USS Independence (CV-62)

26°06′13″N 97°10′08″W / 26.1034852°N 97.1689342°W / 26.1034852; -97.1689342

USS Independence (CV-62)
USS Independence in 1971
History
United States
NameIndependence
NamesakeIndependence[1]
Ordered2 July 1954
BuilderNew York Navy Yard
Cost$182.3 million[2]
Laid down1 July 1955
Launched6 June 1958
Commissioned10 January 1959
Decommissioned30 September 1998
ReclassifiedCV-62, 28 February 1973
Stricken8 March 2004
Identification
MottoFreedom's Flagship
FateScrapped
Badge
General characteristics [3]
Class and typeForrestal-class aircraft carrier
Displacement
  • 60,000 long tons (61,000 t) standard
  • 80,643 long tons (81,937 t) full load
Length1,070 ft (326.1 m)
Beam
  • 130.0 ft (39.63 m) waterline
  • 270 ft (82.3 m) extreme
Draft37 ft (11.3 m)
Propulsion
Speed34 knots (63 km/h; 39 mph)
Range
  • 8,000 nautical miles (15,000 km) at 20 knots (37 km/h)
  • 4,000 nautical miles (7,400 km) at 30 knots (56 km/h)
Complement
  • 3,126 (ship's crew) plus
  • 2,089 (air wing) plus
  • 70 (flag staff) plus
  • 72 (Marines)
Sensors and
processing systems
Electronic warfare
& decoys
Armament
Aircraft carried

The fifth USS Independence (CV/CVA-62) was an aircraft carrier of the United States Navy. She was the fourth and final member of the Forrestal class of conventionally powered supercarriers. She entered service in 1959, with much of her early years spent in the Mediterranean Fleet.

Independence was decommissioned in 1998 after 39 years of active service. Stored in recent years at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, Washington, the ex-Independence was towed beginning on 10 March 2017 to Brownsville, Texas for scrapping. She arrived on 1 June 2017 and dismantling was completed by early 2019.

  1. ^ "Independence". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 17 January 2015.
  2. ^ Moore, John, ed. (1991). Jane's American Fighting Ships of the 20th Century. New York, NY: Mallard Press. ISBN 978-1-5614-4720-6.
  3. ^ Baker 1998, p. 992.