Nimitz-class

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Revision as of 04:13, 22 February 2011 by imported>Henry A. Padleckas (→‎Ships: punc)
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In the United States Navy, the ten ships of the Nimitz-class are its major aircraft carriers. The Gerald R. Ford-class carriers, entering construction, will supplement them.[1] They followed the one-of-a-kind USS Enterprise (CVN-65), although some conventionally powered carriers were built after the 1961 Enterprise. By now, all of the conventionally powered aircraft carriers of the U.S. Navy have been decommissioned, leaving only nuclear-powered carriers for the U.S.

Ships

This class of aircraft carriers is named after its lead ship, the USS Nimitz.

CVN 77, USS George H.W. Bush, is intended as a transition between the Nimitz and Ford classes. New features include:[2]

  1. Passive Jet Blast Deflector: Redesigns and new materials mean reduced maintenance costs.
  2. Redesigned island: Improve flight deck access and reduce signature and electronic self-interference.
  3. Other Signature Reduction: Curved flight deck edges, enclosed antenna farms, smaller islands and internal aircraft elevators add up to maximum stealth.
  4. Aircraft Pit Stop: Semi-automated refueling and servicing in a new configuration and deck location provides faster, more efficient airwing pit stops and requires fewer people.
  5. Redesigned Hangar Deck: New designs reduce clutter.
  6. Manpower Reductions: Technology, space rearrangement, operational procedure changes, advanced sensor technologies and condition-based maintenance systems all allow for a smaller, specially-trained crew. Material movement devices, semi-autonomous, gravity compensated weapons handling devices, damage control automation systems and components will reduce the ship's crew and costs.
  7. Reconfigurable Spaces: Life-of-the-ship modular construction designs provide flexibility and reduce cost.
  8. Expanded Bandwidth: More onboard (Local area network_ and offboard capability gives the ship a communications edge.
  9. Zonal Electrical Distribution Systems: Isolate the potential for problems and minimizes the effect on the rest of the ship; crew laptops and other personal electronics, on- and off-duty, have greatly increased electrical demand

Characteristics

  • Builder: Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding., Newport News, VA.
  • First Date Deployed: May 3, 1975 (USS Nimitz)
  • Propulsion: Two nuclear reactors, four shafts
  • Length: 1,092 feet (332.85 meters)
  • Beam: 134 feet (40.84 meters)
  • Flight Deck Width: 252 feet (76.8 meters)
  • Displacement: Approximately 97,000 tons (87,996.9 metric tons) full load
  • Speed: 30+ knots (34.5+ miles per hour)
  • Crew:
    • Ship's Company: 3,200
    • Air Wing: 2,480.
  • Armament: Multiple NATO Sea Sparrow, Phalanx close-in weapons system, and RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM) mounts.
  • Aircraft: Approximately 60+.

Electronics

Typical air wing

References

  1. Fact File, U.S. Navy
  2. CVN 77 George H.W. Bush, Globalsecurity