The tale of USS Kitty Hawk: Once a naval icon, now sold for cents

USS Kitty Hawk, once a symbol of American might in the Indo-Pacific, will make its way to the scrapyard after being sold for less than $1 US dollar. The vessel will be making a 16,000-mile journey from Washington state to Texas, where it will live its final days before being sold for scrap.

United States Naval Sea Systems Command, which overlooks the disposal of retired vessels, sold the USS Kitty Hawk to the International Shipbreaking Limited of Brownsville, according to reports from CNN. 

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The retired ship will also take an unusually long route for its final journey. The size of the USS Kitty Hawk — 1,047-foot long, 252-foot– would not allow the carrier to pass through the Panama canal. It will float along the South American coastline and then come back up to Texas.

The battle scars of USS Kitty Hawk

After being launched in 1960, the USS Kitty Hawk served in the United States Navy for 50 years before it was decommissioned. In this time, the vessel was battle tested in Vietnam and also survived a collision with a USSR submarine, according to reports from CNN.

USS Kitty Hawk, along with its air wing, also got its share of recognition after serving its time in the Indo-Pacific. The carrier was presented with a Presidential Unit Citation for its service in Vietnam between December 1967 and June 1968.

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The traditional “boot shot”

The “boot shot” is a tradition followed by US Navy officers, who end their tour aboard a carrier. Sailors launch their boots off the flight deck using the flight catapult. The USS Kitty Hawk got one of its first “boot shot” in 1970.

According to reports from CNN, USS Kitty Hawk was the last US aircraft carrier fueled by oil, a relic of an era before the arrival of nuclear-powered Nimitz-class ships.