27 years ago, during the NATO Display Determination ’92 naval exercise, two Sea Sparrow surface-to-air missiles accidentally fired from the aircraft carrier CV-60 USS Saratoga (hit the bridge of the Turkish destroyer DM-357 TCG Muavenet. 5 sailors, including the commander of the ship, were killed instantly, and 15 were badly hurt. A fire broke out on board. At the time of the incident, two ships were 3 miles apart and were streaming north in the Aegean.
The ship’s radar antenna, forward gun turrets, and hedgehog launcher suffered from shrapnel damage. The pieces of the second missile penetrated the forward gun turret, cabins of the supply officer and XO.
A fire started in the ammunition chamber of the Hedgehog system. The explosion of the Hedgehog rounds would have caused the loss of the ships.
These two new scans show the extensive damage caused by the missiles. Though the missiles were designed for shooting down enemy aeroplanes, they also succeeded in crippling an allied warship.
It was quite a skill to bring the fire under control before it reached the gun turret in the B position. If the fire had spread further to the turrets and ammunition chambers of the guns, she would not have survived.
All the firefighting and damage control efforts were done in the absence of the commander of the ship. This fact speaks for the professionalism of the officers and the bravery of the whole crew. They simply did not give up the ship.
Commander Kudret Güngör
Ensign Alertunga Akan
Petty Officer 3rd Class Serkan Aktepe
Sergant Mustafa Kılınç
Private Recep Akan,
paid the ultimate price for the defense of their country.
For further reading:
US Navy Court of Inquiry
My previous wrtings about the incident.
And one video documentary about the incident:
devrimyaylali.com 