The USS Oriskay whose service stretched from the Korean to the Vietnam wars surrendered to the sea Wednesday after explosive charges sent the vessel to the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico.
Contrary to Navy engineers' predictions of a sinking lasting as long as five hours, the decommissioned aircraft carrier Oriskany went down in just 36 minutes.
The dramatic conclusion came less than 48 hours after the carrier was towed from its berth at Pensacola Naval Air Station and then anchored on the site with its bow facing due south.
Hundreds of veterans and onlookers watched the spectacle Wednesday morning from the decks of dozens of charter boats and pleasure craft that trekked to the site of the sinking, about 24 miles south of Pensacola and 212 feet deepThe process began under blue skies and a bright sun at approximately 10:25 a.m. when a blast from deep in the hull of the ship erupted through the open gaps in the hangar bay.