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USS Kawishiwi AO-146........... AND ...........USS Hancock CVA-19 ....  Click image for closer view Hancock Information on this encounter is from Jake's - Hancock Web site. |
| During
UNREP,
Kawishiwi suffered a gyro repeater failure. The helmsman and conning
officer didn’t catch it until we started swinging into Hancock. Fueling lines were severed and ripped the
AVGAS station out of the
deck of Hancock. It was miraculous that this event did not
result in a greater disaster. |
Hancock was the last
carrier in the
Pacific to have piston aircraft. All tankers had long since converted
their amidships tanks to JP-5. Kawishiwi however had the correct tank
top on her 4 (amidships) centerline tanks and her inert cofferdams were
intact; so before deployment we certified and loaded with
AVGAS.
James
Barton LT 75-77 Chief Engineer USS Kawishiwi
AO-146
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