USS Independence (CV-62)

History of USS Independence (CV-62)

The fifth USS Independence (CV/CVA-62) was an aircraft carrier of the United States Navy. She is the fourth and final member of the Forrest-class conventionally powered supercarrier. She entered service in 1959 and spent most of her early years in the Mediterranean Fleet.

Independence was decommissioned in 1998 after 39 years of service. The former Independence had been in storage at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton, Washington, for the past several years, and was towed to Brownsville, Texas, for scrap on March 10, 2017.

She arrived on June 1, 2017, and the demolition was completed in early 2019.

Specification

Foundation

Year of Service

1959

Origins

United States

supplement

5,360

staff

Class information

Class

Forrestal class

Class Size

4

ships

Class

USS Foresta (CV-59); USS Saratoga (CV-60); USS Ranger (CV-61); USS Independence (CV-62)

Carrier

United States

Roles

Flagships/Capital Ships

Take on the role of fleet flagship or capital ship in old battleship design/terminology.

Dimensions and Weight

Length

1,070. 0 feet

326.14m

Ray

130. 0 feet

39.62m

Draft

37. 0 feet

11.28m

Shift

75,000

t

Power and Performance

Installed Power:

8 Babcock and Wilcox boilers and 4 Westinghouse gear turbines producing 280,000 hp on 4 shafts.

Surface Velocity

33.0 nodes

(38.0km/h)

Area

7,995nm

(9,200 miles | 14,806 km)

Weapons

8 x 5" (127mm)/54 caliber Mark 42 guns (possibly removed). 2 x 8 NATO Sea Sparrow anti-aircraft missile launchers. 3 x 20mm Phalanx close-in weapon system (CIWS)

Aircraft

Fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft between 70 and 90. Types include Fleet Defense/Intercept, Strike, Electronic Warfare, Search and Rescue, Transport and Patrol types.