USS Independence CV-62

Former Aircraft Carrier of the US Navy.

Contents [hide]

1 History

1.1 Atlantic Fleet Service (1959-1988)

1.2 Pacific Fleet and Service in Japan (1988-1998)

2 Final Air Wing composition - CVW-5 (1998)

The USS Independence CV-62 was an Forrestal Class Aircraft Carrier of the US Navy that operated between 1959 and 1998.

History

Atlantic Fleet Service (1959-1988)

Between 1959 and 1985, it was assigned to the US Atlantic Fleet, seeing action in the Cuban Missile Crisis, Vietnam, as a deterrence during the Yom Kippur/October War of 1973 and the Lebanon Crisis in 1983. Between 1985 and 1988, the Independence underwent the SLEP (Service Life Extension Program) upgrade.

Pacific Fleet and Service in Japan (1988-1998)

After being modernized, the carrier was assigned to the Pacific Fleet. In June 1990, she deployed to the Indian Ocean with CVW-14 before being involved in Operation Desert Shield as a result of the Invasion of Kuwait in August 1990. In November, the USS Midway CV-41 relieved the Independence in the Persian Gulf with the Independence returning to the US in December 1990.

In August 1991, the Independence replaced the Midway as the forward deployed carrier in Japan. It then took part in Operation Southern Watch, the 1994 North Korean nuclear crisis and the 1996 Taiwan Strait Crisis. In 1998, the Independence was replaced by the USS Kitty Hawk CV-63 before being retired and later scrapped.