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DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY -- NAVAL HISTORICAL CENTER
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Online Library of Selected Images:
-- U.S. NAVY SHIPS --

USS Saratoga (CVA-60, later CV-60), 1956-____

USS Saratoga, second of the 56,000-ton Forrestal class aircraft carriers, was built at New York Naval Shipyard. She went into commission in April 1956, operated in the Western Hemisphere until September 1957, then briefly went to Northern European waters to participate in operation "Strikeback". In February 1958, Saratoga began the first of more than twenty deployments to operate with the Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean. Over the following decade, the big carrier made seven more tours to that increasingly tense part of the World.

Given a major overhaul in 1968, Saratoga played host to President Nixon in May 1969, then departed for her 9th Mediterranean cruise, which was marked by a growing Soviet naval presence in the "Middle Sea" and by unrest in Arab nations. Two more Sixth Fleet deployments in 1970 and 1971, including North Atlantic operations during the latter, were followed by the ship's only Pacific cruise. From May 1972 until January 1973, Saratoga served with the Seventh Fleet off Vietnam, taking part in combat operations to stop and partially reverse an intense North Vietnamese offensive against the South. During this deployment, in June 1972, the ship received the new designation CV-60.

Through the rest of the 1970s, Saratoga crossed the Atlantic regularly to visit the Mediterranean. In September 1980, following her sixteenth Sixth Fleet cruise, she began a massive "SLEP" reconstruction. This work was completed in February 1983, and the next year saw her back in the Med for tour number 17. During her next deployment, in October 1985, Saratoga's aircraft intercepted an airliner carrying terrorists who had recently hijacked the cruise ship Achille Lauro, forcing the plane to land in Italy. In 1986, the ship took part in combat operations against Libyan forces at sea and ashore.

In August 1990, Saratoga steamed through the Mediterranean and passed through the Suez Canal to operate in the Red Sea as part of the response to Iraq's invasion of Kuwait. The first two months of 1991 saw her aircraft participating vigorously in operation "Desert Storm", which broke the Iraqi army and forced it out of Kuwait. Two more Sixth Fleet deployments rounded out the carrier's active career, one in 1992 and the other in 1993-94. Both involved air activities over the Balkans, in an effort to restrain the brutal war in Bosnia. Departing the Mediterranean for the last time in June 1994, the ship began preparations for inactivation. USS Saratoga was placed out of commission and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register at the end of September 1994. After resting at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from mid-1995 to mid-1998, she was towed to Newport, Rhode Island, where she remains in Navy custody pending final disposal.

This page features selected views of USS Saratoga (CVA/CV-60).

Click on the small photograph to prompt a larger view of the same image.

Photo #: NH 97674 USS Saratoga (CVA-60) At her anchorage in Hampton Roads, Virginia, during the International Naval Review, 12 June 1957. Photographed by PH1 Castiglia, from Naval Air Station Norfolk, Va. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Online Image: 95KB; 740 x 620 pixels
Photo #: USN 1034275 USS Saratoga (CVA-60) At sea on 17 February 1958, as four Douglas AD4-1 "Skyhawk" aircraft from Attack Squadron 34 (VA-34) fly past in formation. These planes are Bureau #s 139928, 139968, 139970 and 142152. Official U.S. Navy Photograph. Online Image: 89KB; 740 x 610 pixels Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system as Photo # 428-N-1034275.
Photo #: USN 1110849 USS Saratoga (CVA-60) With her crew manning the rail on the flight deck, as she enters port at Barcelona, Spain, 12 February 1965. Photographed by PH1 M.J. Stump. Official U.S. Navy Photograph. Online Image: 112KB; 740 x 615 pixels Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system as Photo # 428-N-1110849.
Photo #: NH 97675 USS Saratoga (CV-60) Underway in the Atlantic, off Jacksonville, Florida, 16 October 1975. Photographed by PH1 Donald D. Deverman. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Online Image: 140KB; 740 x 600 pixels
Photo #: NH 97676 USS Saratoga (CV-60) Seen from astern, while underway off Jacksonville, Florida, on 16 October 1975. Photographed by PH1 Donald D. Deverman. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Online Image: 141KB; 555 x 765 pixels
Photo #: NH 97677-KN (color) USS Saratoga (CV-60) Underway with three F-14 fighters on her bow and waist catapults during operations in the Mediterranean Sea, 15 September 1985. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Online Image: 105KB; 740 x 605 pixels
Photo #: 80-G-K-22608 (Color) President Dwight D. Eisenhower (left), with Admiral Arleigh A. Burke, USN, Chief of Naval Operations Visiting USS Saratoga (CVA-60) on 6 June 1957. Between and behind them is the Presidential Naval Aide, Captain Evan P. Aurand, USN. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Online Image: 83KB; 590 x 765 pixels Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system.
Photo #: USN 1111048 U.S. Sixth Fleet ships At anchor in Augusta Bay, Sicily, on 17 March 1965. The large carrier, at right, is USS Saratoga (CVA-60). Other U.S. Navy ships visible include one Essex class attack aircraft carrier (CVA), two guided missile light cruisers (CLG), two guided-missile frigates (DLG), six destroyers (DD), two oilers (AO) and other auxiliaries. There are also several merchant ships present. Official U.S. Navy Photograph. Online Image: 71KB; 740 x 610 pixels Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system as Photo # 428-N-1111048.
Photo #: USN 1140473 North American RA-5C "Vigilante" reconnaissance aircraft (Bureau # 146696) Lands on board USS Saratoga (CVA-60). This photograph was received by the Naval Photographic Center in May 1969. Official U.S. Navy Photograph. Online Image: 124KB; 740 x 605 pixels Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system as Photo # 428-N-1140473.
Photo #: K-72713 President Richard M. Nixon (left), with Admiral Thomas H. Moorer, USN, Chief of Naval Operations Witness air and sea power demonstrations from the flight deck of USS Saratoga (CVA-60), in the Atlantic Ocean, May 1969. Photographed by PH3 Philip J. Fraga. Official U.S. Navy Photograph. Online Image: 85KB; 740 x 615 pixels Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system as Photo # 428-K-72713. Though reproductions of this photo from the Naval Historical Center's collections are available in black & white only, those from the National Archives should be available in color.
Photo #: K-80498 Entertainer Bob Hope On stage with Miss World, during a Christmas show for servicemen held on board USS Saratoga (CVA-60), off Gaeta, Italy, 22 December 1969. Official U.S. Navy Photograph. Online Image: 85KB; 740 x 610 pixels Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system as Photo # 428-K-80498. Though reproductions of this photo from the Naval Historical Center's collections are available in black & white only, those from the National Archives should be available in color.

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Page made 6 October 2001
Photo caption text corrected 21 October 2001