Posted on 05/28/2008 1:57:11 PM PDT by MissouriConservative
The oldest active ship in the U.S. Navy, the USS Kitty Hawk aircraft carrier, made its final departure from Japan on Wednesday to be decommissioned after nearly half a century of service.
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The Kitty Hawk, the last conventionally powered aircraft carrier in the Navy, is to be replaced later this summer by the USS George Washington, a nuclear-powered carrier. The decommissioning date for the ship is set for Jan. 31.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
the photo was taken by a navy seaman .. I count 9 in the air.. I think.. I hear ya tho ..
Read online that there is a group that wants to take the “Kitty Hawk” home to NC not far from where the Wreight brothers got flying started, next to the retired battle ship “North Carolina”.
http://www.starnewsonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060125/NEWS/60124035/1015/news01
USS Ronald Reagan
Keel laid: February 12, 1998
Launched: March 5, 2001
Commissioned: July 12, 2003
Builder: Newport News Shipbuilding Co., Newport News, Va.
Propulsion System: two nuclear reactors
Main Engines: four
Propellers: four
Blades on each Propeller: five
Aircraft elevators: four
Catapults: four
Arresting gear cables: three
Length, overall: 1,092 feet (332.85 meters)
Flight Deck Width: 257 feet (78.34 meters)
Area of flight deck: about 4,5 acres
Beam: 134 feet (40.84 meters)
Draft: 38,4 feet (11.7 meters)
Displacement: approx. 100,000 tons full load
Speed: 30+ knots
Planes: approx. 85
Crew: Ship: approx. 3,200 Air Wing: 2,480
Armament: four Mk 29 NATO Sea Sparrow launchers, four Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM) Systems
Homeport: San Diego, Calif.
USS Kitty Hawk
Keel Laid: December 27, 1956
Launched: May 21, 1960
Commissioned: April 29, 1961
Builder: New York Shipbuilding Corp., Camden, NJ
Propulsion system: eight Steam Boilers
Main Engines: four Steam Turbine Engines
Propellers: four
Blades on each Propeller: five
Aircraft elevators: four
Catapults: four
Arresting gear cables: four
Length, overall: 1046,5 feet (319 meters)
Flight Deck Width: 252 feet (76.8 meters)
Area of flight deck: about 4,5 acres
Beam: 129,6 feet (39.5 meters)
Draft: 35,8 feet (10.9 meters)
Displacement: approx. 82,200 tons full load
Speed: 30+ knots
Cost: about $400 million (1961)
Planes: approx. 85
Crew: Ship: 2,900 Air Wing: 2,480
Armament: Mk 29 NATO Sea Sparrow launchers, 20mm Phalanx CIWS Mk 15, Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM) Systems
Homeport: Yokosuka, Japan
wow,, I was all of two when the keel was laid. 1956
Didn’t think about that part. Might not be such a good idea. I mean, there are bad kids in India’s neighborhood.
Anybody know which ship gets to fly the “Don’t Tread On Me” pennant after the KH decomms? Which active ship will then be the oldest in service?
I notice the helicopter rotors are perfectly aligned. Is that done deliberately? I know how important it is to get in step when marching but, wow!, aligned rotors, maybe aligned propellers on planes when flying in formation, too?
KH had just arrived in Yokosuka when we were leaving Yokohama.
Isn’t it interesting that this is the last of the “conventional powered” ships to be replaced by a Nuclear powered ship.
Why can’t we replace our electricity sources the same way? Nuclear is good enough for the Navy. It should be good enough for power plants around the country.
God speed Kitty Hawk and all who sailed with her or flew from or landed on her.
Plus the nearest drydock for a ship her size would be Newport News
Was USS Kitty Hawk ever offered to the Brits?
OTOH, mostly Hindu India knows what it’s like to be hated by the Muzzies.
“The enemy of my enemy.....etc.”
(Gotta find this lady a home.)
Japan's leadership strongly backs the U.S. military presence in the country, and says the more than 50,000 U.S. troops in Japan are a stabilizing force for all of Asia.Wow! Not only are we still there after 60 years, but the want us there...Maybe McCain had it right, huh? :-)
I have a dim recollection of a pic showing a US carrier in a Japanese drydock? Don’t know about the relative distances, but there might be an alternate service point.
btt
The closest drydock that could dock a US carrier is Dry Dock No. 6 at Yokosuka which is about 1/4 mile away from the carrier pier.
I was aboard the Kitty Hawk when she was commissioned. Our student nurses chorus from Lankenau Hospital in Philadelphia sang as part of the ceremony. We were treated to a tour and lunch. Hard to believe it was so many years ago.....
How close would Yokosuka be to India’s main naval installation? How close would Newport News be to same?
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