JUST IN:USS Milius Burned for 7 Hours – She Launched Tomahawks 4 Minutes Into the Inferno

The clock read 2117 local time as chaos erupted in the Gulf of Oman.

The USS Millius was engulfed in flames, a catastrophic fire raging from her aft superstructure to the helicopter hangar.

This was not a small fire; it was a conflagration reaching 30 feet into the night sky, threatening the ship’s ammunition magazine.

An Iranian Nor anti-ship missile had struck her engine room, rupturing fuel lines and igniting lubricating oil, transforming the heart of the destroyer into an inferno.

Tragically, eight sailors were dead, and twelve more were missing in the fire zone, almost certainly lost as well.

Damage control teams fought valiantly against flames that kept finding new sources of fuel, but this was not a ship in crisis; this was a ship in the process of dying.

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What unfolded on the Millius and the subsequent events would highlight both the fragility of modern warships and the U.S. Navy’s refusal to accept defeat.

The Millius was burning and dying, yet she was about to become the launching platform for one of the most devastating strikes of the Gulf confrontation.

Let’s delve into what transpired.

The USS Millius was conducting routine patrol operations in the Gulf of Oman, approximately 95 nautical miles from the Iranian coast.

Operating alone, her nearest support, the cruiser USS Princeton, was 70 nautical miles to the southwest.

At 2114, a Nor anti-ship missile launched from a concealed position on the Makran coast, masked by commercial shipping.

The missile emerged from behind a large container vessel, remaining invisible to the Millius’ radar until it was already close.

Detection occurred at 211447, with only 43 seconds until impact.

The ship’s Aegis combat system responded immediately, launching an SM2 missile at 211454, followed by a second at 211455.

The first SM2 intercepted the NOR at 211521, damaging it but failing to destroy it completely.

Its guidance system wrecked, the NOR became erratic, but it still carried a 165 kg explosive warhead.

At 21534, the NOR’s warhead struck the USS Millius, impacting the aft section and detonating inside the main machinery space.

The explosion killed three engineers instantly, but it was just the beginning of the disaster.

The blast ruptured the main fuel transfer line, spraying JP5 aviation fuel throughout the engine room, igniting immediately and spreading uncontrollably.

Within 60 seconds of impact, the fire spread from the engine room to the aft auxiliary machinery room.

In 90 seconds, it reached the helicopter hangar, where an MH-60R Seahawk was fully fueled with 300 gallons of aviation fuel.

At 21704, the helicopter’s fuel tanks ruptured from the heat, creating a fireball that killed five more sailors who were on deck preparing for launch.

The USS Millius was now burning fiercely from frame 120 to frame 180, flames finding new pathways through ventilation ducts and threatening the forward sections of the ship.

Captain William Chang reached the bridge at 2118, just 164 seconds after impact.

Having navigated through smoke-filled passageways and past wounded sailors, he arrived to find a command team in shock.

“Give me a status report,” he demanded.

The officer of the deck’s voice trembled as he replied, “Captain, we’ve lost the engine room. Fire is spreading aft. Eight confirmed dead, twelve missing. Damage control says they can’t contain it. We may need to abandon ship.”

The words hung heavy in the air.

No American destroyer had been abandoned due to enemy action since World War II.

The Millius might be the first, but Captain Chang was not ready to accept that.

“What’s the status of the forward sections?”

“Forward is intact, sir. Fire hasn’t spread past frame 120. The forward systems are operational.”

“Operational.”

That was the key word.

The Millius’ forward VLS cells, where the Tomahawk missiles were stored, remained unaffected by the fire.

The ship might be dying, but her weapons were still alive.

At 2120, Captain Chang made his decision.

“Weapons officer, do we have firing capability?”

“Yes, sir. Forward VLS is fully operational. Fire control systems are on backup power but functional.”

“Target the launch site. Whatever we have, fire immediately.”

The weapons officer hesitated, “Sir, we should probably focus on—”

“I gave you an order. Fire now.”

At 2144, the first Tomahawk launched from the forward VLS cells of the USS Millius.

The ship was burning, her captain considering abandoning her, her aft section an inferno, yet she was launching cruise missiles at the enemy.

At 2148, the second Tomahawk launched, followed by the third at 21252 and the fourth at 212156.

Four missiles targeted the coastal battery that had fired the NOR.

Captain Chang then turned back to the immediate crisis.

“Damage control bridge, what do you need to stop this fire?”

The chief damage controlman’s response came through the intercom, barely audible over the roar of flames.

“Captain, we need to flood the aft magazine. If that ammunition cooks off, we lose the ship, and we need to seal the ventilation at frame 120. That’s where the fire is spreading.”

“Do it. Whatever it takes.”

At 2124, seawater began flooding into the aft ammunition magazine.

The missiles stored there, a significant portion of the ship’s weapons inventory, were ruined, but the ship wouldn’t explode.

At 2126, damage control teams sealed the ventilation ducts at frame 120, starving the fire of oxygen.

While the fire was not dying, it was not spreading forward anymore.

The Millius was going to survive, barely, but survive nonetheless.

Meanwhile, Captain Chang’s transmission reached Fifth Fleet.

Vice Admiral Richardson had been monitoring the engagement since the NOR launch, witnessing the intercept, the impact, and the fire spread.

He saw Chang launch Tomahawks from a burning ship, an act of aggression that deserved support.

At 2128, Richardson authorized an expanded strike against additional targets.

The target list included the battery that had fired, already targeted by Chang’s missiles, plus several additional facilities.

The primary target was identified as the coordination center for Makran Coast anti-ship operations, responsible for multiple attacks in recent months.

Time to eliminate it had arrived.

The secondary targets included two suspected ammunition storage sites and a radar installation.

At 2132, the cruiser USS Princeton, 70 nautical miles away, launched eight Tomahawks at maximum speed to assist the Millius.

The submarine USS Hampton, operating in the Arabian Sea, added eight more at 2135.

In total, 16 additional missiles joined Chang’s four, bringing the total to 20 Tomahawks.

At 2151, 34 minutes after the Millius was hit, the first weapons arrived.

The coastal battery that had fired the NOR was destroyed first, with Chang’s four Tomahawks striking with devastating precision.

The launch vehicles, radar, command vehicle, and ammunition were all obliterated.

The crew that had launched the missile that struck the Millius perished alongside their equipment.

The facility was hardened, with underground sections and blast-resistant construction.

While the eight Tomahawks were insufficient to completely destroy it, they rendered it nonfunctional.

The above-ground structures collapsed, the antenna farm was wrecked, and access tunnels were blocked.

The officers inside survived, but they lost all means of communication and coordination for future attacks.

At 2158, the Hampton’s missiles arrived at the secondary targets.

The ammunition storage sites received four missiles each, with secondary explosions confirming significant stocks of missiles and rockets—weaponry that would no longer threaten American ships.

The radar installation received the remaining missiles, eliminating the facility that had tracked American shipping and provided targeting data.

By 2203, the strike was complete.

Total damage: one coastal battery destroyed, one coordination center severely damaged and nonfunctional, two ammunition storage sites destroyed, and one radar installation destroyed.

Estimated Iranian casualties ranged from 80 to 120 personnel.

Meanwhile, the USS Millius continued to fight for her life.

The fire had been contained at frame 120; it wasn’t spreading forward, but it was still burning aft.

Damage control teams could only prevent the situation from worsening.

The ship made way toward the Princeton at eight knots, the fastest speed her remaining propulsion could manage.

At 2245, the Princeton came alongside, and her fire teams crossed over to the Millius with additional firefighting equipment.