History

The aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy was ordered in April of 1964, her keel was laid down in October of 1964 at the Newport News shipyard and she was launched in May of 1967. Intended to be the fourth member of the Kitty Hawk class, when the JFK was commissioned in September of 1968 there were so many modifications made during her construction that the Kennedy was designated a separate class of ship.

When originally laid out, the Kennedy was to be powered by a Westinghouse A3W nuclear reactor, but budget considerations caused the Navy to change the powerplant to a conventional, oil-fired, steam-powered one. Unfortunately, the original ship design did not feature an exhaust gas funnel, so one was engineered in after the fact. This feature is one of the many modifications that distinguished the JFK; unlike the other members of the Kitty Hawk class, who's funnel extends vertically out of the aft portion of the island, the Kennedy's stack is angled out of the right rear corner of the island, which helps to project the exhaust gasses away from the flight deck.

The Kennedy was originally designated at an attack carrier (CVA) and its mission was focused strictly on air combat and ground support operations. This designation was changed in the 1970s to CV (multi-mission) to indicate that the Kennedy was now capable of operating anti-submarine aircraft and supporting ASW operations.

In 1995 the Kennedy was transferred to the Naval Reserve, where it became the first aircraft carrier to serve in the reserves. Though assigned to the NR as a training support vessel, the Kennedy was kept in a mission-ready status, and following a 6-month deployment with an active duty air wing in 1997, the decision was made to incorporate the Kennedy into the active carrier deployment rotation list.

In 2004, with budget cuts looming, operational costs making the Kennedy the most expensive carrier in the fleet to operate, and facing a major overhaul, the decision was made by the Navy to retire the aircraft carrier. Accordingly, the Navy announced in April 2005 that a scheduled 15-month overhaul would be canceled, and that the Kennedy would be decommissioned. The USS John F. Kennedy was decommissioned in her homeport of Mayport, FL. in March of 2007. The Kennedy participated in 18 official deployments during her 38-year career.

Though decommissioned, one feature of the USS John F. Kennedy will be preserved. The captain's in-port cabin, which had originally been decorated by First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy and features unique paneling, paintings and other memoribelia, will be dismantled and reassembled at the National Museum of Naval Aviation at Naval Air Station Pensacola, FL..

Description

General Characteristics:
The John F. Kennedy is 1,052 feet long, has a beam of 130 feet, and draws 37 feet of water.  The flight deck measures 1,046 feet by 252 feet.  The Kennedy displaces 81,430 tons at full load and her compliment is 155 officers, 2,775 enlisted (ship's company), and 2,160 enlisted and 320 officers (embarked air wing).  The Kennedy's top speed is 32 knots, and her cruising speed is 20 knots.  The operational range at 30 knots is 4,000 miles while the maximum cruising range is 12,000 miles.

The Kennedy is equipped with 4 aircraft elevators, two located on the right hand edge of the flight deck forward of the island, and two located aft of the island on the left and right edges of the flight deck.  The Kennedy features 4 steam-powered catapults and 4 arresting wires.  The Kennedy is capable of launching and recovering aircraft simultaneously. 

The Kennedy can embark 80+ aircraft, depending on mission requirements.  A typical embarked airwing consists of 56 F/A-18 hornet strike fighters, 6 S-3B Viking ASW aircraft, 4 EA-6B Prowler offensive electronic warfare aircraft, 4 E-2C Hawkeye electronic early warning aircraft, 2 ES-3A Shadow electronic warfare (SIGINT) aircraft, 4 SH-60F Seahawk ASW helicopters, and 2 HH-60H Seahawk combat search and rescue aircraft.

Propulsion:
The JFK is powered by eight Foster-Wheeler 1,200 psi. (950 degree operating temperature) boilers which drive four Westinghouse steam turbines, producing 280,000 horsepower combined.  Propulsion is provided by four shafts.

Electronics:
The JFK features an SPS-48E three-dimentional C/D band air search radar, SPS-49(v)5 C/D band long range air search radar surface search radar, a Mk 23 TAS (Target Acquisition System) D band system which serves as the director for the ship's Sea Sparrow launchers, a SPQ-9B surface search and tracking radar (sea-skimmer capable), an SPS-67 short range G-band surface search and navigation radar, and an SPS-64(v)9 I-band navigation radar.

The carrier's aircraft management radars include an SPN-41 electronic carrier landing system, an SPN-43A air traffic control and marshalling radar, and an SPN-46 precision approach landing system (PALS.)

Fire control systems include six Mk 95 continuous wave illuminators for the Sea Sparrow launchers and three Mk 91 Sea Sparrow fire control systems.

Command and control systems include the ACDS (Advanced Combat Direction System) Block 1 level 1, the USQ-119E (V) 27 - maritime Global Command and Control System (GCCS-M), Mk 91 Guided Missile command and Control System, and the SSQ-82 electronic emission management system.

Defensive and electronic warfare systems include the Mk 2 mod 2 Ship Self-Defense System, four Mk 36 SRBOC chaff launcher, the SLQ-36 Nixie passive, electro-acoustic torpedo decoy system, and the SSTDS (Surface Ship Torpedo Defense System.)

Armament:
The John F. Kennedy is armed two Mk 29 Sea Sparrow Guided Missile Launch Systems, two RAM (Rolling Airframe Missile) systems, and two Mk 15 Phalanx 20mm CIWS (Close In Weapon System.)

General Characteristics: CV67 USS John F. Kennedy
Builder:	Newport News Shipbuilding
Date Commissioned:	September 7, 1968
Dimentions: (length/width/draft)	1,052 x 130 x 37 feet
Flight Deck:	1,046 x 252 feet
Crew:	155 officers, 2,775 enlisted (ship's company) 2,160 enlisted and 320 officers (embarked air wing)
Power Plant:	8 x Foster-Wheeler 1,200psi/950 degree steam boilers
Propulsion:	4 x Westinghouse steam turbines, 4 propeller shafts, 240,000 horsepower combined
Weight (Full Load):	81,430 tons
Range (Cruise Speed):	12,000 miles
Speed (Cruise/Maximum):	20/32 knots
Typical Airwing:	56 x F/A-18 Hornet strike fighters 6 x S-3B Viking ASW aircraft 4 x EA-6B Prowler offensive electronic warfare aircraft 4 x E-2C Hawkeye electronic early warning aircraft 2 x ES-3A Shadow electronic warfare (SIGINT) aircraft 4 x SH-60F Seahawk ASW helicopters 2 x HH-60H Seahawk combat search and rescue aircraft
Electronics:	RADARS SPS-48E three-dimentional C/D band air search radar SPS-49(v)5 C/D band long range air search radar surface search radar Mk 23 TAS (Target Acquisition System) D band system which serves as the director for the ship’s Sea Sparrow launchers SPQ-9B surface search and tracking radar (sea-skimmer capable) SPS-67 short range G-band surface search and navigation radar SPS-64(v)9 I-band navigation radar. AIRCRAFT MANAGEMENT SPN-41 electronic carrier landing system SPN-43A air traffic control and marshalling radar SPN-46 precision approach landing system (PALS) FIRE CONTROL 6 x Mk 95 continuous wave illuminators 3 x Mk 91 Sea Sparrow fire control systems COMMAND and CONTROL ACDS Block 1 level 1 USQ-119E (V) 27 (GCCS-M) Mk 91 Guided Missile command and Control System SSQ-82 electronic emission management system. DEFENSIVE/ELECTRONIC WARFARE Mk 2 mod 2 Ship Self-Defense System 4 x Mk 36 SRBOC chaff launcher SLQ-36 SSTDS (Surface Ship Torpedo Defense System.)
Equipment:	4 x aircraft elevators, 4 x steam-driven catapults, 4 x arresting wires
Armament:	2 x Mk 29 Sea Sparrow Guided Missile Launch Systems 2 x RAM (Rolling Airframe Missile) systems 2 x Mk 15 Phalanx 20mm CIWS (Close In Weapon System.)
Status:	Decommissioned