Free to a good home: USS John F. Kennedy

Who wants a free aircraft carrier?

The USS John F. Kennedy, which is currently docked in Philadelphia, is now available as a donation from the Navy. But not just anyone can take the keys and sail it down the Delaware.

By law, it can go only to a state or local governmental entity, or a nonprofit. It must be turned into a memorial or museum. And whoever gets it must pay for towing.

A Boston city councilman has expressed interest in bringing the 1,052-foot-long vessel to Massachusetts, the Kennedy family's home state.

Philadelphia seems an unlikely destination, though it would be cool to have.

Douglas Oliver, Mayor Nutter's spokesman, did not have an immediate comment about whether the city would be interested in taking the warship, which entered service in 1968 and was decommissioned in 2007.

Nicknamed "Big John," the conventionally powered carrier was used in combat during the first Gulf war and against the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Navy spokeswoman Pat Dolan said such ships are made available if they are deemed historically significant. Examples locally are the battleship USS New Jersey and the USS Olympia, which fought in the Spanish-American War.

Currently there are two battleships that are in the years-long process of being donated, Dolan said.

The deadline for submitting an initial proposal for the carrier is Jan. 22.