Key Points and Summary: The Kitty Hawk-class aircraft carriers—Kitty Hawk, Constellation, and America—were workhorses of the U.S. Navy from the Vietnam War through the early Global War on Terror.
-Introduced in the 1960s, they improved upon earlier Forrestal-class vessels by featuring better deck layouts and more efficient aircraft elevators, enabling higher sortie rates.
-Over five decades, the class accommodated iconic jets like the F-14 Tomcat and F/A-18 Hornet, remaining vital to U.S. air power.
-Despite extensive maintenance demands, these massive carriers excelled during pivotal conflicts, forging a robust aviation legacy. Ultimately replaced by nuclear-powered ships, the Kitty Hawk-class remains lauded for adaptability and steadfast service.
Kitty Hawk-Class: The Aircraft Carriers That Dominated U.S. Seas
When the United States needed it the most during the Vietnam War, the Cold War, and the Global War on Terror, the Kitty Hawk-Class of supercarriers stepped up and did not disappoint.
America could always depend on a Kitty Hawk-Class carrier to pick up the slack.
Only three were built, but they were a mainstay of U.S. Naval aviation for decades.
Let’s look at these vaunted vessels to see why they were so special.
Kitty Hawk-Class: Only Three Aircraft Carriers
The Kitty Hawk-class consisted of the USS Kitty Hawk, the USS Constellation, and the USS America.
They were an upgrade over the Forrestal-Class.
The Navy needed its carriers to have more extended decks and elevators that were more efficient and located advantageously for a higher tempo of aircraft launches.
These were the last of the conventional-powered carriers.
The Kitty Hawk-Class carriers were introduced between 1961 and 1965, bringing in a new era of carrier aviation.
They were also updated in the 1980s for the Cold War build-up under President Ronald Reagan. The Kitty Hawk-Class vessels served for five decades to re-plenish naval strength and prestige for the U.S. military.
Slight Improvement Over the Forrestal-Class
The Kitty Hawk-Class was an outgrowth of the Forrestal-Class. The problem with the Forrestal-Class was the location of the elevators in the “launching and landing path of the waist catapults,” the National Interest noted.
This was disadvantageous and interrupted the smooth flow of launching and arresting aircraft.
The Kitty Hawk-class had four elevators along parts of the flight deck to allow crew members to increase the sortie rate.
The deck was also longer than the Forrestals. Ninety aircraft could be carried.

Fremantle Harbour, Australia (Apr. 22, 2004) – Tug boats escort USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63) and embarked Carrier Air Wing Five (CVW-5) into Fremantle Harbour, Australia where the crew will enjoy a five day port call. This was Kitty Hawk’s fifth visit to Fremantle and the ninth for CVW-5. Kitty Hawk is one two remaining conventionally powered aircraft carriers in the U.S. Navy, and is currently homeported in Yokosuka, Japan.
So, the Kitty Hawks rectified that elevator drawback but otherwise stayed true to the design of the Forrestal-Class.
The Kitty Hawk-Class was thus seen a slight improvement over the Forrestal vessels and not a complete replacement.
Some modifications were also made in “[fuel], ordnance stowage, safety, electronics, bridge ergonomics, hangars management, and armament,” according to Naval Encyclopedia.
They Were Supercarriers with the Specs to Overpower Enemies
The Kitty Hawk-Class were gargantuan carriers. The ships displaced nearly 84,000 tons and were nearly 1,100 feet long. The carriers could steam at a respectable 32 knots.
The Kitty Hawk-Class was powered by four Westinghouse steam turbines, eight boilers, four shafts, and four propellers.
Diverse Range of Armaments
The Kitty Hawk-class had many types of surface-to-air missiles and other kinds of defenses over the five decades they were in service.
The ships started out with “two Mk.10 twin-arm missile launchers for RIM-2 Terrier SAMs later modified to fire RIM-67B Standard SM-2ER missiles,” according to Seaforces.org.
The ships later added Sea Sparrow missiles and Rolling Airframe Missiles, plus Phalanx close-in weapons systems.
The supercarriers played a pivotal role in the Vietnam War. USS Kitty Hawk, known as the “Battle Cat,” was most successful, earning a Presidential Unit Citation for meritorious service during the Tet Offensive.
Ushered in the F-14 Tomcat and the F/A-18 Hornet
In the late 1970s, the Kitty Hawk-class flew the early version of the F-14 Tomcat. This was an exciting time for the crew as they executed modern aviation warfare capabilities for that time. For the Tomcats, the Kitty Hawk-Class had to make the Jet Blast Deflectors larger.
Much later, during the late 1990s, the Kitty Hawk-Class flew F/A-18C Hornets, in addition to updated EA-6B Prowlers, and E-2C Hawkeyes.

Forrestal undergoing sea trials, 29 September 1955
The Kitty Hawk-Class needed its share of maintenance and other types of repairs, but they were often at sea and able to carry out duties at a high operational tempo. Sailors loved ports of call at exotic locations such as Thailand, plus more traditional stops in Singapore and Australia.
Long and Esteemed Service Record
Overall, the Kitty Hawks served admirably over the years, with the Kitty Hawk in service until 2009 and the Constellation until 2003. USS America retired in 1996 and was “sunk” in 2005 on purpose in an exercise to show the Navy how carriers reacted to combat operations.
The Kitty Hawks was necessary for all the lessons learned during the historic run of different operations throughout the Cold War. This helped the Navy create nuclear-powered carriers and modern flight deck activity. The placement of the elevators was a significant change that allowed more efficient use of aircraft.
The Kitty Hawk-Class was thus a significant iteration for the evolution of carrier combat. The ships should be known for the early deployments of F-14s and F/A-18s, plus all the support aircraft onboard. From the Vietnam War to the Cold War and the early part of the Global War on Terror, the Kitty Hawk-Class served with distinction, and many thousands of sailors called the vessels home over the decades.
They had good memories of the “hard to kill” ships when the Navy desperately needed floating air bases that could survive for decades.
About the Author: Dr. Brent M. Eastwood
Brent M. Eastwood, PhD, is the author of Don’t Turn Your Back On the World: a Conservative Foreign Policy and Humans, Machines, and Data: Future Trends in Warfare, plus two other books. Brent was the founder and CEO of a tech firm that predicted world events using artificial intelligence. He served as a legislative fellow for U.S. Senator Tim Scott and advised the senator on defense and foreign policy issues. He has taught at American University, George Washington University, and George Mason University. Brent is a former U.S. Army Infantry officer. He can be followed on X @BMEastwood.
