Kitty Hawk (CVA 63) - Naval Cruise Book

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Iii-fniiw xi part nt tht- I .5. Se-xvntli I' I--1-r. :intl lu-gan he-r tou .,.,:-if inultiph- romnninivaition ri-nts-rs, :intl tht- I,ong Yi thi-rinnl powi-r plzint. Isl I I N IIKIYK ri-turn:-il to Sain Ilia-go on uni' 28, IINQX :ifti-r se-wn months in Southrzist Xsin, It-:iving in hi-r wake- xi rvroril- hrvaiking ah-ployinvnt not soon to hi' iiizitclivil. Un thi- .lllth ot 54-pta-inhi-r, Q ziptziln Ill. IXXX I5 was ri-lit-vvil hv his :Xnnnpolis vlzissingitv, faiptaiin l.I-'. ll,-XYIS :is foininziniling Office-r. i .lnnuziry W, l'Hn'9 tonnil Ixitty Hawk In-ing aiwarili-il tht I,rt'siiIu-ritiail I nit L itzition in t't'r1-inonn'sgihoairil tht' shi 1 at Pvzirl .v 1 Q V . . . I Hrirhor, Hsiwzin. I hi' Vlflllltlll was signs-tl In I'ri-siilvnt l,ynilon II. 'IUII NSON :intl was in rt-cognition of Kitty Hnwk's pi-rforiiiziiivv tlnring tht- l'ltiT4ti3 roinhgit rrnisa-. 'I his was thi- first titni' thi- Citation hail hm-n aiwginlml. I l.i-:ning Iltmnii on 'I 'Iginn:iri, l'Nm'P, Kitts Hawk zigziin rth H .. an .,,,, if 191- ' -fr I - A' Kitty Hawk Har lrftl with hrr sistrr carrii-rs and escorts off the coast of Yirtnain. l.rft to right: USS H ANCOCK. IIURNIQT. and RANGER. coins:-ctitiw combat th-ploymi-nt to Southvast Asia, svrving as flagship for Yin- .-'Mhniral Ralph W. COUSINS, Commander 'lisisk I ort'i- 77. In initl-April, aftvr two line- pi-rioils, tht- Hawk anchorvtl in Hong Kong anticipating six days of rvst and ri-laxation. But tht' lihi-rty party was harvly ashori- wht-n woril was ri'cvivt'd to gvt unclvrway as soon as possihh' hi-causi' of iIt'vvloplm'nts in North Korva. 'lihv 4-iii:-rgviicy ri-call was st-nt out and tht' crvw rt-spomlvd swiftly. 'lqhv ship got unih-rway that night. Shi- rvmainrtl at sva a month, thi-n transite-il north to Sas:-ho, japan, a port not visit:-il by thi- ship for many yi-ars. 'liwo mort- lint- pi-rioils wvrt' ri-alizt-il, including a st-cond and Iongvr stay' in Hong Kong, he-forv thi' ship stu-amvil homi-ward to San Ilivgo. Shi' :irrivi-il thvrv on tht- 4th of Si'pti'tnht'r, IWW. Xkithin ai fi-w days aftvr hvr ri-turn, Kitty Hawk hi-gan to look Iikt- :i floating moving van as vri-wins-inbi-rs brought thi-ir familit-s

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which was thi: most tonnage- vxpi-nflc-cl hx' anv carrivr in tht history of Naval Aviation. ln rt-cognition 'of thi-ir 4-fforts, the CVW-ll pilots wr-ri' awarrli-cl a total of 1-ight huntlrc-cl sixtv-onv Air Mi-dals, onr- Silwr Star and ont- Navy Cross. 1 Captain Paul E. PUGH ri-liz-wil Captain C,-XRNIODY in a Hangar Bay cc-rvmony july l8, l 66 Commanding Uffict-r. 9 to bvcoint- thi- sixth Kitty Hawk was the-rv with tht- punch again on U4-cm-inhvr Sth aft:-r ri-aching Yank:-v Station off thi- Via-tnamm-si' coast. From Ui-cvrnhc-r through Max' 'Xir kving FI FVFY intl Ki 1, . . . . .. 1 fry Hawk adclvrl oth:-r laurvls to an alrf-ally illustrious historv. 'lilu-v took part in tht' first strikt- against an airfivltl ir - ' 1 1 1 tht X ia-triziim-sv ll I War hy hitting K1-p Mig :Xirhasig 33 mile-s northi-ast of Hanoi. 'l.lll'V also tlvstroyvcl many of tht' 1-n4'rny's major military facilitii-s. ln all, thc- Air Wirig clroppvtl llflfll tons of orclnancv tluring 9,33l strikc- sortii-s, and for a si-concl timv svt a rc-cord for tht- most Kitty Hawk displays hm-r lf to signify winning tht- Hliattlc- lffficicncy rkwardn on :Xpril 3, IU04. tv - - -, . -4- tonnage- tlroppcil. Kitty Hawk ste-aint-tl Fast and arriu-tl at North lslantl on li ,ll lqfJ7 s x int- .. , . . vue-s.ary upkt-up and rt-pairs allowctl tor a short stay ht-forv 1-nti-ring a yaril pt-riotl in Long Bcacli. During tht- upkccp wortl was rm-ft-xxx-tl that tht- Hawk had Q-arm-tl tht- Navy L nit Commt-nmlation tor tht- st-contl corist-rtitivv war. ln Jxllgllrf of that summt-r. in Changt- of Comniantl cc-rviiioiiit-s at North lslantl. Captain U. C. U.-UTS rt-livvt-tl Captain l'k'GH to hi-coinv tht- ship's st-writli Llomniantling Uffiuvr. .-Xfte-r much prvparation off tht- roast of California, Kitty Hawk coinim'm't-tl anothcr tll'Dl0YllH'Ilf to th' ' 1 vonihat vom -Xir ng lfl.EYl'fN hcgan all-wt-iatht-r combat opt-rations on 7 1 Ut-cviiiln-r ..3, l 967. Due' to tlt-vt-lopim-nts in Vit-tnani in carl' F W68, this first lint' pt-riotl strvtclix-tl itst-lf into bl tlavs on station a rm-cord for tht- Yin-tnani conflirt. During this tinit-,'Kitty Hawk , homht-rs pountlm-tl major targt-ts such as tht- Kicn .-Xn airfivltl,

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and automobiles aboard for the cruise to Bremerton, VVashington. Arriving at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard on l3 September, Kitty Hawk began extensive overhaul, which was expected to last nine months. On I5 November, l969, Captain Earl F. GODFREY relieved Captain DAVIS as Commanding Officer. After her overhaul, Kitty Hawk left Bremerton and arrived back in San Diego on June 19, 1970. To the crew, San Diego meant repair parties, general quarters drills and carrier qualifications for pilots. The intensive refresher training was necessary preparation for Kitty Hawk's scheduled deployment to WestPac in November. November came and the carrier was off again on its fifth Western Pacific combat cruise. Again she was the Flagship for Commander Task Force 77, Vice Admiral Fredric BARDSHAR. After the second line period, the ship pulled into Hong Kong on Kitty Hawk's Air Wing ELEVEN aircraft made a significant contribution to the war in Vietnam. ,- ..--- ' February l2th, and was met by one-hundred thirty Kitty Hawk and Air living ELEVEN wives, who arrived by chartered flight. Kitty Hawk's only aircraft loss on the l970-l97l deployment occurred when Commander Paul F. NlcCAR'l7HY from VA-195 was forced to eject from his A-7E aircraft as he returned to the ship. He was rescued uninjured. On March 3rd Rear Admiral Damon VV. COOPER relieved Vice Admiral BARDSHAR as Commander, Task Force Seventy- Seven during an at-sea ceremony while Kitty Hawk was in sight of Danang. Captain Owen H. OBERG relieved Captain GODFREY as Commanding Officer during the fourth line period. From the 26th throught the 30th of june, l97l, Kitty Hawk moored at Subic Bay and took on provisions for her San Diego transit. She arrived home on july l7, thus completing her eight and a half month deployment and fifth combat cruise. .4 as