USS Carl Vinson

USS Carl Vinson (CVN70) is the third Nimitz-class super carrier in the United States Navy. She is named after Carl Vinson, a Congressman from Georgia, in recognition of her service to the U.S. Navy. The ship was launched in the year 1980, made her maiden voyage in the year 1983, and was refueled and overhauled between the years 2005 and 2009. In addition to serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Desert Strike, Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Southern Watch, Carl Vinson was involved in several notable events. Osama bin Laden’s body was buried in the sea from Carl Vinson’s deck in the year 2011. In the year 2009, the United States Navy announced that Carl Vinson would be the flagship of the newly formed Carrier Strike Group One (CSG1).

Seal of the Ship

USS Carl Vinson seal depicts an eagle with outstretched claws and outstretched wings, bearing a banner in its beak. The eagle is a symbol of the nation and the motto of the ship and also represents the power that is in the ship’s plane. The eagle flies in the shape of a stylized letter “V,” the initial of the ship’s namesake, Congressman Carl Vinson. The “V” also represents the hull of the ship when viewed from the bow. On the banner that the eagle carries is the Latin expression “Vis Per Mare”, which means “strength through the sea.”

Mid-life refueling and complex overhaul of USS Carl Vinson

In November 2005, Carl Vinson was the third Nimitz-class airline to undergo a mid-life refueling and complex overhaul (RCOH) that lasted 36 months. The ship left the dry dock in May 2007 to dock at the Northrop Grumman Newport News shipyard dock. Carl Vinson began sea trials on  June 28, 2009 after refueling and returned to Naval Station Norfolk on  July 1, 2009. The Navy returned the carrier to the fleet on  July 11, 2009, after successfully complete your sea trials. In October 2009, Carl Vinson joined Northrop Grumman Newport News for a four-month shipyard maintenance period in preparation for his next transit to the Pacific in the spring. The ship was scheduled to travel across South America to its new home at NAS North Island, San Diego, in early 2010, and join sister carriers USS CVN68 and USS CVN76.

In the year 2020 it was announced that Carl Vinson will relocate to San Diego, increasing the number of San Diego-based carriers from two to three and joining Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln.