The fifth USS Independence (CV/CVA-62) was an aircraft carrier of the United States Navy. She was the fourth and final member of the Forrestal class of conventionally powered supercarriers. She entered service in 1959, with much of her early years spent in the Mediterranean Fleet.
USS Independence in 1971
Independence under construction at the Brooklyn Navy Yard in 1955
Independence fitting out at the Brooklyn Navy Yard in June 1958; Enterprise (CV-6) is opposite awaiting disposal
Independence on her initial shakedown in 1959
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)
