USS America, Buried At Sea!

The carrier USS America (CV-66) now lies beneath the surface of the Atlantic, scuttled by the Navy. Pat Dolan, a spokesman for Naval Sea Systems Command in Washington, DC, confirmed the “controlled” sinking took place at approximately 11:30 a.m. on May 14. The decommissioned ship, out of service since 1996, was the target of a series of tests designed to try out new defense and damage control systems for the CVN-21 carrier program. It was the largest ship deliberately sunk by the Navy. In fact, the America was the largest warship ever sunk by any means, in war or peace. Tom Tramantano, president of the USS America Carrier Veterans Association Inc., a group that had been trying to save the carrier and turn it into a museum, called it a “sad day.” “I feel I really haven’t had time to mourn,” said Tramantano, who served on the America as a lithographer third class during the ship’s 1968 Vietnam deployment. Tramantano said the group will now focus its efforts toward getting the next class of carriers named after the America. “There’s some anger in me that they would allow a ship with the country’s name to be sunk,” he said. “But I’m also proud that the testing may do some future good.”USS America (CV-66)