U.S. Navy Takes 18 Casualties: Explosions and Fire on Assault Carrier USS Bonhomme Richard

The U.S. Navy has taken 18 casualties in a major fire abroad the warship USS Bonhomme Richard, one of the service’s 40,000 ton Wasp Class amphibious assault ships. The fire started in the morning of June 12th with multiple explosions reported, and the incident also seen four nearby civilians injured. The warship was under maintenance at the time and has a crew of around 1000 men, and the injured sailors are currently undergoing treatment. The U.S. Navy has in recent years placed a growing emphasis on the importance of Wasp Class amphibious assault ships and their successors the America Class, with these warships not only well optimised to landing hundreds of Marines on enemy shores but also capable of functioning as aircraft carriers. With the much larger and more costly Nimitz and Gerald Ford Class supercarriers increasingly vulnerable to a growing array of anti ship weapons, particularly in the Pacific Theatre which is quickly becoming the Navy’s primary theatre of operations, the Navy’s lighter carriers are seen as optimal. Wasp Class carriers have a similar displacement to the French aircraft carrier Charles De Gaulle, and can deploy 20 fighters from their deck including the Harrier II and the newer F-35B. These are both capable of short takeoffs and vertical landings, which is necessary as the ships do not have arresting gear or long runways. China is notably preparing to induct a similar class of ship, the Type 075 Class, into its frontline fleet - and is speculated to be developing a vertical landing capable jet for its deck.