Apr. 14, 1962 - President Kennedy watched a demonstration of the Atlantic Fleet’s air and sea power today off the coast of North Carolina. The sun was shining brightly at 9 a.m. when the command ship, the Northampton, began steaming up between two columns of ships, led by the aircraft carriers Enterprise and Forrestal. As the President watched, the bands played “Hail to the Chief” and salutes were fired from the 48 passing ships. Afterward, the President was flown by helicopter to the Enterprise, the nation’s new nuclear carrier. He went to the flag bridge to see a demonstration of a simulated “hunter-killer” attack on a submarine just ahead of the carrier. After S-2F tracker planes located the submarine, planes dropped high-velocity rockets and depth charges.
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