The National Iron & Steel Heritage Museum
USS Forrestal (CV-59)
USS Forrestal (CV-59), formerly AVT-59 and CVA-59, was a supercarrier named after the first Secretary of Defense James Forrestal. She was the first completed supercarrier, and was the lead ship of her class. Unlike the successor Nimitz-class, the Forrestal and her class were conventionally powered. She superseded the World War II Japanese carrier Shinano as the largest aircraft carrier ever built in terms of full load displacement and was the first to specifically support jet aircraft.

  • Type: Aircraft Carrier 
  • Length: 1,067 ft 
  • Displacement: 82,402 tons - full load
  • Beam: 283 ft 
  • Launched: December 11, 1954