The USS Kitty Hawk riot, sometimes called the Kitty Hawk mutiny, was a race riot which took place on the United States Navy aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk on the night of 11/12 October 1972, off the coast of Vietnam during Operation Linebacker. Many crewmen were injured, but Kitty Hawk participated in Linebacker as assigned. The incident was publicized in The New York Times. Subsequent racial unrest on Kitty Hawk′s sister ship Constellation sparked Congressional hearings to examine race relations in the Navy and policies and programs instituted by Navy leaders to deal with racial issues.