USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) is the United States Navy's third supercarrier. She is named for Carl Vinson (1883–1981), a congressman from Georgia, in recognition of his contributions to the U.S. Navy. The ship was launched during Vinson's lifetime in 1980, undertook her maiden voyage in 1983, and underwent refueling and overhaul between 2005 and 2009. Carl Vinson is currently the flagship of Carrier Strike Group 1 with Carrier Air Wing Two serving as her air wing.
Along with deployments in Operation Desert Strike, Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Southern Watch, and Operation Enduring Freedom, Carl Vinson has been involved in a number of notable events. The body of Osama bin Laden was buried at sea in 2011 from the deck of Carl Vinson, and that same year, on Veterans Day, she played host to the first NCAA basketball game on an aircraft carrier, between North Carolina and Michigan State.
Namesake
A member of the United States House of Representatives for 50 years, Carl Vinson was the Chairman of the old House Naval Affairs and Armed Services Committee for 16 years, and Chairman of its successor, the House Armed Services Committee, for 14 years. Vinson was the principal sponsor of the so-called "Vinson Acts", culminating in the Two-Ocean Navy Act of 1940, which provided for the massive naval shipbuilding effort in World War II.
Ship seal The seal of USS Carl Vinson shows an eagle, wings spread and talons extended, carrying a banner in its beak. The eagle is emblematic of the nation and the ship's motto, and also represents the power that resides in the ship's aircraft. The eagle flies in the form of a stylized letter "V," the initial of the ship's namesake, Congressman Carl Vinson. The "V" also represents the ship's hull when viewed bow-on. Inscribed on the banner that the eagle carries is the Latin phrase "Vis Per Mare" which means "Strength through the Sea".
Carrier Strike Group One In October 2009, the US Navy announced that Carl Vinson would be the flagship of the newly established Carrier Strike Group One (CSG1), based in San Diego. The ship, under the command of then Captain Bruce H. Lindsey, departed Norfolk for San Diego on 12 January 2010. Accompanying the carrier was Carrier Air Wing Seventeen, Destroyer Squadron 1 and the guided missile cruiser Bunker Hill.
Design and construction
The keel was laid at Newport News Shipbuilding on 11 October 1975, and on 15 March 1980 the ship was christened and launched. The USS Carl Vinson was the first major U.S. Navy warship to be named after a person still living, and Congressman Carl Vinson became the first person in the history of the United States Navy to witness a ship's launching in his honor. After builder sea trials, she was delivered to the Navy on 26 February 1982 and commissioned on 13 March 1982.
Ship history 1980s USS Carl Vinson was commissioned on 13 March 1982 at Newport News, Virginia. Present were the Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Thomas B. Hayward, Secretary of the Navy John F. Lehman, keynote speaker Senator John Tower, and ship's sponsor Molly Snead, who was Vinson's nurse for 34 years. After commissioning, Carl Vinson put to sea to conduct flight deck certifications, an evaluation designed to test the ship's ability to conduct modern US Navy carrier air operations. That was followed by numerous at sea periods for various training evolutions along the East Coast.
Carl Vinson departed Norfolk on 1 March 1983 with Carrier Air Wing 15 embarked for her maiden deployment, an eight-month, around-the-world cruise that had them operate in the Mediterranean Sea, Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, Arabian Sea, South China Sea, and Pacific Ocean in a multitude of exercises and with port visits in Monte Carlo, Monaco, Casablanca, Morocco, Abidjan, Ivory Coast, Perth, Australia, Subic Bay, Philippines, Hong Kong, Sasebo, Japan, Pusan, Republic of Korea, and Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, before arriving in her new homeport of Naval Air Station Alameda, California, arriving on 28 October 1983.
Carl Vinson participated in RIMPAC '84 before departing on 14 October 1984 for an overseas deployment in the Western Pacific. Carrier Air Wing 15 was embarked. From January until April 1985, Carl Vinson was in the Indian Ocean for 107 consecutive days. The WESTPAC deployment included Sea of Japan operations while pursuing a Soviet Charlie I class submarine in the Indian Ocean.
The carrier received her first Meritorious Unit Commendation for operations conducted from November 1984 to May 1985. In February, the Chief of Naval Operations named Carl Vinson the winner of the Admiral James H. Flatley Memorial Award for operational readiness and aviation safety for 1984.
On 12 August 1986, the ship departed Alameda for a western Pacific deployment, again with CVW-15 aboard, and in the process became the first modern U.S. aircraft carrier to operate in the Bering Sea. In January 1987, after operating extensively in the Indian Ocean and North Arabian Sea, Carl Vinson transited the Bering Sea once more while returning to NAS Alameda.
Carl Vinson and CVW-15 departed for the ship's fourth overseas deployment on 15 June 1988. While on station, the carrier supported Operation Earnest Will, the escort of U.S. flagged tankers in the Persian Gulf. The carrier returned to the States on 16 December 1988 and was awarded the Admiral Flatley Memorial Award for aviation safety for 1988.
On 18 September 1989, the carrier departed Alameda to participate in PACEX '89, the largest peacetime naval exercise since the Second World War. During the exercise Carl Vinson operated in the Bering Sea and the Aleutian Islands, eventually leading a three-carrier battle group operation in the Sea of Japan and the Pacific Ocean. Carl Vinson had a port call in Pusan, South Korea, and then returned to her home port of Alameda shortly after the devastating 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake.
1990s Carl Vinson departed on her fifth deployment (again with CVW-15) on 1 February 1990, the last deployment for the A-7 Corsair. The ship returned to Alameda on 30 July 1990. On 22 September 1990, Carl Vinson entered the yards at Bremerton Naval Station, Washington for a 28-month complex overhaul (COH). The carrier received her first COMNAVAIRPAC Battle "E" award for 1990.
On 17 February 1994, the carrier, with Carrier Air Wing Fourteen embarked, departed for the Persian Gulf in support of Operation Southern Watch. The carrier returned to Alameda on 17 August 1994, receiving her third Admiral Flatley Award for aviation safety.
In 1995, a documentary entitled Carrier: Fortress at Sea was aired on the Discovery Channel, which chronicled the carrier's six-month-long voyage to and from the Persian Gulf.
From 26 August until 3 September 1995, Carl Vinson participated in Exercise Ke Koa, as well as ceremonies to commemorate the end of World War II in the Pacific. During these ceremonies, President Bill Clinton visited the ship in Hawaii. As part of the commemoration ceremonies, Carl Vinson launched 11 World War II-era planes.
The ship departed for her seventh deployment 14 May 1996, heading for the Persian Gulf with CVW-14 in support for Operation Southern Watch and Operation Desert Strike. The ship also participated in Exercise Rugged Nautilus before returning to Alameda on 14 November 1996.
With the closing of Naval Air Station Alameda, the ship was transferred to Bremerton, Washington, arriving at her new homeport on 17 January 1997, where she played host to the last carrier launch and recovery operations for the A-6E Intruder.
In 1998 with Carrier Air Wing Eleven (CVW-11) embarked, the ship participated in RIMPAC '98. During the exercise on the morning of 10 August, the Australian diesel-electric submarine located the 'enemy' carrier and 'sank' her. Onslow closed to within without being detected, then released green flares to indicate her location, 'sinking' the supercarrier. Carl Vinson then departed for the Persian Gulf, launching airstrikes on 19 December 1998 in support of Operation Desert Fox and Operation Southern Watch. These strikes continued into March 1999. In July 1999, Carl Vinson was drydocked in the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard for 13 months as the Navy spent more than $230 million to upgrade the ship. Post refit shakedowns continued into 2000.
2000s
In February 2001, Carl Vinson hosted actors Gene Hackman, David Keith, Owen Wilson, and others for filming of the carrier scenes for the movie Behind Enemy Lines during intermediate pre-deployment underway workups. During this two-week period, Carl Vinson crewmembers and CVW 11 crews took part in the filming along with the actors and film crews. Later, prior to commencement of Operation Enduring Freedom, David Keith returned to Carl Vinson on station in the North Arabian Sea to present the first international viewing of Behind Enemy Lines to the combined ship and air wing crew. Prior to deploying to the Persian Gulf, Carl Vinson (CVN-70) was on a roughly four week carrier quals mission off the coast of Hawaii.
September 11 attacks On 23 July 2001, Carl Vinson steamed from Bremerton, Washington, to San Diego, California, where CVW-11 airgroup once again embarked, then was bound for the Persian Gulf to support Operation Southern Watch. This changed abruptly on 11 September 2001, as the ship was rounding the tip of India. In response to the terrorist attacks on U.S. soil, Carl Vinson changed course and sped toward the North Arabian Sea, where on 7 October 2001, Carl Vinson launched the first airstrikes in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. For 72 days, Carl Vinson, along with Carrier Wing 11, launched over 4,000 combat sorties in the global war on terrorism, earning the ship the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal. Carl Vinson earned the Battle E and Navy Unit Commendation during this deployment. In mid December, Carl Vinson began the return trip home, briefly stopping in Pearl Harbor Hawaii to commence a "Tiger Cruise" allowing crew member family members the opportunity to ride the ship to her homeport of Bremerton, Washington, arriving there on 23 January 2002. In April, the ship was overhauled, setting sail in September for a post-refit shakedown. During this time several new operational systems were installed, and the ship's flight deck and catapults were completely renovated. Numerous other spaces and crew living areas were also entirely restored, drastically improving working and living conditions for the crew. Completing her maintenance and overhaul period in record-setting time, Carl Vinson and crew got underway in September to conduct sea trials.
In January 2003, she was set for a one-month work up for Flight Deck Quals with Carrier Air Wing Nine (CVW-9) embarked. Due to the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom the ship was extended at sea indefinitely. From January 2003 until September 2003, she made port calls in Hawaii, Guam, South Korea, Japan, Australia, Hong Kong, and Singapore. After nine months, Carl Vinson finally returned to Bremerton on 15 September 2003. Carl Vinson participated in Foal Eagle, an annually scheduled joint and combined training exercise conducted in the Korean theatre.
Bawean Incident
On 3 July 2003, five F/A-18 Hornets from Carl Vinson were intercepted by F-16s from the Indonesian Air Force near Bawean Island over the Java Sea where they engaged in a dogfight and electronic warfare. Carl Vinson and her strike group were transiting through the Java Sea and had sought permission from Indonesia. However, Indonesia denied receiving any request for permission. Later, Indonesia filed a diplomatic complaint to the US for trespassing on its territory.
In competition year 2004, Carl Vinson won the Marjorie Sterrett Battleship Fund Award, awarded to the most battle-ready ship in the U.S. Pacific Fleet.