OTHER DEVELOPMENTS

During the Vietnam era, five new attack carriers joined the fleet, including the world’s first nuclear-powered carrier, USS Enterprise (CVN 65). Vietnam was a different kind of war, a war in which the Navy’s role was ever changing. The Navy used both new and old aircraft—OV-10 Broncos, propeller-driven Skyraiders, attack planes like A-4 Skyhawks and A-7 Corsairs, and fighter planes like F-8 Crusaders. It used various support aircraft for ASW, early warning, and advance communications links. OTHER DEVELOPMENTS Even during the Vietnam Police Action, the Navy was involved in exploration and development. Former Navy pilot Neil Armstrong became the first man to set foot on the moon on July 20, 1969. On November 14, 1969, the all-Navy Apollo 12 crew lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center on the second lunar expedition. The crew consisted of Commanders Charles Conrad and Richard Gordon and Lieutenant Commander Alan Bean. Another all-Navy crew (Captain Charles Conrad, Jr., and Commanders Joseph P. Kerwin and Paul J. Wietz) splashed down on the first Skylab mission on June 22, 1973. The crew set numerous records and accomplished virtually all of its objectives. Space. The Navy stands tall in the first 10 years of manned space exploration. Records show that five of the six men to walk on the surface of the moon during that time had formerly been trained as naval aviators. Research. In the 1960s, Navy scientific undersea research resulted in the USS Alvin. The USS Alvin was the Navy’s first deep diving vehicle. It was successfully tested at 6,000-foot depths on July 20, 1965. The next month, 10 aquanauts, including astronaut Commander M. Scott Carpenter, entered the Sealab II capsule, 205 feet below the surface of the sea off the coast of La Jolla, California. Carpenter remained underwater for 30 days in a successful experiment of submerged living and working conditions. On January 25, 1969, the first nuclear-powered, deep-submergence research and ocean-engineering vehicle, NR-1, was launched. That five-man vessel can operate for weeks at a time at great depths. Weapons. In early 1965 came the announcement of the proposal to develop a new missile for the fleet ballistic missile system—the Poseidon. The growth potential of the ballistic missile submarine launching system has enabled the Poseidon to fit into the same 16-missile tubes that carried the Polaris. Like the Polaris A-3, it is able to reach any spot on earth from its nuclear-powered hiding place. Its increased accuracy, greater payload, and improved ability to penetrate enemy defenses make the Poseidon more effective than the Polaris. On July 19, 1974, construction of the new Trident undersea nuclear weapons system commenced. The Trident system consists of three principal elements: a nuclear-powered fleet ballistic missile submarine (SSBN), a strategic weapons system (the missile), and an integrated logistics support system. The first Trident submarine was the USS Ohio (SSBN-726), a nuclear powered fleet ballistic missile submarine. The USS Ohio was delivered to the Navy in 1981. Since then, the Navy has accepted delivery of 10 more Trident submarines. THE PERSIAN GULF As with other wars, conflicts, or areas of military aggression, U.S. naval forces operate in the hostile area of the Persian Gulf. U.S. naval forces have been present in this vital oil-rich region for many years. The events leading to an increased number of U.S. naval units in the Persian Gulf (fig. 5-20) began in the mid 1980s. Iran and Iraq were at war. Iraq had begun attacking Iranian oil facilities and tankers; in response, Iran began attacks against ships flying flags of countries sympathetic to Iraq. U.S. Navy ships quickly began escort and protection operations for U.S.-flagged tankers. 5-24 Student Notes: Figure 5-20.—Persian Gulf award.