America (CV 66) - Naval Cruise Book

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Left: AMERICA crewmembers view effects of Israeli attack. Bottom: AMERICA corpsmen treat liberty ' s wounded aboard AMERICA. :zyczz :z:

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On AMERICA ' S second Mediterranean deployment, she was awarded the Battle Efficiency E for the best Atlantic Fleet aircraft carrier. During this 1967 cruise, the Arab-Israeli war erupted in the eastern Mediterranean. At midday, 8 June, the technical research ship, USS LIBERTY (AGTR-5), was attacked by unidentified air and sea forces. Within min- utes, 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 committed by Israeli aircraft and torpedo boats. The next day, AMERICA rendez- voused 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. Above: USS LIBERTY, inadvertently attacked by Israeli aircraft. June, 1967. Right: Carrying USS LIBERTY wounded aboard. ♦ 14

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AMERICA conducts operations in South China Sea . . AMERICA began her first real test as a fighting vessel on 31 May, 1968, when she and embarded Air Wing Six com- menced 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 exceptional- ly meritorious service , and her second consecutive Bat- tle Efficiency E . During closely guarded, secret conditions in Novem- ber, 1969, Lockheed test pilot. Bill Park, demonstrated some historical carrier landings aboard the AMERICA with Lockheed ' s U-2R reconnaissance aircraft off the coast of Virginia. The purpose of the landings was to demonstrate the plane ' s carrier suitability. A series of landings and waveoff demonstrations were made by Park. I flew standard approaches and took a cut for the land- ings with no problem , stated Park. The airplane demon- strated good wave off characteristics and I felt at the time that landings could be made without a hook. AMERICA entereii the Norfolk Naval Shipyard on 24 January, 1969, for a ten-month, twenty-six million dollar overhaul. During this overhaul, the ship ' s machinery and equipment underwent extensive repairs and modifica- tions. Two major projects undertaken were a moderniza- tion of the ship ' s weapons handling system and the instal- lation of an Aqueous Fire Fighting Foam (AFFF) system. On 10 April, 1970, AMERICA and Air Wing Nine de- parted Norfolk for a second Western Pacific deployment. Upon her arrival in Subic Bay, Republic of the Philip- pines, the 77,000 ton carrier became flagship for the Sev- enth 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 Vict Cong supply line from North Vietnam. For this superb wartime perfor- mance, both AMERICA and Air Wing Nine were awarded the Meritorious Unit Commendation. » : ' ■ 16