America: The U.S. Navy Aircraft Carrier the U.S. Navy Couldn't Sink

Summary: The USS America, a retired U.S. Navy aircraft carrier, was subjected to an unusual final mission in 2005 to determine its durability against extreme damage. Instead of being preserved as a museum, the America was used in a SinkEx (sink at-sea live-fire training exercise), where it underwent a series of explosions over four weeks to test its survivability.

-Remarkably resilient, the America proved difficult to sink, providing valuable data for future carrier designs. Ultimately...