_departs_Naval_Station_Mayport_on_11_November_2003.jpg) USSJohn F. Kennedy leavingNS Mayport, Florida in November 2003 | |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name | John F. Kennedy-class |
| Builders | Newport News Shipbuilding |
| Operators |  United States Navy |
| Preceded by | Kitty Hawk class andEnterprise class |
| Succeeded by | Nimitz class |
| In commission | 7 September 1968 – 1 August 2007 |
| History | |
 United States | |
| Name | John F. Kennedy |
| Namesake | John F. Kennedy |
| Awarded | 30 April 1964[1] |
| Builder | Newport News Shipbuilding[1] |
| Laid down | 22 October 1964[1] |
| Launched | 27 May 1967[1] |
| Sponsored by | Caroline Kennedy[2] |
| Christened | 27 May 1967 |
| Acquired | 31 August 1968 |
| Commissioned | 7 September 1968[1] |
| Decommissioned | 23 March 2007[1] |
| Reclassified | CV-67, 1 December 1974 |
| Refit | 1984 |
| Stricken | 16 October 2009[1] |
| Identification | |
| Motto |
|
| Nickname(s) | "Big John" (unofficially: "Bldg 67", "Can Opener", "Jack the Tin Can Killer")[4] |
| Fate | Scrapped[5] |
| Badge |  |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Aircraft carrier[6] |
| Displacement | |
| Length | 1,052 ft (321 m)overall, 990 ft (300 m)waterline |
| Beam | 252 ft (77 m) extreme, 130 ft (40 m) waterline |
| Height | 192 ft (59 m) from top of the mast to the waterline |
| Draft | 36 ft (11 m) maximum, 37 ft (11 m) limit |
| Installed power | |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 34knots (63 km/h; 39 mph)[7] |
| Capacity | 5,000+ |
| Complement | 3,297 officers and men (without jet commands & crews) |
| Armament |
|
| Aircraft carried | 80+ |
USSJohn F. Kennedy (hull numberCV-67) (formerlyCVA-67), the only ship of herclass, was anaircraft carrier, formerly of theUnited States Navy. Considered asupercarrier,[2] she was a variant of theKitty Hawk class, and the lastconventionally-powered carrier built for the Navy,[6] as all carriers since have hadnuclear propulsion. Commissioned in 1968, the ship was named afterJohn F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States.John F. Kennedy was originallydesignated a CVA, forfixed-wing attack carrier, however the designation was changed to CV, forfleet carrier.
After nearly 40 years of service,John F. Kennedy wasdecommissioned on 1 August 2007. She was berthed at theNAVSEA Inactive Ships On-site Maintenance facility inPhiladelphia, formerly thePhiladelphia Naval Shipyard, and, until late 2017, was available for donation as amuseum and memorial to a qualified organization.[1][8] In late 2017, the Navy revoked her "donation hold" status and designated her for dismantling.[5]
On 16 January 2025,John F. Kennedy left the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard and started the voyage toBrownsville, Texas, where she will bescrapped.[9] She arrived at Brownsville on 2 February 2025 for her final arrival.[10]
She has been succeeded by theGerald R. Ford-class aircraft carrierPre-Commissioning Unit John F. Kennedy (CVN-79), laid down in July 2015, launched in October 2019, and scheduled to enter service in March 2027, after missing the delivery date July 2025.[11]
Designed underShip Characteristics Board project SCB-127C,[12] the ship'skeel waslaid on inclined Shipway 8 byNewport News Shipbuilding on 22 October 1964. By 1965, the larger semi-submerged Shipway 11 became available, where final construction was completed.[13] The ship waschristened 27 May 1967 byJacqueline Kennedy and her 9-year-old daughter,Caroline, two days short of what would have been President Kennedy's 50th birthday. The ship entered service 7 September 1968.
John F. Kennedy is a modified version of the earlierKitty Hawk-classaircraft carriers.[2] Originally scheduled to be the fourthKitty Hawk-class carrier, the ship received so many modifications during construction she formed her own class.[6] The ship was originally ordered as a nuclear carrier, using theA3W reactor, but converted to conventional propulsion after construction had begun.[12] Theisland is somewhat different from that of theKitty Hawk class, with angledfunnels to direct smoke and gases away from theflight deck.John F. Kennedy is also 17 feet (5.2 m) shorter than theKitty Hawk class.[12]
After an operational readiness inspection (ORI) conducted by Commander,Carrier Division Two,John F. Kennedy left for theMediterranean Sea in April 1969. The ship reachedRota, Spain on the morning of 22 April 1969 and relievedUSS Forrestal. Rear Admiral Pierre N. Charbonnet, Commander, Carrier Striking Forces, Sixth Fleet, and Commander, Carrier Striking Unit 60.1.9, shifted his flag toJohn F. Kennedy. The turnover complete by nightfall, the carrier, escorted by destroyers, transited theStrait of Gibraltar at the start of the mid watch on 22 April. The next day,John F. Kennedy refueled fromUSS Marias, and acquired the company of aSovietKotlin-class destroyer (Pennant No. 383).
John F. 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. During the 1970sJohn F. Kennedy was upgraded to handle theF-14 Tomcat and theS-3 Viking.
After her 1973 overhaul,John F. Kennedy was planned to deploy to Vietnam but her orders were changed to deploy European waters after the signing of theParis Peace Accords.[2]John F. Kennedy was involved in the Navy response to theYom Kippur War in the Middle East in October 1973, with her actions and the larger U.S. Navy picture being described inElmo Zumwalt's bookOn Watch.[14] In 1974, she won theMarjorie Sterrett Battleship Fund Award for the Atlantic Fleet.
On 20 June 1975,John F. Kennedy was the target of possible arson, suffering eight fires, with no injuries, while at port inNorfolk, Virginia.[15] On 22 November 1975,John F. Kennedy collided with thecruiserBelknap, severely damaging the smaller ship. As a result of the collision withJohn F. Kennedy's overhanging deck,JP-5 fuel lines were ruptured spraying fuel over an adjacent catwalk, and fires ensued aboard both ships.Belknap's superstructure was gutted almost to the main deck, and seven of her crew killed. AboardJohn F. Kennedy, smoke inhalation claimed the life of Yeoman 2nd Class David A. Chivalette of VF-14, CVW-1.
 | _underway_in_December_1968.jpg) |
On 14 September 1976, while conducting a nighttimeunderway replenishment 100 miles (160 km) north of Scotland, the destroyerBordelon lost control and collided withJohn F. Kennedy, resulting in such severe damage to the destroyer that she was removed from service in 1977. Earlier the same day, one F-14 Tomcat, following a problem with the catapult, fell off of the flight deck ofJohn F. Kennedy, withAIM-54 Phoenix missiles in international waters, off the coast of Scotland. Both crew members ejected and landed on the deck, injured but alive.[16] A naval race (surface and submarine) followed between the Soviet Navy and U.S. Navy to get back not only the plane (because of itsweapon system), but also its missiles. After a prolonged search, the U.S. Navy retrieved the aircraft and its missiles.[citation needed]
In 1979John F. Kennedy underwent her first year-long overhaul, which was completed in 1980.[17] While the carrier was atNorfolk Naval Shipyard, Virginia for the overhaul, arson attacks were carried out on the ship on two occasions. On 9 April 1979, she experienced five fires which killed one shipyard worker and injured 34 others, and on 5 June 1979 the carrier was the target of two more fires; no one was injured in the latter incident.[15][18]In 1979 she won her secondMarjorie Sterrett Battleship Fund Award.[citation needed]
On 4 August 1980,John F. Kennedy left Norfolk, Virginia and voyaged to the Mediterranean Sea.[19]
On 4 January 1982,John F. Kennedy, with Carrier Air Wing Three (AC), sailed as the flagship forCarrier Group Four (CCG-4) from Norfolk, Va. on her ninth deployment, and her first visit to the Indian Ocean after port visits to St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, Malaga, Spain, and transiting theSuez Canal. In her time in the Indian OceanJohn F. Kennedy conducted her only port visit to Perth/Fremantle, Western Australia, anchoring in Gage Roads on 19 March 1982 for a R&R visit, departing on 25 March back to the Indian Ocean. During this timeJohn F. Kennedy played host to the first visit of the Somali head of state, PresidentMohammed Siad Barre. Her cruise ended with port visits to Mombasa, Kenya and Toulon, France, and another visit to Malaga, Spain before returning home on 14 July 1982.
In October 1983John F. Kennedy, with Commander,Carrier Group 6 (CCG-6) embarked, was diverted toBeirut, Lebanon from her planned Indian Ocean deployment, after theBeirut barracks bombing killed 241 U.S. military personnel taking part in theMultinational Force in Lebanon, and spent the rest of that year and early 1984 patrolling the region. On 4 December 1983 tenA-6 aircraft fromJohn F. Kennedy along with A-6 andA-7 aircraft fromUSS Independence took part in a bombing raid over Beirut, in response to two U.S. F-14 aircraft being fired upon the previous day. The Navy lost two aircraft during the raid: an A-7E fromIndependence and an A-6E fromJohn F. Kennedy were shot down bySAMs. The A-7E pilot was picked up by a fishing boat, but the A-6E pilot Lt. Mark Lange died after ejecting and the B/N Lt.Robert "Bobby" Goodman was taken prisoner and released on 3 January 1984.[2]
In 1984 the ship wasdrydocked at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard for a one-and-a-half-year complex overhaul and upgrades.
In 1985John F. Kennedy received the initial awarding of theDepartment of Defense Phoenix Award for Maintenance Excellence for having the best maintenance department in the entire Department of Defense.[20]
 |  |  Signed by Commanding Officer, Denny Bruce Cargill |
Setting sail in July 1986,John F. Kennedy participated in theInternational Naval Review to help mark theRe-dedication of the Statue of Liberty.John F. Kennedy served as theflagship for thearmada before departing on her eleventh overseas deployment to the Mediterranean in August – highlighted by multiple Freedom of Navigation exercises in theGulf of Sidra, and operations off of the coast of Lebanon as a response to increasing terrorist activities and U.S. citizens being taken hostage in Beirut. The ship returned to Norfolk, Virginia in March 1987 and was dry-docked a second time for fifteen months for critical upgrades and major repairs.
In August 1988John F. Kennedy departed on her twelfth overseas deployment. During this deployment, a pair ofMiG-23 Floggerfighter aircraft from Libya approached the carrier task force, which was 81 miles (130 km) off the shore of Libya near the declared Libyan territorial waters of the Gulf of Sidra.John F. Kennedy launched two F-14 Tomcats from VF-32 "Fighting Swordsmen" to intercept the incoming MiGs. The U.S. planes were sent to escort the MiGs away from the task force. During the course of the intercept, the MiGs were determined to be hostile andwere both shot down.
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John F. Kennedy returned to the U.S. in time to participate inFleet Week in New York andIndependence Day celebrations inBoston, Massachusetts before receiving an "All-hands" recall on 10 August 1990, forOperation Desert Shield. The ship was empty of fuel, and ordnance and equipment as she was ready to join the yards for some SRA maintenance. Once the Warning order was issued, the ship went into 24-hour supplies replenishment procedures. She took on all the supplies and equipment she had just been offloading. She took on additional fuel and ordnance while crossing theAtlantic Ocean. She departed the United States combat ready faster than any ship had accomplished since theVietnam War. She departed on 15 August 1990, and became the flagship for the commander of the Red Sea Battle Force. At midnight on 17 January 1991John F. Kennedy's Carrier Air Wing 3 commenced the first strike operations against Iraqi forces as part ofOperation Desert Storm. Between the commencement of the operation and the cease-fire,John F. Kennedy launched 114airstrikes and nearly 2,900sorties against Iraq, which delivered over 3.5 million pounds ofordnance. On 27 February 1991 PresidentGeorge H. W. Bush declared a cease-fire in Iraq, and ordered all U.S. forces to stand down.John F. Kennedy was relieved, and began the long journey home by transiting theSuez Canal. She arrived in Norfolk on 28 March 1991.
While at Norfolk the ship was placed on a four-month selective restricted-availability period as shipyard workers carried out maintenance. Extensive repairs to the flight deck, maintenance and engineering systems were made. Additionally, the ship was refitted to handle the newF/A-18C/D Hornet.
With the upgrades completed,John F. Kennedy departed on her 14th deployment to the Mediterranean, assisting several task forces with workup exercises in anticipation of intervention inYugoslavia. WhenJohn F. Kennedy returned she was sent to thePhiladelphia Naval Shipyard, where she underwent a two-year extensive overhaul. Upon completion of the overhaul the ship was transferred to theMayport Naval Station nearJacksonville, Florida, which remained the ship's home port.
On 1 October 1995,John F. Kennedy was designated to be an operational reserve carrier andNaval Reserve Force ship with a combined full-time active duty and part-time Naval Reserve crew complement, assigned to the U.S. Atlantic Fleet.John F. Kennedy would be available to deploy with either an active or reserve carrier air wing when mobilized in support of urgent operational requirements. In this capacity,John F. Kennedy's new primary function would be to provide a surge capability, and in peacetime, to support training requirements. She would participate in routine fleet exercises, aviator carrier qualifications, and battle group training.[2] The impetus for this initiative was post-Cold War defense spending in the mid-1990s, however, the Naval Reserve was never adequately funded to accomplish major maintenance actions forJohn F. Kennedy, further exacerbated by additional defense cutbacks that eliminated Carrier Air Wing Reserve 30 and the downgrading of Carrier Air Wing Reserve 20 to a non-deployableTactical Support Wing and the return of many of the Reserve's front-line combat aircraft to the active duty force. Following the 11 September 2001 attacks on the United States, the Operational Reserve Carrier concept was discontinued andJohn F. Kennedy was returned to the active duty fleet and placed back in the same maintenance rotation as active duty carriers.
John F. Kennedy made a high-profile visit toDublin, Ireland 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 honor two personalities who had made a great impact on history: John F. Kennedy, for whom the ship was named, andCommodoreJohn Barry, a native ofCounty Wexford, Ireland who played an instrumental role in the early years of the United States Navy. Officers and crew fromJohn F. Kennedy joined local military and civilian organizations in celebrating Barry's achievements at his statue in Crescent Quay,Wexford, and three F-14 Tomcat fighters flew at low level over the town.Jean Kennedy Smith, sister of John F. Kennedy, was theU.S. ambassador to Ireland at the time, and was among those who welcomed the ship to Ireland.
During her visit to Ireland, high winds in Dublin Bay caused the boarding pontoon to tear a large hole inJohn F. Kennedy's hull.
John F. Kennedy's 15th Mediterranean deployment included two transits of the Suez Canal, and four months deployed in thePersian Gulf. One night in the Gulf two Iranian F-14's were flying low altitude at high speed heading toward the ship. The AEGIS cruiserVicksburg acquired the jets on radar and warned them to turn away, which they did. She returned in time to participate in Fleet Week '98 in New York City.
Shortly beforeJohn F. Kennedy's 16th deployment, she became involved in a rescue mission when the tugGulf Majesty foundered duringHurricane Floyd in mid-September 1999. The ship successfully rescued the crew of the vessel, then headed toward the Middle East, where she became the first U.S. aircraft carrier to make a port call inAl Aqabah, Jordan, in the process playing host to theKing of Jordan, before taking up station in support ofOperation Southern Watch.
John F. Kennedy was the only conventionally powered U.S. carrier underway at the end of 1999, arriving back at Mayport on 19 March 2000. After a brief period of maintenance (Advanced combat direction system was installed), the carrier sailed north to participate in 4 July International Naval Review, then headed to Boston forSail Boston 2000.[21] The City of Boston arranged this independent event to take advantage of the transit of Tall sailing ships participating inOperation Sail 2000 as they passed by fromNew London, Connecticut en route to their final port-of-call inPortland, Maine.
DuringJohn F. Kennedy's last round of refits the ship became a testbed for an experimental system for theCooperative Engagement Capability, a system that allowedJohn F. Kennedy to engage targets beyond original range.
In 2001, during a pre-deployment trial,John F. Kennedy was found to be severely deficient in some respects, especially those relating to air group operations; most problematic, twoaircraft catapults and three aircraft elevators, which are used to lift aircraft from the hangar deck to and from the flight deck, were non-functional during inspection, and two boilers would not light. As a result, her captain and two department heads were relieved for cause. As the11 September attacks of 2001 unfolded,John F. Kennedy and her battle group were ordered to supportOperation Noble Eagle, establishing air security along the mid-Atlantic seaboard, including Washington, D.C.John F. Kennedy was released from Noble Eagle on 14 September 2001.[2]
_pulls_into_Spain_for_a_port_visit.jpg)
During the first six months of 2002,John F. Kennedy aircraft dropped 31,000 tons of ordnance onTaliban andal Qaeda targets in support ofOperation Enduring Freedom.[2] In August 2002,John F. Kennedy visited the city ofTarragona inSpain.[22]
In July 2004John F. Kennedy collided with adhow in the Persian Gulf, leaving no survivors on the traditional Arab sailing boat.[23] After the incident the Navy relieved the commanding officer ofJohn F. Kennedy. The carrier herself was unscathed, but two jet fighters on the deck were damaged when an F-14B Tomcat assigned to VF-103 slid into an F/A-18C Hornet assigned to VFA-81 damaging the wing of the F-14 as well as the upper section of the radome and forward windscreen of the F/A-18 as the ship made a hard turn to avoid the tiny vessel. A popular misconception is thatJohn F. Kennedy's captain waited to make the turn at the last possible moment to recover aircraft critically low on fuel returning from airstrikes. The official review board determined this was not the case and the aircraft could have remained safely aloft untilJohn F. Kennedy maneuvered to avoid the dhow.[24]
John F. Kennedy was the most costly carrier in the fleet to maintain and was due for an expensive overhaul; budget cutbacks and changing naval tacticsprompted the U.S. Navy to decide to retire her.[25] On 1 April 2005 the Navy formally announced that the carrier's scheduled 15-month overhaul had been cancelled.[26]
_departs_Naval_Station_Mayport_for_the_last_underway_period_before_her_decommissioning_in_March.jpg)
_Commanding_Officer_Capt._Todd_A._Zecchin_during_the_historical_decommissioning_ceremony_of_the_aircraft_carr.jpg)
Before decommissioning she made a number of port calls to allow the public to "say farewell" to her, including a stop at her "homeport" Boston Harbor.[27]John F. Kennedy also took part in the 2005 New York City Fleet Week festivities at theIntrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum.[28] She was decommissioned inMayport, Florida on 23 March 2007.[29]
The ship's unique in-port cabin, which was decorated byJacqueline Kennedy with wood paneling, oil paintings, and rare artifacts, was disassembled, to be rebuilt at theNational Museum of Naval Aviation atNaval Air Station Pensacola, Florida.[30]
Ex-John F. Kennedy was towed to Norfolk, Virginia on 26 July 2007. She remained in Norfolk until a shoaled area near Pier 4 in Philadelphia could be dredged to enable the ship to safely dock. On 17 March 2008 at about 1700, she was seen leaving Norfolk Naval Station under tow of the tugAtlantic Salvor. On 22 March 2008 ex-John F. Kennedy arrived, with the afternoon high tide, at theNaval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility inPhiladelphia.[31]
In November 2009, the Navy placedJohn F. Kennedy on donation hold for use as a museum and memorial.[32] A report in theBoston Herald newspaper on 26 November 2009 mentioned the possibility of bringingJohn F. Kennedy to the Boston, Massachusetts area, as a museum or memorial at no cost to the city, if desired.[33]
In August 2010, two groups successfully passed into Phase II of the U.S. Navy Ship Donation Program:[3]
On 4 January 2010,Portland, Maine City Council unanimously endorsed the efforts of the USSJohn F. Kennedy Museum while Gov.John Baldacci also offered his support.[36] One year later on 19 January 2011 thePortland, Maine City Council voted 9–0 to not continue with the project to bring the ship to Maine.[37]
Plans as of September 2014 had the Rhode Island Aviation Hall of Fame working to secure Pier 2 of theNaval Station Newport. These developments come after the formerUSS Saratoga (CV-60) was sold for scrapping earlier after years of being moored in Newport.[38][39]
With the advent of the nuclear carrier,Kitty Hawk andJohn F. Kennedy were the last two candidate carriers to become museum ships as they have conventional propulsion. Nuclear carriers, such asEnterprise and theNimitz class, require extensive deconstruction to remove their nuclear reactors during decommissioning, leaving them in an unsuitable condition for donation.[40] In October 2017, it was announced thatKitty Hawk would be disposed of by scrapping, leavingJohn F. Kennedy the last available carrier capable of conversion to a museum.
In late 2017, the Navy revokedJohn F. Kennedy's "donation hold" status and designated her for dismantling. There were still several groups, from Florida, Maine and Rhode Island, with the assistance of the USSJohn F. Kennedy Veteran's Association, hoping to persuade the Navy to reinstate the "donation hold" status, while they pursued the goal of obtaining her as a museum.[5]
On 6 October 2021,John F. Kennedy andKitty Hawk were sold forone cent each to International Shipbreaking Limited.[41][42]
On 16 January 2025,John F. Kennedy started the voyage to Brownsville, Texas where it will be scrapped.[43] The carrier arrived on 2 February.[44]
The TV seriesSupercarrier was partially filmed on board the ship between September and November 1987, while the ship was undergoing a period of upkeep[2] in 2012
39°53′07″N75°10′46″W / 39.8852826°N 75.179374°W /39.8852826; -75.179374
Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in 1975 | |
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