Kitty Hawk (CVA 63) - Naval Cruise Book

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Wright Brothers Memorial at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina

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HISTORY USS KITTY HAWK (CVA-63i like the village in North Carolina for which she is named, also marks a milestone in world historv. In 1903 the Wright brothers launched the first successful manned airplane flight. On . pril 29. 1961. the world ' s first guided missile attack aircraft carrier was commissioned at Philadelphia. She is the second naval vessel to bear the name. The first KITT HA K. a 478-foot Aircraft Transport, the first ship of her t -pe. was acquired bv the Navy in 1941. .-Mter a distinguished career in the Pacific during World War II, she was decommissioned in January 1946. KITT HA K is home to 4000 officers and men, which is more than 15 times the total population of her village namesake. She is second in size onlv to the nuclear powered carrier USS ENTERPRISE iCVAiNi-65l. KITT HA K is not a ladv with a past, but a voungster with a future. She has no history. ever -thing she has done in her short lifetime can still be termed current events. The completion of the present Far East cruise also completes her second vear of commissioned service. In September 1961. under the command of Captain William F. Bringle, USN, KITT HA K left the East coast on a good-will cruise to South America, around Cape Horn and on to her new homeport in San Diego, touching at ports in Brazil. Chile and Peru, en route. The ship departed San Diego November 21. 1961. for post shake-down repairs at the San Francisco Naval Shipyard, where she also got a new skipper. On May 5. 1962. in a change of command ceremony. Captain Walter L. Curtis. Jr., I. SN. became the second Commanding Officer of KITT ' HAWK. A few davs later she returned to San Dieso. On June 25. with 75 NROTC : Iidshipmen on board. KITTY HA T: departed for a MidPac cruise, which included extensive exercises near the Hawaiian Islands. The ship returned to San Diego Julv 16 to complete her training schedule pri or to her first deplo ment with the U.S. Seventh Fleet.

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VSS KITTY HAW K heading west from Pearl Harbor