2020 Dec. Goat Daily Rant 11

Rant: Stolen theme
Boat of the day. Thanks @CaptAmehrican. Yoink!

I was thinking of doing my old ship, the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72), but felt more like doing a sailing ship instead. Reminded by the recent unfortunate fire aboard LHD-6, Bonhomme Richard, of the long history and tradition of this ship’s name, I made my decision.

The name Bonhomme Richard is from the French translation (“Good Man Richard”) of Benjamin Franklin’s Poor Richard’s Almanack. With five USS Franklins, one USS Benjamin Franklin, and five USS Bonhomme (or Bon Homme) Richards, Franklin’s name has been borne by more naval ships than any one else in our nation’s history.
The original Bonhomme Richard was a merchant ship built in France as the Duc de Duras. She was loaned to John Paul Jones of the Continental Navy on Feb. 4, 1779. A three-masted ship, her size and armament made her equivalent to half of a 64-gun ship fo the line. During her first patrols, its convoys managed to take 16 merchant vessels as prize. Its most famous action, however was the battle in which she was sunk. In the battle of Flamborough Head, she was outgunned, with 28 12-pound guns, 6 18-pound guns, and 8 9-pound guns against the HMS Serapis’ 20 18-pounders, 20 9-pounders and 10 6-pound guns. The Bonhomme Richard took severe damage in the 3-hour battle. Serapis’ captain offered to accept their surrender, to which Jones replied, “Sir, I have not yet begun to fight!” At that point, his ship was sinking; he steered it alongside the Serapis and lashed the two ships together for boarding. With a crew superior in numbers, he took the Serapis, and their captain surrendered, leaving it in the possession of Jones. Attempts to repair the Bonhomme Richard and save it proved fruitless, and it was cut free and allowed to sink. The Serapis was taken briefly to the Dutch republic, under a custom flag (in order to “fly under the radar” as it were, considering the Dutch did not recognize the United States) and eventually returned to France as repayment for the loan of other ships.

The latest Bohnomme Richard, LHD-6, was placed out of service on July 16, 2020 due to a fire. The U.S. Navy announced on Nov. 30 that it would be decommissioned and scrapped, as repair cost would be more than the cost of constructing a new ship. Once decommissioned, there will be no Navy ship in current commission bearing Franklin’s name or pen-name.

As an amphibious assault ship, LHD-6 can be referred to as a “Gator Freighter”, carrying as many as 17 landing craft, used to deploy troops, vehicles, equipment and cargo to the coast, or even on land via air-cushion craft. With a flight deck, it also can support vertical aircraft such as the SH-60F Seahawk helicopter, the CH-53E Super Stallion heavy-life helicopter, the MV-22B Osprey tiltrotor, the AV-8B Harrier II and the F-35B Lightning II.