Kitty Hawk-class aircraft carrier
The Kitty Hawk-class supercarriers of the United States Navy were an incremental improvement on the Forrestal-class vessels. Three were built, all in the 1960s, Kitty Hawk (CV-63) (1961–2009), Constellation (CV-64) (1961–2003), and America (CV-66) (1965–1996), as well as the variant John F. Kennedy (CV-67) (1967–2007). All are now decommissioned.
USS Kitty Hawk conducting sea trials in the Western Pacific Ocean, May 2006
John F. Kennedy's smokestack tilts outboard to send stack gas away from the flight deck.
America's island in the mid 1970s, still equipped with AN/SPG-55 radar for Terrier.
Constellation's island in the early 1980s, note the different stack configuration from America and John F. Kennedy and alternate mounting of Terrier fire control radars
Forrestal-class aircraft carrier
The Forrestal-class aircraft carriers were four aircraft carriers designed and built for the United States Navy in the 1950s. The class ship was named for James Forrestal, the first United States Secretary of Defense. It was the first class of supercarriers, combining high tonnage, deck-edge elevators and an angled deck. The first ship was commissioned in 1955, the last decommissioned in 1998. The four ships of the class were scrapped in Brownsville, Texas, between 2014 and 2017.
USS Forrestal
A 1952 design study
Saratoga (top) cruising with USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67); note the arrangement of the islands and elevators.
Image: USS Forrestal (CVA 59) underway at sea on 31 May 1962 (KN 4507)
