USS JOHN F. KENNEDY (CV-67)

'USS ''John F. Kennedy'' (CV-67)', formerly CVA-67, was a supercarrier of the United States Navy. Nicknamed ''"Big John"'', she was named after the 35th President of the United States, John F. Kennedy. ''Kennedy'' was originally designated a CVA, or strictly an air combat ship; however, the designation was changed to CV to denote that the ship was capable of anti-submarine warfare (ASW), making her an all-purpose carrier.
''Kennedy'' was decommissioned on March 23, 2007 at Mayport, FL, 18 months short of 40 years service in the United States Navy, ^[1]leaving the as the only conventionally-powered carrier left in the Navy. The ''Kennedy's last skipper, Captain Todd Zecchin, has been dispatched to Japan to oversee the decommissioning of that ship as well.^[2]

Contents

Ship history

1970s

1980s

1990s

2000s

Commanding Officers

References

External links

Ship history

The ship's keel was laid on October 22, 1964. She was christened May 27, 1967 by Jacqueline Kennedy and her 9-year-old daughter, Caroline at Newport News, Virginia, and entered service September 7, 1968. ''John F. Kennedy'' is a modified version of the earlier ''Kitty Hawk''-class aircraft carriers but there are enough differences in the ''Kennedy'' that the Navy considers her in a single-class of her own. ''Kennedy'' was ordered as a nuclear carrier, using the A3W reactor, but converted to conventional propulsion after construction had begun. The island is somewhat different from the ''Kitty Hawk'' class, with angled funnels to direct smoke and gases away from the flight deck.

1970s

''Kennedy's maiden voyage, and several of her subsequent voyages, were on deployments to the Mediterranean during much of the 1970s to help deal with the steadily deteriorating situation in the Middle East. It was during the 1970s that the ''Kennedy'' was upgraded to handle the F-14 Tomcat and the S-3 Viking.
In 1974, she won the Marjorie Sterrett Battleship Fund Award for the Atlantic Fleet.
On 22 November 1975, ''Kennedy'' collided with , severely damaging the smaller ship and earning itself the nickname "Can Opener."
On 14 September, 1976, while conducting a nighttime underway replenishment 100 miles north of Scotland, the lost control and collided with ''Kennedy'', resulting in such severe damage to the destroyer that she was decommissioned in 1977.
In late 1978, the ship underwent her first, yearlong overhaul, which was completed in 1979 without incident. In 1979, she won her second Marjorie Sterrett Battleship Fund Award.

1980s

In 1981, the ship sailed on her ninth deployment, and her first visit to the Indian Ocean before transiting the Suez Canal. During this tour ''Kennedy'' played host to the first visit of the Somali head of state.
In 1983 ''Kennedy'' was moved to Beirut, Lebanon, to provide a U.S. presence for a growing crisis, and spent most of that year patrolling the region.
In 1984, the ship was drydocked at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard for a complex overhaul and much needed upgrades. Setting sail in July of 1986, ''Kennedy'' participated in the International Naval Review to help mark the Re-dedication of the Statue of Liberty. ''Kennedy'' served as the flagship for the armada before departing on an overseas deployment to the Mediterranean in August - highlighted by multiple Freedom of Navigation exercises in the Libya's Gulf of Sidra, and operations off of the coast of Lebanon as a result of increasing terrorist activities and U.S. citizens being taken hostage in Beirut. The ship returned to Norfolk, Va in March of 1987.
In August of 1988, ''Kennedy'' departed on her twelfth overseas deployment. During this deployment, a pair of MiG-23 'Flogger E' fighter bombers from Libya approached the carrier task force which was 130km off the shore of Libya near the declared Libyan territorial waters of the Gulf of Sidra. The approaching MIGs prompted two ''Kennedy''-launched F-14 Tomcats to intercept the incoming threat fighters. Although the U.S. planes were sent to escort the MiGs away from the taskforce peacefully, what developed was a shooting match between the U.S. and Libyan aircraft, which resulted in the elimination of both Libyan MiG-23s.

1990s

''Kennedy'' returned to the U.S. in time to participate in Fleet Week in New York and July 4 celebrations in Boston before unexpectedly being mobilized in August of 1990 for Operation Desert Shield. Despite having little to no warning, ''Kennedy'' prepared for her deployment overseas, where she arrived in September 1990 and became the flagship for the commander of the Red Sea Battle Force. On January 16, 1991, ''Kennedy's Carrier Wing 3 commenced operations against Iraqi forces as part of Operation Desert Storm. Between the commencement of the operation and the cease-fire, ''Kennedy'' launched 114 airstrikes and nearly 2,900 sorties against Iraq, which delivered over 3.5 million pounds of .
On February 27, 1991 President George H. W. Bush declared a cease-fire in Iraq, and ordered all U.S. forces to stand down. With the presidential cease-fire in place the ''Kennedy'' was relieved, and began the long journey home by transiting the Suez Canal. She arrived in Norfolk March 28, 1991 and received the greatest homecoming celebration since World War II. While at Norfolk the ship was placed on a four month selective restricted availability period as the shipyard workers set about fixing the ship. Extensive repairs to the flight deck were made, as well as to maintenance and engineering systems. Additionally, the ship was refitted to handle the new F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet.

With the upgrades completed, ''Kennedy'' departed on her 14th deployment to the Mediterranean, assisting several task forces with workup exercises in anticipation of intervention in Yugoslavia. When ''Kennedy'' returned she was sent to the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, where she underwent a two year extensive overhaul. Upon the completion of the overhaul the ship was transferred to the Mayport Naval Station near Jacksonville, Florida, which remains the ship's home port.
The JFK made a high-profile visit to Dublin during an Atlantic deployment in 1996. Here, more than 10,000 people were invited to tour the ship at anchor in Dublin Bay. The visit was also intended to two personalities who had made a great impact on US history - John F Kennedy, for whom the ship was named, and CommodoreJohn Barry. Barry was a Co Wexford native who played an instrumental role in the early years of the US Navy. Officers and crew from the JFK joined local military and civilian organisations in celebrating Barry's achievements at his statue in Crescent Quay, Wexford, and three F14 Tomcat fighters flew at low level over the town. Her Excellency Ms Jean Kennedy Smith, a sister of John F Kennedy, was the US ambassador to Ireland at this time and was among those to welcome the ship to Ireland.
''Kennedy's 15th Mediterranean deployment was uneventful, and she returned in time to participate in Fleet Week '98 in New York City.
''Kennedy's 16th deployment, however, was eventful. ''Kennedy'' became involved in a rescue mission when the tug ''Gulf Majesty'' foundered during Hurricane Floyd in mid-September of 1999. The ship successfully rescued the crew of the vessel, then headed toward the Middle East, where she became the first U.S. ship to make a port call in Jordan, in the process playing host to the King of Jordan, before taking up station in support of Operation Southern Watch. During this deployment ''Kennedy'' jet planes set a new record for bombing accuracy.
''Kennedy'' had the unique honor of being the only carrier underway at the end of 1999, earning the ship the nickname "Carrier of the New Millennium"; ''Kennedy'' arrived at Mayport on March 19, 2000. After a brief period of maintenance, the carrier sailed north to participate in July 4 International Naval Review (see also Naval review), then headed to Boston for Sail Boston 2000.

2000s

During ''Kennedy's last round of refits the ship became a testbed for an experimental system for the Cooperative Engagement Capability, a system that allowed ''Kennedy'' to engage targets beyond its original range.
In 2001, during a pre-deployment trial, the ''Kennedy'' was found to be severely deficient in some respects, especially those relating to air group operations; most problematic, two aircraft catapults and three aircraft elevators were non-functional during inspection, and two boilers would not light. As a result, her captain and two department heads were relieved for cause.
From February to June, 2002 jet planes from the ship dropped 62,113,992 pounds of ordnance on Taliban and al Qaeda targets.^[3]
In July 2004, ''Kennedy'' collided with a dhow in the Gulf, leaving no survivors on the traditional Arab sailing boat. After the incident the Navy relieved the commander of the ''Kennedy'', Capt. Stephen B. Squires. The carrier itself was unscathed, but two jet fighters on the deck were damaged when one slid into the other as the ship made a hard turn to avoid the dhow. Capt. Squires waited to make the turn at the last possible moment to recover aircraft returning for airstrikes that were critically low on fuel. ^[4]
Budget cutbacks and changing naval tactics, combined with the facts that the ''Kennedy'' was the most costly carrier in the fleet to maintain and that she was due for an expensive overhaul, prompted the United States Navy to retire the ''Kennedy''.^[5] On April 1, 2005, the Navy formally announced that the carrier's scheduled 15-month overhaul had been canceled. ^[6].before decommissioning she made many stops for people to get one last look at the carrier, including a stop at its "homeport" boston harbor (for the fact that Kennedy was born in massachusetts). She was decommissioned in Mayport, Florida on March 23, 2007.
Remaining crew members and contractors will remove some systems from the ''Kennedy'' and prepare others for long-term inactivation. The ship's unique in-port cabin, which was decorated by Jacqueline Kennedy with wood paneling, oil paintings, and rare artifacts were disassembled and rebuilt at the National Museum of Naval Aviation at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida.^[7] The ''Kennedy'' was towed to Norfolk, Va on 26 July 2007. The Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility in Philadelphia is the intended storage berth for the ship. After several months of assurances, river pilots and docking masters changed their minds just days before departure from Florida. They decided pier 4 at the old Navy Yard needed to have a shoaled area near pier 4 dredged before the voyage up the Delaware River could begin.
The Kennedy arrived at Naval Station Norfolk 31 July on a brief "Port Visit" until her final berth is made ready.

Commanding Officers

★ CAPT Earl Yates 7 September 1968 – 3 September 1969

★ CAPT Julian Lake 3 September 1969 – 4 September 1970

★ CAPT Ferdinand Koch 4 September 1970 – 1 October 1971

★ CAPT Robert Gormley 1 October 1971 – 30 November 1972

★ CAPT John Dixon Jr. 30 November 1972 – 24 May 1974

★ CAPT William Gureck 24 May 1974 – 29 November 1975

★ CAPT John Mitchell 29 November 1975 – 14 May 1977

★ CAPT Jerry O. Tuttle 14 May 1977 – 27 November 1978

★ CAPT Lowell Myers 27 November 1978 – 27 June 1980

★ CAPT Diego Hernandez 27 June 1980 – 29 August 1981

★ CAPT D. Bruce Cargill 29 August 1981 – 14 April 1983

★ CAPT Gary Wheatley 14 April 1983 – 5 September 1984

★ CAPT William McGowen 5 September 1984 – 1 May 1986

★ CAPT John Moriarty 1 May 1986 – 29 January 1988

★ CAPT Hugh Wisely 29 January 1988 – 27 May 1989

★ CAPT Herbert Browne 27 May 1989 – 7 December 1990

★ CAPT John Gay 7 December 1990 – 6 March 1992

★ CAPT Timothy Beard 6 March 1992 – 24 June 1993

★ CAPT J. R. Hutchison 24 June 1993 – 27 January 1995

★ CAPT Jerald Hoewing 27 January 1995 – 15 July 1996

★ CAPT Edward Fahy 15 July 1996 – 9 December 1997

★ CAPT Robin Weber 9 December 1997 – 6 August 1999

★ CAPT Michael Miller 6 August 1999 – 23 October 2000

★ CAPT Maurice Joyce 23 October 2000 – 13 December 2001

★ CAPT Johnny Green 13 December 2001 – 12 February 2002

★ CAPT Ronald Henderson Jr. 12 February 2002 – 8 April 2004

★ CAPT Stephen Squires 8 April 2004 – 27 August 2004

★ CAPT John Miller 27 August 2004 – 5 October 2004

★ CAPT Dennis FitzPatrick 5 October 2004 – 26 May 2006

★ CAPT Todd A. Zecchin 26 May 2006 – 23 March 2007

References

1. CNN article about decommissioning of ''Kennedy''
2. Article about Capt. Zecchin helping decommission
3. Official (comprehensive) history of ''Kennedy''
4. Navy News Release: USS John F. Kennedy Commanding Officer Relieved
5. Article about reasons for retirement of ''Kennedy''
6. Article about cancellation of overhaul
7. NavyTimes article about placing of in-port cabin into museum

External links

★ USS ''John F. Kennedy'' official homepage

★ USS ''John F. Kennedy'' webpage

★ Maritimequest USS ''John F. Kennedy'' CV-67 Photo Gallery

★ USS ''John F. Kennedy'' page at globalsecurity.org

★ Kansas City Star March 24, 2007, page A2