USS Nimitz (CVN-68) encyclopedia topics

Ship's history

The USS Nimitz was first deployed to the Mediterranean in 1976 in company with the nuclear powered cruisers USS South Carolina and USS California. It was the first time in ten years that the United States had deployed nuclear-powered ships to the Mediterranean. The cruise was uneventful, and Carrier returned to Norfolk, Virginia in February 1977.

A second Mediterranean cruise was conducted during 1977–1978 was also uneventful. The third cruise conducted in September 1979, had the carrier involved in Operation Evening Light; the attempt to rescue the US Embassy staff being held hostage in Tehran, Iran. The mission was aborted when helicopters crashed at a rendezvous point in the Iranian desert. The ship finally returned home 26 May 1980, having spent 144 days at sea.

1980-1990

In the following year, one of carrier's EA-6B Prowlers crash landed on her flight deck, killing 14 crewmen and injuring 45 others. The crash was the result of the aircraft missing the last arresting cable, while ignoring a wave-off command. Forensic testing conducted found that several members of the deceased flightdeck crew tested positive for marijuana (the officers onboard the aircraft were never tested). The responsibility for the accident was placed on the deck crew. The official naval inquiry stated that the accident was the result of drug abuse by the enlisted crewmen of USS Nimitz, despite the fact that every death occurred during the impact of the crash and not one member of the deck crew was killed fighting the fire. As a result of this incident, President Ronald Reagan instituted a "Zero Tolerance" policy across all of the armed services - which started the mandatory drug testing of all US service personnel.

In 1981, during a freedom of navigation exercise in the Gulf of Sidra near Libya two F-14As of VF-41 were attacked by Libyan aircraft which resulted in two Libyans being shotdown. This became known as the Gulf of Sidra incident.

In 1985, two Lebanese gunmen hijacked TWA Flight 847, which carried 153 passengers and crew and included Americans. In response, the carrier was deployed to the Eastern Mediterranean, off the coast of Lebanon, where she remained until August.

The USS Nimitz departed Norfolk, Virginia for the Mediterranean in December 1986. After four months and numerous port visits the carrier left the Mediterranean and crossed the equator en route to Rio de Janeiro. From Rio she proceeded south around Cape Horn and into the Pacific. After a brief stop in San Diego, California to offload the her air wing, she arrived at her new home port of Bremerton, Washington on 30 June 1987.

During the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, the Nimitz provided security off the coast of South Korea. In October she participated in Operation Earnest Will, operating in the North Arabian Sea. On November 30, while the ship conducted operations in the Arabian Sea, a 20mm cannon accidentally fired on a A-7 Corsair II during maintenance. Six other aircraft were set on fire and there were two casualties; one sailor killed and another died in hospital from injuries on December 2.

1990-2001

On 25 February 1991, she relieved the USS Ranger in Operation Desert Storm. She deployed again to the Persian Gulf for several months in 1993, relieving the USS Kitty Hawk during Operation Southern Watch.

In March 1996, she patrolled the waters off Taiwan amid missile tests conducted by the Chinese in the area, becoming the first American warship to pass though the Taiwan Strait since 1976.

On September 1997, Nimitz began a around the world cruise that was to end in Newport News where she would undergo a mid-life Refueling Complex Overhaul (RCOH), this lasted until 25 June of 2001.

War on terror (2001-)

In 2001, the USS Nimitz changed its home port to San Diego, California, arriving there on 13 November. In January of 2002, she began a four month post-shakedown availability at NAS North Island. The pier-side availability ended in May.

In mid-April 2003, USS Nimitz relieved USS Abraham Lincoln in the Persian Gulf, launching aircraft for sorties over Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. She returned to San Diego on 5 November 2003 where maintenance and repair work was carried out. After these were completed, the ship and crew conducted sea trials.

USS Nimitz again deployed to the Persian Gulf in May 2005, returning in November 2005. This deployment is depicted in the 2008 PBS documentary series Carrier.

The carrier departed North Island, San Diego in April of 2007 on a six-month deployment in the Arabian Sea, relieving the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower. She reached Chennai, India on July 2 as part of efforts to expand bilateral defense cooperation between India and the United States. Sailors of the nuclear powered aircraft carrier participated in community work in Chennai during its station there. She left Indian shores on 5 July along with the destroyer USS Pinckney towards the Persian Gulf. She returned to North Island on 30 September 2007.

On January 2008, the USS Nimitz deployed to the Pacific for a surge-deployment. On February 9, 2008, two Russian Tu-95 'Bear bombers overflew the carrier in the Western Pacific. Four F/A-18C Hornets were launched when the bombers were 500 miles away from the U.S. ships, and intercepted the bombers 50 miles south of the USS Nimitz. Two F/A-18s trailed one of the bombers, which buzzed the deck of the carrier twice, while the other two F/A-18s trailed another TU-95 circling about 50 miles away from the carrier. The fighters then proceeded to guide the Russians away from the area. Reportedly, there was no radio communication between the American and Russian aircraft. According to the Department of Defense, one of the two aircraft was said to have flown above USS Nimitz at an altitude of 2,000 feet. This caused much controversy. On the same day, Russian aircraft entered Japanese airspace, which caused the Japanese to raise protest at the Russian ambassador in Tokyo. CVN-68/CVW-11 made a port visit to Busan, South Korea on February 28 in conjunction with military exercises Key Resolve/Foal Eagle. Again, on March 5 2008, a Russian bomber came within three to five nautical miles and flew 2,000 feet above USS Nimitz and its battle group. Two F/A-18 fighters intercepted the Russian aircraft and escorted it out of the area.

The USS Nimitz was awarded the Navy Battle "E" for battle efficiency for 2007 along with the Ney award for food service excellence and the Department of Defense Thomas Jefferson Award for best newsletter format publication "Nimitz News". In keeping with the ships motto of Teamwork. She returned to her homeport of San Diego, California on June 3, 2008 after spending 10 of the last 14 months at sea. The ship is currently undergoing a planned incremental availability (PIA) and will begin workups in December 2008.

Nimitz Carrier Battle Group

Nimitz is part of Carrier Strike Group 11 (CSG-11) with Carrier Air Wing 11 embarked, with Nimitz as the flagship of the battle group and the home of the commander of Destroyer Squadron 23.

Ships of DESRON-23

Squadrons of CVW-11

Strike Fighter Squadron 14 (VFA-14) "Tophatters"
Strike Fighter Squadron 41 (VFA-41) "Black Aces"
Strike Fighter Squadron 81 (VFA-81) "Sunliners"
Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 232 (VMFA-232) "Red Devils"
Electronic Attack Squadron 135 (VAQ-135) "Black Ravens"
Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron 117 (VAW-117) "Wallbangers"
Helicopter Antisubmarine Squadron 6 (HS-6) "Indians"
Fleet Logistics Support Squadron 30 Detachment 4 (VRC 30) "Providers"

Popular culture

Nimitz features in the 1980 Kirk Douglas-James Farentino-Martin Sheen film The Final Countdown, where the ship and crew are thrown back in time via a wormhole storm to 12/6/41 near Hawaii, just hours before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

In the mockumentary Countdown to Looking Glass the Nimitz is involved with, and ultimately sunk by, an initial salvo between US and Soviet naval forces.

In 2005 PBS filmed Carrier, a 10-part miniseries that documents naval life, aboard the Nimitz.