The Sinking
of
USS America CV-66

Before her sinking she was
 docked in Philadelphia


On April 19, 2005
America
was towed
down the Delaware


America is lying at edge of
the Sargasso Sea

Out in the Atlantic,
strange creatures
make their home
among seaweed
in a floating lens
of warm water
14, May 2005; America underwent a controlled scuttling, after undergoing  live fire and weapons effect explosive tests for the CVN-21 program. Her position is 33° 09' 00" N,  71° 39' 00" W, in 16, 860 feet of water. she is in one piece resting on her keel. PROCEEDINGS May 2007

Carrier America sunk off coast
Daily Press | 5/20/2005 | Peter DuJardin

Posted on 05/20/2005 7:09:57 AM PDT by wjersey

The Navy sent the retired USS America aircraft carrier to its final resting place at the bottom of the sea Saturday, in a closely guarded series of explosions that the Navy didn't announce until days later.

The 84,000-ton, 1,048-foot warship, which served the Navy for 32 years, thus became the first U.S. carrier to be sunk since 1951, and the largest warship ever sunk.

"Explosions were internal to the ship and allowed a controlled flooding," said Pat Dolan, a spokeswoman with the Naval Sea Systems Command. She declined to say where the ship now sits, except that it was 50 nautical miles - or about 58 miles - off the coast, and more than 6,000 feet below the surface.

The Navy previously said the final explosions would be off North Carolina.

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DAILYPRESS.COM   Hampton Roads, VA March 14, 2005
The aircraft carrier America never faced enemy fire during its service of 32 years. But it will encounter lots of friendly fire this spring.

The Navy plans to sink the 84,000-ton vessel off North Carolina in April - giving it the honor of being the first U.S. carrier to be sunk since 1951 and the largest warship sunk in either war or peace.

But before the Newport News-built carrier disappears beneath the surface and descends more than 6,000 feet to the ocean floor, the America will have one last mission: facing several explosions to verify computer models on the survivability of the Navy's next-generation carrier, the CVN-21.

The America, a 1,048-foot-long conventionally powered carrier, was decommissioned in 1996, with 18 years of service life still unspent. The ship, also known as the CV (carrier vessel)-66, now sits in Philadelphia but will leave April 11. The Navy declined Thursday to reveal exactly where the America would sink but said it would be more than 50 nautical miles - about 58 miles - off the coast.

Before the testing, the Navy will outfit the America with lots of sensors and cameras. It will set off a blast in the ship. It will also set off underwater explosions a bit away from the ship, followed by a detonation near the hull at the water line. Then controlled explosives will bring the ship down.

Much of what the gathered data will be used for is classified, the Navy said.

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