USS Nimitz CVN-68 The Solent - My Pass 😎 :)

Souvenir! from my unique visit to the mighty USS Nimitz moored in Stokes Bay, the Solent.

In September 1980, I was fortunate enough to obtain a pass to get a tour of the nuclear aircraft carrier USS Nimitz [CVN-68] when she was moored out in the Solent. It was a very memorable day! This is the back of my boarding pass with corner ripped off as we boarded the boat that ferried us out into the Solent 😎 :)

 

And courtesy of Hampshire Airfields - a fantastic online resource - here is the complete complement of aircraft that were on board (aircraft that I photographed in bold):

 

USS NIMITZ. CVN-68 CVW-8 (AJ)

 

VF-41 F-14A 160408/100, 160410/101, 160402/102, 160381/104, 161143/106, 160385/107, 160411/110, 160409/111, 160404/112

HANGAR - 160387/105

VF-84 F-14A 160386/200, 160414/201, 160405/202, 160413/203, 160384/204, 160382/206, 160394/212, 161138/221, 161140/222

HANGAR - 161141/223

VA-82 A-7E 158025/300, 159301/301, 157580/302, 157456/305, 158836/306, 159261/313, 157480/314, 156822/315

HANGAR - 159303/303, 157493/311

VA-86 A-7E 159306/401, 158820/402, 159308/403, 156820/404, 157573/406, 158662/410, 157510/412, 158825/413

HANGAR - 159292/400, 159263/405

VA-35 A-6E 155615/500, 160996/501, 155684/502, 157026/503, 155703/505, 157002/510, 157010/511

HANGAR - 155718/504, 155712/506

VA-35 KA-6D 151783/522, 154133/523

HANGAR - 155691/520, 149942/521

VS-24 S-3A160137/700, 160138/701, 159769/702, 159763/703, 160150/706, 159731/707, 160147/711

HANGAR - 159734/704, 159741/705, 159743/712

HS-9 SH-3G 152132/730, 149898/731, 148999/732, 149717/735, 148995/736

HANGAR - 149735/734

HS-1 (AR) SH-3A 148046/728

HANGAR - 148970/724

VAW-124 E-2C 161094/011, 159498/012, 158644/013

HANGAR - 160418/010

 

Total complement - 75 aircraft

 

USS Nimitz (CVN-68) is an aircraft carrier of the United States Navy, and the lead ship of her class. One of the largest warships in the world, she was laid down, launched, and commissioned as CVAN-68, "aircraft carrier, attack, nuclear powered", but she was later redesignated as CVN-68, "aircraft carrier, multi-mission, nuclear-powered", on 30 June 1975, as part of a fleet-wide realignment that year.

 

The ship was named after World War II Pacific fleet commander Chester W. Nimitz, USN, (1885–1966), who was the Navy's third fleet admiral. Nimitz had her homeport at Naval Station Norfolk until 1987, when she was relocated to Naval Station Bremerton in Washington (now part of Naval Base Kitsap). Following her Refueling and Complex Overhaul in 2001, her home port was changed to Naval Air Station North Island in San Diego County, California. The home port of Nimitz was again moved to Naval Station Everett in Washington in 2012.

 

In January 2015, Nimitz changed home port from Everett back to Naval Base Kitsap. With the inactivation of USS Enterprise in 2012 and decommissioning in 2017, Nimitz is now the oldest U.S. aircraft carrier in service, and the oldest serving aircraft carrier in the world. More on USS Nimitz here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Nimitz

 

You can see a random selection of my aviation memories here: www.flickriver.com/photos/heathrowjunkie/random/

Done