# 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:** 8\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2021, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-bonhomme-richard-long-term-outlook/915347/41 "2021-10-20T16:19:08Z")
Updating this thread an investigation has been done on the firefighting response, which was totally imcompetent. A summary: > **[Long Chain of Failures Left Sailors Unprepared to Fight USS Bonhomme Richard...](https://news.usni.org/2021/10/19/long-chain-of-failures-left-sailors-unprepared-to-fight-uss-bonhomme-richard-investigation-finds)** > > A cascade of failures – from a junior enlisted sailor not recognizing a fire at the end of their duty watch to fundamental problems with how the U.S. Navy trains sailors to fight fires in shipyards – are responsible for the five-day blaze that cost... ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2021, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-bonhomme-richard-long-term-outlook/915347/42 "2021-10-20T16:31:34Z")
Some good from the incident and use for the ship prior to scrapping: > **[The Navy Practiced Battle Damage Repairs On The Burnt-Out USS Bonhomme Richard](https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/42804/the-navy-practiced-battle-damage-repairs-on-the-burnt-out-uss-bonhomme-richard)** > > These kinds of skills are increasingly seen as vital for the Navy to survive a future large-scale maritime conflict. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2021, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-bonhomme-richard-long-term-outlook/915347/43 "2021-10-24T07:43:51Z")
> [@smithsb](#): > > [Veteran Sailor On Why Navy Ships Can Be Most Vulnerable In Port And How To Change That](https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/34832/veteran-sailor-on-why-navy-ships-can-be-most-vulnerable-in-port-and-how-to-change-that) So Admiral Grace Hopper was not entirely correct when she said: > [@](#): > > A ship in port is safe, but that’s not what ships are built for. ---
**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:** [October 24, 2021, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-bonhomme-richard-long-term-outlook/915347/44 "2021-10-24T14:07:58Z")
Remember Pearl Harbor? ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2021, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-bonhomme-richard-long-term-outlook/915347/45 "2021-10-24T14:55:42Z")
I don’t think the problem there was down to a pile of oily rags. ---
**Author:** ![Francis\_Vaughan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/francis_vaughan/32/3093_2.png) [@Francis\_Vaughan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Francis_Vaughan)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2021, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-bonhomme-richard-long-term-outlook/915347/46 "2021-10-25T02:25:19Z")
Interesting read about the failures in command. Students of the Space Shuttle losses would note some depressing similarities. Also similarities with the loss of HMS Sheffield. Probably the biggest danger to any military force is the complacency born of an extended peacetime. ---
**Author:** ![ASL\_v2.0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asl_v2.0/32/3525_2.png) [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2021, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-bonhomme-richard-long-term-outlook/915347/47 "2021-10-25T02:50:29Z")
> [@Francis\_Vaughan](#): > > Probably the biggest danger to any military force is the complacency born of an extended peacetime. I don’t think the sort of degradation in safety standards that led to the loss of _Bonhomme Richard_ is something that goes away with wartime readiness. Indeed, the greater pressure and urgency of war might tend to exacerbate safety problems during in port maintenance, replenishment, and upkeep periods, not alleviate them. See the events preceding the Port Chicago Mutiny as a for instance. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2023, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-bonhomme-richard-long-term-outlook/915347/48 "2023-03-30T17:56:15Z")
> **[Navy releases Bonhomme Richard disciplinary records related to fire](https://www.navytimes.com/news/your-navy/2022/11/21/navy-releases-bonhomme-richard-disciplinary-records-related-to-fire/)** > > The amphib caught fire in July 2020 and burned for several days, leading the Navy to sell the once-mighty warship for scrap. > **[A sailor has been acquitted of setting a fire that destroyed a massive ship](https://www.npr.org/2022/09/30/1126297316/us-navy-sailor-acquitted-arson-uss-bonhomme-richard)** > > A military judge on Friday acquitted a sailor of arson in a fire that destroyed the USS Bonhomme Richard, a blow to the Navy as it faces allegations of improper training and maintenance of the ship. > **[New details emerge about the 2020 Bonhomme Richard fire, ahead of censure of...](https://www.defensenews.com/naval/2022/07/05/new-details-emerge-about-the-2020-bonhomme-richard-fire-ahead-of-censure-of-three-star/)** > > Retired Vice Adm. Rich Brown was named accountable for the loss of the amphibious ship Bonhomme Richard but was ultimately cleared of wrongdoing in December. Six months later, he's facing censure from the Navy secretary. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uss-bonhomme-richard-long-term-outlook/915347.md?page=2)