Keel laying, Thursday, 27 December 1956.

Under construction, Wednesday, 15 May 1957.

Under construction, Saturday, 27 July 1957.

Under construction, Wednesday, 20 November 1957.

Under construction, Wednesday, 16 July 1958.

Under construction, Friday, 21 November 1958.

Under construction, March 1959.

Under construction, Wednesday, 18 March 1959.

Under construction, Friday, 15 May 1959.

Under construction. Turbines go in.

Under construction, Monday, 21 September 1959.

Under construction, Friday, 16 October 1959.

Under construction, Monday, 14 December 1959.

Bow view from drydock, December 1959 (Photo # 7634-157.)

Under construction, Tuesday, 15 March 1960.

Audience at launching (Photo # 7634-506.)

Port side view at launching. Note Goodyear blimp over the crane (Photo # 7634-507.)

Official party (l to r): Mrs. Harry W. Pierce, wife of President of NYSB; Mrs. Camilla F. McElroy, ship's sponsor, wife of former Secretary of Defense Neil H. McElroy; Mr. Neil H. McElroy, sixth Secretary of Defense (October 9, 1957 – December 1, 1959; Mr. Harry W. Pierce, Pres., NYSB (Photo # 7634-508.)

RADM Ralph K. James, USN BUSHIPS (Photo # 7634-509.)

Mr. William B. Franke, Secretary of the Navy (Photo # 7634-510.)

Mrs. Camilla F. McElroy christens Kitty Hawk (Photo # 1967.310.)

First float and shift to an outfitting pier. It was a rainy and miserable Sunday morning [22 May 1960]. The Reedy Point was the first tug to enter the dock and put lines up to her stern. Also on the job were the tugs Justine, Brant, H.C. Jefferson, Quaker, J.H. Deinlein, U.S. Goheen, Venus, Trojan and B.M. Thomas. The shift from the graving dock to Pier 6 in Newton Creek started at 1100 and was completed at 1400. Of the ten tugs there that day, only the B.M. Thomas remains on the River (as of May 2010). These are two views of the shift and the well-worn B.M. Thomas, lying neglected at Pier 84 South.

Catapult testing, New York Shipbuilding Corporation, Camden, New Jersey.

Builders trials, 21–24 February 1961. Kitty Hawk (CVA-63) heads out to sea for trials (NS0263bg), at sea on trials (NS0263bga), and returning from sea trials (NS0263bgb).

Kitty Hawk shifting from New York SB to Philadelphia Naval Shipyard prior to her commissioning in April 1961.

NS0263bja: Under the Walt Whitman Bridge, Delaware River.

NS0263bj: About to enter Horse Shoe Bend with the Justine, B.M. Thomas and H.C. Jefferson on her port side.

View of crowd in the hangar deck. ADM Arleigh A. Burke, Chief of Naval Operations (CNO), delivered the principal address and hailed Kitty Hawk as the "forerunner of a new and greatly improved line of carriers."

"Meet Navy's Missile Carrier," All Hands magazine, June 1961 issue.

"Giant carrier Kitty Hawk gets steam up in preparation for sea trials to check out San Francisco Naval Shipyard's work as her post-shakedown overhaul nears its end." San Francisco Naval Shipyard Drydocker, 30 March 1962 (vol. 19, no. 11).

"Three big carriers tied up at [Hunters Point] Shipyard's waterfront make an impressive sight. They are from left: USS Ranger (CVA-61), Berths 6 & 7; USS Bon Homme Richard (CVA-31), Berths 8 & 9, and USS Kitty Hawk (CVA-63), Berths 10 & 11." April 1962.

USS Kitty Hawk (CVA-63) refueling USS McKean (DDR-784), at right, and USS Harry E. Hubbard (DD-748) on 18 September 1962. Note that the carrier has ten A-3 Skywarrior heavy attack aircraft parked on her flight deck, amidships and aft. Planes parked forward include A-1, A-4, F-4 and F-8 types.

Official U.S. Navy Photograph (# KN-4113).

USS Kitty Hawk (CVA-63) refueling USS Wedderburn (DD-684) near Subic Bay, late December 1962 or early January 1963. From the collection of R.L. "Bob" Clawson.

A Soviet Tupolev Tu-16 (Badger) as it overflies USS Kitty Hawk (CVA-63) in the North Pacific in January 1963. The Tu-16 is being "escorted" by F-4B Phantom IIs (USN photo).

Photo and text from "Aircraft Carriers," by Norman Polmar.

USS Kitty Hawk (CVA-63) and USS Cimarron (AO-22), near Japan in the spring of 1963, as seen from USS Wedderburn (DD-684). From the collection of R.L. "Bob" Clawson.

Aerial view of USS Kitty Hawk (CVA-63) underway, circa 1963–1964. Official U.S. Navy photo.

A page from USS Uhlmann's (DD-687) 1963–1964 Cruise Book. An UNREP with USS Hassayampa (AO-145) and USS Kitty Hawk (CVA-63), in the Western Pacific. This was Kitty Hawk's second WestPac deployment, 17 October 1963–20 July 1964.

USS Kitty Hawk (CVA-63), and USS Turner Joy (DD-951) refueling from USS Kawishiwi (AO-146), 23 April 1964. Note the large "E" in a shield spelled out by crewmen on the carrier's flight deck. Photographed by PHCS Brown, USN.

Official U.S. Navy Photograph (# USN 1097351).

USS Aludra (AF-55) resupplies USS Kitty Hawk (CVA-63) and USS Coontz (DLG-9) during a WestPac deployment, 1964.

USS Kitty Hawk (CVA-63) Ship's Command History, 31 March–30 September 1964.

An aviator's view of the flight deck, circa 1965–66.

A Douglas A-4C Skyhawk (BuNo 149495) of attack squadron VA-113 "Stingers" landing on the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk (CVA-63) in March 1966. VA-113 was assigned to Attack Carrier Air Wing Eleven (CVW-11) and deployed to Vietnam aboard Kitty Hawk, 19 October 1965–13 June 1966. U.S. Navy photo.

A Kaman UH-2A Seasprite plane guard helicopter (BuNo 149742) of helicopter combat support squadron HC-1 Det. C "Pacific Fleet Angels" hovering over the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk (CVA-63) during a deployment to Vietnam in March 1966. U.S. Navy photo.

A Douglas A-1H Skyraider (BuNo 135263) of attack squadron VA-115 "Arabs," Carrier Air Wing Eleven (CVW-11), on the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk (CVA-63) in 1966. The plane is armed with six Mk-117 750-lb bombs for a mission over Vietnam. (BuNo 135263 was transferred to USAF as 52-135263. It was shot down by AAA over southern Laos on 28 July 1970, while assigned to the 1st Special Operations Squadron (SOS), 56th Special Operations Wing (SOW). Its pilot, Maj. P.B. Lee bailed out and was rescued.)

In the background are two McDonnell F-4G Phantom IIs (BuNos 150481 and 150487) of fighter squadron VF-213 "Black Lions." These Phantoms are two of the short-lived USN F-4G's: 12 were converted from F-4B's with AN/ASW-12 two-way datalink communication system and approach power compensator which, coupled with the shipboard AN/SPN-10 radar and AN/USC-1 datalink, allowed hands-off carrier landings. All were later rebuilt as F-4B's. BuNo 140481 was retired as an F-4N on 11 December 1981, BuNo 150487 had been lost at sea due to an inflight fire on 18 September 1972.

U.S. Navy Photo.

Two F-4B Phantom IIs of VF-114 "Aardvarks" enroute to targets in North Vietnam. Photo is dated 16 April 1967.

"South China Sea—Three A-6A Intruder aircraft of [Attack] Squadron 85[, 'Black Falcons,'] are returning from a bombing mission over North Vietnam. The aircraft are home based aboard the attack aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk (CVA-63)."

U.S. Navy photo # 1122702, taken in May 1967 by Reconnaissance Attack Squadron (RVAH) 13 "Bats."

Overhead look at Aircraft Carriers and Amphibious Assault Ships (Helicopter) at Long Beach Naval Shipyard, July 1967. Left to right: USS Kitty Hawk (CVA-63), USS Bennington (CVS-20), USS Kearsarge (CVS-33), USS Princeton (LPH-5), USS Valley Forge (LPH-8), USS Yorktown (CVS-10, top right corner).

USS Kitty Hawk underway circa 1968, location unknown. USN photo.

USS Kitty Hawk underway in the Pacific in the 1970s, with four E-2 Hawkeyes and an A-7 Corsair II on the flight deck.

USS Beacon (PG-99) alongside Kitty Hawk (CVA-63). US Navy photo from the December 1970 edition of "All Hands" Magazine.

Official US Navy photograph of USS Kitty Hawk underway with Carrier Air Wing 11 (CVW-11) circa 1975, location unknown.

"Attack Aircraft Carrier Kitty Hawk." (From a Russian publication).

This drawing shows Kitty Hawk in the late 1970s, with SPS-43A and SPS-48C radars and two 8-cell BPDMS launchers.

An elevated starboard quarter view of USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63) underway, July 1977. US Navy photo by PH1 A. Legare (DVIC id: DN-SC-86-00162).

Kitty Hawk departed San Diego on March 8, 1976 and four days later entered drydock at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton, WA, to commence a 100-million dollar complex overhaul scheduled to last 12.5 months. This overhaul configured Hawk to operate with the F-14 Tomcat and S-3A Viking aircraft in a total CV sea control mode. This included adding spaces for storage, ordnance handling and maintenance facilities for the two aircraft. Also included in the work package were more efficient work areas for air frames and a repair facility for ground support equipment and the addition of avionics support capability for the S-3. The ship also replaced the Terrier Surface-to-Air missile system with the NATO Sea Sparrow system, and added elevators and modified weapons magazines to provide an increased capability for handling and stowing the newer, larger air launched weapons. The carrier completed the overhaul in March 1977 and departed the shipyard April 1 of that year to return to San Diego.

USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63) underway with Carrier Air Wing 11 (CVW-11), circa 1977–1978, location unknown.

USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63) island structure at dusk, circa early 1979, at NAS North Island.

Two crewmen move Mk-82 500-pound bombs past two parked A-6 Intruder attack aircraft during flight deck operations aboard USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63), 1979. US Navy photo by ENS A. Legare (DVIC id: DN-SN-85-11093).

Crewmen inside the flight deck control center aboard USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63) use a table to simulate the arrangement of aircraft on the carrier's flight deck, December 15, 1979. US Navy photo by PHC Ken George (DVIC id: DN-SN-85-06358).

USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63) underway in the late 1970s–early 1980s.

A Grumman A-6E Intruder (BuNo 155670) from Attack Squadron (VA) 52 "Knightriders," part of Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 15, in 1981.

Official U.S. Navy photo, available from DefenseImagery.mil (# DN-SC-84-05437). Although dated 15 January 1984, this cannot be correct. BuNo 155670 wore modex NL503 for just one deployment to WestPac with USS Kitty Hawk, 1 April–23 November 1981. In 1984 VA-52 and CVW-15 were teamed with USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70), and 155670 was no longer attached to the "Knightriders." BuNo 155670 was manufactured as an A-6A, later upgraded to the A-6E standard, and was sunk as an artificial reef after its retirement.

USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63), left, and USS Constellation (CV-64). NAS North Island, San Diego, Calif., circa 1984.

A barricade restrains an F-14A Tomcat (BuNo 161296, modex NE107) from VF-1 "Wolfpack" during an emergency landing aboard USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63), 30 June 1984. The Tomcat had to make a barricade arrestment due to a sheared starboard strut. The recovery was successful; no injuries were sustained.

U.S. Navy photo by PH3 Hall, available from DefenseImagery.mil (# DN-ST-87-11416).

Crew members use an NP-50 crane to remove a damaged F-14A Tomcat from the flight deck after an emergency barricade landing aboard USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63), 30 June 1984. (See above.)

U.S. Navy photo by PH3 Hall, available from DefenseImagery.mil (# DN-ST-87-11420).