The Gun Counter

I haven't seen the movie, nor do I plan to, but in one of the trailers to the movie "2012", I see the USS JFK (CVA 67) getting dumped on top of Washington, DC.

I remember thinking --"that's gotta be one of our oldest aircraft carriers." I also remembered my swabbie firiends having a serious dislike for that boat for a number of reasons, biggest among them was that it was the last of the oil burning carriers (meaning lots of mid-ocean refuelings).

Sure enough, a little google-fu shows the USS JFK was decommissioned a couple of years ago

http://www.navysite.de/cvn/cv67.htm

You'd think the producers of the movie would have done a similar 1-minute google search and used a newer ship for a movie set in 2012.

Unlike the USS Midway, the USS JFK doesn't have such a storied past -- it wasn't in WWII, Korea, and Vietnam -- so I don't see it getting turned into a floating museum. I figure the JFK will already be turned into a bunch of Toyotas and Fords by the time 2012 rolls around.

I suspect that she will become a museum ship simply because of her name. Add that she is the last of the non nuclear carriers and I cannot imagine them not turning her into a museum.

That aside, if she isn't, she will get sunk as a reef just like the Oriskany was a couple of years back or as a target like the America was.

The USS Enterprise - CVA 65, is a different animal entirely. It is the USN's first nuke carrier and they never made another one like it -- it is the only one in its class. 8 reactors vs. the 2 for the Nimitz class. I've been told by my swabbie friends that this is the fastest ship in the Navy.

Besides, the logistics train (nuke material supply & refit) is the same as all the other carriers. The USS JFK was the only one that still needed to be followed around the globe by a train of oilers.

As the first nuke, I can see the Enterprise being made into a museum.

Of course, by 2015 or so, it could be bought by the Google founders as their personal yacht (like in the book "Snow Crash").

Thanks for the scoop on Teddy. I'm glad he died knowing his brother's namesake was getting scrapped.

Oh yeah, the Big E will for sure be a museum ship though it may take forever because of the cost of deactivating 8 reactors.

There's a lot less fuel being shuttled out to a Battle Group but all the small boys are still burning fuel and often they'll pull it off the CV. Not to mention the airwing. Logistics are simplified but there's still a heck of a tail providing regular UNREP and VERTREP for food, spares etc.

I remember thinking --"that's gotta be one of our oldest aircraft carriers." I also remembered my swabbie firiends having a serious dislike for that boat for a number of reasons, biggest among them was that it was the last of the oil burning carriers (meaning lots of mid-ocean refuelings).

The USS JFK was the only one that still needed to be followed around the globe by a train of oilers.

Guess what I did every three days in the Med in '93, usually at 0300 to avoid screwing with flight ops?????

D5CAV wrote:The USS Enterprise - CVA 65, is a different animal entirely. It is the USN's first nuke carrier and they never made another one like it -- it is the only one in its class. 8 reactors vs. the 2 for the Nimitz class. I've been told by my swabbie friends that this is the fastest ship in the Navy.

I heard the same, and that it is a sight to behold of an aircraft carrier getting "on step"...

CByrneIV wrote:

mekender wrote:I suspect that she will become a museum ship simply because of her name. Add that she is the last of the non nuclear carriers and I cannot imagine them not turning her into a museum.

That aside, if she isn't, she will get sunk as a reef just like the Oriskany was a couple of years back or as a target like the America was.

Teddy always had a plan to bring Big John to Boston Harbor; have it made into a museum ship moored outside JohnBoys presidential library (which by the by is an impressive place. If you get the chance, you should visit).

Oh and he had a SHITFIT when the navy cancelled her final refit scheduled for '05. The ships first cruise coincided with what would have been her namesakes 50th birthday. Teddy always wanted to make sure that Big John stayed in commission for 50 years.

The navy pushed through retiring her while Kennedy was sick, and distracted because of Kerry losing the election back in late '04 early '05.

Just to twist the knife, enemies of his made sure that Big E. would be refit again. After he died, they've finally allowed her to be retired scheduled for 2013, with more than 51 years in service.

You know, I think you just made my day.

My dad was army, so we didn't get to see a whole lot of navy stuff. Truth be told, we hung around March Air Force Base more than anything army. That, and Pendleton. Damn I have an eight-track mind.


Anyway, to make a short story long, I was absolutely fascinated when I saw a documentary on aircraft carriers. They had a damn barber shop. I thought it was the coolest thing I'd ever seen! 'Course, then I was raised on the movie Top Gun.

this is timely. just showed up at Lex's place.

caption reads:

Lt. Cmdr. Alonza Ross keeps a close eye on the heavy seas during an underway replenishment with the Military Sealift Command fleet replenishment oiler USNS PATUXENT (T-AO 201) aboard the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69). Dwight D. Eisenhower is conducting a three-week composite training unit exercise in preparation for its upcoming 2010 deployment. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Jeff McDowell/Released)