John F Kennedy (CV 67) - Naval Cruise Book

Page 13 text:

1973 was to prove to be another challenging year for the men on board KENNEDY. It began with the completion of the Restricted Availability which had started in November. Included In the shipyard work package was the installation of the EA-6B modification. The completion of the RAV was immediately followed by an INSURV inspection. The Operational Readiness Exercise conducted in February brought to KENNEDY the highest mark yet given to a CV-type ship in damage control. During the month of April, the new walk-in Ship ' s Store was opened, providing a large selection of luxury and necessity items for the crew. KENNEDY ' S orders to deploy to the Western Pacific In March had been rescinded and on 16 April the ship was underway from Pier 12. On 25 April, at Rota, Spain, KENNEDY relieved USS INTREPID (CVS-II) and joined the Sixth Fleet for the commencement of her fourth Mediterranean cruise. This deployment brought KENNEDY back to many ports that were now beginning to become familiar to the newest of the American carriers. Barcelona and Palma de Mallorca, Spain, both well loved Spanish ports by Sixth Fleet sailors, and Formia, Gaeta and Livorno, Italy, rarely visited by the large CV ' s. While In Cannes, France KENNEDY lost her 301 ton starboard anchor along with 180 fathoms of chain In 44 fathoms of water. On the 8th of June, with the assistance of the USS OPPORTUNE (ARS-41) we recovered the anchor. During the evolution the Special Sea and Anchor detail was set for 22i 2 hours. On 24 September KENNEDY became the first carrier to pass the CINCLANTFLT Propulsion Examining Board on its first attempt. Having been relieved on 22 September by USS ROOSEVELT (CVA-42) KENNEDY transited the English Channel and joined NATO forces to participate In Swift Move. On 10 October KENNEDY made here first visit to Edinburgh, Scotland. During the brief stay, the crew enjoyed the gracious hospitality of the Scottish people and celebrated the Navy ' s 198th birthday with special general visiting fes tivities. No stranger to the Middle East situation or to operational extensions, KENNEDY was none the less momentarily disheartened when on 25 October she was ordered to rejoin with units of the Sixth Fleet and proceed to the Eastern Med, but, as they had done in the past, the ship and her crew reached down Inside for that little bit extra. KENNEDY was to remain at sea for 50 consecutive days during her ' second Med cruise of this deployment before returning to Pier 12 on 1 December.

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New Year ' s Day 1972 dawned with KENNEDY still at rest outside Barcelona, Spain. That rest, however, was soon over as the ship got underway to complete major fuel and weapons UNREP ' s prior to anchoring in Naples on the 14th of January. The Naples visit was to be a very brief three days as the ship was underway again to participate in more exercises. February began with NATO exercise National Week XII, then closed with the ship at anchor at Athens, Greece where some engineering repair work was conducted prior to departing on 9 March. March, April and May passed quickly with highly active at sea periods spaced by port visits to Greek, French and Spanish ports. On 21 May while underway from Cannes to Barcelona, KENNEDY conducted an offload to USS MILWAUKEE as part of preparations for returning to Norfolk. But, only three days later, on the 24th, the UNREP was conducted again. This time, however, we were receiving everything back from the MILWAUKEE. USS SARATOGA, scheduled to relieve KENNEDY, had been ordered to Vietnam due to an increase in activity in the war. Then in June USS AMERICA, next in line to relieve us, was diverted to the Southeast Asia theater to relieve the USS CONSTELLATION. This was to keep the CONSTELLATION ' S deployment from extending beyond ten months. So KENNEDY bit down, reached back and kept on keeping on. June and July went by filled with LOADEX ' s and National Week XIII. The end of July brought a two week stay in Palma de Mallorca for a Mini-RAV period. In September KENNEDY outchopped from the Med to participate in NATO exercise Strong Express after having been relieved by USS FORRESTAL. During the exercise a British F-4K Phantom II and a Buccaneer S MK-2B from HMS Ark Royal landed on KENNEDY and an F-4B Phantom II and an A-6 Intruder from KENNEDY landed on Ark Royal. The following day six British planes flew to KENNEDY and six KENNEDY planes landed on the Ark Royal. The cross-decking operation was significant in that it opened the door to increased efficiency in combat conditions and strategic concepts. KENNEDY returned at long last to Pier 12 on 6 October after having been gone for over 10 months. Then on 2 November she entered the Norfolk Naval Shipyard for an eight week RAV.

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Upon returning from the Mediterranean and standing down during December, KENNEDY began making final preparations for her very first major overhaul to commence on 1 March. In between upkeep periods during January and February the ship also made trips out to the Virginia Capes OP area to conduct fleet carrier qualification. 1 March found KENNEDY at berth 42-43 Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, Virginia for the beginning of a nine month major overhaul. The really big jobs were started even before arriving in the shipyard. Before KENNEDY was moored at NNSY she made a stop enroute to have her number one aircraft elevator removed by NNSY ' s hammerhead crane. Changes to the elevator was only one of the areas that would be effected by the changes brought on in preparing KENNEDY to receive the Navy ' s newest fighter, the F-14 Tomcat and the Navy ' s newest anti-submarine warfare platform, the S-3A Viking. The imminent arrival of these two aircraft was to cause many areas of the ship to receive a new look. The Tactical Support Center, whose purpose would be to support the new S-3A and the SH-3 helo was designed as a modul in-, and post- flight planning, support and analysis. The Satellite Read-Out Equipment that was installed was the first system of its kind to be permanently installed on any carrier. The Versatile Avionics Shop Test facility was added to hangar bay one and the flight deck jet blast deflectors were modified to accommodate both the F-14 and the S-3A. In October, VADM Michaelis, COMNAVAIRLANT presented KENNEDY with her third consecutive Battle ' E ' , along with Departmental Awards and the Marjorie Sterrett Battleship Award. The end of October brought the winding down of many yard jobs and ship began to prepare to get underway once more. On 26 November the ship left the shipyard and Portsmouth to moor at Pier 12. Then on 1 December 1974 CVA-67 was redesignated CV-67, a near totally new combat system ready to be tested by refresher training in Guantanamo Bay.