I am looking to make contact with personnel who were aboard the USS Nimitz (CVN 68) during that vessel's time in the Arabian Gulf, March to June 1993. I am fairly sure that I have identified the correct carrier, as I don't think there was more than one carrier in the Arabian Gulf during Operation Southern Watch in 1993. If my research is correct, the USS Nimitz relieved the USS Kitty Hawk in the Arabian Gulf, and was then itself relieved by the USS Abraham Lincoln.
The reason for this thread is that I am hoping one or more of the personnel aboard the Nimitz will have photos or video of a flyby of the carrier that was undertaken by a Royal Air Force Victor K2 tanker aircraft. I cannot be sure of the exact date of the flyby (precise details were
not recorded in the logbook, sadly) but I know that it was in
the period 19 to 26 May inclusive.
Just in case readers of this post cannot recall what the Handley Page Victor K2 tanker looks like, here is a random, representative photo of the aircraft type:
Handley Page HP-80 Victor K2 - UK - Air Force | Aviation Photo #1472774 | Airliners.net
The flyby took several days of arranging and on the day there were a lot of frequency changes and radar identification manoeuvres required (unsurprisingly!) before a descent to, and just-above-deck-level flyby down the one side of, the Nimitz was carried out.
We spent a few years using the Victor K2 to refuel US Navy aircraft in Operation Desert Shield, Operation Desert Storm and thereafter, and I am hopeful that Nimitz personnel who saw the carrier flyby will remember the event, as the Victor K2 was an unusual looking aircraft. The view of the Nimitz from the Victor cockpit was
certainly memorable - it really is a
big ship when seen close-up, and it had what looked like an entire air force topside!
If anyone has any surviving photos or video of the Victor flyby I would be very pleased to hear from them.
Please contact me via Private Messaging on this website and we can then arrange to communicate by email. If you know of any friends or colleagues who were aboard the Nimitz in the Arabian Gulf in 1993, then please bring this thread to their attention. Alternatively, if you have access to any US Naval social forums or similar and could publicise this thread thereon, that would be greatly appreciated. I am positive that there
must be somebody out there with photos or video of the flyby. Many thanks!
PS: Unfortunately, we did not have any cameras on board the Victor K2 so there are no 'reciprocal' photos of the event.
