{"id":37849,"date":"2020-08-31T19:20:40","date_gmt":"2020-08-31T19:20:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2020\/08\/31\/watch-this-old-navy-ship-get-shot-up-and-sunk\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T19:39:54","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T19:39:54","slug":"watch-this-old-navy-ship-get-shot-up-and-sunk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2020\/08\/31\/watch-this-old-navy-ship-get-shot-up-and-sunk\/","title":{"rendered":"Watch this old Navy ship get shot up and sunk"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The humble amphibious cargo ship Durham<\/a> received its commission more than 51 years ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through the course of its roughly 25-year career, it earned three campaign stars for service in the Vietnam War and did its best to avoid tyrannical COs, indifferent command master chiefs and the toxic internal politics of the pier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It retired in 1994, threw a shadow box on its wall and was struck from the Naval Vessel Register<\/a> five years ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Sunday, the ex-Durham provided its final service to the nation when it got shot through and sunk by its active-duty brethren during this year\u2019s Rim of the Pacific, or RIMPAC<\/a>, naval exercise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Footage of the sinking exercise, known in Navy-speak as a SINKEX<\/a>, shows the Durham bobbing along off Hawaii, minding its own business, when several rounds blast into its port side, sending brown and black smoke shooting up through the superstructure and out the starboard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Durham is hit several more times in the 40-second video but is not shown sinking into the briny depths.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Such SINKEXs offer crews the closest thing to reality when it comes to targeting and sinking a vessel, according to a Navy release.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSimulation is a critical part of our training, but there is nothing better than to conduct live fire training,\u201d Royal Australian Navy Capt. Phillipa Hay, the commander of RIMPAC 2020\u2032s Task Force One, said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ten nations, 22 surface ships, a sub and about 5,300 personnel took part in this year\u2019s RIMPAC, which spanned the last two weeks of August and took place entirely at sea to mitigate COVID-19.<\/p>\n\n\n\t