For RATING SHIRTS - Click on your Rating Abbreviation below:
AB AC AD AE AG AK AM AO AQ AS AT AW AX AZ BM BT BU
CE CM CS CT DC DK DM DP DS DT EA EM EN EO ET EW
FC FT GM GS (53-61) GS (78-Now) HM HT IC IM IS IT JO LI LN LS
MA (48-67) MA (72-Now) ME ML MM MN MR MS MT MU NAVY NC ND OM OS OT
PC PH PM PN PR QM RD (WW2) RD (48-72) RM SD SF SH SK SM
SO ST SV SW TM UT WT YN NAVY DIVER
Click on your Rating abbreviation above:


U.S.S. AMERICA

(CV-66)

DONT TREAD ON ME

Click to view crew list
 

USS America is the third naval ship to be named such. The aircraft carrier was built at Newport News, Virginia, and was commissioned on Jan. 23, 1965. The ship made her first two cruises to the Mediterranean. On her second voyage, the Six Day War broke out. America provided aid and support during this time. After this, the ship was deployed three times to support combat operations in southeastern Asia.

During the latter part of the 1970’s and into the early 1980’s, she was often in the Mediterranean, including during the Lebanon Crisis. In 1986, America was involved with the Libyan confrontation. The carrier sent aircraft to handle Libyan planes sent to attack American ships. Corsairs from the American were sent to hit key targets within Libya.

From late 1986 to early 1988, the ship underwent an extensive overhaul. The rest of 1988 was spent along the east coast and the Caribbean. During the first Iraq war of 1990-1991, she sent over 3000 combat sorties and lost no aircraft. The ship undertook deployments to the Mediterranean and Indian Ocean during the following years. Although scheduled for another major upgrade in the late 1990’s, the Navy ended up sending the ship to retirement early. The ship was formally decommissioned on Aug. 9, 1996.

CV-66 Deployments - Major Events

Add a CV-66 Shellback Initiation Add a CV-66 Deployment - Major Event
Month Year to Month Year Deployment / Event
NOV1964-DEC1964Sea Trials
NOV1964-DEC1964Sea Trials
DEC1964-DEC1964Sea Trials
JAN1965-JAN1965Commisioning
APR1965-JUN1965Caribbean
MAY1965-MAY1965Guantanamo Bay
MAY1965-Shellback Initiation - 3 MAY 1965 - Pacific Ocean
JUL1965-JUL1965Dependents Cruise
NOV1965-JUN1966Mediterranean
NOV1965-JAN1967Sea Trials
MAR1966-DEC1966Mediterranean
OCT1966-OCT1966Dependents Cruise
OCT1966-NOV1966Caribbean
JAN1967-SEP1967Mediterranean
JAN1967-JAN1969West Pac-Viet Nam
OCT1967-APR1968Mediterranean
OCT1967-OCT1969West Pac-Viet Nam
FEB1968-Shellback Initiation - 28 FEB 1968 - Pacific Ocean
MAR1968-NOV1969West Pac
MAR1968-DEC1968West Pac-Viet Nam
APR1968-Shellback Initiation - 24 APR 1968 - Atlantic Ocean
APR1968-Shellback Initiation - 7 APR 1968 - Pacific Ocean
APR1968- Shellback Initiation - 7 APR 1968 - Pacific Ocean
AUG1968-Shellback Initiation - 7 AUG 1968 - Pacific Ocean
NOV1968-Shellback Initiation - 27 NOV 1968 - Atlantic Ocean
SEP1969-OCT1971West Pac-Viet Nam
APR1970-Shellback Initiation - 24 APR 1970 - Atlantic Ocean
APR1970-Shellback Initiation - 4 APR 1970 - Atlantic Ocean
APR1970-DEC1970West Pac-Viet Nam
MAY1970-Shellback Initiation - 16 MAY 1970 - Atlantic Ocean
MAY1970- Shellback Initiation - 16 MAY 1970 - Atlantic Ocean
MAY1970- Shellback Initiation - 16 MAY 1970 - Atlantic Ocean
JUL1970-DEC1970West Pac-Viet Nam
NOV1970-Shellback Initiation - 26 NOV 1970 - Pacific Ocean
APR1971-Shellback Initiation - 1 APR 1971 - Pacific Ocean
APR1971-APR1972VF-74
JUL1971-DEC1971Mediterranean
JUL1971-AUG1971Mediterranean
MAR1972-NOV1972West Pac-Viet Nam
JUN1972-Shellback Initiation - 12 JUN 1972 - Atlantic Ocean
JUN1972-Shellback Initiation - 12 JUN 1972 - Pacific Ocean
JUN1972-MAR1973West Pac-Viet Nam
NOV1972-Shellback Initiation - 3 NOV 1972 - Atlantic Ocean
JAN1973-OCT1974Mediterranean
FEB1973-Shellback Initiation - 23 FEB 1973 - Indian Ocean
FEB1973-Shellback Initiation - 24 FEB 1973 - Indian Ocean
JAN1974-JUL1974Mediterranean
JAN1974-OCT1974Mediterranean
SEP1974-OCT1974North Atlantic
NOV1975-DEC1975North Atlantic-Med-Indian Ocean
APR1976-OCT1976Mediterranean
APR1976-SEP1976Mediterranean-Lebanon
JUN1976-JUL1976South America
JUL1976-FEB1977Mediterranean
JUN1977-JUL1977BRAZILIAN JOINT OPERATIONS
JUN1977-Shellback Initiation - 15 JUN 1977 - Atlantic Ocean
JUN1977-Shellback Initiation - 17 JUN 1977 - Atlantic Ocean
JUN1977-Shellback Initiation - 6 JUN 1977 - Atlantic Ocean
JUN1977-AUG1977South America
JUL1977-Shellback Initiation - 10 JUL 1977 - Atlantic Ocean
SEP1977-MAR1978Mediterranean
OCT1977-Shellback Initiation - 15 OCT 1977 - Atlantic Ocean
JAN1978-SEP1978Mediterranean
APR1978-NOV1978Mediterranean
SEP1978-OCT1978Sea Trials
JAN1979-JAN1982Mediterranean-Indian Ocean-Persian Gulf
APR1979-NOV1979Mediterranean
JUL1979-Shellback Initiation - 10 JUL 1979 - Atlantic Ocean
JUL1979- Shellback Initiation - 8 JUL 1979 - Atlantic Ocean
NOV1979-AUG1980Overhaul
JAN1980-SEP1981Mediterranean-Indian Ocean-Persian Gulf
JAN1980-NOV1980Mediterranean-Lebanon
MAY1980-JUL1992North Atlantic-Med-Indian Ocean
OCT1980-OCT1980Guantanamo Bay
JAN1981-JAN1981Grenada
FEB1981-OCT1981Mediterranean-Indian Ocean
APR1981-NOV1981Mediterranean-Indian Ocean
MAY1981-OCT1981Mediterranean-Indian Ocean
MAY1981-OCT1981Suez Crossing
MAY1981-MAY1981Suez Safari
AUG1981-Shellback Initiation - 10 AUG 1981 - Atlantic Ocean
AUG1981-Shellback Initiation - 10 AUG 1981 - Indian Ocean
DEC1982-MAY1983Mediterranean-Indian Ocean
FEB1983-Shellback Initiation - 26 FEB 1983 - Indian Ocean
APR1984-NOV1984Mediterranean-Indian Ocean
JUN1984-Shellback Initiation - 20 JUN 1984 - Indian Ocean
JAN1985-JAN1986Blue Nose - Arctic Circle
JAN1985-JAN1986North Atlantic-Med-Indian Ocean
JAN1985-JAN1989Mediterranean-Lebanon
AUG1985-SEP1985North Atlantic
FEB1986-SEP1986Mediterranean
MAR1986-AUG1986Mediterranean
MAR1986-SEP1986Mediterranean
SEP1987- Shellback Initiation - 11 SEP 1987 - Indian Ocean
FEB1989-MAR1989North Atlantic
MAR1989-MAR1989Blue Nose - Arctic Circle
MAY1989-NOV1989Mediterranean-Indian Ocean
JUN1989-Shellback Initiation - 16 JUN 1989 - Atlantic Ocean
JUL1989-Shellback Initiation - 12 JUL 1989 - Indian Ocean
JUL1989-Shellback Initiation - 14 JUL 1989 - Indian Ocean
JUL1989- Shellback Initiation - 12 JUL 1989 - Indian Ocean
JUL1989- Shellback Initiation - 12 JUL 1989 - Indian Ocean
JUL1989- Shellback Initiation - 12 JUL 1989 - Indian Ocean
MAR1990-MAR1990Blue Nose - Arctic Circle
DEC1990-APR1991Desert Storm
JAN1991- Shellback Initiation - 15 JAN 1991 - Indian Ocean
JAN1991- Shellback Initiation - 15 JAN 1991 - Indian Ocean
FEB1991-MAR1991North Atlantic
APR1991- Shellback Initiation - 3 APR 1991 - Indian Ocean
AUG1991-OCT1991North Pole
FEB1992- Shellback Initiation - 8 FEB 1992 - Atlantic Ocean
JUL1992-Shellback Initiation - 27 JUL 1992 - Atlantic Ocean
JAN1993-JAN1996Desert Storm
JUN1993-FEB1994Mediterranean-Indian Ocean-Persian Gulf
AUG1993-FEB1994Mediterranean-Indian Ocean-Persian Gulf
SEP1993-NOV1993black hawk down somalia
NOV1993-DEC1993Somalia
DEC1993-Shellback Initiation - 1 DEC 1993 - Indian Ocean
DEC1993- Shellback Initiation - 1 DEC 1993 - Indian Ocean
AUG1994-FEB1995Panama Canal
SEP1994-NOV1994Caribbean
JAN1995-DEC1995Mediterranean-Indian Ocean-Persian Gulf
AUG1995-FEB1996Mediterranean-Indian Ocean-Persian Gulf
FEB1996-AUG1996Decommisioning
FEB1996-Shellback Initiation - 19 FEB 1996 - Pacific Ocean
MAR2005-MAR2005Sank at Sea - 33°09′09″N 71°39′07″W

CV-66 General Specifications