161094 '011' Northrop Grumman E-2C Hawkeye US Navy on the deck of USS Nimitz (CVN-68) moored in the Solent in 1980

A unique visit to the mighty USS Nimitz moored in Stokes Bay, the Solent.
In September 1980, I was fortunate enough to obtain a pass to get a tour of the nuclear aircraft carrier USS Nimitz [CVN-68] when she was moored out in the Solent. It was a very memorable day! Here's one of the shots that I captured on the flight deck 😎 :)

161094 Code '011' of VAW-124 'Bear Aces' a 1960s built Northrop Grumman E-2C Hawkeye on board the Nimitz :)

Flown by a United States Navy airborne early warning and control squadron VAW-124 based at Naval Air Station Norfolk, Norfolk, Virginia. Sadly written off on 17th August 1985 see: aviation-safety.net/wikibase/28612 [Info courtesy Fred Taylor]

And courtesy of Hampshire Airfields - a fantastic online resource - here is the complete complement of aircraft that were on board (aircraft that I photographed in bold):

USS NIMITZ. CVN-68 CVW-8 (AJ)

VF-41 F-14A 160408/100, 160410/101, 160402/102, 160381/104, 161143/106, 160385/107, 160411/110, 160409/111, 160404/112
HANGAR - 160387/105
VF-84 F-14A 160386/200, 160414/201, 160405/202, 160413/203, 160384/204, 160382/206, 160394/212, 161138/221, 161140/222
HANGAR - 161141/223
VA-82 A-7E 158025/300, 159301/301, 157580/302, 157456/305, 158836/306, 159261/313, 157480/314, 156822/315
HANGAR - 159303/303, 157493/311
VA-86 A-7E 159306/401, 158820/402, 159308/403, 156820/404, 157573/406, 158662/410, 157510/412, 158825/413
HANGAR - 159292/400, 159263/405
VA-35 A-6E 155615/500, 160996/501, 155684/502, 157026/503, 155703/505, 157002/510, 157010/511
HANGAR - 155718/504, 155712/506
VA-35 KA-6D 151783/522, 154133/523
HANGAR - 155691/520, 149942/521
VS-24 S-3A160137/700, 160138/701, 159769/702, 159763/703, 160150/706, 159731/707, 160147/711
HANGAR - 159734/704, 159741/705, 159743/712
HS-9 SH-3G 152132/730, 149898/731, 148999/732, 149717/735, 148995/736
HANGAR - 149735/734
HS-1 (AR) SH-3A 148046/728
HANGAR - 148970/724
VAW-124 E-2C 161094/011, 159498/012, 158644/013
HANGAR - 160418/010

Total complement - 75 aircraft

USS Nimitz (CVN-68) is an aircraft carrier of the United States Navy, and the lead ship of her class. One of the largest warships in the world, she was laid down, launched, and commissioned as CVAN-68, "aircraft carrier, attack, nuclear powered", but she was later redesignated as CVN-68, "aircraft carrier, multi-mission, nuclear-powered", on 30 June 1975, as part of a fleet-wide realignment that year.

The ship was named after World War II Pacific fleet commander Chester W. Nimitz, USN, (1885–1966), who was the Navy's third fleet admiral. Nimitz had her homeport at Naval Station Norfolk until 1987, when she was relocated to Naval Station Bremerton in Washington (now part of Naval Base Kitsap). Following her Refueling and Complex Overhaul in 2001, her home port was changed to Naval Air Station North Island in San Diego County, California. The home port of Nimitz was again moved to Naval Station Everett in Washington in 2012.

In January 2015, Nimitz changed home port from Everett back to Naval Base Kitsap. With the inactivation of USS Enterprise in 2012 and decommissioning in 2017, Nimitz is now the oldest U.S. aircraft carrier in service, and the oldest serving aircraft carrier in the world. More on USS Nimitz here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Nimitz

The Northrop Grumman E-2 Hawkeye is an American all-weather, carrier-capable tactical airborne early warning (AEW) aircraft. This twin-turboprop aircraft was designed and developed during the late 1950s and early 1960s by the Grumman Aircraft Company for the United States Navy as a replacement for the earlier, piston-engined E-1 Tracer, which was rapidly becoming obsolete. The aircraft's performance has been upgraded with the E-2B and E-2C versions, where most of the changes were made to the radar and radio communications due to advances in electronic integrated circuits and other electronics. The fourth major version of the Hawkeye is the E-2D, which first flew in 2007. The E-2 was the first aircraft designed specifically for its role, as opposed to a modification of an existing airframe, such as the Boeing E-3 Sentry. Variants of the Hawkeye have been in continuous production since 1960, giving it the longest production run of any carrier-based aircraft. More info here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northrop_Grumman_E-2_Hawkeye

Taken with a Soviet made Zenith E camera and standard lens. From an original slide, scanned and unrestored.

You can see a random selection of my aviation memories here: www.flickriver.com/photos/heathrowjunkie/random/

Taken in: UK / England / Nettlestone and Seaview (show map)

Taken on: September 25, 1980

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