USS ORISKANY (CVA-34)
USS Oriskany (CVA-34) made her 1966 Western Pacific deployment to the Vietnam Special Operations theater with Attack Carrier Air Wing 16 embarked; the deployment ended early after a fire on 26 October 1966 killed 44 officers and men and forced a return to California.
Ship's data
- Class
- Essex-class (SCB-27A; lead ship, sometimes designated Oriskany-class)
- Hull number
- CVA-34 (redesignated from CV-34, 1 October 1952)
- Laid down
- 1 May 1944, New York Navy Yard, Brooklyn, N.Y.
- Launched
- 13 October 1945
- Commissioned
- 25 September 1950, New York Naval Shipyard
- Decommissioned
- 30 September 1976 (struck 25 July 1989; sunk as an artificial reef off Pensacola, Fla., 17 May 2006)
- Displacement
- 27,100 tons
- Length
- 888 ft
- Beam
- 147 ft 6 in (extreme beam, flight deck)
- Draft
- 31 ft
- Speed
- 33.0 knots
- Complement
- 3,460
- Armament
- 8 × 5-inch guns, 28 × 3-inch guns
- Aircraft
- 80+
Service history
USS ORISKANY (CV-34) was laid down on 1 May 1944 at the New York Navy Yard, Brooklyn, New York. The name had first been assigned to CV-18 (reassigned to WASP in 1942), and she was built instead as CV-34, launched on 13 October 1945. With the Second World War over, her construction was suspended in August 1947 and not resumed until after the outbreak of the Korean War; she was commissioned at the New York Naval Shipyard on 25 September 1950, Captain Percy H. Lyon in command.
She was redesignated an attack aircraft carrier (CVA-34) on 1 October 1952 and flew combat sorties off Korea that winter, earning two battle stars. Under the Essex-class modernization program approved in May 1954, she was rebuilt at the San Francisco Naval Shipyard — a fully angled flight deck, an enclosed hurricane bow, an enlarged combat information center, and (at Puget Sound) more powerful steam catapults — and recommissioned on 7 March 1959, Captain James M. Wright in command. Through the 1960s she deployed repeatedly to the Western Pacific from her San Diego home port.
In 1966 ORISKANY made the Western Pacific / Vietnam War deployment that anchors this page (detailed below); a fire on 26 October 1966 killed 44 of her crew and forced an early return to California for repairs. She continued operations off Vietnam into the mid-1970s, earning ten battle stars for Vietnam service in all. ORISKANY was decommissioned on 30 September 1976, struck from the Navy list on 25 July 1989, and ultimately sunk as an artificial reef off Pensacola, Florida, on 17 May 2006.
Western Pacific / Vietnam War Deployment
26 May – 16 November 1966 · Vietnam Special Operations (SPECOPS) theater — Dixie Station and Yankee Station, off the coast of South Vietnam · Attack Carrier Air Wing 16 (CVW-16)
Oriskany's 1966 cruise was her eighth Western Pacific deployment and her second to the Vietnam Special Operations theater, flying combat operations from Dixie and Yankee Stations with Carrier Air Wing 16. On 26 October 1966 a fire that began in a magazine on the main deck killed 44 officers and men; the damage ended combat operations and forced an early return to California, where the ship arrived 16 November 1966 after a 5½-month deployment.
Air wing & flight operations
| Squadron | Nickname | Aircraft | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| VF-111 | — | Crusader (F-8) | Fighter |
| VF-162 | — | Crusader (F-8) | Fighter |
| VA-152 | — | Skyraider (A-1) | Attack |
| VA-163 | — | Skyhawk (A-4) | Attack |
| VA-164 | — | Skyhawk (A-4) | Attack |
| VFP-63 | — | Crusader (RF-8, photo-reconnaissance variant) | Photographic reconnaissance |
| HC-1 Det G | — | UH-2 Seasprite | Helicopter combat support (detachment) |
Ports of call
- Pearl Harbor, Hawaii
- Yokosuka, Japan
- Subic Bay, Philippines
- Hong Kong
Chronology
- 26 May 1966
- Departed San Diego on her eighth Western Pacific deployment — her second to the Vietnam Special Operations theater — with Carrier Air Wing 16 embarked.
- 1 June 1966
- Arrived Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, for an Operational Readiness Inspection conducted by Commander Fleet Air Hawaii.
- 14 June 1966
- Arrived Yokosuka, Japan; chopped to the Seventh Fleet during the transit.
- 30 June 1966
- Arrived off the coast of South Vietnam and began Special Operations on Dixie Station, commencing her first on-the-line period.
- 8 July 1966
- Moved north to Yankee Station, continuing her first on-the-line period.
- 16 September 1966
- Her helicopters rescued 44 crew members from the British freighter SS August Moon, aground on Pratas Reef, 175 miles southeast of Hong Kong.
- 26 October 1966
- At 0728 local a fire started in a magazine on the main deck, starboard side; all hands engaged in fire-fighting and rescue until it was brought under control at 1035 local. Smoke and heat from the fire resulted in the deaths of 44 officers and men. Fire damage ended combat operations and forced an early return to California. DANFS additionally records 38 injured.
- 6 November 1966
- Memorial services for the 44 who died in the 26 October fire were held about 125 miles northeast of Iwo Jima.
- 16 November 1966
- Entered San Diego and disembarked Air Wing 16 after a 5½-month Western Pacific deployment.
- 21 November 1966
- Home port changed from San Diego to Alameda; departed San Diego for the San Francisco Bay Naval Shipyard, Hunters Point.
- 23 November 1966
- Entered Hunters Point, San Francisco Naval Shipyard, for a restricted-availability period of extensive maintenance and fire-damage repair.
Records held
Deck log — October 1966
Daily deck log, USS Oriskany (CVA-34), October 1966. NARA Catalog NAID 6034991. Primary source.
HeldDeck-log day-pages — 26 & 27 October 1966
Two day-pages (26 & 27 October 1966) captured and extracted; the 27 October page carries the consolidated casualty report.
In QC review1966 Command History (OPNAV Report 5750-1)
Annual command history covering 1 January – 31 December 1966 (OPNAV Report 5750-1), filed in the NHHC Vietnam-era Command Operations Reports collection. As transmitted the report comprises Part One and annexes A–G; the copy held here is Part One plus part of Annex A (annexes B–G not in our copy). Primary source.
HeldSources
- Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS) — Oriskany (CV-18/CV-34), Naval History and Heritage Command (entry updated 16 June 2026) — https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/o/oriskany.html
- Naval History and Heritage Command — USS Oriskany (CVA-34) 1966 Command History (OPNAV Report 5750-1) — https://www.history.navy.mil/content/dam/nhhc/research/archives/command-operation-reports/vietnam/Oriskany%201966.pdf
Products
Deployment Records
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