Derivatives / Succeeded by 1968 John F Kennedy class Specifications 5430crew 81000full load (tn) 319.25length (m) 39.60beam (m) 11.30draught (m) 8000range (nm) 32max speed (knots) 3Missile Launcher Sea Sparrow VLS 3Close-In Weapon System CIWS Phalanx 20 mm 1Naval Radar air search radar AN/SPS-49 1Naval Radar surface search radar AN/SPS-67 Aircraft Typical Max US Navy Sikorsky S-61 H-3 06 Shipyards Newport News Shipbuilding - 1 List of Ships Filter: AllUS - US Navy .......... 2 Hide Transfers Hide derivatives 19651996 sunk 2005US NavyCV-66USS AmericaNUSA - 6619682007US NavyCV-67John F Kennedy class USS John F KennedyNJFK - 672 units Events 1960OrderedOrdered CV-66 USS America 1961-jan-09Laid downLaid down CV-66 USS America as CVA-66 1964-feb-01LaunchedLaunched CV-66 USS America 1965-jan-23CommissionedCommissioned CV-66 USS America 1968-mayAircraftAircraft CV-66 USS America Second Indochina War (Vietnam War) may68-nov68 embarked HC-2 1974-oct-12HomeportHomeport CV-66 USS America arrived 1974-novRefitRefit CV-66 USS America nov74-sep75 overhaul at Norfolk Naval Shipyard. Reclassified as CV-66 1980-aprRefitRefit CV-66 USS America CIWS Phalanx 20 mm 3x CIWS fitted during refit 1982-sep-25Port VisitPort Visit CV-66 USS America visited Portsmouth 25-28 Sep 1982 with HS-11 SH-3 embarked 1986-apr-01AircraftAircraft CV-66 USS America CH-46 Sea Knight, based on smaller ship, crashed and burned on carrier s deck north of Syracuse, Sicily 1986-apr-12DeploymentDeployment CV-66 USS America Operation El Dorado Canyon-Libya, April 12-17 1996-aug-09DecommissionedDecommissioned CV-66 USS America at Norfolk Naval Shipyard 2005-may-12Fate: sunkFate: sunk CV-66 USS America Sunk as target appr. 250mile East of North Carolina coast, SE of Cape Hatteras