USS Forrestal (CVA-59), was a supercarrier named after the first United States Secretary of Defense James Forrestal. Commissioned in 1955, she was the United States' first completed supercarrier, and was the lead ship of her class. The other carriers of her class were USS Saratoga, USS Ranger and USS Independence. She surpassed the World War II Japanese carrier Shinano as the largest carrier yet built, and was the first designed to support jet aircraft.
USS Forrestal on 31 May 1962
Forrestal undergoing sea trials, 29 September 1955
Forrestal in 1955, shortly after commissioning
Forrestal in the Mediterranean, 1957 during her first deployment to the Sixth Fleet.
James Vincent Forrestal was the last Cabinet-level United States Secretary of the Navy and the first United States Secretary of Defense.
James Forrestal
Forrestal takes the oath of office as Secretary of the Navy from Rear Admiral Thomas L. Gatch, judge advocate general of the Navy on May 19, 1944. Ernest King, Chief of Naval Operations, stands to the right.
Forrestal arrives at the White House for a Cabinet meeting, c. 1945
Secretary of the Navy Forrestal pins Admiral Jonas H. Ingram with a Gold Star in lieu of a third Distinguished Service Medal on May 21, 1946
