USS America (CV-66)

History of the US aircraft carrier (CV-66)

The aircraft carrier USS America (CV-66, although originally designated CVA-66) was a conventionally powered aircraft carrier that served with the U.S. Navy during the Cold War and beyond, and was officially decommissioned in 1996. She belonged to the Kitty Hawk-class aircraft carrier, which was eventually replaced by the formidable first-generation nuclear-powered type of the USS Nimitz.

The United States fought for the United States in the war with Vietnam, served as a deterrent in the Persian Gulf and Lebanon, and participated in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. Sadly, her years of service eventually led to her being used as a target in 2005.

Her name was officially removed from the Naval Ship Register on August 9, 1996.

Her design features a traditional layout, starboard island and unique sloping deck, serving three catapults (one raked to port and two forward). There are four hangar lifts on the flight deck, one on the port side, three on the starboard side and one on the stern.

The island is controlled by a communications and sensor mast, with another mast located at the rear of the island in front of the starboard rear hangar deck.

In the case of aircraft carriers, their power is really known by the fleets they can put into the air, and USS America is no exception. Her deck and lower hangars can accommodate, maintain and repair up to 79 aircraft of various makes and sizes, including the F-4 Phantom, A-6 Raider, A-7 Corsair II and SP-2 Neptune, as well as anti-submarines and transport helicopters.

Backed by her fleet of naval defenders and support ships, the USS America forms an important and vital cog in the U.S. Navy's global operations.

In defense, USS America is served by a variety of sensors and processing systems through the AN/SPS-48 and AN/SPS-49 air search radars. Their electronic countermeasures kit includes the AN/SLQ-32 made by Raytheon.

In addition, three Sea Sparrow (originally Terrier) surface-to-air missiles were added to these systems. This is further supported by the 3 x 20mm phalanx CIWS (Close Weapon System) for air and anti-missile defense.

In 1967, on its second deployment, the USS America was called to the Mediterranean amid growing tensions between Israel and its Arab neighbors, and the "Six Day War" broke out. Until the USS Liberty was attacked by Israeli torpedo boats - apparently due to an error caused by poor communications - the USS America crew saw little action, causing American fighter jets and bombers to crawl off her deck.

34 people were killed and 75 injured.

She saw her next big job in the Vietnam War at Yankee. Their planes were used frantically to bomb inland targets, destroy infrastructure and provide combat air patrols when needed. She was deployed to Vietnam a total of 3 times before hostilities ceased in 1973. After the war, the USS America supported evacuations related to the crisis in Lebanon and then began conducting various exercises and tests, including NATO-sponsored rallies. During the Vietnam War, the USS America performed to mythical standards without losing a single pilot.

Their crews dropped more than 11,000 tons of munitions at Viet Cong targets and flew more than 10,500 times in total.

It didnt take long for the USS America to become active again, this time on the orders of US President Ronald Reagan, sending two task forces into the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Libya. When Libyan SAM bases and aggressive Libyan navy ships are attacked, destroyed or damaged, U.S. aircraft are put to best use. Grumman's F-14 Tomcat, Vought A-7 Corsair II and A-6 Raiders were used in strikes, including the first use of AGM-84 Harpoon air-to-surface missiles against Libyan ships. Other attacks followed, including Operation Eldorado Canyon in support of Operation Eldorado Canyon using U.S. Air Force F-111 Aardvark swing-wing fighter-bombers.

The attack also involved several A-6 intruders from the United States tasked with muting other Libyan SAM systems. After the USS Enterprise arrived in the region, after her role in the Libyan attack ended, the USS once again served some time outside Lebanon (participating in the 1983 evacuation) and eventually returned home.

The 1990s brought new challenges and a changed face to warfare. Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein has deployed his troops to positions in the US-friendly Gulf state of Kuwait, effectively giving him control of most of the world's oil production. The USS America is once again destined to be part of a larger contingent of world allies in the region, joining USS John F. Kennedy and USS Saratoga in the Red Sea.

By January 17, 1991, Operation Desert Storm was in full swing, and U.S. Air Force squadrons resumed air patrols, followed by direct strikes against inland targets. The United States is now officially assigned to the Persian Gulf along with Theodore Roosevelt and others to continue to support the inland attack, this time from eastern Iraq.

In total, the USS America will make about 3,000 sorties from her deck as Iraqi forces are forgotten and forced to retreat. She later participated in Operation Southern Watch, which enforced a no-fly zone in southern Iraq.

The USS America was later recalled to action during Operation Joint Endeavour (over Bosnia) to provide domestic support to NATO forces near the Adriatic Sea.

USS America made its final deployment on 28 August 1995 (20 in total). Her thirty years of reliable service is finally over. The decommissioning took place in mid-1996, the same year her name was removed from the Navy Ship Register.

Unfortunately, she was chosen as the target ship and thus sank off the coast of North Carolina on May 14, 2005. That was the end of the fabled ship, as it became the largest ship ever deliberately sunk in this way.

The incident, classified and disclosed days later, sheds light on how aircraft carriers can withstand damage from various munitions, including cruise missiles.

USS America was ordered in 1960 and laid in 1961. She was launched in 1964 and officially commissioned in 1965. She established her homeport in Norfolk, Virginia, USA, and fought under the motto "Don't Tread." On my body. "The United States is affectionately known as the "Big A." At the time, the USS America was the third ship in U.S.

Navy history to be named after the country.

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