A shot of four carriers at NIMSF Bremerton WA.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/romamar76/4477314996/
BREMERTON MOTHBALL FLEET
USS Ranger (CV 61)
Type ship: Forrestal-class aircraft carrier
Length: 1,067 feet
Beam: 270 feet
Status: Stricken, available for donation as museum or memorial
Commissioned: Aug. 10, 1957
Decommissioned: July 10, 1993
Stricken: March 8, 2004
USS Ranger in 1980. I was in that A-6 Squadron back then.
USS Independence (CV 62)
Type ship: Forrestal-class aircraft carrier
Length: 1,070 feet
Beam: 263 feet
Status: Stricken, to be disposed of
Commissioned: Jan. 10, 1959
Decommissioned: Sept. 30, 1998
Stricken: March 8, 2004
Kitty Hawk and Independence at NS Pearl Harbor HI. RIMPAC 98. This was long after I had retired.
USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63)
Type ship: Kitty Hawk-class aircraft carrier
Length: 1,069 feet
Beam: 282 feet
Status: Out of commission, in reserve
Commissioned: April 29, 1961
Decommissioned: Spring 2009
USS Constellation (CV 64)
Type ship: Kitty Hawk-class aircraft carrier
Length: 1,073 feet
Beam: 282 feet
Status: Stricken, to be disposed of
Commissioned: Oct. 27, 1961
Decommissioned: Aug. 6, 2003
Stricken: Dec. 2, 2003
Type ship: Kitty Hawk-class aircraft carrier
Length: 1,073 feet
Beam: 282 feet
Status: Stricken, to be disposed of
Commissioned: Oct. 27, 1961
Decommissioned: Aug. 6, 2003
Stricken: Dec. 2, 2003
Those three vessels I served on are in the pic at the link as well as Constellation.
They represent a large part of my life, approximately 5 years and 2 months of it.
5 comments:
All four of these ships were there on 28th or was it the 27th Jan 1973. The day Vet Nam was over. I have the picture of it in the Ranger cruse book I have.
Along with CV-65, Oriskanie, Forrestal, and I think Coral Sea.
Noble ghosts. Carriers of souls.
Five sailors from my Boot Camp company went straight from San Diego to the Constellation. I'm assuming they survived long enough to be plank owners.
My own ship, USS Wiltsie (DD 716) had the opportunity to operate with both the Ranger and the Kitty Hawk. Acting as plane guard for either was anything but fun.
Status: Stricken, to be disposed of
Those are pretty sad words, among the saddest in certain company. I kinda sorta know the feeling: NONE of the radar sites I served at during my career exist today. There are remnants... rusting towers, derelict buildings... and seeing those make me pretty sad.
Another one of those "gettin' old sucks" sorta thangs.
I was on the Ranger in 89 & 90 while attached to VF-2. After 20+ years that was the best ship I was on. I would like to see it dontated as a museum someplace.
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