Search the Site with

General Characteristics

Crew List

Memorabilia

Cruise Books

Notes of Interest

USS Constellation's COs

History

Deployments of USS Constellation

Patch Gallery

Accidents aboard Constellation

Image Gallery

to end of page

USS Constellation (CV 64)

USS CONSTELLATION was the second ship in the KITTY HAWK - class and the third ship in the Navy to bear the name. Initially commissioned as attack aircraft carrier CVA 64, she was redesignated as multi-purpose aircraft carrier CV 64 on June 30, 1975. Nicknamed 'America’s Flagship', USS CONSTELLATION was decommissioned on August 7, 2003, after 41 years, nine months and 11 days of naval service. Since its commissioning, nearly 120,000 Sailors and Marines have served aboard the ship. The arresting gear aboard has amassed an impressive 436,000 'traps', or landings. On August 8, 2014, the CONSTELLATION left Bremerton, Wash., under tow for Brownsville Tx. The carrier arrived there in mid-January 2015 and was subsequently broken up for scrap by International Shipbreaking Ltd. Dismantling was finished on May 10, 2017.

back to top

go to the end of the page

back to top

go to the end of the page

Crew List:

This section contains the names of sailors who served aboard USS CONSTELLATION. It is no official listing but contains the names of sailors who submitted their information.

• Click here to view the list.

back to top

go to the end of the page

• Click here to see which USS CONSTELLATION memorabilia are currently for sale on ebay.

back to top

go to the end of the page

USS CONSTELLATION Cruise Books:

• Maiden Cruise Book 1961-62
• WestPac Cruise Book 1963
• WestPac Cruise Book 1964-65
• WestPac Cruise Book 1966
• WestPac Cruise Book 1967
• WestPac Cruise Book 1968-69
• WestPac Cruise Book 1969-70
• WestPac Cruise Book 1971-72 and Cruise Bravo Cruise Book
• WestPac Cruise Book 1973
• WestPac Cruise Book 1974
• WestPac Cruise Book 1977
• WestPac Cruise Book 1978-79
• WestPac Cruise Book 1980
• WestPac Cruise Book 1981-82
• WestPac Cruise Book 1985
• WestPac Cruise Book 1987
• WestPac Cruise Book 1988-89
• SLEP and South American Transit Cruise Book 1990-93
• WestPac Cruise Book 1994-95
• WestPac and Arabian Sea Cruise Book 1997
• WestPac Cruise Book 1999
• WestPac Cruise Book 2001
• Final Cruise Book 2002-2003

back to top

go to the end of the page

back to top

go to the end of the page

USS CONSTELLATION's Commanding Officers:

back to top

go to the end of the page

• Click here to read USS CONSTELLATION's History
• Click here to get a view of the Deployments of USS CONSTELLATION

back to top

go to the end of the page

USS CONSTELLATION Patch Gallery:

		Click here for more CONSTELLATION Patches.

back to top

go to the end of the page

Accidents aboard USS CONSTELLATION:

Date	Where	Events
December 19, 1960	New York Naval Shipyard, Brooklyn, N.Y.	The construction of the carrier was nearly 90% completed and in the hangar bay there was a tank with 502 gallons of fuel inside. A forklift collided with that tank and the fuel ran out and flew into a lower deck where some workers were welding. A fire started and the flames quickly grew up because of all the wooden materials stored in the hangar bay and on the flight deck. Moments later a huge flame and a dark cloud of smoke could be seen above the carrier. An example for the density of the smoke was that a standard breathing apparatus can be used for approx. 45 minutes, but aboard the CONSTELLATION they could only be used for 20 minutes. Almost the whole hangar bay was burning. The efforts to extinguish the fire using the existing fire-fighting equipment were not successful and so the Brooklyn fire department was called for assistence. The fire was mainly extinguished with water and 15.000 tons of this water got into the carrier. At the time of the accident, a total of 4200 people worked aboard the carrier and so the fire deptartment had not only to extinguish the fire but also to rescue the people. All in all it took twelve hours to extinguish the fire. 50 people were killed and hundreds were injured and the ship was heavily damaged. The carrier was scheduled to be commissioned in early 1961 but because of the fire and the resulting damage, the commissioning ceremony had to be postponed to October 27, 1961. By the way, during one year in the Naval Shipyard, there were 42 fires aboard USS CONSTELLATION.
November 6, 1961	some miles off New York City	During sea trials, there was a fire in a boiler-room because of a broken oil pipe. 4 crewmen died and 9 were injured. USS CONSTELLATION had to return to New York City for repairs.
January 15, 1963	eastern Pacific	A fighter jet attempting to land snaps a cable aboard the CONSTELLATION injuring 11, including three whose legs have to be amputated.
August 19, 1963	western Pacific	Arresting gear accident while CONSTELLATION operates in the western Pacific.
September 11, 1964	South China Sea	A rocket motor used to boost aircraft explodes killing one, injuring three.
July 10, 1971	San Diego, Calif.	USS CONSTELLATION suffers a one-hour machinery room fire while moored at San Diego, Calif. No injuries are reported.
July 15, 1978		An F-14 ("NG 107") from VF-211 crashed into the sea whilst operating from the CONSTELLATION.
June 26, 1980	Arabian Sea	USS CONSTELLATION collides with a Bangladesh merchant ship in the Arabian Sea. The US Navy says there was minor damage to both ships but no injuries.
December 19, 1981	Indian Ocean	An F-14 of VF-24 missed the arresting cables during the landing and as a result the aircraft ran off the deck edge and was lost in the Indian Ocean.
August 2, 1988	off the US West Coast	USS CONSTELLATION suffers an engine room fire which forces the carrier to cancel scheduled operations and return to San Diego, Calif. The fire, believed to be caused by a fuel oil leak, begins with an explosion in one of the ship's four engine rooms around noon and is finally extinguished about 9 hours later after several subsequent explosions caused by heat from the initial fire. 20 sailors suffer burns, bruises, and smoke inhalation .
December 5, 1988	off Baja, Calif	Shortly after departing on WESTPAC '89 with CAG14 attached, an EA-6B Prowler from VAQ-139 "Cougars" disappeared during flight ops off the coast of Baja, Calif. Searches only resulted in the discovery of a few aircraft parts and a couple of pieces of flight gear. Killed in the accident are: LCDR Don M. Holderby (14 Jan 1955 - 5 Dec 1988) LT John L. Wilcox (7 Dec 1959 - 5 Dec 1988) LT Scott D. Threlkeld (9 Oct 1960 - 5 Dec 1988) LT Brad A. Jacobs (28 Sep 1960 - 5 Dec 1988)
October 20, 2000	80 miles west of Ensenada, Mexico	Daren Jewell, 26, of Oak Harbor, Wash., was killed when his F/A-18C crashed shortly after takeoff from the carrier during a routine training exercise. The accident happened at 7.30 p.m. local time. Jewell was assigned to VFA-151 based at the Lemoore Naval Air Station.
August 8, 2001	Bay of Bengal	On August 11, 2001, the Navy has called off the search for two aviators who were reported missing over the Bay of Bengal on August 8, after their F-14 Tomcat fighter jet did not return to the CONSTELLATION. Lt. Richard Stephen Pugh, originally from Temecula, and Lt. Cmdr. Robert Wayne Sides of Scottsdale, Ariz., had been on a routine training mission over the Indian Ocean when they disappeared. Both men are presumed dead, Navy officials said. The aircraft was from Fighter Squadron 2 (VF-2), based at Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia Beach. The CONSTELLATION had just left the Arabian Sea to return home to San Diego, Ca.
October 19, 2002	off the coast of Southern California	A sailor was blown overboard by jet blast at five minutes past midnight as he walked behind an EA-6B Prowler on the flight deck. The sailor was performing routine duties during normal night flight operations at the time of the incident. Because fellow shipmates saw him go over the side, rescue efforts began immediately. CONSTELLATION conducted a 180-degree turn to position itself in the vicinity of the sailor. Helicopters and Rigid Hull Inflatable Boats (RHIBs) from CONSTELLATION, USS VALLEY FORGE (CG 50), USS BUNKER HILL (CG 52), and USS KINKAID (DD 965) assisted. At approximately 7:20 a.m., BUNKER HILL’s helicopter detachment spotted the sailor in the water. CONSTELLATION’s helicopter squadron recovered the sailor and returned him to the ship where he was in stable condition following medical treatment.
November 8, 2002	Pacific Ocean	The crew of USS CONSTELLATION quickly responded to a main machinery room fire, preventing any serious injuries or degradation to the ship's ability to continue its deployment. The fire, which broke out in one of CONSTELLATION's four main machinery rooms, was caused by a fuel oil leak. The affected space was immediately evacuated and installed fire fighting equipment contained the fire until the ship's fire parties and damage control teams extinguished it. Only minor injuries occurred. Initial assessment indicated there was minimal damage, and the ship continued its mission.
April 1, 2003	Persian Gulf	An S-3B Viking from VS-38 veered off the flight deck after making an arrested landing at approximately 5:10 a.m. local time. Shortly after touching down on deck, the S-3B malfunctioned while taxiing on the carrier's flight deck and slid to the port side of the deck. The plane went over the side and hit flight deck safety netting, with the two pilots aboard ejecting into the water. The plane then followed into the water. A helicopter from HS-2 was performing search-and-rescue (SAR) operations for the flight cycle and arrived on scene immediately. Both pilots were recovered by a SAR swimmer and transported to CONSTELLATION, where they are being evaluated for minor injuries. No personnel on the carrier flight deck were injured in the incident. USS THACH (FFG 43) was performing plane guard duties at the time of the incident and immediately placed a rigid-hull inflatable boat (RHIB) in the water. The RHIB arrived on the scene shortly after the rescue helicopter.

back to top

go to the end of the page

Notes of Interest:

USS CONSTELLATION was the last of three aircraft carriers equipped with the Mk 10 missile launchers.

Her Mk 10 launchers were modified to launch the Standard missiles. In the 1980^th CONSTELLATION was the last carrier to get the Mk 29 NATO Sea Sparrow launchers. The Mk 10 launchers were removed.

back to top

go to the end of the page

back to top

go to the end of the page

USS CONSTELLATION Image Gallery:

		Click here to view more photos.