The USS John F. Kennedy begins its departure from Philadelphia ahead of planned dismantling

The decommissioned aircraft carrier formerly known as the USS John F. Kennedy has begun its final journey, departing from its long-held berth in South Philadelphia Thursday morning.

Now, the retired U.S. Navy vessel will head to Brownsville, Texas, on a two-week trip that will end with its dismantling. Its departure from the Navy’s Inactive Ships Maintenance Facility in the Navy Yard, where it has been laid up since 2008, came a day later than initially planned due to high wind conditions, the Navy said in a statement.

The ship’s final voyage was to take it along the Delaware River to the Delaware Bay, and then out to the Atlantic Ocean before arriving on the Texas Gulf Coast for scrapping. It will be visible from waterfronts along its route, the Navy said.

Known affectionately as “Big John,” the ship was commissioned in 1968 and was the Navy’s final conventionally powered aircraft carrier. It remained in service for nearly four decades, conducting 18 deployments around the world, including to the Mediterranean, Tyrrhenian, Ionian, Ligurian, Aegean, and Adriatic Seas.

Following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the USS JFK was used in a number of operations during the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. It was later used as a training platform before being decommissioned in 2007.

A new USS John F. Kennedy — this one a modern, nuclear-powered aircraft carrier — is expected to enter service at some point this year.

Meanwhile, another high-profile large ship in South Philadelphia, the SS United States, remains docked at Pier 82. That ship was scheduled to leave the city late last year, but its departure has since been postponed amid ongoing planning for its transport to Florida, where it is slated to become the world’s largest artificial reef.