Following twenty-five years of service, the USS Oriskany, CV/CVA-34, was decommissioned 30 September 1975. She is the worlds first aircraft carrier deployed as an artificial reef.

  In 2004, the Navy decided that she would rest in the Gulf of Mexico 22.5 nm SSE of Pensacola, Florida. The decision was made to place her in Pensacola because of the ideal environmental conditions for the project, the ability for the Pensacola area to maximize the value of the project for the public, and because of Pensacola's historical significance as the "Cradle of Naval Aviation".

  She was skuttled in May of 2006 and sits in 212' of water, with the top of the structure around 55' deep and the flight deck at 130'. She sits on the clean white sand near where the bottom drops off quickly to the south.

  The proximity to clear deep water and the immense structure of the Oriskany brings an impressive array of marine life to the reef, including species commonly found on inshore reefs including all of the tropical species found in the Gulf, large marine animals such as dolphins, turtles, sunfish, manta rays, and whale sharks.

  The USS Oriskany is not only unique for divers because of it's status as the largest intentionally sunk artificial reef in the world - it provides dive and training opportunities for divers of all skill levels as well as presenting the oppurtunity to conduct dives on a historically significant site.