can google the official report and see where on the flight deck his plane was located.
Where it was located, a wet start might have scared a seagull, but it would never hurt anything.
The wet start story is BS.
That story is not true.
USS Forrestal tragedy has been thoroughly investigated.
Johnnie “wet-start.”
He was transferred off the Forrestal after the fire, only person who was. C.O. and crew knew what he did? Would he have been shot down if the Forrestal fire had not happened? Imponderables.
He should have been returned to the States and assigned to Ferry duty. Given his history—like Rota Spain—he would have tried some other hotshot crap, like flying under a railroad trestle and ending up a blood splat among 10,000 pieces of A-4 spread across a quarter mile of landscape.