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Kitty Hawk class aircraft carrier
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Builders: | New York Shipbuilding New York Navy Yard Newport News Shipbuilding |
| Operators: |  United States Navy |
| Preceded by: | Forrestal |
| Followed by: | Enterprise Nimitz |
| Commissioned: | 21 April 1961 |
| Ships in class: | 4 |
| Ships active: | USS Kitty Hawk |
| Ships laid up: | USS Constellation USS John F. Kennedy |
| Ships sunk: | USS America (as a target) |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 60,933 tons light 81,780 tons full load |
| Length: | 990 ft (300 m) waterline 1,069 ft (326 m) overall |
| Beam: | 130 ft (40 m) waterline 282 ft (86 m) extreme |
| Draft: | 38 ft (12 m) |
| Speed: | 32 |
| Range: | 12,000 miles |
| Armament: | 24 surface to air missiles 3-4 close-in weapons systems |
| Aircraft carried: | Up to 90 aircraft |
The Kitty Hawk-class supercarriers of the United States Navy were an incremental improvement on the Forrestal-class vessels. Four were built, all in the 1960s:
- Kitty Hawk (CV-63) (1961–2008)
- Constellation (CV-64) (1961–2003)
- America (CVA-66) (1965–1996)
- John F. Kennedy (CV-67) (1967–2007)
The biggest differences from the Forrestals are greater length, and a different placement of elevators; two are forward of the island, with a third at the portside stern. The movement of the #4 elevator from the forward to the after end of the angle made it useful for aircraft movement, since the forward-end elevator was useless as it was in both the landing path and in the launch path of the #3 and #4 catapults.
Each was built at a different shipyard.
Kitty Hawk and Constellation were later updated in a Service Life Extension Program; but America was scheduled for a few years later than her sisters, at a time of budget cuts, and was decommissioned in 1996. America was in very poor condition when she was decommissioned, and therefore despite her historical significance was not held as a donation asset. She was expended as a live-fire target and sunk on 14 May 2005.
John F. Kennedy (CV-67) is similar, but has enough differences that the Navy places her in her own class. She was decommissioned on March 23, 2007.
| Status | |
|---|---|
| Kitty Hawk (CV-63) | In active service |
| Constellation (CV-64) | Laid up |
| America (CV-66) | Sunk as a target |
| John F. Kennedy (CV-67) | Laid Up |
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| List of aircraft carriers of the United States Navy |
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 São Paulo •  Charles de Gaulle •  Centaur •  Garibaldi •  Admiral Kuznetsov •  Principe de Asturias •  Chakri Nareubet •  Invincible • Enterprise, Kitty Hawk, Nimitz |