Forrestal (CVA 59) - Naval Cruise Book

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■ - ' ♦Vri 1 I TECH The world ' s first supercarrier begins shape in the Newport News Shipbuilding yards. FORRSTAL was the first post- World War II air- craft carrier and boasted many new high tech im- provements over her predecessors. The new carrier was larger and more powerful than anything ever constructed. FORRESTAL was specifically de- signed to handle jet aircraft. Catapults which would launch the aircraft would be powered by steam in- stead of hydraulics. An angled-flight deck was also a new design feature that would allow the ship to launch and recover aircraft at the same time.

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ERA in j u y ] 95 ) , the iNuvy announced plans to build a 60,000 ton, 1.039 fool earner designated CVB-59. The keel was first laid in July 1952 and less than 30 months later, USS FORREST AL, the first super carrier , was launched. Mrs. James V. Forrestal, widow of the first Secretary of Defense christened her. In fall of 1956, FORRESTAL was called to assist forces in™ the Mediterranean during the Suez crisis. From 1958 through 1966, FORRESTAL alternated between the Second Fleet in the Atlantic and the Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean. In June, 1967, she departed Norfolk for duty in the waters off Vietnam. After only five days of combat operations, a tragic fire broke out on the flight deck which claimed the lives of 1 34 crewmen. The entire nation felt the tragedy, and LIFE magazine reported that in five minutes, everyone became a man . FORRESTAL deployed to the Mediterranean twelve times between 1968 and 1986. In March 1973, she conducted rescue op- erations in the flooded Medjerda River Valley near Tunis. FORRESTAL was Host Ship for the International Naval Re- view in New York City. On July 4, 1 976. on FORREST AL ' S night deck. President Ford rang in the nation ' s Bicentennial and reviewed over 40 Tall Ships from countries around the world from FORRESTAL ' s flight deck. She celebrated her silver anniversary in October 1980. On September 12, 1982, FORRESTAL transited the Suez Canal for the first time in her 28 year history. From January 1983 to May 20, 1985, FORRESTAL completed a $550 million Service Life Extension Program (SLEP) which is designed to extend the life of our aircraft carriers another 15-20 years. In October 1987, FORRESTAL returned from Ocean Safa- ri ' 87 , a most successful NATO exercise, operating above the Arc- tic Circle and in the fjords of Norway. FORRESTAL departed Mayport, Florida on April 25 1988 on her 19th career deployment.: TRIALS 1955 ,j, jjfc, •ajai JF ' '

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JAMt r- 4 s M % r ' ill Beacon, New York. S! duation from high school, he aLicndcd Dartn.utJin College and Princeton Univer- sity. Forresia! worked for short periods of time as a finan- cial reporter and a tobacco salesman. During 1915, he entered the hanking business in New York City. At the outbreak of World War I, Forrestal enlisted in the United States Navy. He was later commissioned as a Naval Aviator and served both in this country and abroad. He was discharged in 1919 and re-entered the banking business. In June, 1940. he accepted a post as Administrative Assistant to President Roosevelt, serving as liaison man for the President in the National Defense Program. In August 1940, he was appointed to the newly created of- fice of Under Secretary of the Navy. Forrestal was appointed Secretary of the Navy in May 1944. He took the oath of office as the country ' s first Secretary of Defense in September 1947. He re- signed in 1949 and entered the hospital in . ' pril of the same year. He died on May 22, 1949. A bronze bust of Forrestal at the hall entrance to the Pentagon bears the following inscription: This memorial to James Forrestal. as a spontane- ous tribute to his lasting accomplishments in providing national security and his selfless devotion to duty, was erected by thousands of his friends and co-workers of all ranks and stations. 1 iNAVY w ' .EOL FIRST TRAP: Cmdr. Ralph L. Werner makes the first arrested landing on Jan- uary 3, 1956 in an FJ-3 Fury fighter. t tm.