USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63)
USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63), formerly
CVA-63, is a decommissioned
United States Navy supercarrier. It was the second naval ship named after
Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, the site of the
Wright brothers' first powered airplane flight.
Kitty Hawk was both the first of the three
Kitty Hawk-class aircraft carriers to be commissioned and last to be decommissioned.
Kitty Hawk was laid down by the
New York Shipbuilding Corporation,
Camden, New Jersey, on 27 December 1956. The ship was launched on 21 May 1960, sponsored by Mrs. Camilla F. McElroy, wife of Defense Secretary
Neil H. McElroy.
Kitty Hawk was launched by flooding her
drydock; the conventional slide down method was ruled out because of her mass and the risk that she might hit the Philadelphia shore on the far side of the Delaware River.
The ship was commissioned 29 April 1961, at
Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, Captain
William F. Bringle in command.
With the decommissioning of
Independence on 30 September 1998,
Kitty Hawk became the United States warship with the second-longest active status, after the sailing ship
USS Constitution (
Enterprise passed her in 2012; these two aircraft carriers were two of the three carriers to fly the
First Navy Jack).
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For 10 years,
Kitty Hawk was the forward-deployed carrier at
Yokosuka Naval Base in
Yokosuka, Japan. In October 2008, she was replaced in this role by
George Washington.
Kitty Hawk then returned to the United States and had her decommissioning ceremony on 31 January 2009. She was officially decommissioned on 12 May 2009 after almost 49 years of service.
Kitty Hawk was replaced by
George H.W. Bush. She was stricken from the
Naval Vessel Register on 20 October 2017, and will be dismantled.