South Philadelphia

Ex-USS John F Kennedy aircraft carrier departs Philly for final journey

The USS John F. Kennedy aircraft carrier was in commission from 1968 to 2007, the U.S. Navy says

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The decommissioned aircraft carrier left Philadelphia Thursday on its way to Texas, where it will be taken apart.

The former USS John F. Kennedy departed Philadelphia for its final voyage before being dismantled in Texas.

After a weather-related delay, the aircraft carrier left the U.S. Navy’s Inactive Ships Maintenance Facility in South Philadelphia on Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025, around 10 a.m. to start its trip to Brownsville, Texas.

People should be able to see the former warship along the Delaware River, Delaware Bay and Atlantic Ocean as it makes its last journey, the Navy said.

"Commissioned on Sept. 7, 1968, CV 67 was the first Navy ship to be named John F. Kennedy and was the last conventionally powered aircraft carrier built by the U.S. Navy," Naval Sea Systems Public Affairs said in a news release.

Over the next several decades, the USS JFK had 18 deployments in the Mediterranean, the Navy said. It was also used for air security in the mid-Atlantic Ocean following the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks on the United States.

In the mid-200s, the ship was used for training ahead of being removed from service on Aug. 1, 2007, the Navy said.

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