The U.S. Navy Failed to Sink Their Own Supercarrier and China Noticed

Summary and Key Points: On May 14, 2005, the USS America made its final contribution to national defense by becoming the first supercarrier intentionally sunk in a live-fire exercise.

-This “SINKEX” was not an act of disrespect, but a crucial test to evaluate how 80,000-ton steel giants withstand modern underwater and aerial assaults.

An F/A-18F Super Hornet, attached to the “Blacklions” of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 213 and a F/A-18E Super Hornet, attached to the “Golden Warriors” of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 87 fly over the world’s largest aircraft carrier, USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Mahan (DDG 72), April 11, 2025. The Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group is underway in the Atlantic Ocean completing integrated naval warfighting training. Composite Training Unit Exercise (COMPTUEX) is the Joint Force’s most complex integrated training event and prepares naval task forces for sustained high-end Joint and combined combat. Integrated naval training provides America’s civilian leaders and commanders highly-capable forces that deter adversaries, underpin American security and economic prosperity, and reassure Allies and partners. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Maxwell Orlosky

-The data gathered from the America’s resilient final stand—it took weeks of pounding and internal demolition to finally sink—directly influenced the hardened design of the USS Gerald R. Ford.

-Today, the America rests 16,000 feet deep, serving as a permanent deterrent and a testament to American naval engineering.

The Ship That Wouldn’t Sink: Why the U.S. Navy Killed the USS America

The USS America, CV-66, was one of three Kitty Hawk-class supercarriers constructed during the 1960s. After commissioning in 1965, the carrier served for 30 years, including Vietnam and the Persian Gulf during Operation Desert Storm. After she was decommissioned, the America languished in the Philadelphia shipyard for another ten years. In 2005, the carrier was towed from Philadelphia to a location off the coast of the Carolinas, about halfway to Bermuda.

There, the ship was sunk over the objections of the sailors who had served on it, who wanted it turned into a museum. The USS America (CV-66), a Kitty Hawk-class supercarrier, was intentionally sunk on May 14, 2005, in a controlled SINKEX (Sink Exercise).

USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76), USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63), and USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) cruise side-by-side in the Philippine Sea June 18, 2006, during exercise Valiant Shield 2006. The joint exercise consists of 28 naval vessels, more than 300 aircraft, and approximately 20,000 service members from the Navy, Army, Air Force, Marine Corps and Coast Guard. (U.S. Navy photo by Chief Photographer’s Mate Spike Call) (Released)

USS Kitty Hawk of Kitty-Hawk-Class. Image Credit: Creative Commons.

It was the first time an aircraft carrier had been sunk since World War II. The USS America was the largest ship ever to sink. Why did the Navy decide to sink the USS America?

Brief History of the USS America (CV-66)

The USS America was initially ordered as an Enterprise-class nuclear carrier. However, the rising costs of the Enterprise during construction caused the Navy to cancel the nuclear CVAN-66 and reorder her as a conventionally powered Kitty Hawk-class carrier (CV-66).

The USS America (CVA-66) was laid down on January 1, 1961, at Newport News, Va., by the Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Corp.; launched on 1 February 1964; and commissioned at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard on January 23, 1965. She was the third of the Kitty Hawk class of carriers.

The USS America’s displacement was 84,914 tons with a full combat load.

Length was 1,048 ft (319 m) overall, Beam: 248 ft (76 m) extreme, 129 ft (39 m) waterline, Draft: 38 ft (12 m) (maximum), 37 ft (11 m) (limit)

Installed power maxed out at  280,000 hp (210 MW)

She was propelled by 4 × steam turbines and 8 × boilers, with 4 propeller shafts, achieving a maximum speed of 34 knots (39 mph; 63 km/h).

The carrier was crewed by 502 officers and 4684 enlisted sailors.

After commissioning in January 1965, the ship conducted short shakedown cruises until September 1965, when she made her first deployment to the Mediterranean. CV-66 would spend the majority of her service in the Atlantic, where she was off the coast of Israel during the 1967 war.

The U.S. Navy aircraft carriers USS Nimitz (CVN-68), USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) and USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76) underway in the Western Pacific on 12 November 2017. The strike groups were underway and conducting operations in international waters as part of a three-carrier strike force exercise. This was the first time since August 2007 that three U.S. Navy carriers operated together. In 2007, USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63), USS Nimitz (CVN-68) and USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74) participated in exercise “Valiant Shield”.

The USS America was in the Mediterranean during the Six-Day War of 1967. The American spy ship, the USS Liberty, was attacked by Israeli torpedo boats and jet fighters, about 15 mi north of the Sinai port of El Arish, in international waters.America didn’t know who had attacked the Liberty and sent F-4s and A-4s to the Liberty’s position. But the Israelis then sent a message to Washington that the attack on the Liberty was a mistake.

It was a very costly one for the sailors. A total of 34 Americans were killed and 173 were wounded in the attack. America’s helicopters ferried wounded sailors from the stricken ship to the carrier.

The USS America spent most of her career in the Atlantic and Mediterranean, but made three tours to Vietnam in 1968, 1970, and 1972, during which she served with distinction.

During the 1980s, in Libya, after being fired upon by Libyan forces in 1986, the USS American sank a missile-equipped patrol boat. This was the first use of the Harpoon anti-ship missile in combat.

A second patrol boat was severely damaged but sought refuge alongside a neutral merchant ship. Libyan anti-aircraft radars that had been targeting US aircraft that had been operating off the carrier were destroyed.

After Libya responded with terrorist attacks in Berlin, the USS America took part in a joint Navy-Air Force strike against Libyan targets.

Operation Desert Storm

The USS America also served in the Persian Gulf War’s operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm.

During the Gulf War (Operation Desert Storm), CV-66 conducted more than 3,000 sorties against Iraqi Republican Guard positions, anti-aircraft sites, anti-ship missile sites, oil production facilities, and command and control headquarters.

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Amazingly, during more than 10,000 sorties in Vietnam and 3,000 more in the Gulf War, the USS America never lost an aircraft due to enemy action.

In 1994, in one of her final deployments, the USS America sailed to the coast of Haiti with a contingent of US Army helicopters on board, a first for the carrier. Due to the troubles in Haiti, the president authorized the military to evacuate American civilians by using Army Special Forces via helicopters and US Marines on the ground if the situation called for it. But no direct action was needed.

The carrier was decommissioned on August 9, 1996. She was initially slated to undergo a Service Life Extension Program (SLEP) in 1996 for subsequent retirement in 2010; however, due to service budget cuts by President Clinton, she retired instead.

The Sinking Of The USS America (SINKEX) And Why It Was Done: 

The aircraft carrier was slated for scrap after its time in the Philadelphia shipyard, but it was not to be.

The Navy decided to sink her during a simulated live-fire exercise dubbed “SINKEX.” This exercise was intended to test the carrier’s capacity to withstand battle damage and improve the durability of future ship designs. The Navy has sunk several retired ships in this manner.

The Navy’s then-Vice Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral John Natham, said, “America will make one final and vital contribution to our national defense, this time as a live-fire test and evaluation platform.

“America’s legacy will serve as a footprint in the design of future carriers — ships that will protect the sons, daughters, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren of America veterans.

“We will conduct various comprehensive tests above and below the waterline, collecting data for use by naval architects and engineers in creating the nation’s future carrier fleet.

“It is essential that we make those ships as highly survivable as possible. When that mission is complete, America will slip quietly beneath the sea. I know America has a very special place in your hearts, not only for the name but also for your service aboard her.

“I ask that you understand why we selected this ship for this one last crucial mission and make note of the critical nature of her final service.”

The tests first simulated attacks by submarines and torpedoes underwater. Aircraft then launched bombs and missiles at the flight deck to no avail. America was built rugged and still stood weeks after the SiNKEX began. The Navy then decided to place explosive charges at different sections of the ship, and it finally sank on May 9, 2015.

Lessons Learned From the Sinking of CV-66

The Sinkex for the USS America showed just how difficult it is to sink an aircraft carrier, and no doubt China noticed, surely understanding that its much-feared anti-ship weapons won’t sink a carrier to the bottom of the ocean. In fact, Chinese military experts have told 19FortyFive that this incident has colored their thinking on military operations against aircraft carriers. Clearly, they realize that with modern firefighting equipment, a modern aircraft carrier can withstand significant damage and deploy defenses to stop a strike.

The Navy utilized the old carrier for testing to evaluate how modern weapons affect carrier survivability and to gather data for the Gerald R. Ford-class carrier program.

The carrier was larger than the WWII era and tougher, with a double-layered hull and internal compartmentalization that makes the ship harder to sink.

However, it must be noted that the USS America didn’t have any fuel, bombs, or ammunition on board, which can set a carrier ablaze after a hit from a bomb or a missile. And history has shown that aviation fuel and bombs can turn even the stoutest of ships into a flaming wreck.

During the Battle of Midway, the Japanese carrier Kaga was eviscerated by bombs, setting off a series of explosions of bombs and fuel that utterly destroyed the top half of the carrier.

The Japanese fleet was readying for a second strike on Midway, and the bombs (estimated between 11 and 14) from American Dauntless divebombers hit the hangar deck where Japanese fighters and bombers were fully fueled and armed.

The USS America finally came to rest upright on the ocean’s floor three miles deep at about 16,000 feet beneath the surface. The tests to improve future carrier design and construction were a success, albeit a difficult one to fathom for the sailors who sailed on her.

About the Author: Steve Balestrieri 

Steve Balestrieri is a National Security Columnist. He served as a US Army Special Forces NCO and Warrant Officer. In addition to writing on defense, he covers the NFL for PatsFans.com and is a member of the Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA). His work was regularly featured in many military publications.