Ships from seven of the 10 countries participating in Rim of the Pacific war games will arrive back in Pearl Harbor tomorrow as the big month-long naval exercise comes to an end, the Navy said.

Among the ships making a return tomorrow will be the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk, which is taking part in its last exercise. Ships will be pulling into port at half hour intervals.

The Kitty Hawk was first commissioned in April 1961 and is the nation's oldest active-duty aircraft carrier. Kitty Hawk will be decommissioned at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton, Wash. early next year.

The conventionally-powered Kitty Hawk first participated in Rimpac in 1973. The flattop will be replaced by the nuclear USS George Washington this summer as the Navy's only carrier operating from Japan.

Rimpac is the world's largest biennial maritime exercise. Conducted in the waters off Hawai'i from June 29 and with final reviews by Thursday, this year's Rimpac brought together military forces from Australia, Canada, Chile, Japan, Netherlands, Peru, Republic of Korea, Singapore, United Kingdom and the U.S.

Participating were 35 ships, six submarines, 150 aircraft, and 20,000 sailors, airmen, Marines, soldiers and Coast Guard personnel, the Navy said.

Four ships were sunk in the wargames off Kaua'i including the destroyer Fletcher, which was formerly based at Pearl Harbor; the destroyers David R. Ray and Cushing; and the cruiser Horne.

The heavyweight Mk-48 torpedo and Harpoon missiles were among the armaments used in the "sinkex" drills.

This year's exercise was the 21st in a series of Rimpac exercises conducted periodically since 1971.

The Navy said Rimpac "exhibits our close cooperation with other services and our international partners."