USS Oriskany

USS Oriskany (CV/CVA-34) – 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 American Revolutionary War.

The construction of the Oriskany differed considerably from that of her sister ships. Originally designed as a "long-hulled" Essex-class ship (considered by some authorities to be a separate class, the Ticonderoga class), her construction was started during World War II but not completed until after the war had ended. She was modernized to operate jet aircraft as a part of the SCB-27 program and was subsequently modernized to operate in an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) role, as an attack carrier (CVA), and then eventually to the role of an antisubmarine aircraft carrier (CVS).

Oriskany was the final Essex-class ship completed. She operated primarily in the Pacific into the 1970s, earning two Battle Stars during the Korean War and ten during the Vietnam War.

Decommissioned in 1976, she was sold for scrap in 1995 but was repossessed in 1997 because nothing had been done. In 2004 it was decided to sink her as an Artificial reef off the coast of Florida in the Gulf of Mexico. After much environmental review and remediation to remove toxic substances, she was carefully sunk in May 2006, settling in an upright position in 212 feet (65 m) of water. As of 2008, Oriskany is the largest vessel ever sunk to make a reef.

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