Warbird Information Exchange

Just an idle curiosity here, when did the US Navy begin allowing females to serve on aircraft carriers?

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According to Wiki:

In October 1994, (CVN-69, USS Dwight D. Eisenhower) departed for a six-month deployment which included flying missions in support of Operation Southern Watch and Operation Deny Flight. This deployment marked the first time that women had deployed as crew members of a U.S. Navy combatant. Eisenhower, Carrier Air Wing Three, and the Commander, Cruiser-Destroyer Group Eight staff team included more than 400 women.

However, back in the mid-70's, women were already serving on non-combatants, like supply ships. Also, there were instances of day cruises on carriers for women out of Norfolk to familiarize them with fleet ops so they better understood their roles ashore. I know this because my girlfriend (a "WIN" (Women In the Navy, as they were called at that time, not WAVES anymore--seriously...you just can't make-up shix this good! ) took such a day cruise on the USS John F. Kennedy in 1978.

--Tom

Wiki may be incorrect. I was honorably discharged from active Navy service in April 1993 after serving in VF 211 at NAS Miramar. I just missed (by days) deploying aboard the USS Nimitz for the 1993 westpac cruise (I did deploy with VF 211 aboard the Nimitz in 1991). There was talk of the Nimitz's relief (the Abe Lincoln IIRC) sailing with women aboard. I remember thinking at the time that I was getting out of the Navy just in time.

Big Abe deployed with women as part of the air wing. My sister (all 98 pounds soaking wet) was in VA-75 and qualled as flightdeck troubleshooter in the Airframes shop.

Somewhere, I have a photo of her final checking an Intruder on the cat.

Funny note....a few years later when I made a port call in Dubai I found the Sunday Puncher zapper with her name scrawled on it still stuck on the pizza hut trailer on base. I stuck a VFA-97 sticker next to it and added my scrawl.

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Rob

According to the Wiki on USS Abraham Lincoln, BCA and Rob are correct as to when air wings first deployed women on an aircraft carrier. The ship was still all male; only the air wing had females aboard for that cruise:

Abraham Lincoln was to be the first carrier to integrate female aviators into the crew after the Combat Exclusion Laws were lifted on 28 April 1993. The ship left San Diego on October 24,1994, to begin refresher training. The next day, Lieutenant Kara Spears Hultgreen, first female F-14 Tomcat pilot, died when her plane crashed into the sea on final approach due to a combination of engine malfunction and pilot error.


--Tom

Hey m50a1ontos,

I was an airframes flightdeck trouble-shooter and final checker. I got out as an AMS3. VF 211 (and our sister squadron VF 24) were flying F14Bs with the GE F110 engines on the 1991 Westpac. I remember my time on the flightdeck cats as some of the most exhilarating of my life.

We hit Dubai three times while in the Persian Gulf and Thailand on the way back. I remember that our relief was late in getting to the Gulf because Mount Pinatubo erupted in the Phillipines and they were delayed there helping out with relief missions.

In 1992 VF 211 and VF 24 were the first west coast fleet Tomcat squadrons to drop live 1000 pounders (Mk 82s?) from F14s. Somewhere I have photos of our "ordies" bombing up the aircraft.

Good times.

Good times indeed! I remember giving the Turkey mechs no end of greif over their beloved "Bombcats" dropping air to mud stuff. Like a supersonic A-6 LOL!

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Rob

Except that my beloved Intruders carried a bunch more stuff that goes "boom!!!"
and they were almost as loud...

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StudeDave