In January of 1969, while undergoing operational training evaluation off the coast of Hawaii, there was a fire on the flight deck of the USS Enterprise. The fire occurred as we were about to go to General Quarters to assess our battle readiness. The pilots were in the planes, ready to launch with full fuel tanks and fully armament. The fire began when a Zuni rocket detonated on a plane sitting of the rear plane elevator. It got pretty exciting after that. The flight deck was awash in fuel and fire as the Captain headed the ship into the wind to drive the fire aft. A missile from one of the planes went forward up the flight deck, turned and headed towards the control island which houses the bridge. The missile lodged in the elevator to the bridge but did not detonate. As bombs from the planes exploded, other bombs rolled into the holes created in the flight deck with one blowing a hole near the water line after exploding in the ship’s laundry under the fantail.
 

It was a long day with 28 casualties. Pilots in the planes were forced to eject overboard to save their lives and the flight deck crew showed their metal committing many acts of bravery and sacrifice. Scary when your floating home catches fire and there is no land in sight.