USS Kitty Hawk CV 63

.....It was the most intensified air-to-air combat day of the entire war...Navy flyers shot down eight MiGs...An F-4 Phantom II, from VF-96 on board Constellation while engaged in aerial combat over Haiphong, shot down three MiGs for the first triple downing of enemy MiGs by one plane during the war...Lt., Randall H. Cunningham was the pilot and Lt., j.g. William P. Driscoll was the RIO of the F-4...These three MiG downings, coupled with their 19 January and 8 May downing of two MiGs, made Lt., Cunningham and Lt., Driscoll the first MiG aces of the Vietnam War...Three other kills were scored by planes of VF-96 and one by VF-92 off Constellation and one by VF-51 off Coral Sea.

.....During the five and one-half month period of Linebacker I, the Navy contributed more than 60 percent of the total sorties in North Vietnam, with 60 percent of this effort in the "panhandle", the area between Hanoi and the DMZ Tactical air operations were most intense during the July-September quarter with 12,865 naval sorties flown...Most attack sorties in NVN fell into two classes - armed reconnaissance and strike...The former was directed usually against targets of opportunity within three main areas - near Hanoi, Haiphong and the Chinese border...Strike operations were pre planned and usually directed at fixed targets...Most types of fixed targets, not associated with armed reconnaissance, required approval by the Commander-in-Chief, Pacific, or by the Joint Chiefs of Staff, prior to attack...Principal Navy aircraft were the A-7 and A-6, which accounted for roughly 60 and 15 percent of the Navy's attack sorties, respectively...About 25 percent of the Navy's effort was at night...Carriers participating in the initial May-June operations from Yankee Station were Kitty Hawk, Constellation, Coral Sea, Hancock, Midway and USS Saratoga (CVA 60).

.....On 11 May 1972, Naval aircraft flying from Kitty Hawk, Coral Sea, Midway, and Constellation laid additional mine fields in the remaining ports of significance in North Vietnam - Than Hoa, Dong Hoi, Vinh, Hon Gai, Quang Khe, and Cam Pha, as well as the Haiphong approaches...This early mining was not confined soley to the seven principal ports...Other locations were also seeded early in the campaign, including the Cua Sot, Cap Mui Ron, and the river mouths, Cua Day and Cua Lac Giang, south of Don Son and the Haiphong port complex.

.....Kitty Hawk, along with Constellation, Coral Sea, Hancock, Midway, Saratoga, Oriskany and USS America (CVA 66), began night operations regularly on 24 May, and during June and July night sorties constituted 30 percent of the total Navy attack effort in North Vietnam, relying primarily on the A-7 Corsair II and A-6 Intruder...About 45 percent of the Navy armed reconnaissance effort was at night during June and July...The A-7 flew about as many night sorties as it did day sorties...The A-6 flew more night than day armed reconnaissance sorties during the summer months...The total number of Navy night sorties during June and July were 1,243 and 1,332 respectively...Three to four of the carriers mentioned above were maintained on Yankee Station, on a rotational basis, during the summer months.

.....There was a dramatic change in North Vietnam's air defense effort during the summer months of 1972...During the earlier periods of April and May, the Navy air effort in North Vietnam involved intensive air-to-air combat and a large number of surface-to-air missile (SAM) firings...In contrast, during June and July there was an increase in Linebacker I Navy attack sorties, But there was decrease in the number of air-to-air combat incidents and SAM firings...After mid-June, almost all North Vietnamese aircraft sighted or engaged were MiG-21s.

.....During September the number of Navy tactical air attack sorties decreased from the level flown in August...There were 3,934 Navy tactical air attack sorties flown into North Vietnam down by about 800 from the August total...During July and August, more than 45 percent of the Navy armed reconnaissance sorties were at night...However, in September, only 31 percent of the armed reconnaissance sorties were flown at night...In South Vietnam, the Navy flew 1,708 tactical air attack sorties, a decrease from the level flown in August...About half of the Navy's tactical air sorties were close and direct air support sorties in South Vietnam...Carriers operating on Yankee Station during the month of September were Kitty Hawk, Hancock, Midway, Saratoga, Oriskany and America.

.....On 23 October 1972, the U.S. ended all tactical air sorties into North Vietnam above the 20th parallel and brought to a close Linebacker I operations...This goodwill gesture of terminating the bombing in North Vietnam above the 20th parallel was designed to help promote the peace negotiations being held in Paris, France...Air operations in South Vietnam followed the general pattern of the ground war...North Vietnam increased their small-scale attacks throughout South Vietnam in an apparent effort to gain territory before a possible cease-fire, while the main objective of Navy and Marine Corps tactical air sorties were close and direct air sorties in support of allied ground troops, with a view toward frustrating the enemy's desire to acquire territory before a cease-fire agreement was signed.

..... Kitty Hawk returned to San Diego on 28 November 1972. ..On 23 January 1973, a cease fire in Vietnam went into effect... Kitty Hawk was on deployment again to the western Pacific from 23 November 1973 to 9 July 1974.

.....Just prior to Kitty Hawk's nest WESTPAC deployment on 21 May 1975, the carriers Midway, Coral Sea, Hancock, USS Enterprise (CVAN 65) and USS Okinawa (LPH 3) responded 19 April 1975 to the waters off South Vietnam when North Vietnam overran two-thirds of South Vietnam...Ten days later, Operation Frequent Wind was carried out by U.S. Seventh Fleet forces...Hundreds of U.S. personnel and Vietnamese were evacuated to waiting ships after the fall of Saigon to the North Vietnamese.

.....In October 1979, Kitty Hawk and CVW-15 departed San Diego on their last seven-month cruise to the western Pacific together...On 28 October 1979, Kitty Hawk and her escort ships were directed to operate south of the Korean peninsula in response to the assassinations of South Korean President Park Chung Hee on 26 October.

.....On 18 November 1979, USS Midway arrived in the northern part of the Arabian Sea in connection with the continuing hostage crisis in Iran...Militant followers of the Ayatollah Khomeini, who had come to power following the overthrow of the Shah, seized the U.S. Embassy in Tehran on 4 November and held 63 U.S. citizens hostage...Spokesmen for the mob demanded that the United States return to Iran the deposed Shah who was in a New York hospital at the time...Kitty Hawk's cruise was extended two and a half months to support contingency operations in the North Arabian Sea during the Iranian hostage crisis...On 21 November, Kitty Hawk and her escort ships were directed to sail to the Indian Ocean to join Midway and her escort ships which were operating in the northern Arabian Sea...Kitty Hawk arrived on station on 3 December, and the two carrier forces provided the U.S. with A-6 Intruder and A-7 Corsair II attack aircraft and F-4 Phantom and the modern F-14 Tomcat fighter aircraft, which could respond to a variety of situations if called upon during the Iranian hostage crisis...This was the first time since World War II that the U.S. Navy had two carrier task forces in the Indian Ocean in response to a crisis situation.

.....Two weeks later, on 21 December 1979, the Defense Department announced a three-ship nuclear-powered carrier battle group from the Sixth Fleet would deploy to the Indian Ocean to relieve the Seventh Fleet carrier battle group let by Kitty Hawk...The Sixth Fleet carrier battle group consisted of the nuclear-powered USS Nimitz (CVN 68) and her nuclear-powered escort ships...However, on Christmas Eve, 24 December 1979, a massive Soviet Airlift of 5,000 Russian airborne troops and equipment into the Afghanistan capital of Kabul was conducted...The U.S. protested the large influx of Soviet troops which the Soviet Union claimed were there at the request of the Afghanistan government...On 27 December, a Soviet-backed coup installed a new president in Afghanistan...Two carrier task forces entering around Kitty Hawk and Midway continued contingency operations in the northern Arabian Sea.

.....Nimitz and her escort ships joined Kitty Hawk and Midway and their escort ships on station in the Arabian Sea on 22 January 1980...The following day Kitty Hawk departed for Subic Bay, R.P., having spent 64 days in operations connected with the Iranian crisis...For their actions in the region, Kitty Hawk and CVW-15 sailors and officers were awarded the Navy Expeditionary Medal...Kitty Hawk returned to San Diego in February 1980 and, five months later, was awarded the Meritorious Unit Commendation and the Naval Air Force Pacific Battle Efficiency 'E' and the best carrier in the Pacific Fleet.

.....In April 1981, Kitty Hawk left San Diego it's 13th deployment to the western Pacific...Following the cruise, the crew was awarded the Navy Expeditionary Medal and the Humanitarian Service Medal fro rescuing Vietnamese refugees in the South China Sea.

.....In January 1982, Kitty Hawk returned to Bremerton for another year-long overhaul...The overhaul was completed on schedule in January 1983...Following the comprehensive overhaul and a vigorous training period with Carrier Air Wing NINE (CVW 9), Kitty Hawk deployed as the flagship for Battle Group Bravo...During exercise Team Spirit '84 she was struck by a submerged "Victor-class" Soviet submarine in the Sea of Japan, forcing the submarine to be towed back to her homeport...Kitty Hawk logged over 62,000 miles on this deployment and remained on station in the North Arabian Sea for more than 60 consecutive days...The ship returned to San Diego on 1 August 1984...Seven months later, in March 1985 Kitty Hawk was awarded its second Battle Efficiency 'E' award as the best carrier in the pacific Fleet.

.....In July 1985, Kitty Hawk once again deployed as flagship for Battle Group Bravo, responding to tasking from the California coast to the Gulf of Aden...During the remainder of 1985, Kitty Hawk executed a hallmark cruise, completing her second consecutive fatality-free deployment while accumulating 18,000 flight hours and 7,300 arrested landing...It was also the second consecutive cruise without an accident in the launch and recovery of jet and propeller aircraft, while her catapults and arresting gear were maintained at 100 percent availability.

.....Kitty Hawk celebrated 25 years of proud service in 1986...She won the Admiral Flatley Award for aviation safety, the COMNAVAIRPAC Battle E for best CV AIMD in the Pacific Fleet, and the CINCPACFLT Annual Price Fighter Award...In the category of food service excellence, Kitty Hawk was the winner of the Dorrie P. Miller award as well as a semifinalist for the 1986 NEY award...Culminating an arduous work-up cycle, Kitty Hawk finished 1986 with 9,661 cat shots and 9025 arrested landings, bringing the total traps figure to 256,586.

.....Kitty Hawk began 1987 with a farewell to San Diego...On 3 January, the ship departed her home port of 25 years and set out on a six-month world cruise...During the world cruise, Kitty Hawk and CVW-9 crewmen again showed their commitment to safety by conducting a third fatality-free deployment...Kitty Hawk spent 106 consecutive days on station in the Indian Ocean and was again was awarded the Navy Expeditionary Medal and the Meritorious Unit Citation for it's service.

.....The world cruise ended at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard on 3 July 1987...Six months, Kitty Hawk began a Service Life Extension Program (SLEP) overhaul...Kitty Hawk emerged from the yards on 29 March 1991, her deck modified to accommodate the F/A-18 Hornet...The overhaul was estimated to have added 20 years of service to the life of the ship...Kitty Hawk commenced sea trials, the first time the 80,000-ton carrier moved under her own power since arriving in Philadelphia 3.5 years earlier to begin the SLEP...She departed Philadelphia on 30 July.

.....With the return of CVW-15 to it's decks, Kitty Hawk began it's second cruise around 'the Horn' of South America to it's original home port of San Diego on 11 December 1991...On 1 August 1992, Kitty Hawk was appointed as Commander, Naval Air Forces, Pacific's 'ready carrier.'...The ship embarked the Commander, Cruiser-Destroyer Group FIVE flag staff, the Commander, Destroyer Squadron SEVENTEEN staff and Carrier Air Wing FIFTEEN for three months of work-ups before deploying to the western Pacific on 3 November 1992.

.....While on deployment, Kitty Hawk spent nine days off the coast of Somalia supporting U.S. Marines and coalition forces Involved in Operation Restore Hope...On 16 December 1992, five air traffic controllers from Kitty Hawk were sent aboard USS Leahy (CG 53) to establish approach control services in and out of Mogadishu, Somalia, in support of Operation Restore Hope...Approaching aircraft were picked up from a VAW-114 E-2C Hawkeye, which tracked flights and issued advisories from about 200 miles out...Once the flights were within 50 miles, the Leahy team took over and led them to within visual range of the airport, about 10 miles away.

.....In response to increasing Iraqi violations of the United Nations sanctions, the ship was subsequently rushed to the Arabian Gulf on 27 December 1992...Just 17 days later, on 13 January 1993, Kitty Hawk, with 35 of her CVW-15 aircraft, led a joint, coalition offensive strike against missile sites in southern Iraq...The successful strike sent Saddam Hussein a clear message that continued violations of U.N. resolutions would not be tolerated.

.....Kitty Hawk's battle group was relieved by the USS Nimitz battle group on 18 March 1993 and headed for home, after having operated in the Indian Ocean and Arabian Gulf and participated in Operations Restore Hope and Southern Watch...On 20 September 1993, while in it's home port of San Diego, Kitty Hawk turned it's flight deck into a stage to host a live taping of The Nashville Network's (TNN) 10th anniversary "Southern California Spectacular" country music concert...Among the performers were the  band Restless Heart and singers Martina McBride, Aaron Tippin, Shenandoah, Larry Stewart, Lari White and Clint Black.