Forrestal-class aircraft carrier

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Forrestal-class aircraft carrier

USS Forrestal
Class overview
Name	Forrestal class
Builders	New York Navy Yard Newport News Shipbuilding
Operators	United States Navy
Preceded by	United States (proposed) and Midway class (actual)
Succeeded by	Kitty Hawk class and Enterprise class
Built	14 July 1952 – 6 June 1958
In commission	1 October 1955 – 30 September 1998
Completed	4
Scrapped	4
General characteristics
Type	Aircraft carrier
Displacement	60,000 long tons (61,000 t) light[1] 81,000 long tons (82,000 t) full load
Length	1,069 ft 11 in (326.1 m) overall 989 ft 10 in (301.7 m) waterline
Beam	238 ft (73 m) extreme width 129 ft 4 in (39.42 m) waterline
Draft	35 ft 9 in (10.90 m)
Propulsion	8 Steam turbines 280,000 shp (210,000 kW)
Speed	34 knots (63 km/h)
Complement	4,378
Armament	Original armament: 8 × 5 in (127 mm)/54 caliber Mark 42 guns Refit armament: 3 × 8 cell NATO Sea Sparrow Mark 29 missile launcher launchers 3 × 20 mm Phalanx CIWS Mark 15 guns
Armor	Belt: 6 in (152 mm) Flight deck: 3 in (76 mm) Torpedo Bulkheads: 3 in (76 mm)
Aircraft carried	1960: 24-28 Vought F-8 Crusaders or McDonnell F3H Demons 36 Douglas A-4 Skyhawks 10-12 Douglas A-3 Skywarriors Total: ~70 aircraft 1 squadron of Douglas AD-5W Skyraiders 1970: 24 McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom IIs or Vought F-8 Crusaders (the latter mainly used aboard the Essex-class carriers) 24 LTV A-7 Corsair IIs or Douglas A-4 Skyhawks 1 squadron of Grumman A-6A/B Intruders 4 North American RA-5C Vigilantes 4-6 Northrop Grumman E-2A Hawkeyes 1 squadron of Douglas EKA-3B Skywarriors 1 squadron of Sikorsky SH-3A Sea Kings or Kaman UH-2C Seasprites Total: ~90 aircraft 1 squadron of Vought RF-8G Crusaders 1 squadron of Douglas KA-3B Skywarriors 1981: 24 McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom IIs or Grumman F-14 Tomcats 24 LTV A-7 Corsair IIs 10-12 Grumman A-6E Intruders 4 Grumman KA-6D Intruders 4-6 Northrop Grumman E-2C Hawkeyes 4-6 Northrop Grumman EA-6B Prowlers 10 Lockheed S-3A Vikings 6 Sikorsky SH-3G/H Sea Kings Total: 86-92 aircraft 1 squadron of Douglas EA-3 Skywarriors 3 Vought RF-8G Crusaders
Aviation facilities	326 m × 77 m (1,069 ft 7 in × 252 ft 7 in) flight deck 4 steam catapults 4 deck edge aircraft elevators 3 hangar decks

The Forrestal-class aircraft carriers were four aircraft carriers designed and built for the United States Navy in the 1950s. The class ship was named for James Forrestal, the first United States Secretary of Defense. It was the first class of supercarriers, combining high tonnage, deck-edge elevators and an angled deck. The first ship was commissioned in 1955, the last decommissioned in 1998. The four ships of the class were scrapped in Brownsville, Texas, between 2014 and 2017.