CHASE 6 SEARCH OPERATIONS

• Main Authors: Daugherty, Jr., F. M., Cheeseman, Joseph A., Carroll, Jerry C.
• Other Authors: NAVAL OCEANOGRAPHIC OFFICE NSTL STATION MS
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 1968
• Subjects: Naval Surface Warfare; *NAVAL OPERATIONS; *SALVAGE; SONAR; BOMBING; MAGNETOMETERS; UNDERWATER PHOTOGRAPHY; HYDROSTATIC FUZES; DEMOLITION CHARGES; SHIP HULLS; UNDERWATER OBJECT LOCATORS; Adak; Alaska; Aleutian Islands
• Online Access: http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/AD0830742; http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?&verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=AD0830742

On 10 August 1967, the Navy intentionally scuttled ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON, (a World War II Liberty ship) near the Aleutian Islands. The hulk, loaded with 2000 tons of obsolete explosives, was set to explode at a depth of 4000 feet simulating a low-yield underwater nuclear explosion. Failing to sink immediately as planned, the ship drifted into shallow water and sank without exploding. After searching the area for 6 days, NAVOCEANO's deep-towed magnetometer located the hulk on 11 September. NAVOCEANO personnel obtained underwater camera pictures identifying STEVENSON by using BENT's narrow-beam sonar to navigate and hold over the magnetometer contact. Aircraft from Adak, Alaska, dropped twenty-four 2000-pound bombs on the hulk but failed to detonate the cargo. Several of these bombs exploded close enough to the hulk to provide over-pressure for the necessary duration to detonate the hydrostatic fuses aboard STEVENSON. The Navy notified the public of the exact location of CHASE VI and terminated the operation on the basis that the hulk could not be accidentally detonated.