FORRESTAL AVT 59
Ship Name and Designation History
This section lists the names and designations that the ship had during its lifetime. The list is in chronological order.
Keel Laid 14 July 1952 as Large Aircraft Carrier (CVB) Redesignated Attack Carrier (CVA) during construction Launched 11 December 1954 |
This section lists active links to the pages displaying covers associated with the ship. There should be a separate set of pages for each incarnation of the ship (ie, for each entry in the "Ship Name and Designation History" section). Covers should be presented in chronological order (or as best as can be determined).
Since a ship may have many covers, they may be split among many pages so it doesn't take forever for the pages to load. Each page link should be accompanied by a date range for covers on that page.
Postmarks
This section lists examples of the postmarks used by the ship. There should be a separate set of postmarks for each incarnation of the ship (ie, for each entry in the "Ship Name and Designation History" section). Within each set, the postmarks should be listed in order of their classification type. If more than one postmark has the same classification, then they should be further sorted by date of earliest known usage.
A postmark should not be included unless accompanied by a close-up image and/or an
image of a cover showing that postmark. Date ranges MUST be based ONLY ON COVERS IN
THE MUSEUM and are expected to change as more covers are added.
>>> If you have a better example for any of the postmarks, please feel free to replace the
existing example.
Postmark Type |
Postmark Date |
Thumbnail Link To Close-Up Image |
Thumbnail Link To Full Cover Image |
---|
Locy Type FDC 2 |
1955-10-01 |
CVA-59. First Day of Commissioning, rubber stamp cachet.
Locy Type 2 |
1955-10-25 |
As CVA-59
Locy Type 2 |
1959-10-27 |
As CVA-59
Locy Type |
1965-09-19 |
As CVA-59
Locy Type |
1962-05-16 |
As CVA-59
Locy Type |
1965-09-19 |
As CVA-59
Locy Type |
1977-09-17 |
As CV-59
Locy Type |
1982-12-25 |
As CV-59
Locy Type |
1985-10-13 |
As CV-59
Navy Day. Cachet by the Stephen Decatur Chapter No. 4, USCS
Locy Type |
1990-12-25 |
As CV-59
Locy Type |
1990-10-01 |
As CV-59. 35th Anniversary, cachet by Stephen Decatur Chapter No. 4, USCS
Locy Type |
1993-09-11 |
As AVT-59. Inactivation Ceremony, cachet by the Stephen Decatur Chapter No. 4, USCS
Locy Type |
1971-10-18 |
As CVA-59
Locy Type |
1971-10-18 |
As CVA-59
Locy Type |
1968-09-02 |
As CVA-59
Locy Type |
1987-11-21 |
As CV-59. Dependent's Cruise, cachet by Stephen Decatur Chapter No. 4, USCS
Locy Type |
1990-10-01 |
As CV-59. 35th Anniversary, cachet by Stephen Decatur Chapter No. 4, USCS
Locy Type |
1992-02-04 |
As AVT-59
Locy Type |
1992-02-04 |
As AVT-59
Locy Type |
1993-09-30 |
Decommissioning, cachet by Stephen Decatur Chapter No. 4, USCS
Locy Type |
1993-09-30 |
Decommissioning, cachet by Stephen Decatur Chapter No. 4, USCS
USPS Pictorial Postmarks
USPS |
1983-07-15 |
Shipmate Reunion. Cachet by Stephen Decatur Chapter No. 4, USCS
USPS |
1983-07-16 |
Shipmate Reunion. Cachet by Stephen Decatur Chapter No. 4, USCS
USPS |
1983-09-30 |
Decommissioning. Cachet by Stephen Decatur Chapter No. 4, USCS. From the George Marcincin collection.
Other Information
USS FORRESTAL earned the Joint Meritorious Unit Award Ribbon, the Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation Ribbon (3 awards), the Navy "E" Ribbon (2 awards), the Navy Expeditionary Medal (2 awards), the National Defense Service Medal (2 awards), the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal and the Vietnam Service Medal (w/ 1 Campaign star) during her Naval career.
NAMESAKE - James Vincent Forrestal (1892-1949)
Forrestal was named First Under Secretary of the Navy in August 1940, charged with building the world's largest Fleet. His brilliant work in procurement and production led to his appointment as the 48th Secretary of the Navy in May 1944. Forrestal carried out this new assignment with such distinction that he was the natural choice as the first Secretary of Defense, a position to which he was appointed in September 1947, and in which he continued outstanding service to the Nation, until he resigned in March 1949. He had served in the U.S. Navy as a naval aviator during World War I.
The ships sponsor was Mrs. Josephine Forrestal, widow of Secretary of Defense Forrestal.
If you have images or information to add to this page, then either contact the Curator or edit this page yourself and add it. See Editing Ship Pages for detailed information on editing this page.
Copyright 2024 Naval Cover Museum