Photos Aircraft Carriers

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).[a]

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.







































 
On March 17, 1986 as USS FORRESTAL CV-59 steamed in company with USS WAINWRIGHT DLG-28, and USS JULIUS A. FURER FFG-6 in the Atlantic Ocean in the Jacksonville Operating Area. SOPA and OTC is Commander Carrier Group SIX, RADM Diego E. Hernandez embarked in USS FORRESTAL CV-59. Commanding Officer is Captain Timothy W. Wright. Boilers 1B, 2B, 3A, 4A, generators 1, 3, 5, 6, 7, and 8, Evaporators 1, 2, 3, 5, are on the line. Condition of Readiness Four, EMCON Condition Delta, and Material condition Yoke has been set throughout the ship.
Aircraft Fire.
In the afternoon at 1609 hours, FORRESTAL was conducting routine flight operations in the Jacksonville Operating Area, about 100 miles east of Jacksonville, FL. At 1606 hours, as a Grumman VA-176 KA-6D tanker BuNo. 151575 prepared for launch at 1611hours. A Safety Final Checker saw a problem. When he raised his arms up to signal to stop the launch his over his shoulder tool pouch came undone and a screw driver flew out and got caught in the air stream and was ingested. Turbine blades shot out everywhere several penetrated the fuel cells. The fuel spilled into the catapult. A fire erupted on under the aircraft. In the compartment below the catapult a hatch was not dogged down and fuel spilled out and ended up a multi deck fire. Following the catapult Officer’s order to throttle back, the pilot and bombardier-navigator jettisoned the canopy and exited the aircraft via the right wing. Flight deck crews converged on the burning aircraft and the fire was declared out at 1611, five minutes after it began. Captain Wright commended the flight deck crew for their quick action in extinguishing the fire and rapidly clearing the flight deck, which allowed flight operations to continue within an hour of the incident.


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Sad images........

The last installment IT1 Steven Taylor's Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility (NISMF) photos, featuring USS John F. Kennedy (CV 67) at her resting place in 27° Philly. She was Mayport's last carrier
"The Big 67. Note that Kennedy was built with a new design of superstructure that angled exhaust gas away from the flight deck, as she was a conventional oil powered ship, not nuclear. As a bonus if you look up the America Class LHAs, they clearly took inspiration from the Kennedy in their superstructure design." - IT1 Taylor

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An American Grumman TBF Avenger torpedo bomber before takeoff from the Essex-class aircraft carrier USS Yorktown (CV-10), 1943.

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A-6A Intruder & F-4 Phantom II flying in formation
Caribbean Sea - an A-6A Intruders of attack squadron 176 (VA-176) and F-4 Phantom II of fighter squadron 84 (VF-84) fly in formation as they return to the attack aircraft carrier USS Franklin D. Roosevelt (CVA-42) following a simulated alpha strike at the Atlantic Fleet Weapons Range in Puerto Rico.

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USS Langley (CV-1) with Vought VE-7 aircraft on deck, at anchor off Culebra Island, Puerto Rico, on Mar 18, 1926. In the background are 4 four-stack destroyers and a Tennessee (BB-43/44)-class battleship on the left, and two New Mexico (BB-40/42)-class battleships (center and right). The original photo was labeled "Harbinger" to show symbolically how the unimposing Langley was the first of a line of ships which eventually drove the battleship from its primary place into the background.
United States Navy National Museum of Naval Aviation

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On March 18th1954, an AD Skyraider from VA-55 became engulfed in flames after a mishap on the deck of USS Essex (CVA-9). The pilot escaped but left the engine running. An aviation electronics technician airman climbed into the cockpit of the burning plane and shut it down.

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