Old sailors
A friend e-mailed me this photo and I thought I'd share with my Flickr friends. I would guess that this photo was taken between 1994-1998 at the San Diego Naval Base. (Independence was decommissioned in September 1998.)
USS Independence CV-62 was my home from December 1972 through August 1975. She is seen in this photo on the left side of the pier. Independence was one of four Forrestal class 'supercarriers' designed and built in the 1950s. These ships were 100 feet longer, 20 feet wider, and had a weight displacement that was 25% larger than post World War II carriers of the Midway class. The deeper Forrestal hull allowed the ships more freeboard and better seakeeping. The Forrestal class carrier was the first steel hulled capital ship to be designed without armor. The class included USS Forrestal CV-59, Saratoga CV-60, Ranger CV-61, and Independence CV-62.
USS Kitty Hawk CV-63 was an 'improved' Forrestal Class aircraft carrier. The Kitty Hawk class carriers were built in the 1960s. The three ships comprised Kitty Hawk CV-63, Constellation CV-64, and America CV-66 (John F. Kennedy CV-67 was similar in design but had received so many improvements during construction that she was considered to be in a class of her own).
The greatest physical difference between the Forrestal and Kitty Hawk supercarriers was in the arrangement of the 4 aircraft handling elevators and the position of the islands.
On Independence 2 aircraft elevators were positioned behind the island and one forward of the island on the starboard side, with the port side elevator (#4) positioned on the forward end of the angle deck. When I was aboard Independence the port side elevator was never used during flight operations in case it became inoperable creating a hazard directly in the landing path or for launching aircraft from the waist catapults.
On Kitty Hawk the island was placed further aft with two aircraft lifts positioned ahead of the island and one aft. The port side elevator was moved to the after end of the angle deck to better enable aircraft movement.
The difference in the flightdeck aircraft lift and island arrangements on these two classes of ships is clearly discernible in this remarkable photo. Today both of these aging vessels are sitting in Bremerton Washington (along with Ranger CV-61) awaiting disposal.
Old sailors
A friend e-mailed me this photo and I thought I'd share with my Flickr friends. I would guess that this photo was taken between 1994-1998 at the San Diego Naval Base. (Independence was decommissioned in September 1998.)
USS Independence CV-62 was my home from December 1972 through August 1975. She is seen in this photo on the left side of the pier. Independence was one of four Forrestal class 'supercarriers' designed and built in the 1950s. These ships were 100 feet longer, 20 feet wider, and had a weight displacement that was 25% larger than post World War II carriers of the Midway class. The deeper Forrestal hull allowed the ships more freeboard and better seakeeping. The Forrestal class carrier was the first steel hulled capital ship to be designed without armor. The class included USS Forrestal CV-59, Saratoga CV-60, Ranger CV-61, and Independence CV-62.
USS Kitty Hawk CV-63 was an 'improved' Forrestal Class aircraft carrier. The Kitty Hawk class carriers were built in the 1960s. The three ships comprised Kitty Hawk CV-63, Constellation CV-64, and America CV-66 (John F. Kennedy CV-67 was similar in design but had received so many improvements during construction that she was considered to be in a class of her own).
The greatest physical difference between the Forrestal and Kitty Hawk supercarriers was in the arrangement of the 4 aircraft handling elevators and the position of the islands.
On Independence 2 aircraft elevators were positioned behind the island and one forward of the island on the starboard side, with the port side elevator (#4) positioned on the forward end of the angle deck. When I was aboard Independence the port side elevator was never used during flight operations in case it became inoperable creating a hazard directly in the landing path or for launching aircraft from the waist catapults.
On Kitty Hawk the island was placed further aft with two aircraft lifts positioned ahead of the island and one aft. The port side elevator was moved to the after end of the angle deck to better enable aircraft movement.
The difference in the flightdeck aircraft lift and island arrangements on these two classes of ships is clearly discernible in this remarkable photo. Today both of these aging vessels are sitting in Bremerton Washington (along with Ranger CV-61) awaiting disposal.