USS Nimitz (CVN-68)

History of the USS Nimitz Aircraft Carrier

The USS Nimitz was originally designated as CVAN-68. She was ordered for the U.S. Navy on March 31, 1967. Her keel was laid down by Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company in Virginia on June 22, 1968. She was launched May 13, 1972 and commissioned May 3, 1975.

USS Nimitz made her maiden deployment to the Mediterranean on July 7, 1976. That November, she was awarded the Battle E. She returned home to Norfolk, Va., on Feb. 7, 1977. Her second deployment, from Dec. 1 until July 20, 1978, was also made to the Mediterranean.

In September 1979, the USS Nimitz got underway for her third Mediterranean deployment. With the onset of the Iranian hostage crisis, she moved into the Indian Ocean. She spent four months on station before launching Operation Evening Light, a failed rescue attempt. After 144 days at sea, the aircraft carrier returned home May 26, 1980.

Fourteen crewmen were killed and 45 other were injured when one of USS Nimitz’s aircraft crashed on the flight deck on May 26, 1981.

For her next deployment, the USS Nimitz departed for the Mediterranean on Aug. 3, 1981. She conducted a Freedom of Navigation exercise along with the USS Forrestal in the Gulf of Sidra near Libya. It was during this time that American aircraft shot down two Libyan aircraft in what became known as the Gulf of Sidra incident of 1981. Her next deployment to the Caribbean and Mediterranean was not nearly as eventful, lasting from Nov. 10, 1982 to May 20, 1983.

USS Nimitz was deployed to the Mediterranean for a fifth time on March 8, 1985. When Lebanese gunmen hijacked TWA Flight 847 on June 14, the carrier headed to the coast of Lebanon, and remained there until August to bomb several sites in Beirut.

On Dec. 30, 1986, the USS Nimitz sailed from Norfolk for her sixth and final Mediterranean deployment. After four months, she headed to Rio de Janeiro before rounding Cape Horn. She then stopped briefly at San Diego before ending her journey on July 2, 1987 at her new homeport of Bremerton, Wash.

In September 1988, the USS Nimitz made her first Western Pacific deployment. She provided security off the coast of South Korea during the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul. She then headed to the North Arabian Sea in October for Operation Earnest Will to protect re-flagged Kuwaiti tankers. During maintenance on November 30, a 20 mm cannon fired accidentally and struck one of the carrier’s aircraft. The fire spread, killing two crew members. She returned home on March 2, 1989.

The USS Nimitz got underway for the Arabian Gulf on Feb. 25, 1991 to relieve the USS Ranger for Operation Desert Storm. She returned home on August 24. Her next Arabian Gulf deployment lasted from February to August 1993 in support of Operation Southern Watch.

In November 1995, USS Nimitz headed back to the Western Pacific and the Indian Ocean. She patrolled the waters near Taiwan during Chinese missile testing in March 1996 – the first American warship to sail through the Taiwan Strait in 20 years. The carrier supported Operation Southern Watch in the Arabian Gulf before heading home in May.

An around-the-world cruise began on Sept. 1, 1997, when the USS Nimitz ended her journey at Newport News, Va., for a three year-long Refueling and Complex Overhaul. Once her yard work was finished, she sailed around South America to her new homeport at Naval Air Station North Island in San Diego.

USS Nimitz headed to the Persian Gulf on March 3, 2003, relieving the USS Abraham Lincoln for Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom duty. After her return home to San Diego in November, she was awarded the Battle E and the Flatley Award.

Over the next few years, the USS Nimitz made several more deployments to the Arabian Sea and the Western Pacific in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and the “surge” in early 2008. The aircraft carrier was awarded the Battle E and the Ney Award in 2007.

The use of asbestos was common in shipbuilding components for much of the 20th century because of its resistance to heat, fire, water and corrosion. Because of their asbestos exposure onboard ship and in the shipyards, seaman, shipyard workers and longshoreman are at risk for developing asbestos-related diseases like mesothelioma .

Sources include:

John Hedley-Whyte and Debra R Milamed, “Asbestos and Ship-Building: Fatal Consequences,” Ulster
Med. J. 77(3):191-200 (Sep 2008)
Naval Historical Center, Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships—USS Nimitz