USS Kitty Hawk
| USS Kitty Hawk | |
|---|---|
| |
| Career | |
| Flag |  |
| Type | Aircraft carrier |
| Launched | 1961 |
| Characteristics | |
| Displacement | 60000 tons |
| Length | 1,047.5 ft |
The USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63) was an aircraft carrier put into service by the United States Navy in 1961. It was built by the New York Shipbuilding Corporation. It performed 150 missions ranging from the Vietnam War to Operation Desert Storm. At 1,047-foot long and 252-foot wide, this aircraft carrier is too big to fit through the Panama Canal and must go around South America to get from the West Coast to the East Coast.
In its final mission in the Vietnam War, during the night of October 12-13, 1972, this carrier was the site of a race riot that injured 47 sailors injured, 40 or 41 of whom were white.[1]
Kitty Hawk was the last non-nuclear aircraft carrier in commission; it was decommissioned in 2009. It was last stationed at Yokosuka, Japan.
In 2021, it was sold for less than $1 to a company that will dismantle it for scrap.[1]
