PHILADELPHIA—The ex-John F. Kennedy (CV 67) is scheduled to commence its final transit from the U.S. Navy’s Inactive Ships Maintenance Facility in Philadelphia to Brownsville, Texas for dismantling, Jan. 15.
Upon departure early on Wednesday morning, the ship will be visible from the waterfronts along the Delaware River as the ship transits through the Delaware Bay and into the North Atlantic Ocean.
Commissioned on Sept. 7, 1968, CV 67 was the first Navy ship to be named John F. Kennedy and was the last conventionally powered aircraft carrier built by the U.S. Navy.
The ship conducted 18 deployments including to the Mediterranean, Tyrrhenian, Ionian, Ligurian, Aegean and Adriatic seas, during a period of escalating tension in the Middle East and North Africa, often while under the surveillance of Soviet ships.
In the wake of the September 2001 terrorist attacks, the John F. Kennedy and her battle group established air security along the mid-Atlantic seaboard, “to help calm a fearful and shocked Nation,” in support of Operation Noble Eagle. In February 2002, the ship deployed in support of Operations Anaconda and Enduring Freedom, followed by support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in July of 2004.
In 2005-2006, she served as a training platform and her final port visit was to Boston, MA in March 2007. After more than 39 years of conducting U.S. Navy missions worldwide, CV 67 was removed from service on August 1, 2007.
For more about Ex- USS John F. Kennedy’s historic contributions to the nation, visit:
USS John F. Kennedy (CVA-67/CV-67)
or
Photographs of USS John F. Kennedy (CVA-67/CV-67)
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