The
keel of
Constellation was
laid down at
New York Naval Shipyard in 1957.
Fire during construction USS
Constellation was heavily damaged by fire while under construction on 19 December 1960. The fire broke out when a forklift operating on the hangar deck accidentally pushed its cargo into a steel plate knocking it over. The plate then broke off the plug of a tank of diesel fuel which spilled from the container reaching the lower levels of the ship. The fuel was ignited perhaps by a cutting torch of a fitter, and then moved to a wooden scaffolding. The flames spread quickly, filling the passageways of the ship with smoke. A Navy commander commented on the nature of the ship's design at an inquiry, "Ships of this class are the most complex structures ever designed by man." An abstract of a
New York Times article from the day after the fire, 20 December 1960, refers to the ship as USS
Constellation.
1960–1969 Constellation was
launched 8 October 1960, and she was delivered to the Navy 1 October 1961. She was
commissioned on 27 October 1961, with Captain
T. J. Walker in command. Following fitting out and acceptance trials,
Constellation departed her home port of
Norfolk, Virginia, on 7 February 1962 for initial air operations off the
Virginia Capes. She conducted her first catapult launch and arrested landing the same day with Commander George C. Watkins, air group (CVG) 13 commander, at the controls of an
A4D-2 Skyhawk of
Attack Squadron 34. After a month of operating locally,
Connie (as the carrier became known) conducted a two-month shakedown cruise in the
Caribbean Sea. In summer 1962,
Constellation was transferred to the
U.S. Pacific Fleet and
CVG-13 was disestablished. For the two-month trip around
Cape Horn to her new home port of
San Diego, California,
Constellation embarked elements of
CVG-5 and departed
Mayport,
Florida, on 25 July. In November
Constellation, with
CVG-14 on board, commenced workup exercises for her upcoming maiden deployment to the western Pacific as a component of the
U.S. Seventh Fleet. The uneventful cruise took place from February to September 1963.
Constellations second deployment began on 5 May 1964. She relieved
Kitty Hawk on station in the
Gulf of Tonkin off Vietnam on 8 June, embarked Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 14 (air groups had been redesignated air wings on 20 December 1963) and flew armed photo
reconnaissance missions over Laos until 13 July. Following an upkeep period at
Subic Bay, Philippines,
Constellation reached
Hong Kong for a port visit on 27 July, but within a few days was called back into action. As a result of orders received during the first day of the
Gulf of Tonkin Incident (2 August 1964),
Constellation got underway and headed toward the Gulf of Tonkin. On 4 August,
Constellation launched
F-4B Phantom IIs to join aircraft from in providing air cover over the
destroyers which were alleged by the
Johnson administration to have been attacked by
North Vietnamese torpedo boats. On 5 August both carriers launched
Operation Pierce Arrow, a series of air strikes on a North Vietnamese oil facility and naval vessels.
CVW-14 lost two aircraft, an
A-1 Skyraider, piloted by Lieutenant (junior grade) Richard C. Sather, who was killed in action (KIA), and an
A-4 Skyhawk flown by Lieutenant (junior grade)
Everett Alvarez Jr., who became one of the United States' first prisoners of war (POW) of the Vietnam War. Operations returned to a more normal cycle for the remainder of the deployment, and
Constellation returned to San Diego on 1 February 1965, ending a nearly nine-month cruise.
Connie and CVW-14 were awarded a
Navy Unit Commendation (NUC) for the early August operations. During the deployment,
Constellation appears to have been under the direction of Commander
Carrier Division 9. A first shipyard period for
Constellation followed, lasting eight months; then workups commenced for her first full-blown war cruise. The carrier, with
CVW-15 on board, was underway for operations off Vietnam in May 1966. During 111 days on station, aircraft from
Constellation pounded roads, bridges and other targets, attempting to impede the flow of men and war materials south. The F-4B aircrew of pilot Lieutenant William M. McGunigan and radar intercept officer Lieutenant (junior grade) Robert M. Fowler from
Fighter Squadron 161 (VF-161) shot down a
MiG-17 fighter jet on 13 July, marking the ship's first MiG kill of the war.
Constellation returned to San Diego in December after her seven-month combat cruise, having lost 16 aircrewmen and 15 aircraft. Subsequently, both
Constellation and CVW-15 were awarded a NUC for this deployment. After a short workup cycle,
Constellations third combat deployment commenced in April 1967. With CVW-14 embarked, the carrier operated first on
Dixie Station (a patrol area about off
South Vietnam) with strikes in the Iron Triangle region, and then moved north to
Yankee Station (a patrol area about off North Vietnam) for a total of 121 days on the line. Reflecting the intensive nature of air operations, F-4Bs of
VF 142 and
VF 143 accounted for four MiG kills. The eight-month deployment ended in December, having totaled losses of 16 aircraft and 20 personnel, including seven KIAs and eight POWs. Both the carrier and CVW-14 received a NUC.
Constellation began her fourth deployment to the western Pacific and Vietnam on 29 May 1968. During this deployment, the
Constellation/CVW-14 team was restricted to strikes below the 20th parallel of North Vietnam as a result of a March Presidential order. On 1 November, as directed by President Johnson, all bombing of North Vietnam was halted at 21:00
Saigon time. The last Navy mission over the restricted area was flown earlier in the day by Cmdr. Kenneth E. Enney in an
A-7 Corsair II.
Constellation returned to homeport to on 31 January 1969, after flying more than 11,000 combat and support missions and dropping almost 20,000 tons of ordnance. Fifteen aircraft were destroyed, nine due to enemy action. Six aircrew members perished, five were listed as KIAs and three were taken as POW. By August, it was time for
Constellation to return to Vietnam for a fifth combat deployment, again with CVW-14. Following an initial 20-day period of supporting strikes in South Vietnam as well as Laos,
Constellation sailed to
Defender Station in the
Sea of Japan, which had been created as a result of increased tensions on the Korean Peninsula. The commander-in-chief of the Pacific Fleet was quoted as saying "never was there such a concerted effort to entice American servicemen from their posts." This activity was the first of numerous anti-Vietnam War efforts directed against U.S. Navy ships that developed into the larger
Stop Our Ship (SOS) movement. A considerable amount of research was conducted into the role of aircraft carriers in modern warfare by Professor William Watson of
MIT who was then a visiting Professor of History at
UC San Diego. He argued in a widely distributed pamphlet that aircraft carriers had become weapons "used to crush popular uprisings and to bully the weaker and poorer countries of the world." When
Constellation set sail for Vietnam in late 1971, nine of her crew publicly refused to go and took sanctuary in a local Catholic church. The "Connie 9", as they were quickly dubbed, were soon arrested in an early morning raid by
US Marshals and flown back to the ship, but within weeks were honorably discharged from the Navy.
Black sailor protests Constellation was the focus of media attention when black members of her crew protested what they saw as
systemic racism in the Navy, leading to what some saw as an aborted
mutiny in late 1972.
Constellation returned to the United States on 1 July and prepared to return to the western Pacific in early 1973. Replacement personnel reported aboard while
Constellation was in the United States until the ship had 250 more men than the ship's berthing could accommodate.
Constellations commanding officer ordered administrative (less than honorable) discharges for five black sailors he considered troublemakers. He planned to give early discharges to another 250 men whose enlistments would expire while
Constellation was overseas. While
Constellation was conducting exercises off the California coast, a rumor started that the captain was going to give 250 less than honorable discharges to black sailors. The captain scheduled an open meeting for 21:00 3 November to clarify the 250 planned discharges. At noon 3 November a group of 50 black sailors began a sit-in on a portion of the mess deck. On the night of 3–4 November 60 black sailors took control of the scheduled meeting, refused to leave the mess deck, and threatened to "tear up the ship."
Constellation returned to San Diego on 4 November to offload 130 men, including twelve white sailors, before returning to sea.
Constellation returned to San Diego on 7 November and the offloaded sailors were transported back to the dock on 9 November, but only eight boarded their ship. The remaining sailors sat down on the dock to be filmed by television crews and were ultimately transferred to shore stations for
mast. Twelve received general discharges, 35 were honorably discharged but not recommended for re-enlistment, and 73 received punishments ranging from loss of pay and reduction in rate to warnings prior to being reassigned to sea duty.
End of Vietnam War In January 1973,
Constellation headed back to Southeast Asia. The
Paris Peace Accords took effect on 28 January, but CVW-9 aircraft continued to strike targets in Laos until a cease-fire in that country was called on 21 February. Thus
Connie, which had been on station at the beginning of combat operations in Vietnam in 1964, was on station at the end, nine years later. The remainder of the nine-month deployment consisted largely of flights in support of mine-clearing operations in North Vietnam. Upon her return in October 1973,
Constellation enjoyed a nine-month workup cycle, and departed in June 1974 for her first peacetime deployment in 10 years. On 23 November, she became the first carrier to enter the
Persian Gulf since 1949. The six-month cruise ended on 24 December 1974. A 14-month major overhaul and upgrade at
Puget Sound Naval Shipyard,
Washington, commenced in February 1975, during which
Constellation was modified to reflect the Navy's new multipurpose air, surface and antisubmarine warfare role for carriers. She was redesignated a CV on 30 June 1975. With the overhaul completed in April 1976,
Connie could now operate both the new
S-3A Viking and
F-14A Tomcat. However, the workups uncovered problems, and a 26-day drydocking in late 1976 at
Long Beach Naval Shipyard, California, was required. The highlight for the remaining workup cycle was participation in Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) multinational exercises held in and around the
Hawaiian Islands. An uneventful April to November 1977 deployment,
Connies tenth, to the Far East followed.
Constellations next deployment, from September 1978 to May 1979, was originally scheduled to end in March but was extended due to her
sortie into the Indian Ocean in reaction to a political crisis in
Yemen. Following a relatively short eight-month turnaround cycle, she was underway again in February 1980 under the command of Captain Leon Edney, USN. After participating in RIMPAC exercises,
Constellation steamed westward to the Arabian Sea, where
Gonzo Station had been established following the November 1979 takeover of the American Embassy in
Tehran, Iran.
Connie had reached the eastern Indian Ocean when the unsuccessful 24 April 1980 raid to free American hostages took place, and she relieved on Gonzo Station on 1 May. This at-sea period would last a record-setting 110 days. As a result, the crew of
Constellation was awarded the Navy Expeditionary Medal for their service. The deployment ended in mid-October. Under the command of Captain Dennis M Brooks USN
Constellation sailed to the western Pacific and Indian Ocean from October 1981 to May 1982. In January 1983,
Constellation entered the
Puget Sound Naval Shipyard for a 13-month complex overhaul, during which the ship's
Terrier missile system was replaced with NATO
Sea Sparrow, the
Phalanx Close-In Weapon System was added and modifications were made to allow the carrier to operate the new
F/A-18A Hornet strike aircraft.
Connie deployed from February to August 1985 with CVW-14 embarked, marking the first deployment for the F/A-18. It was during this deployment that
Constellation gained her motto, "Go Ahead Make My Day", which was painted on the ship's island; a direct quote from President Ronald Reagan in response to terrorist threats made against
Constellation when she responded to the American hostage crisis of 1985
TWA Flight 847. For their performance in 1985,
Constellations crew earned the
Meritorious Unit Citation, and the ship herself received the Secretary of the Navy's Environmental Protection Award. As preparations for a 1987 deployment proceeded, it was announced that
Constellation had earned the coveted Pacific Fleet Battle Efficiency Award (
Battle Efficiency E) for the 18-month period ending on 30 June 1986. During an April to October 1987 deployment,
Connie conducted air operations in support of
Operation Earnest Will, the escorting of re-flagged Kuwaiti tankers in the
Persian Gulf as a result of Iranian attacks against international shipping. On the morning of 2 August 1988
Connie quietly slipped her moorings for a routine two-week carrier qualification off the coast of southern California. Things quickly turned out to be anything but routine. The ship had barely cleared the harbor when a JP-5 fuel leak in the uptakes rained down to number One main machinery room and erupted into a full blown conflagration that tore through the uptakes and spread throughout the ship. The Fuel Oil Supervisor and Oil Lab were blamed early on even though they were not transferring fuel at the time. One Main Top Watch (a Boiler Technician) triggered the halon fire suppression system as he exited the space. Unfortunately the standard procedure was to wait 30 minutes after Halon had been triggered to re-enter the space. When the crew re entered the space was still hot and reignited the fire. Three explosions rocked the ship and the crew went into
General Quarters. Amid explosions and extreme heat, volunteers from the crew entered enclosed spaces to extinguish the fires and preserve the ship. Through the damage control efforts of her crew,
Connies main fires were extinguished around 2100. To the crew's horror, the fires reflashed and the crew went back into action. Into the next day, the crew battled the blaze that had reflashed and continued to threaten the entire ship. During the conflagration, an over-temperature alarm sounded for the Mt. 23 CIWS 20 mm ammunition magazine. This necessitated the firecontrolmen offloading the magazine contents over the side because low firemain pressure precluded flooding the magazine to cool it. Mt. 23 was situated on the port side of the island just forward of the boiler uptakes. After the long battle fighting the main space and collateral fires, there were no fatalities. There were however some serious injuries ranging from broken bones to smoke inhalation.
Connie pulled back into
North Island on 3 August. The subsequent investigation showed that there was a problem with a JP-5 pipe leading to a fuel station that wasn't adequately inspected after an in-port maintenance availability period. The problem was that a pipe that had long ago been removed that used to pass through the uptakes was hooked back up. The pipe in the uptakes just emptied into the uptakes where 1MMR's 6 forced draft blowers sucked the fuel into the running boilers. The total amount of JP-5 pumped into the uptakes was approximately 20,000 gallons. Round-the-clock repairs by the crew assisted by civilian contractors got the ship ready for deployment, on schedule. The
Constellation/CVW-14 team deployed on 1 December 1988 for the Indian Ocean. She left port on three screws with the final repairs to the fourth screw being completed at Subic Bay, Philippines. Four days out to sea, a
Prowler and its four crew members were lost at sea. On 13 December, a
Harpoon anti-ship missile launched by an F/A-18 fighter from
Constellation killed one sailor when it struck the merchant ship
Jagvivek, a long Indian-owned ship, during an exercise at the
Pacific Missile Range near
Kauai,
Hawaii. A
Notice to Mariners had been issued warning of the danger, but
Jagvivek left port before receiving the communication and subsequently strayed into the test range area, and the Harpoon missile, loaded just with an inert dummy warhead, locked onto it instead of its intended target. assumed command as
Connies 30th skipper, and her last. She ceased OSW operations on 4 August, having conducted multiple air strikes in response to Iraqi violations of the no-fly zone.
Connie departed Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 9 September with dependents on board for the traditional Tiger Cruise on the final leg to San Diego. On
11 September Constellation was nearly halfway between Pearl Harbor and San Diego when word was received of the terrorist attacks on New York and the
Pentagon. Despite discussions about turning the battle group around, the carrier was allowed to complete her regularly scheduled deployment.
Connie arrived in San Diego on Friday 14 September and celebrated her 40th birthday the next month. Following an abbreviated turnaround cycle,
Constellation prepared for her final deployment and the opportunity to fight in the global
war on terrorism. She departed on 2 November 2002, leading
Cruiser-Destroyer Group 1 under the command of Rear Admiral Barry M. Costello. She was soon supporting
Operation Enduring Freedom; on 17 December she entered the Persian Gulf to begin OSW missions. On 19 March 2003, with two carriers in the eastern Mediterranean and three in the gulf,
Operation Iraqi Freedom commenced.
Connie was designated a night carrier and remained on station throughout the major ground combat phase. She launched more than 1,500 sorties and CVW-2 aircraft delivered over 1.7 million pounds (770,000 kg) of ordnance. While one aircraft was lost in an operational mishap, there were no fatalities. According to news reports in February 2008,
Constellation was scheduled to be disposed of by dismantling in the next five years, along with . As of 26 January 2012, the Navy's Naval Sea Systems Command posted a notice of solicitation for the towing and complete dismantlement of multiple CV-59/CV-63 Class Aircraft Carriers in the United States, to include ex-, ex-, and ex-
Constellation. Ex-
Constellation was scrapped at
Brownsville, Texas, starting in early 2015. She was towed around
Cape Horn on her final voyage. NASA's
Operation IceBridge captured a photo south of
Punta Arenas, Chile, of the ship being towed to the scrap yard. The carrier arrived at her final resting place in Brownsville on 16 January 2015. Scrapping was complete on 10 May 2017 when the last propeller shaft strut was pulled from the water. == In popular culture ==