Historic Farewell: USS Nimitz (CVN 68) Departs San Diego for the Final Time

gray eagle

gray eagle

SOH-CM-2026
After five decades of legendary service, the "Old Salt" has departed San Diego Bay for the last time, bidding farewell to the city she called home from 2001 to 2012. As the oldest active-duty aircraft carrier in the world, her departure marks the end of an era before her scheduled decommissioning.

 
Sad to se the old girl go; she was "rid hard and put away wet" as they say.

I will always cherish my tour as Air Boss and the memories of all the great people, both in the ship's company as well as the Air Wing.
 
Back in '86 I had my retirement papers in for a Jan '87 retirement and I was issued orders to Nimitz and had my personnel office (Nattc Millington)
call my detailer that I was retiring. Apparently, he didn't get my memo of retiring. I have nice photo of her when it had one horn on the strbd bow now has two and with F-14's and other air wing aircraft in their separate diamond formations flying overhead framed and displayed in my "office" computer room.
 
Last edited:
Damn! I must be old! I remember when she was new! My 2 carriers, "Sucking 60 from Dixie" now a coral reef off of Florida and Handjob CVA-19 turned into scrap metal. 😟
 
MrZippy said:
Damn! I must be old! I remember when she was new! My 2 carriers, "Sucking 60 from Dixie" now a coral reef off of Florida and Handjob CVA-19 turned into scrap metal. 😟
Click to expand...
We are! I was on the Hanna for Westpac '65 cruise and Bonnie Dick 66/67 Wespac cruise with VF-24 (F8-C) I remember when the main drag in Olongapo was not paved (63/64). When I was stationed at NAS Cubi 67/69 (AIMD) we use to zap the transient aircraft with a Olongapo International Airport stencil. :)
 
Oh, I sure remember my one and only trip into Olongopo! The Cherry Bar...1 and 1/2 San Migoo beers and I was sick as a dog the next day. Don't think I can ever forget
the smell of walking across 💩 river bridge!
1765374724102.gif1765374982253.png
 
MrZippy said:
Oh, I sure remember my one and only trip into Olongopo! The Cherry Bar...1 and 1/2 San Migoo beers and I was sick as a dog the next day. Don't think I can ever forget
the smell of walking across 💩 river bridge!
View attachment 178053View attachment 178054
Click to expand...
.... and the kids in those boats would look up at us crossing the bridge and say....."Hey sailor throw me coin".
And when you did, they would dive in that stuff :poop: and fetch it. If you fell into that water, you'd need a new shot card!
 
NIMITZ was based out of Norfolk for a long time before shifting west. Ike was also a great ship, a twin to NIMITZ. The first three - NIMITZ / IKE/ STENNIS were all approved and funded under one bill approved by the *** MacNamara, who finally realized the value of carriers.
 
A picture hanging on my "I love me" wall (computer room) of the Nimitz - I had this in my Puka wall when I wrote orders for CEC Assignments and Placement Navy Personnel Command (PERS-4413) ( Order writer for the Officer Dirt Pushers.) I was a retired AZ then but a job is a job.

Nimitz.jpg
Note the one "horn" on the stbd side. I think it subsequently acquired another matching horn. Don't know why it had only one at the time.
:)
 
I think this answers my question about the horn. It was a bridal catcher.

If you scroll down on my link you will find other Naval aviation news nuggets and videos.
 
Last edited:
The "horn" is, in fact, a part of the Van Zelm bridle arrester system. At one time, any carrier with steam cats had one at the end of the cat stroke because all planes in that era were bridle launched rather than by the modern Flush Deck Nose Gear Launch (FNDGL) system. When a bridle launch reached the end of the cat stroke, the cat pistons started into the water brakes, rapidly decelerating and the airplane simply dropped the bridle and flew away. Meanwhile the bridle arrester system retrained the bridle using lanyards attached to the bridle and cleats that ran in a track that ran on each side of the cat. The cleats were mounted on a metal strip inside those tracks that had a braking system and bridle retracting system.

OK - so the bridle is quickly braked to a stop, in sequence with the cat pistons - BUT - here is this heavy steel cable whipping forward as it is restrained - so - it slams down on the bridle arrestr tongue (boom). The Van Zelm then retracts the bridle - independent of the cat pistons.

As fewer and fewer airwings had bridle launched planes the booms were slowly removed in yard periods to save weight (of course the associated mechanical elements of the Van Zelm system with it). Eventually, only the Training Command T-2 / TA-4 / TS-2A) needed bridles and LEX kept her two systems. If a fleet carrier had to fill in for LEX, they used throw away bridles - they just fell into the sea!

That didn't last for very long, and usually there was still a fleet carrier around that could be used for TRACOM CQ.

A reasonable depiction of all this, done by "Brits" can be found here...

Catapult Launch - The Story Behind "The Bridle" and "Bridle ...​

 
Last edited:
I kept my holdback bone that broke on my one and only CAT shot! Gone but not forgotten! Mine was all yellow!
1765498392522.png
 
No more holdback plugs - a Repeatable Release Holback Unit is used now - dial in a setting, releases and can be reset and reused. The old plugs were different for different airplanes. The picture looks like one for an A-4.
 
This video explains the principles of operation on the current hold back system. Very informative.

 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top