Forrestal class aircraft carrier
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 USS Forrestal |
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| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Builders: | New York Navy Yard Newport News Shipbuilding |
| Operators: |  United States Navy |
| Preceded by: | Midway |
| Succeeded by: | Kitty Hawk |
| In commission: | 1 October 1955 - 30 September 1998 |
| Completed: | 4 |
| Laid up: | USS Forrestal (CV-59) USS Saratoga (CV-60) USS Ranger (CV-61) USS Independence (CV-62) |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 80,000 tons |
| Length: |
1,070 ft (330 m) 990 ft (300 m) waterline |
| Beam: | 129 ft 4 in (39.4 m) waterline |
| Draft: | 35 ft 9 in (10.9 m) |
| Propulsion: | Steam turbines 280,000 shp |
| Speed: | 34 knots (63 km/h) |
| Complement: | 4,378 |
| Armament: | Original armament: 8 dual purpose guns Refit armament: 3 surface-to-air missile launchers 3 close-in weapons systems |
| Aircraft carried: | Up to 90 |
| Aviation facilities: | 326 × 77 m flight deck |
The Forrestal-class aircraft carriers were a four-ship class designed and built for the United States Navy in the 1950s. The Forrestal class was the first class of "supercarriers" of the Navy, so called because of their then-extraordinarily high tonnage (75,000 tons, 25% larger than the WW2-era Midway class), full integration of the angled deck (Forrestal and Saratoga were laid down as axial deck carriers and converted to angled deck ships while under construction; Ranger and Independence were laid down as angled deck ships and had various minor improvements compared to the first two), very large island and most importantly their extremely strong air wing (80-100 jet aircraft, compared to 65-75 for the Midway class and less than 50 for the Essex class). Compared to the Midway class, the Forrestals were 100 feet (30 m) longer and nearly 20 feet (6 m) wider abeam, resulting in a far more stable and comfortable aircraft platform even in very rough weather. When commissioned, the Forrestal class ships had the roomiest hangar decks and largest flight decks of any carrier ever built. Because of their immense size they were built to a new, deep-hulled design that incorporated the flight deck into the hull (previous American design practice was to design the flight deck as superstructure). This was not related to the British "armoured" carriers (which were difficult to operate and had heavily restricted air wings), but grew out of the requirement for such a very large carrier. The Midway class ships sat very low in the water and were poor sea boats through their long careers; they were very wet forward and their aviation characteristics were poor. The deeper Forrestal hull allowed the ships more freeboard and better seakeeping. The Forrestal-class carrier was the first steel-hulled capital ship to be designed without armor.
Forrestal-class ships were the first examples of supercarriers and thus not quite a perfected design; their elevators in particular were poorly arranged for aircraft handling. The portside elevator, a relic of the original axial-deck design, was almost completely useless, as it was located at the fore end of the angled deck, in the landing path as well as the launch path of aircraft from the #3 and #4 catapults. The subsequent Kitty Hawk class moved the portside elevator to the aft end of the angle and reversed the position of the island and the second starboard elevator, vastly improving aircraft handling. The sponson-mounted guns suffered from poor range and complicated firing arcs, and were located in very wet and thus nearly useless positions in the bow and stern; they were removed after only a few years and replaced by missiles and CIWS weapons. In Forrestal, the aft guns lasted until the fire in 1967, then were removed and eventually replaced by missiles in the mid-70s.
The original design of the Forrestal class ships would have had a very small, retractable island; this design had numerous problems (the mechanism to raise and lower the island was never perfected before the angled deck was added to the design) and smoke fouling of the deck was expected to be a severe problem due to lack of adequate venting. The redesign to an angled deck allowed a very large island, much larger than on previous carriers, giving unprecedented flexibility and control in air operations.
As of 2006, all four ships have been struck from the Navy Vessel Register. Ex-Forrestal and ex-Independence are slated to be sunk as targets due to their very poor material condition, while ex-Saratoga and ex-Ranger are on donation hold as potential museum ships.
[edit] Vessels
| Keel laid | Launched | Commissioned | Decommissioned | Status | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forrestal (CV-59) | 1952 July | 1954 December | 1955 October | 1993 September | Awaiting disposal as an artificial reef |
| Saratoga (CV-60) | 1952 December. | 1955 October | 1956 April | 1994 August | Awaiting conversion to a museum |
| Ranger (CV-61) | 1954 August | 1956 September | 1957 August | 1993 July | On donation hold, awaiting disposal |
| Independence (CV-62) | 1955 July | 1958 June | 1959 January | 1998 September | Awaiting disposal as an artificial reef |
This article includes text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.
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