# USS Bonhomme Richard - long term outlook? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 14, 2020, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-bonhomme-richard-long-term-outlook/915347 "2020-07-14T23:35:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2020, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-bonhomme-richard-long-term-outlook/915347/21 "2020-07-17T18:44:12Z")
> [@Limmin](#): > > Do you realize that would mean each of the planes are almost 90 years old when finally retired? But not a single original part will be on any of those planes. Still it is quite a tribute to the guys that designed that bird that all of them will be long dead by the time it retires. Unless of course one lives to be 108 years old and somehow started working on it at 18. ---
**Author:** ![Gray\_Ghost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c0e974/32.png) [@Gray\_Ghost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gray_Ghost)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2020, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-bonhomme-richard-long-term-outlook/915347/22 "2020-07-17T20:33:23Z")
> [@Limmin](#): > > Did you all hear they are thinking about re-engining the current fleet of B-52’s, to extend their lives to 2050? Do you realize that would mean each of the planes are almost 90 years old when finally retired? My mind boggles Grandpa’s Ax… It’s still one of the cheapest ways to blow someone up from 9,000 miles away. Just a big dump truck full of guided bombs. If it can’t get near the target, it can still carry a gazillion stealthy JASSM-ERs that can. Though that’s bit pricier… It’s too bad they can’t, AFAIK, re-engine the pylons to work with something like the GEnx engine or the like. Just not enough clearance. I thought they were thinking about putting in a bizjet engine, like the P&W 815s on a Gulfstream 600, a la [this article](https://www.airforcemag.com/article/Re-Engining-the-B-52/)? Oh, and thank you very much @smithsb, for the Drive links. Lots of interesting reading. Poor ship. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2020, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-bonhomme-richard-long-term-outlook/915347/23 "2020-07-18T13:30:41Z")
Guessing she is scrap metal. US yard capacity is petty limited for big ships. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2020, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-bonhomme-richard-long-term-outlook/915347/24 "2020-07-18T14:03:33Z")
It is a few days later and while nothing is close to official, I’ve seen reports a massive repair would cost maybe $400,000,000 which is a tenth of the cost of building a replacement. So maybe the Bonhomme won’t be scrap after all. I’m guessing if the estimated repairs approach 1 billion, we’re back to scrap though. ---
**Author:** ![Mk\_VII](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mk\_VII](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mk_VII)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2020, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-bonhomme-richard-long-term-outlook/915347/25 "2020-07-18T14:07:17Z")
_Victorious_ was scrapped by the British in 1968 after a fairly minor fire during a refit, in which one person was killed from smoke inhalation. That was largely a convenient excuse from an administration which didn’t much like defense spending, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2021, 7:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-bonhomme-richard-long-term-outlook/915347/26 "2021-07-30T07:56:03Z")
Well, they scrapped the ship. (Old news, but I hadn’t noticed it.) And somebody might have their pay garnished for a few thousand years. > **[21 sent to hospital after fire aboard military ship in San Diego](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/sailors-injured-after-fire-erupts-military-ship-san-diego-n1233611)** > > Seventeen sailors and four civilians were taken to the hospital as authorities worked to put out a fire of unreported causes on the USS Bonhomme Richard. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2021, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-bonhomme-richard-long-term-outlook/915347/27 "2021-07-30T12:39:10Z")
The scrapping was a no brainer: > Navy officials said in November that while Bonhomme Richard was salvageable, the time and price of repair — [five to seven years at an estimated $2.5 billion to $3.2 billion](https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/military/story/2020-11-30/ravaged-by-fire-uss-bonhomme-richard-bound-for-scrapyard-navy-says) — were too steep to warrant saving the 22-year-old ship. From here: > **[Fire-ravaged Bonhomme Richard will be decommissioned, then towed away for...](https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/military/story/2021-04-09/decommission-bonhomme-richard)** > > The amphibious assault ship was declared a total loss after an inferno raged on board in July while the ship was in port in San Diego ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2021, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-bonhomme-richard-long-term-outlook/915347/28 "2021-07-30T13:15:26Z")
The article says they could be taking it to Galveston? AFAIK, there’s not even a shipyard in Galveston anymore for fixing ships, much less a shipbreaking operation. Brownsville is the usual place in Texas for ship breaking. ---
**Author:** ![Mk\_VII](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mk\_VII](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mk_VII)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2021, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-bonhomme-richard-long-term-outlook/915347/29 "2021-07-30T20:48:20Z")
It’s probably cheaper to call one forward from the Mothball Fleet. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2021, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-bonhomme-richard-long-term-outlook/915347/30 "2021-07-31T03:37:21Z")
That article itself, from April, contained an update note that final disposal destination had not been determined. [Brownsville it is.](https://news.usni.org/2021/05/05/bonhomme-richard-wreck-reaches-panama-texas-shipbreaker-buys-hull-for-3-66m) As to replacement, one additional unit of the new _America_ class LHA would once authorized and funded take about as long to build and cost not too much more than the estimate that was given for rebuilding _Bonhomme Richard_, so there’s the question of whether the Navy decides to expand that class to account for this loss and if they find it worth it to reactivate the _Pelelieu_ in the meantime. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2021, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-bonhomme-richard-long-term-outlook/915347/31 "2021-08-01T06:38:34Z")
I’m seeing in the news that they’ve determined it was arson. In this new news that they just determined this, or was it known early on during or soon after the fire? ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2021, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-bonhomme-richard-long-term-outlook/915347/32 "2021-08-01T07:07:22Z")
Wouldn’t getting a burnt-out carrier through the Panama Canal be really tough? Unless they are planning to go all around Tierra del Fuego. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2021, 10:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-bonhomme-richard-long-term-outlook/915347/33 "2021-08-01T10:15:57Z")
It isn’t a carrier by US Navy standards. This is a significantly smaller ship that will fit through. ---
**Author:** ![zbuzz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e19b73/32.png) [@zbuzz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zbuzz)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2021, 10:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-bonhomme-richard-long-term-outlook/915347/34 "2021-08-01T10:28:35Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > I’m seeing in the news that they’ve determined it was arson. In this new news that they just determined this, or was it known early on during or soon after the fire? In late August 2020 (about a month and a half after the fire) it was reported that the Navy suspected arson. They held a Bonhomme Richard sailor in custody shortly after, then later let him go and now he is apparently the one who was charged a few days ago. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2021, 11:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-bonhomme-richard-long-term-outlook/915347/35 "2021-08-01T11:08:44Z")
The bad news is he’s going to prison. The good news is that he gets a ship silhouette on his cell door. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2021, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-bonhomme-richard-long-term-outlook/915347/36 "2021-08-01T23:15:04Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > Wouldn’t getting a burnt-out carrier through the Panama Canal be really tough? Unless they are planning to go all around Tierra del Fuego. From the USNI article quoted above: > Ordinarily, a Wasp-class amphibious warship is too large to transit the canal, however during its preparation for towing from San Diego, the aircraft elevators and island were removed to fit through the locks of the canal. It seems, **What\_Exit** , that the actual hull is within Panamax limits but the stuff that sticks out of the sides and top is what would create the problem. I suppose that in any case a lot of the superstructure, being gutted and partly collapsed already, would have had to be taken down at dockside anyway just to make it safe to move and work with at all. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2021, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-bonhomme-richard-long-term-outlook/915347/37 "2021-08-01T23:42:00Z")
I think that article is a little off. I’m pretty sure a Wasp-Class ship can go through the Canal. They have some trick with the elevators and the Island shouldn’t normally come into to play. On the other hand the USS Wasp was commission just after I got out, so maybe I’m confused by the prior classes. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2021, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-bonhomme-richard-long-term-outlook/915347/38 "2021-08-01T23:47:37Z")
The plan is to have 11 of the _America_ class LHA, which are an evolutionary development of the prior _Wasp_ class (inc. _Bonhomme Richard_). So I imagine they’ll just keep on making them as they were, and either tack one on the end, or possibly do without. I don’t see too many reasons not to recommission Peleliu in the meantime; it’s in the reserve after all, and has only been out of comission for about six years. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2021, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-bonhomme-richard-long-term-outlook/915347/39 "2021-08-02T02:51:07Z")
Oh, I was surprised to read that as well at the start. _Iowa_ class battleships (barely) fit through, and they’re larger (only slightly, though!) in every direction. Maybe the fire damage resulted in that the elevators were stuck sticking out and _that_ would fail the test as from what it says [here](https://fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ship/lhd-1.htm) that almost doubles the beam “when extended”. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b77776/32.png) [@Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_was_in_Saudi)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2021, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-bonhomme-richard-long-term-outlook/915347/40 "2021-08-24T20:53:03Z")
The _Bonhomme Richard_ fits easily in the “New Panamax” limits. For the last five years, ships of up to 120K tons with a length of 366M and beam of 51M can be accommodated. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-bonhomme-richard-long-term-outlook/915347.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-bonhomme-richard-long-term-outlook/915347.md?page=3)