22 November 1975

November 22, 1975 while conducting night operations in the Mediterranean Sea, the USS Belknap (CG-26) collides with USS John F Kennedy (CV-67) killing 7 sailors on board the USS Belknap.

You see, the Superstructure, everything above the main deck, was constructed of aliminium on the USS Belknap. When the aluminium melted it ruptured a JP-5, Jet Fuel, line and the JP-5 sprayed down the stack of the boiler. The resulting explosion killed sailors down in the Fire room and Engine room.

I know this because i was stationed on the USS Belknap in 1986 - 1988. We all heard the stories of how the engine room was haunted. I am not a believer of ghost and such, but i will tell you i have seen thing in that engine room that i can not explain. You see the engine room is in the very bottom of the ship. It is as far below as you can go. When you pull into port, they stretch power cables and the ship runs on shore power. The ship shuts down the boilers and all auxiliary equipment and you enter "cold iron" status.

Now all the lube oil, fuel oil and JP-5 are stored in or around the engine room. Since the engine room has a few inches of steel separating the ship from the sea, the engine room will be manned at all times. Usually the lowest ranking pukes on the boat stand cold iron watch. I stood my cold iron watches. Being down in that engine room from midnight to 0400, balls to 4, was a long scary 4 hours. No one there but you and the ghost. I would hear things, see things and be scared shit less. I hated walking around that dang place. Remember the engine room on the USS Belknap was two story's tall, stretched from side to side of the ship and about 40 feet long. Spooky place to be alone.