America (CV 66) - Naval Cruise Book

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USS AMERICA Thirteen years of faithful service AMERICA began her years of service as hull number 561 when the keel was laid on a cold January morning in 1961 at the Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company. Mrs. Catherine T. McDonald, wife of the Chief of Naval Operati ons, christened the new ship on 1 February 1964 and AMERICA was formally commissioned less than a year later on 23 January 1965. Four previous ships have gallantly carried the name AMERICA to sea: a 1782 gun ship scheduled to be skippered by John Paul Jones but later presented to France, the winner of the first America ' s Cup race in 1852 and two passenger liners modified to carry troops during both World Wars. Name chosen by President USS AMERICA (CV-66) is the first United States warship to be named AMERICA and her title was the personal choice of the late President John F. Kennedy. She is conventionally powered and carried an original price tag of $156 million. At one point while still on the drawing boards, AMERICA was designated to be nuclear powered. Plans were changed, apparently before the keel was laid, but some diagrams and component blueprints still bear the name USS AMERICA (CVAN-66). She is a modified FORRESTAL-class carrier, the major distinctions being elevator configuration and a moder- nized island structure. Island built on centerline AMERICA ' S 300-ton island struc- ture was erected on the center of the flight deck. A .6 meter (24 inch) margin was deleted from the base of the structure and rewelded when the island was permanently positioned. Moving the island housing was equivalent to moving a five-story building along a 31 meter (102 foot) sliding way. The 15.8 meter (52 foot) island was placed upon a greased wooden sliding platform and a crawler crane pulled the load along the deck. The operation required 23 minutes. Attempting to compare the giant size of AMERICA is easy. For instance, if the Eiffel Tower was laid on her fl ' ght deck, the Paris landmark would overhang a mere 1.5 meters (5 feet). The carrier is twice the length of the Washington Monument and the gigantic Empire State Building is only 61.7 meters (202.5 feet) taller than the length of AMERICA. Enroute to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba for her initial training, the carrier ' s first catapult launch and arrested recovery were recorded by an A-4 Skyhawk flown by Cdr. Kenneth B. Austin, the ship ' s Executive Officer. After a highly successful training period at Gitmo, AMER- ICA was presented the third highest mark ever awarded by the Fleet Training Group. Shortly thereafter, she left on her first deployment: a tour with the U.S. Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean. AMERICA aids U.S.S. LIBERTY It was on AMERICA ' S second Mediterranean deployment that she was awarded the Battle Efficiency E as the best Atlantic Fleet aircraft carrier. During this 1967 cruise the Arab-Israeli war erupted in the eastern Mediterranean and at midday, 8 June, the technical research ship USS LIBERTY (AGTR-5) was at- tacked by unidentified air and sea forces. Within minutes, AMERICA ' S F-4B fighters were airborne to protect the Task Force and aid LIBERTY, only to find out from Tel Aviv that the attack had been accidentally commit- ted by Israeli torpedo boats and aircraft. The next day, AMERICA rendezvoued with the crippled ship south of Souda Bay, Crete where 50 wounded LIBERTY crewmen were transferred aboard to be treated by the ship ' s doctors and corpsmen. The Vietnam Years AMERICA began her first real test as a fighting vessel on 31 May 1968 when she and embarked Air Wing Six commenced flight operations in the South China Sea. For this war effort, involving not a single accident in more than 18,000 catapult launches and recoveries, AMERICA was awarded the Navy Unit Commendation for exceptionally meritorious service, the Admiral Flatley Safety Award and the Commander Naval Air Forces Atlantic Safety Award. AMERICA earned her second consecutive Battle Efficiency E during this Pacific deployment. AMERICA entered the Norfolk Naval Shipyard on 24 January 1969, just one day after her fourth birthday for a ten-month, $26 million overhaul. During the shipyard period, the ship ' s machinery and equipment underwent extensive repairs and modifications. Two major projects undertaken were a modernization of the ship ' s weapons handling system and the installation of an Aqueous Fire Fighting Foam (AFFF) firefighting system. On 10 April 1970, AMERICA and Air Wing Nine departed Norfolk for a second Western Pacific deployment. Upon her arrival in Subic Bay, Republic of the Philippines, the 77.000 SHIP ' S SEAL: History, Heraldry, Heroism The ship ' s seal or coat of arms has its origins in the lore and symbols of the American Revolution. The theme honors the father of the United States Navy, John Paul Jones. The upper portion of the seal consists of a crest with an American flag of the Revolutionary War era, flying above a British sail. The sail is crowned by a golden oak wreath, symbolizing the most heroic event of John Paul Jones ' naval career, the victory of USS BON HOMME RI- CHARD over HMS SERAPIS. Jones defeated SERAPIS in a desperate fight and as his own ship was severely damaged, he raised the American flag over SERAPIS and sailed her into the Dutch harbor of Texal. The two sea stags are borrowed from Jones ' personal coat of arms and their pendants feature a star and fleur-de-lis, symbolic of the many awards bestowed on him by the American and French people. The two arrowheads represent the projection of seapower ashore and the coiled rattlesnake, a popular Revolutionary symbol, alludes to the American custom of never striking unless provoked. The Don ' t Tread on Me motto at the seal ' s base was common to many naval battle flags in our nation ' s early history and is still a characteristic of the traditions and spirit of the United States Navy. 18

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Background Illustration by EMI A. GAMEZ

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ton carrier became flagship for the Seventh Fleet Attack Carrier Striking Force. She then began operating on Yankee Station in the Gulf of Tonkin where she launched strike missions over Southeast Asia. One significant bombing sortie resulted in destruction of the Thanh Hoa bridge, a vital link in the Viet Cong supply line from North Vietnam. For this superb wartime performance, both AMER- ICA and Air Wing Nine were awarded the Meritorious Unit Commendation on their return to Norfolk. Allied operations in the Med In July 1971, after a six month overhaul, upkeep and training period, AMERICA left Norfolk for a third Mediterranean deployment. A par- ticular emphasis of this cruise was joint operations with allied navies. These exercises were particularly successful and the ship ' s aircraft record was accident-free. AMERICA returned in December 1971 and six months later was enroute to her third combat deployment to Southeast Asia. She was one of four aircraft carriers on Yankee Station the day that the Viet Nam Peace Agreement went into effect. AMER- ICA returned to Norfolk on 24 March 1973, within one week of the final prisoner of war release and after nearly 300 days away from homeport. AMERICA was awarded her second Meritorious Unit Commendation during this cruise. After a three-month maintenance and upkeep period, AMERICA sailed on her fourth deployment to the Mediterranean in early July. The ship was delayed from returning due to the deteriorating situation in Cyprus. She finally arrived in Norfolk on 3 August after completing more than 8,600 launches without an accident. Three of the squadrons embarked aboard AMERICA during the cruise were awarded 1974 CNO Air Safety Awards. After a brief period of leave and upkeep in Norfolk, AMERICA re- turned to sea on 6 September 1974 to participate in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) exercise Northern Merger. Naval and shore units from nine of the NATO coun- tries participated in the two-week exercises which included a port visit to Portsmouth, England. Following an 11 -month shipyard period during which time AMERICA was renovated and adapted for the addition of the S-3 and F-14 aircraft, AMERICA embarked on her fifth Mediterranean deployment on 15 April 1976. An early accomplishment of this deployment was the aid provided by the ship in the evacuation of American and foreign nationals during the civil conflict in Lebanon. Midway through the cruise, the ship was notified of its selection to again receive the Admiral Flatley Safety Award in recognition of AMERICA ' S exceptional aircraft safety record. She returned from this deployment in October, 1976 South American goodwill cruise AMERICA rejoined the tleet after a three-month shipyard period in Portsmouth, Virginia. On 10 June 1977, the ship led a five-ship task group that deployed to South Amer- ica. During this five-week period, AMERICA and other ships of the task group conducted exercises with units of the Brazilian Na% ' y. This marked the first time in history that Brazilian aircraft operated from the deck of an American carrier. 29 September 1977 saw AMER- ICA leaving Norfolk for her sixth Mediterranean deployment. The cruise included intensive flight operations, participation in the annual NATO National Week XXI fleet exercises and port visits to Italy, Spain and Yugoslavia. AMERICA returned to her Norfolk homeport in late April 1978. In her thirteen years of service, USS AMERICA has been awarded the Navy Unit Commendation, two Meritorious Unit Commendations, the National Defense Service Medal, the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, the Viet Nam Service Medal with four battle stars, the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry (Army level) and the Viet Nam Campaign Medal. S P COMMANDING OFFICERS USS AMERICA (CV-66) Capt. Lawrence Heyworth, -Ir. 23 JAN 65 - 20 JUL 66 Capt. Donald D. Engen 20 JUL 66 - 31 JUL 67 Capt. Frederick C. Turner 31 JUL 67 - 04 OCT 68 Capt. Richard E. Rumble 04 OCT 68 - 20 DEC 69 Capt. Thomas B. Hayward 20 DEC 69 - 02 NOV 70 Capt. Thomas B. Russell 02 NOV 70 - 07 APR 72 Capt. Burton H. Shepard 07 APR 72-11 APR 73 Capt. Thomas H. Replogle 11 APR 73 - 29 SEP 74 Capt. Daniel G. McCormick 29 SEP 74 - 07 SEP 76 Capt. Robert B. Fuller 07 SEP 76 - 17 APR 78 Capt. William F. Meyer 17 APR 78 - 19