page_title: USS Oriskany (CV-34)
section_title: 1969–1976
hierarchical_section_title: USS Oriskany (CV-34) / Service history / 1969–1976
caption_attribution_description: The U.S. Navy aircraft carriers USS Oriskany (CVA-34), foreground, and USS Bon Homme Richard (CVA-31) underway in the Tonkin Gulf off Vietnam on 14 October 1970. Oriskany, with Carrier Air Wing 19 (CVW-19) embarked, was deployed to Vietnam from 14 May to 10 December 1970.Bon Homme Richard, with Carrier Air Wing 5 (CVW-5) embarked, was deployed to Vietnam from 20 April to 12 November 1970.
context_page_description: USS Oriskany – nicknamed Mighty O, and occasionally referred to as the O-boat – was one of the few Essex-class aircraft carriers completed after World War II for the United States Navy. The ship was named for the Battle of Oriskany during the Revolutionary War.
  The history of Oriskany differs considerably from that of her sister ships. Originally designed as a "long-hulled" Essex-class ship her construction was suspended in 1946. She eventually was commissioned in 1950 after conversion to an updated design called SCB-27, which became the template for modernization of 14 other Essex-class ships. Oriskany was the final Essex-class ship completed.
  She operated primarily in the Pacific into the 1970s, earning two battle stars for service in the Korean War, and ten for service in the Vietnam War. In 1966, one of the worst shipboard fires since World War II broke out on Oriskany when a magnesium flare was accidentally ignited; forty-four men died in the fire.
  Oriskany's post-service history also differs considerably from that of her sister ships. Decommissioned in 1976, she was sold for scrap in 1995, but was repossessed in 1997 because nothing was being done.
context_section_description: The Oriskany arrived at Yankee Station in May 1969; and began combat operations in a much more restricted environment than the previous deployment. Previously, in April 1968, President Johnson had restricted armed attacks south of the nineteenth parallel, which limited strikes to the southern third of North Vietnam. Following a massive six-month interdiction effort that shut down all North Vietnamese rail traffic out of Haiphong, closed two inland waterways and eliminated virtual all coastal shipments, the air campaign was suspended on 1 November 1968. Domestic political considerations, mainly the upcoming presidential elections, played the critical role in this decision as President Johnson was leaving office. With operations focusing further south, the only pilot loss of the cruise took place on 20 July 1969 when Lt. Stanley K. Smiley's Skyhawk crashed and exploded after being hit by small arms fire. The second line period ended on 30 June and, after ten days at Subic, the warship's third line period took place between 13 and 30 July. After a fourth line period between 16 August and 12 September, Oriskany steamed north to Korea to fly intermittent reconnaissance escort missions into early October. During that time, on 20 September 1969, Captain John A. Gillcrist took over as the commanding officer. Following a fifth line period off Vietnam between 8 and 31 October, the aircraft carrier turned for home, arriving at Alameda via Subic Bay on 17 November.
  Following a dry dock period at San Francisco Naval Shipyard over the winter, where the aircraft carrier was modified to support A-7 Corsair II aircraft, Oriskany embarked CVW-19 that spring for refresher operations. In contrast to previous deployments, she carried only four combat squadrons – VF-191 and VF-194 equipped with the familiar F8 Crusaders and VA-153 and VA-155 equipped with A-7. Commencing her fifth Vietnam deployment on 14 May 1970, Oriskany inchopped on 1 June and began combat operations at Yankee Station on 14 June. Like her last deployment, Oriskany launched strikes against North Vietnamese logistics targets in eastern Laos, initially targeting storage areas, bunkers and lines of communication in conjunction with strikes by the Seventh Air Force. Equipped with better electronics gear, the A-7 proved especially useful during night raids on the Ho Chi Minh trail. The missions remained dangerous, however, with an A-7 from VA-155 lost in a failed catapult shot on 25 June and a VA-153 A-7 crashing in Laos on 28 June. In the latter case, the aircraft – flown by Cdr. Donald D. Aldern, then Commander, Air Wing Nineteen – exploded during a night attack run, presumably after taking flak damage. Oriskany conducted three line periods – 14–29 June, 13–21 July, 3–25 August and 18 September to 13 October – and launched over 5,300 sorties. During the latter line period, Captain Frank S. Haak relieved Captain Gillcrist on 11 September 1970, and became the new commanding officer.
  About a month later, during heavy seas, a VF-191 F-8 returning from a night combat air patrol on 6 October crashed the flight deck and exploded, killing Lt. John B. Martin. In November, as part of the Navy's efforts to reduce costs, the number of aircraft carriers off Vietnam was reduced to one, meaning that Oriskany's sole focus in her fourth line period 7–22 November was missions over Laos. In that effort, she joined the Seventh Air Force in strikes against four identified bottleneck points along the Ho Chi Minh Trail. The carrier suffered another deadly accident on 14 November, when an RF-8G from VFP-63 skidded off the flight deck after a material failure caused a failed catapult launch, ultimately causing the death of Lt. Joseph R. Klugg. Then, in an unusual assignment, Oriskany flew 14 diversionary sorties over North Vietnam early on 21 November in support of the Son Tay POW rescue mission and another 48 missions during retaliatory strikes later that day. The aircraft carrier turned for home the next day, arriving in Alameda on 10 December 1970.
  Oriskany underwent a restricted availability at H
caption: Oriskany (foreground) and her sister Bonhomme Richard conducting operations in the Gulf of Tonkin in 1970
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