Editing USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67) (section)

=== Design and early years ===
Designed under [[Ship Characteristics Board]] project SCB-127C,<ref name=friedman>{{cite book |last=Friedman|first= Norman |year=1983 |title=U.S. Aircraft Carriers: An Illustrated Design History |page=387 |publisher=[[Naval Institute Press]] |isbn= 0-87021-739-9 |access-date=18 December 2008 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-UT7MDTeKj8C&q=%22Weteye%22+date:0-1990&pg=PA387 }}</ref> the ship's [[keel]] was laid on inclined Shipway 8 by [[Newport News Shipbuilding]] on 22 October 1964. By 1965, the larger semi-submerged Shipway 11 became available, where final construction was completed.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.nnapprentice.com/alumni/letter/Apprentice_Trivia_021706.pdf |title= Sliding to the Sea A collection of stories, with a dash of the romance of shipbuilding added to some decidedly abnormal launching events at Newport News Shipbuilding …along with an occasional, unique Sponsor's anecdote|access-date=25 January 2019 |archive-date=15 May 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180515192138/http://nnapprentice.com/alumni/letter/Apprentice_Trivia_021706.pdf}}</ref> The ship was [[Ship naming and launching|christened]] 27 May 1967 by [[Jacqueline Kennedy]] and her 9-year-old daughter, [[Caroline Kennedy|Caroline]], two days short of what would have been President Kennedy's 50th&nbsp;birthday. The ship entered service 7 September 1968.

''John F. Kennedy'' is a modified version of the earlier {{sclass|Kitty Hawk|aircraft carrier}}s.<ref name="DANFS"/> Originally scheduled to be the fourth ''Kitty Hawk''-class carrier, the ship received so many modifications during construction she formed her own class.<ref name="donation"/> The ship was originally ordered as a nuclear carrier, using the [[A3W reactor]], but converted to conventional propulsion after construction had begun.<ref name=friedman/> The island is somewhat different from that of the ''Kitty Hawk'' class, with angled funnels to direct smoke and gases away from the flight deck. ''John F. Kennedy'' is also {{convert|17|ft|m}} shorter than the ''Kitty Hawk'' class.<ref name=friedman/>

After an ORI (operational readiness inspection) conducted by Commander, [[Carrier Strike Group Two|Carrier Division Two]], ''John F. Kennedy'' left for the Mediterranean in April 1969. The ship reached [[Naval Station Rota, Spain|Rota]], Spain on the morning of 22 April 1969 and relieved {{USS|Forrestal|CVA-59|6}}. Rear Admiral Pierre N. Charbonnet, Commander, Carrier Striking Forces, Sixth Fleet, and Commander, Carrier Striking Unit 60.1.9, shifted his flag to ''John F. Kennedy''. The turnover complete by nightfall, the carrier, escorted by destroyers, transited the [[Strait of Gibraltar]] at the start of the mid watch on 22 April. The next day, ''John F. Kennedy'' refueled from {{USS|Marias|AO-57|6}}, and acquired the company of a [[Soviet Navy|Soviet]] {{sclass2|Kotlin|destroyer|1}} (Pennant No. 383).