--- title: "Fire Ravaged USS Bonhomme Richard Starts Its Death March To The Scrapper" description: "Gutted by a fire last summer, the amphibious assault ship has been decommissioned and is making the long trip to the scrapyard." date: "2021-04-16" modified: "2021-04-16" authors: - name: "Thomas Newdick" job_title: "Staff Writer" link: "https://www.twz.com/authors/thomas-newdick" url: "https://www.twz.com/40215/fire-ravaged-uss-bonhomme-richard-starts-its-death-march-to-the-scrapper" categories: - "Amphibious Assault Ships" - "Big Deck Amphibious Assault Ships" - "Navies" - "Sea" - "U.S. Navy" - "Wasp Class" tags: - "Amphibious Assault Ship" - "fire" - "LHD" - "LHD-6" - "San Diego" - "scrapping" - "US Navy" - "USS Bonhomme RIchard" - "Wasp Class" --- # Fire Ravaged USS Bonhomme Richard Starts Its Death March To The Scrapper ![]() *www.twz.com* What’s left of the U.S. Navy’s former amphibious assault ship USS *Bonhomme Richard* was seen being taken under tow yesterday, headed from Naval Base San Diego, California, to its eventual destination — the International Shipbreaking Limited facility in Brownsville, on the Texas coast. The ship, also known by its hull number LHD-6, suffered a fire [that raged for days]() last year, causing [a massive amount of damage](), leading to the decision to [decommission]() and scrap it, a process that is estimated will [cost around $30 million](). According to a report from [*USNI News*](), the hull of the former *Bonhomme Richard* will be towed around the tip of South America and then onward to Texas, for dismantling. https://youtube.com/embed/3F165viyuAA Work to remove the island began [in February]() this year, according to *USNI News*, reducing the overall height of the ship for transit, and other useful spares were also stripped from the vessel while it was still in San Diego. The entire process of reducing the *Bonhomme Richard* to scrap is expected to take between nine months and a year. ![message-editor%2F1618591502895-ussbonhommericharddismantled.jpg]() *Contractors work to remove the aft mast aboard the amphibious assault ship USS *Bonhomme Richard* in August last year., *U.S. Navy/Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Jeffrey F. Yale** The fire aboard the ship [burned for around four days]() beginning on July 12 last year. It started in a lower vehicle storage area and set off multiple blazes that [damaged some 60 percent]() of the ship, which was sitting pier-side in San Diego undergoing maintenance at the time. The island, mast, and flight deck suffered particularly heavy damage. A total of 63 sailors and civilian firefighters were injured in the incident, which was [covered in depth]() by *The War Zone* at [the time](). https://youtube.com/embed/6v1zhhIHL0o Multiple investigations are still underway to determine the cause of the fire, but last August the service revealed that it was looking into [the possibility of arson]() being a factor. The Navy decided that it would be too expensive to repair the warship or to convert it for another use such as [a hospital ship]() or [submarine tender]() and, last November, [decided to scrap it](). It was disclosed that rebuilding it as an LHD would have cost upward of $3 billion and taken between five and seven years; the cost of a brand-new *America*-class assault ship, by contrast, is [around $4 billion](). ![message-editor%2F1618592074610-uss\_bonhomme\_richard\_lhd-6\_on\_fire\_at\_san\_diego\_california\_usa\_on\_12\_july\_2020\_200712-n-mj716-0498.jpg]() *USS *Bonhomme Richard* on fire at Naval Base San Diego, California, on July 12, 2020., *U.S. NAVY** The fire onboard *Bonhomme Richard* came amid an apparent spate of similar incidents that befell U.S. warships. Another smaller, fire broke out on board *Bonhomme Richard’s* sister ship, [USS *Kearsarge*]() last summer, and the future [USS *John F. Kennedy*](), a [*Ford*-class aircraft carrier]() suffered a blaze while still under construction. [Shipboard fires]() have also affected the U.S. Coast Guard in recent months, too. ![message-editor%2F1618592168260-uscoastguardfire.jpeg]() *A blaze aboard the U.S. Coast Guard’s [*Legend*-class cutter]() USCGC *Waesche* while at sea in the Western Pacific last September., *U.S. COAST GUARD PACIFIC AREA/PUBLIC DOMAIN** For the wider Navy, the loss of *Bonhomme Richard* reduced the *Wasp* class to seven vessels, which will have to bear the brunt of most amphibious assault operations. These are joined by two of the newer [*America-*class]() amphibious assault ships, with a third, [the future USS *Bougainville*](), under construction. It comes, too, at an inopportune time, with the service [pushing a proposed plan]() to increase its fleet size to more than 500 ships by 2045. The Navy bid an official farewell to the warship with a ceremony in San Diego on April 14, while an official release highlighted some of the milestones in the history of the [*Wasp-*class]() vessel, which was commissioned in 1998. Early in its career, the *Bonhomme Richard* took part in [Operation Stabilize]() in February 2000, providing peacekeeping and humanitarian operations off the coast of [East Timor]() in Southeast Asia. ![message-editor%2F1618592278138-160915-n-wf272-390.jpg]() *The USS *Bonhomme Richard* refueling in the South China Sea in October 2016., *U.S. NAVY** During Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003, *Bonhomme Richard* offloaded more than a thousand Marines and their equipment from the 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines into Kuwait. After delivering attack and transport helicopters, plus troops and vehicles, [AV-8B Harrier II jump jets]() flew missions from its deck into Iraq. In the process, the Harriers expended more than 175,000 pounds of ordnance while providing close air support to Marines on the ground. Between 2012 and 2018, *Bonhomme Richard* was based at Sasebo in Japan, assigned as the command ship for the forward-deployed amphibious forces in the Pacific. Most of the sailors from the *Bonhomme Richard* have been reassigned to different vessels in the fleet, leaving a skeleton crew aboard for the decommissioning, the ceremony for which you can watch in full below: https://youtube.com/embed/C-59xmF6VkM Speaking at the decommissioning ceremony earlier this week, Rear Admiral Philip Sobeck, the commander of Expeditionary Strike Group 3, provided the following words on the “Bonnie Dick”: “Sailors gave their all to prevail against seemingly impossible odds, and they won. They taught us that you don’t always save the ship, but you never stop fighting. The reputation of that fighting spirit began to proceed our Navy wherever we sailed and that same spirit persists today.” Whichever way you look at it, it’s a sad end for the amphibious assault ship, which provided years of good service during a career that was cut roughly in half. *Contact the author: thomas@thedrive.com* ## Author Thomas Newdick is a staff writer at *TWZ*, where he covers military aviation, defense technology, weapons systems, and international security. Based in Berlin, Germany, he reports on conflicts, military modernization efforts, and emerging aerospace technologies around the world, with a particular interest in airpower and its role in contemporary warfare. His reporting is informed by deep expertise in modern and historical airpower, particularly in Europe, with a focus on military aviation, air campaigns, and aerospace developments across the continent and beyond. Over a journalism career spanning more than 25 years, Thomas has become known for making complex defense and aerospace topics accessible to a broad audience. His reporting combines technical expertise, historical context, and a focus on the real-world operational and strategic implications of military developments. ### Author social links [Twitter]()