USS CONSTELLATION (CV 64), Hangar Deck Fire, 19 December 1960

On December 19, 1960, the Kitty Hawk class aircraft carrier, USS Constellation (CV 64) experienced a flight deck hangar fire while in the last stages of construction at the New York Naval Shipyard. The fire was caused by a forklift that collided with a 502 gallon fuel tank. The fuel flowed out into the lower deck where workers were welding. A fire started and quickly grew because of the wooden materials that were stored in the flight deck. The Brooklyn fire department had to be called in to assist with the fire, which took 12 hours to extinguish. There were 50 civilian casualties and many injuries reported as a result of the fire. The commissioning of the carrier which was scheduled for early 1961 had to be postponed until October 27, 1961 because of the resulting damage from the fire.