USS Forrestal (CV-59) 1975 Cruise Varsity Jacket

USS Forrestal (CVA-59, later CV-59) was the first purpose-built supercarrier of the postwar era, commissioned in 1955 and named for James V. Forrestal, the first Secretary of Defense. Her angled flight deck and immense size set the template for every fleet carrier that followed, and she deployed repeatedly to the Mediterranean with the Sixth Fleet as one of the most powerful warships afloat. Forrestal served until her decommissioning in 1993.

This heavyweight letterman jacket marks 1975 — the year Forrestal was redesignated CV-59, reflecting her expanded multi-mission role as the Navy's first supercarrier entered a new era.