US Navy An inadvertent rocket launch aboard the Navy aircraft carrier USS Forrestal on July 29, 1967, caused a massive conflagration. The accident, which killed 134 sailors, exposed gaps in the Navy's lax culture, poor firefighting ability, and response time. On July 29, 1967 the USS Forrestal was deployed to the Gulf of Tonkin for operations against Vietnam when the unthinkable happened: An electrical surge on an F-4 Phantom caused the accidental launch of a Zuni rocket into a combat-loaded A-4 Skyhawk. The plane burst into flames, and its fuel spread across the flight deck. In a hellish chain reaction, bomb after bomb exploded, rocking the entire ship.