USS Constellation CV 64

.....On 9 May 1972, Operation Pocket Money, the mining campaign against principal North Vietnamese ports, was launched. Early that morning, an EC-121 aircraft took off from Da Nang airfield to provide support for the mining operation. A short time later, Kitty Hawk launched 17 ordnance-delivering sorties against the Nam Dinh railroad siding as a diversionary air tactic. Poor weather, however, forced the planes to divert to secondary targets at Thanh and Phu Qui which were struck at 090840H and 090845H, Vietnam time, respectively. Coral Sea launched three A-6A and six A-7E aircraft loaded with mines and one EKA-3B in support of the mining operation directed against the outer approaches to Haiphong Harbor. The mining aircraft departed the vicinity of Coral Sea at 090840H in order to execute the mining at precisely 090900H to coincide with President Richard Nixon's public announcement in Washington that mines had been seeded. The A-6 flight led by the CAG, Cmdr., Roger E. Sheets, was composed of Marine Corps aircraft from VMA-224 and headed for the inner channel. The A-7Es, led by Cmdr., Leonard E. Giuliani and made up of aircraft from VA-94 and VA-22, were designated to mine the outer segment of the channel. Each aircraft carried four MK52-2 mines. Capt., William R. Carr, USMC, the bombardier/navigator in the lead plane, established the critical attack azimuth and timed the mine releases.

.....The first mine was dropped at 090859H and the last of the field of 36 mines at 090901H. Twelve mines were placed in the inner segment and the remaining 24 in the outer segment. All MK52-2 mines were set with 72-hour arming delays, thus permitting merchant ships time for departure or a change in destination consistent with the President's public warning. It was the beginning of the mining campaign that planted over 11,000 MK 36 type destructor and 108 special MK 52-2 mines over the next eight months. It is considered to have played a significant role in bringing about an eventual peace arrangement, particularly since it so hampered the enemy's ability to continue receiving war supplies.

.....On 10 May 1972, Operation Linebacker I, the heavy strike of targets in most of North Vietnam, evolved and lasted until restrictions on operations above 20 degrees N were imposed 22 October. The operation was an outgrowth of Freedom Train and the President's mining declaration which also stated that the U.S. would make a maximum effort to interdict the flow of supplies in North Vietnam. On this first day of Linebacker I, the Navy shifted its attacks from targets in southern North Vietnam to the coastal region embracing Haiphong north to the Chinese border. In all, 173 attack sorties were flown in this region this day, although another 62 were directed into South Vietnam in continuing support of allied forces there.

.....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 - Lt., Randall H. Cunningham, the pilot and Lt., (j.g.) William P. Driscoll - 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. These three MiG downings, couplet with their 19 January and 8 May downing of two MiGs, made Lt., Cunningham and Lt., (j.g.) 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 12,805 naval sorties flown. Most attack sorties in North Vietnam 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 to June operations from Yankee Station were Constellation, Coral Sea, Hancock, Kitty Hawk, Midway, and USS Saratoga (CVA 60).

.....On 11 May 1972, naval aircraft flying from Constellation, Coral Sea, Midway, and Kitty Hawk laid additional mine fields in the remaining ports of significance in North Vietnam: Thanh Hoa, Dong Hoi, Vinh, Hon Gai, Quang Khe and Cam Pha as well as the Haiphong approaches. This early mining was not confined solely 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. The following day, 12 May, the 72-hour delay arming time on the initial mines laid at Haiphong was up at 120900H Vietnam time. Nine ships at Haiphong had taken advantage of the grace period to depart the port. Twenty-seven ships remained. Both Soviet and Soviet-bloc ships headed for Haiphong at the time had diverted to different destinations, thus avoiding a direct confrontation with the mine fields. Constellation was relieved at Yankee Station and returned home to San Diego, arriving on 30 June 1972. She received a Presidential Unit Citation from President Nixon in 1973.

.....On 5 January 1973, Constellation, along with Carrier Air Wing 9, began her seventh deployment to the western Pacific and Vietnam. The Vietnam cease-fire, announced on 23 January went into effect on the 27th. Aircraft from Constellation and Oriskany operating on Yankee Station, the location of which was changed to a position off the coast of the northern part of South Vietnam, flew strikes against targets in southern Laos. Combat sorties from carriers on Yankee Station against targets in Laos had continued since the cease-fire in Vietnam. These combat support sorties were flown in support of the Laotian government which had requested this assistance and it had no relationship with the cease-fire. Constellation returned from this deployment on 11 October 1973.

.....Constellation again departed for WESTPAC on 21 June 1974, her eighth such deployment. On 19 November Constellation was part of an eight-ship force from the United States participating in the Central Treaty Organization Exercise Midlink 74. The exercise got underway as the largest naval exercise ever held in the Arabian Sea. Participating were forces from the United States, United Kingdom, Iran, Pakistan, and Turkey. Constellation returned from this deployment on 22 December 1974.

.....ON 31 January 1975, Constellation departed San Diego for the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, Wash., to undergo one of the most extensive carrier overhauls ever undertaken, enabling her to carry the Navy's newest air supremacy fighters, the F-14A Tomcat, and the S-3A Viking, a submarine hunter. On 1 July 1975, she, along with all ULSL carriers, were redesignated as "CV" from "CVA". This change was made to improve the accuracy of designations in modern warfare. By removing the letter 'A', which stood for attack, the new designation 'CV' could serve a multipurpose air, surface, and ASW role, depending on the type of aircraft carried. After 14 months at Puget Sound, Constellation departed the shipyard on 26 April 1976 to rejoin the Pacific Fleet.

.....On 3 July 1976, Constellation celebrated America 's Bicentennial by hosting a nationally-telecast TV special from her flight deck. The special featured many major celebrities and guests.

.....A newly refurbished Constellation began her 10th deployment in April 1977, which included the first port call by a U.S. carrier to Pattaya, Thailand.

.....On 26 September 1978, "Connie" sailed west again beginning her 11th deployment. On 27 December, Constellation and her escort ships were directed to the vicinity of Singapore in response to the internal crisis in Iran and because of vital U.S. interests in the Arabian Gulf area. But on 2 January 1979, the President directed Constellation and her escort ships to remain on station on the South China Sea, and not enter the Indian Ocean. Constellation, and her escorts, were released from contingency operations in the South China Sea on 28 January. The crisis in Iran abated when the Shah of Iran departed for exile on 16 January. Due to the uneasy situation in Iran, all U.S. government dependents and nonessential American citizens were ordered to evacuate the country on 30 January.

.....Constellation began her 12th deployment to the western Pacific on 26 February 1980. On 18 April, the carrier and her battle group departed Subic Bay, the Republic of the Philippines, to relieve Coral Sea in the Indian Ocean, doing so on 30 April. Coral Sea had been on station for 89 days in connection with the Iranian crisis. On 4 November 1979, a mob of Muslim "students", adherents of the Ayatollah Khomeini's fundamentalist revolution, stormed the U.S. Embassy in Teheran and seized the Americans in the compound, including 14 Marine guards. The students announce that they will release their hostages if the United States will extradite the deposed Shah, who is undergoing medical treatment in New York, for trial by a revolutionary tribunal. President Jimmy Carter refuses to concede to the Iranians' demands. On 19 November, the Iranians occupying the Teheran embassy free three American Hostages: a woman, and two black Marines. Ten more of the Americans are freed the following day, but fifty-three remained in captivity for a total of 444 days, being released on 20 January 1981 as President Ronald Reagan took office.

.....Constellation herself set a new endurance record in 1980 remaining on station in the Indian Ocean for an exhausting 110 consecutive days. Midway relieved Constellation on 17 August, and the Ship began her voyage home, arriving 15 October.

.....Constellation began her 13th deployment in October 1981, returning to San Diego in May 1982. Before the deployment, in late summer 1981, the carrier played host to President Ronald Reagan. During this visit, Mr., Reagan presented a Presidential Flag to the ship and proclaimed her " America 's Flagship". While operating in the Gulf of Oman, Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger and the Chief of Naval Operations paid Constellation a visit.

.....In December 1982, Constellation again sailed north to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton, Washington to begin a 14-month complex overhaul. During the overhaul, Constellation was modified to carry the Navy's newest strike fighter, the F/A-18 Hornet. Connie was the first carrier to receive the new aircraft. She was also fitted with the Phalanx radar-guided gattling-gun, two new flush deck catapults and the NATO Sea Sparrow Missile System. Constellation completed the 235 million overhaul two weeks early and under budget, something which a carrier had not accomplished since the 1940s, according to the shipyard.

.....Constellation set sail on her 14th deployment to the western Pacific and Indian Ocean on 21 February 1985. This was the first operational deployment of the F/A-18 Hornet strike fighter and the LAMPS, which uses the SH-60B Seahawk ASW helicopter. The Hornets replaced the A-7E Corsair IIs operated by two squadrons assigned to CVW-14, making Constellation the Navy's first carrier to have F/A18s assigned to her air wing. The SH-60B Seahawk helicopter operated as the air subsystem of the LAMPS MK III weapon system, deployed aboard the frigate USS Crommelin (FFG 37). In addition to the western Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean, the cruise included port visits to Singapore, Kenya and Western Australia. Constellation returned to her home port of San Diego in late August. For her performance during this cruise, the carrier's crew earned the Meritorious Unit Commendation. The ship also received the Secretary of the Navy's Environmental Protection Award.

.....With the cruise and two major awards, 1985 was a pretty good year for Constellation, but 1986 would be even better. During the first part of this year Constellation earned the Golden Anchor Award for retention excellence, and a second consecutive Environmental Protection Award. The most important award, though, came when the ship earned the U.S. Pacific Fleet Battle Efficiency Award covering her outstanding performance from January 1985 to June 1986.

.....Constellation began a two-month Northern Pacific Cruise (NOPPAC) in September 1986. In early September, the ship spent five days in Vancouver, British Columbia, where many members of the crew visited EXPO '86. In late September the ship spent four days in Anchorage, Alaska. It was the first carrier to ever visit that port. During these port visits, the ship hosted over 15,000 visitors.

.....Constellation's final port visit was in Seattle, Washington where an estimated 45,000 visitors walked her decks while America 's Flagship celebrated the Navy's 211th birthday. Connie returned home to Naval Air Station North Island in San Diego in time for her 25th birthday. On 27 October 1986, Constellation celebrated her Silver Anniversary on board with a concert, ceremony and a giant cake.

.....On 11 April 1987, Constellation once again made her way west to the western Pacific and Indian Oceans. But this cruise, her 15th major deployment, took her on up into North Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman.

.....On 2 August 1988, Constellation successfully fought a severe fire in the main engineering space using the installed HALON fire fighting equipment; this was the first carrier use of the system in fighting a fire.