- The former USS Kitty Hawk has arrived in Texas, five months after departing from Washington state.
- The hulk traveled from Washington state to Texas around the tip of South America.
- Kitty Hawk was the last conventionally-powered aircraft carrier in the U.S. Navy.
USS Kitty Hawk arrived at the breakers last week after an epic 16,000-mile voyage. Kitty Hawk, the last conventionally-powered aircraft carrier to serve in the U.S Navy, arrived at the Port of Brownsville, Texas where she will be dismantled for scrap. A veteran of the Vietnam and Afghan wars, Kitty Hawk also served as America’s only forward-deployed carrier in Japan.
A U.S. Navy F-14A Tomcat takes off for a mission over Iraq from the USS Kitty Hawk in northern Gulf waters, April 2003.
The carrier was decommissioned in 2009, after returning from forward-basing in Japan, and has remained in storage at Naval Base Kitsap in Bremerton, Washington. Naval Sea Systems Command sold Kitty Hawk and her sister ship, USS John F. Kennedy, to International Shipbreaking Ltd. in October 2021
for just one penny each.
The low price reflects a number of factors, including the need to tow the ships around South America’s Cape Horn, as the ships are too big to transit the Panama Canal. Kitty Hawk’s steam boilers and turbines are no longer operational, so the ship must be moved by tugboat.
The trip from Bremerton to Brownsville took Kitty Hawk approximately five months. Here she is on January 15 leaving Bremerton, Washington, under tow:
According to Ship Management International, Kitty Hawk is International Shipbreaking’s fourth “supercarrier” project. The carrier will “undergo an extensive dismantling and recycling process which is expected to take around a year and a half to complete.”
Kitty Hawk was commissioned in 1961 as the first of three Kitty Hawk-class aircraft carriers, a class that also included the America and Constellation. The class was the last conventionally-powered group of aircraft carriers to enter the U.S. Navy, and the oldest Kitty Hawk, herself, was the last to be retired. The Kitty Hawks were followed by the USS Enterprise, the first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, which was decommissioned in 2012.
A Russian-made Tupolev TU-16 Badger-A surveillance bomber flies with U.S. Navy escort fighters over the attack carrier USS Kitty Hawk during Cold War activities over the North Pacific Ocean in January of 1963.
Kitty Hawk was 1,047 feet long with a top speed of 30 knots. She had a crew of 4,582, was equipped with four C-13 Mod 0 steam catapults, and could carry between 80 and 90 aircraft. Throughout her career, she carried aircraft as small as the A-1 Skyraider and A-4 Skyhawk to the huge A-1 Vigilante and A-3 Skywarrior, as well as the F-14 Tomcat fleet air defense fighter.
From 1998 to 2008, Kitty Hawk was based at Yokosuka Naval Base in Japan. The distance between West Coast naval bases and the Western Pacific compelled the Navy to forward-deploy one carrier battle group, complete with aircraft and escorts, in Japan.
A group does yoga as the decommissioned United States Navy supercarrier USS Kitty Hawk passes by Long Beach on its final voyage from the Naval Base Kitsap in Washington state to a scrapyard in Brownsville, Texas on January 24, 2022.
The current U.S. Navy carrier fleet is entirely nuclear powered, consisting of ten Nimitz-class carriers and USS Gerald R. Ford, the first of a new class. The Navy prefers nuclear-powered aircraft carriers as they don’t require fuel oil and have essentially unlimited range. A nuclear-powered aircraft carrier can depart immediately to deal with an international crisis without having to top off with fuel. The use of nuclear power also lessens the burden on the Navy’s logistics fleet to keep carriers moving.
Kyle Mizokami
Kyle Mizokami is a writer on defense and security issues and has been at Popular Mechanics since 2015. If it involves explosions or projectiles, he's generally in favor of it. Kyle’s articles have appeared at The Daily Beast, U.S. Naval Institute News, The Diplomat, Foreign Policy, Combat Aircraft Monthly, VICE News, and others. He lives in San Francisco.
FAQs
On 6 October 2021, Kitty Hawk and John F. Kennedy were sold for one cent each to International Shipbreaking Limited. On 15 January 2022, Kitty Hawk left the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, under tow, en-route to Brownsville, Texas, for scrapping.
Which aircraft carrier was sold for 1 cent? ›
In 2022, the retired carriers USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63) and USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67) were sold to International Shipbreaking Limited in Texas for just one cent each.
What was the last U.S. aircraft carrier sunk in combat? ›
The last US aircraft carrier of any type sunk in combat was USS Bismarck Sea (CVE-95), sunk by two kamikaze attacks on February 21, 1945 off Iwo Jima. The last light carrier sunk was USS Princeton (CVL-23), sunk by a lone Japanese dive bomber (NOT a kamikaze) on October 24, 1944 during the Battle of Leyte Gulf.
Why can t the USS Kitty Hawk go through the Panama Canal? ›
Because of its size — 280 feet wide and more than 1,000 feet long — the Kitty Hawk would be unable to travel through the Panama Canal and will instead go through the Strait of Magellan. The ship saw heavy duty throughout the Vietnam War.
What was the last conventional aircraft carrier in the US? ›
USS John F. Kennedy (CVA-67), first in class and the last conventionally-powered aircraft carrier built for the U.S. Navy, was commissioned at the Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company, Virginia, 7 September 1968, with Captain Earl P. Yates in command.
What aircraft carrier did Tom Cruise land on? ›
After touching down and stepping out on to the USS Midway carrier in San Diego, California, the actor thanked fans and praised his fellow cast members.
What is the most expensive aircraft carrier in the U.S. military? ›
The USS Gerald R. Ford, the world's largest and most expensive aircraft carrier, returned to Norfolk, Va., after being deployed to protect Israel. The carrier cost more than $13 billion.
Why was the USS Kitty Hawk sold for one penny? ›
The deal was made after the Navy rejected a bid from the USS Kitty Hawk Veterans Association to convert the ship into a museum to be stationed at Long Beach, California, next to the retired ocean liner Queen Mary.
What aircraft carrier was used in Top Gun? ›
USS Enterprise from the bow. USS Enterprise (CVN-65) is a nuclear powered Aircraft Carrier of the United States Navy. The USS Enterprise is seen in Top Gun.
What was the USS Kitty Hawk famous for? ›
USS Kitty Hawk (AKV-1) was a cargo ship and aircraft transport that served during World War II. USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63) is the lead ship of the Kitty Hawk-class aircraft carriers, and was in commission between 1961 and 2009.
Developed in the 1990s to better block the sun and keep ships cooler, “Type 2” low solar absorbance paint started out gray but degraded over time and turned pink.
What is the oldest U.S. warship still in service? ›
USS Constitution is the oldest commissioned ship in the United States Navy. Naval officers and crew still serve aboard the ship today. The USS Constitution is operated by the United States Navy, a partner to the National Parks of Boston.
Has the U.S. Navy ever lost an aircraft carrier? ›
The U.S. lost just one aircraft carrier after 1942, at the Battle of Leyte Gulf, and it would finish the war with 29 aircraft carriers in its navy, compared to just four for the Japanese.
What aircraft carrier was just found? ›
Service officials determined Monday that the shipwreck found in 2019 is the USS Ommaney Bay, according to the Naval History and Heritage Command. Some 95 American sailors were killed in the Jan. 5, 1945, attack on the Ommaney Bay, many of whom went down with the ship, according to the Navy.
What replaced the USS Kitty Hawk? ›
John F. Kennedy was decommissioned on 23 March 2007. Only Kitty Hawk remained in service as of early 2008 and was replaced by USS George Washington as the forward-deployed carrier in Japan.
What aircraft carrier is getting decommissioned? ›
Nimitz will remove a year-long buffer between Nimitz and the decommissioning of carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69), according to the plan.
Why was the USS Kitty Hawk sold for 1 cent? ›
The Navy sold the vessel after rejecting a bid from the USS Kitty Hawk Veterans Association to convert the ship into a museum stationed at Long Beach, California. The association could only raise about half of the amount required to decontaminate, develop and maintain the ship as a museum.
Will USS Enterprise be scrapped? ›
Public Navy documents show that Enterprise will not begin dismantlement until 2025, and the work will continue through 2029 — meaning even if everything stays on track, the work will be ongoing when the second nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, USS Nimitz (CVN-68), is scheduled to leave the operational fleet in 2026.
