USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67)

USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67)

USS John F. Kennedy leaving NS Mayport, Florida in November 2003
Class overview
Name	John F. Kennedy-class
Builders	Newport News Shipbuilding
Operators	United States Navy
Preceded by	Kitty Hawk class and Enterprise class
Succeeded by	Nimitz class
In commission	7 September 1968 – 1 August 2007
History
United States
Name	John F. Kennedy
Namesake	John F. Kennedy
Awarded	30 April 1964[3]
Builder	Newport News Shipbuilding[3]
Laid down	22 October 1964[3]
Launched	27 May 1967[3]
Sponsored by	Caroline Kennedy[4]
Christened	27 May 1967
Commissioned	7 September 1968[3]
Decommissioned	23 March 2007[3]
Refit	1984
Stricken	16 October 2009[3]
Identification	Callsign: NJFK[2]
Motto	Date Nolite Rogare (Latin for "Give, do not ask"; cf. "Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country")
Nickname(s)	"Big John" (unofficially: "Bldg 67", "Can Opener", "Jack the Tin Can Killer")[1]
Badge
General characteristics
Type	Aircraft carrier[5]
Displacement	60,728 tons light 82,655 tons full load 21,927 tons deadweight
Length	1,052 ft (321 m) overall, 990 ft (300 m) waterline
Beam	252 ft (77 m) extreme, 130 ft (40 m) waterline
Height	192 ft (59 m) from top of the mast to the waterline
Draft	36 ft (11 m) maximum, 37 ft (11 m) limit
Installed power	8 × Babcock & Wilcox boilers, 1,200 PSI 280,000 shp (210 MW)
Propulsion	4 × steam turbines 4 shafts
Speed	34 knots (63 km/h; 39 mph)[6]
Capacity	5,000+
Complement	3,297 officers and men (without jet commands & crews)
Armament	2 × GMLS Mk 29 launchers for Sea Sparrow missiles 2 × Phalanx CIWS 2 × RAM launchers
Aircraft carried	80+

USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67) (formerly CVA-67), the only ship of her class, is an aircraft carrier, formerly of the United States Navy. Considered a supercarrier,^[4] she is a variant of the Kitty Hawk class, and the last conventionally-powered carrier built for the Navy,^[5] as all carriers since have had nuclear propulsion. Commissioned in 1968, the ship was named after John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States. John F. Kennedy was originally designated a CVA, for fixed-wing attack carrier, however the designation was changed to CV, for fleet carrier.

After nearly 40 years of service, John F. Kennedy was decommissioned on 1 August 2007. She is berthed at the NAVSEA Inactive Ships On-site Maintenance facility in Philadelphia, formerly the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, and, until late 2017, was available for donation as a museum and memorial to a qualified organization.^[3][7] In late 2017, the Navy revoked her "donation hold" status and designated her for dismantling.^[8]

She has been succeeded by the Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carrier Pre-Commissioning Unit John F. Kennedy (CVN-79), laid down in July 2015, launched in October 2019, and scheduled to enter service in 2025.