Capt. Dave Snowden was “relieved” of his job at the helm of the USS Harry S. Truman and temporarily reassigned following the wild Feb. 12 crash in the Mediterranean Sea, according to the military branch.
“The U.S. Navy holds commanding officers to the highest standard and takes action to hold them accountable when those standards are not met,” the Navy said in a statement.
One thing that wasn't clear earlier in the month was whether or not USS Harry S. Truman would need to return to the US for repairs. That will not be required, and repairs are being made in the Mediterranean.
“While the ship is fully mission capable and the ship conducted flight operations following the collision, pulling into port for emergent repairs will enable the ship to continue deployment as scheduled,” Snowden said in a statement Monday, according to CBS News.
This was part of the Iran-Iraq War (1980 to 1988). From 1984 to 1988 it was known as the Tanker War, as Iran started sinking Iraqi and Kuwaiti oil tankers to keep Iraq from gaining income. It had the effect of raising oil and gas prices. The US objected to that, and started the largest naval convoy operation since the end of World War II, Operation Earnest Will. That ran from July of 1987 to September of 1988.
On 14 April 1988, USS Samuel B. Roberts, an Oliver Hazard Perry-class guided missile frigate, struck an Iranian mine. Samuel B. Roberts was a 453 foot long, 45 foot wide vessel weighing 4100 long tons, powered by two General Electric LM2500-30 gas turbines generating 41,000 shaft horsepower. (the ship was decommissioned in 2015.) Ten sailors were severely injured, either in the explosion, or the subsequent fires, but the crew labored to keep the vessel afloat and made it back to harbor in Dubai. It was loaded onto a heavy lift ship, and taken back to Maine, where it was repaired. The repaired Samuel B. Roberts started sea trials within a year of the incident.
On 18 April 1988, the U.S. Navy launched Operation Praying Mantis against Iranian targets in the Arabian Gulf in retaliation for USS Samuel B. Roberts (FFG-58) mining four days earlier, which blew an immense hole in the ship’s hull. Ten Sailors from Samuel B. Roberts sustained severe injuries. Four were seriously burned. Commander Paul X. Rinn was hurt as well. The ship should have sunk, but thanks to an extraordinary damage control effort by all hands of an extremely well-trained crew, Samuel B. Roberts was kept afloat.
The U.S. response was fierce. Operation Praying Mantis was the largest of five major U.S. Navy surface actions since World War II. It was the first, and so far only, time the U.S. Navy has exchanged surface-to-surface missile fire with an enemy.
The photos are all in black and white, but worth a look.
