In pictures: Farewell USS Kitty Hawk

The oldest active ship in the US Navy, the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk, has left Japan to be decommissioned after nearly half a century of service.

The Kitty Hawk's missions have included deployments to the Arabian Sea in support of the US-led wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

As people on land waved, sailors on board the Kitty Hawk formed the shape of the Japanese word "sayonara" ("goodbye").

Despite some local opposition, the Kitty Hawk will be replaced by the USS George Washington - the first nuclear-powered warship to be stationed in Japan.

More than 40,000 US troops are based in Japan, under a security treaty dating back to the end of World War II.

The Kitty Hawk will make a stop in Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, and then travel to a naval shipyard in Washington state to be decommissioned.

Back

1 2 3 4 5 6

Next