USS America sunk!

When Kitty Hawk is retired, load a F-14 Tomcat on deck, and sail her to
Wilmington, North Carolina. We got a nice dock waiting for her, near the
battleship USS North Carolina (BB-55). BB-55 wears 15 Battle Stars, and
would be honored to have Kitty Hawk and F-14 Tomcat join her.
I’ve toured BB-55, and would enjoy touring Kitty Hawk.
(end of coded message)…

Hehehe…did you see my recent pic of the Constellation over at Bremerton? Here is CV-64 with a Tom on deck just like you were talking about for the Kitty Hawk.

This is actually an insult to all those who worked hard on building it. They should’ve turned it into a museum.

I remember someone from the Navy saying at the time that we can’t turn every ship into a museum. It serves a far more noble purpose in letting ship builders learn how to improve the safety of vessels in the future to save lives rather than sitting as another hulk in a harbours taking up space and money. There are sufficient ships serving as memorials for the US, what point do you want to stop at?

THE TRUTH IS OUT THERE!!!

It was sunk by the Argentine Navy along with the HMS Invincible…(see thread:
Argie SUE´s sunk R05 HMS Invincible in 1982).

The America was very worn out…. on her last deployment she suffered several major problems, including the control gear on one elevator letting loose and allowing it to drop to the hangar deck level in an uncontrolled manner, damaging an aircraft and injuring several crewmen.

She had not had a Service Life Extension Program modernization to give her that last 15 years of life, therefore she was right near the 35 year life that was planned when she was built. (Only the CVNs are designed for 50 years from the start)

The Kitty Hawk has had a SLEP, that is why she is still in good condition.

The problem with putting her up as a museum is that there are 3 other large CVs currently under preservation efforts: CV-59 Forrestal (the first “supercarrier”), CV-60 Saratoga (both on the east coast), and the CV-61 Ranger (on the west coast). In addition, the smaller CV 41 Midway is a museum on the west coast. Also preserved are the WW 2 veteran carriers CV-10 Yorktown (east coast), CV-11 Intrepid (east coast), CV-12 Hornet (west coast), and CV-16 Lexington (gulf coast).

Even a country as large and wealthy as the US can support only so many museum ships of the same type!

Computers can simulate a lot, but even simulations are based on real life information geathering & even after that they can’t simulate everything up to 100%.

IMO she had a decent death, better then to be dismanteled & sold as junk.

Still, I would realy love to see some pics during the CV sinking process, or impacts.

I still think its sad and a waste to sink such a large ship even if it is for intelligence purposes, I’m sure a computer simulation could’ve given them the data? Hell if Bush was really feeling frisky they could’ve sold the carrier to another nation. Perhaps the UK – would certainly solve their bickering about their new CVs! Just a thought.

This is actually an insult to all those who worked hard on building it. They should’ve turned it into a museum.

It’s not an insult. The AMERICA served her nation well in service and served her nation VERY well in “death”. She has her own special place in history.

I think no one was interested in doing that…because of monetary concerns.

This is actually an insult to all those who worked hard on building it. They should’ve turned it into a museum.

how old was this ship?was she the oldest of her class!?

America was commissiond in 1965, 4 years after the Kitty Hawk, which is still in service. America was the last built in the Kitty Hawk class. She served for only 31 years before being decomissioned. 19 years short of her service life of 50 years.

BY comparison, the Kitty Hawk is slated to serve until 2008 when she will be replaced by the USS George HW Bush, CVN-77, after 47 years of service. The USS Enterprise, also commissione din 1961, and the first nuclear powered carrier, is expected to serve until 2013 and be replaced by the first CVN-21 class, CVN-78. The Enterprise will have served 52 years at that point.

Nice pics Jeff Head. Thanks for sharing them.

You are weclome. Glad to so so.

how old was this ship?was she the oldest of her class!?

Nice pics Jeff Head. Thanks for sharing them.

wow they even left a vehicle and some other crap on top.

I’m sure they were for guaging specific impacts and conditions on the carrier as she was hit and sunk.

wow they even left a vehicle and some other crap on top.

America’s last voyage

I read in the Ships Monthly recently that the defunct aircraft carrier USS America was quietly sunk in a firing excercise to make an artificial reef.

It is true…but not for a reef. For pure, important, intelligence information and what it would take to sink a super carrier, and how to better protect them from that and make it even harder. Very useful info. She served faithfully until the end.

She was towed to sea:

…and sunk by classified “live-fire” means (although rumor has it that the old girl would not go down easily and had to be scuttled by onboard explosives). This pic is just after she took her final plunge.

Up to now the USN has not released any pics (waiting for them my selfe).

The America was not sunk to form an artifitial refe, but in order to get life fire data from difrent explotions test (torpedo, missiles, interiior explotions,…).

The data gained is going to be used on the new CVX 22 program

I posted that on a thread three months ago…we’re still waiting for pics from the roughly month long sinking process….anyone seen anything?

M

Hi,

Yes, it seems to be true. I can hardly believe it myself.
I still get agitated when I think of those fine A-6 Intruders that were sunk to form an artificial reef! 😡

Somebody must really be into artificial reefs. 😡

Best regards, Transall.