Aircraft Carrier Facts
There seems to be a great interest in the arms that this country possesses. While many of our weapons are classified and thus secret, there are some major ones that are open to view. Among these weapons are ships. It is pretty hard to hide a ship, although nothing would surprise me today. If we look over what the world has in aircraft carriers here is what we find:
USS Ronald Reagan We have a concept program for a class of aircraft carrier that is said to have evolved from the Nimitz Class. So far it is called the CVNX design. When I investigated a little, I found that the navy thought it would be more efficient and cheaper to start with the Nimitz class carrier plans and modify them as needed rather than start from scratch. Two of these carriers have been planned. One is the CVNX 1 and it is scheduled to be built in 2013 and the second is the CVNX 2 which is scheduled to be built in 2018. These ships are said to be able to operate with a much smaller complement of personnel. Supposedly they will have a new propulsion engine and electronic catapults. It is being said that the final Nimitz carrier to roll out of the shipyard will also contain some of these improvements. The Nimitz class carriers displace between 101,000 and 104,000 tons under a full load and are about 1092 feet long X 250 feet wide X 37-39 feet high in size. They are powered by two reactors and 280,000 horsepower is produced. The admitted speed is 30+ knots and the crew size is about 6,000 if you include the air wing and ship’s crew. These ships can carry over 80 aircraft of all different types. We have the following Nimitz class ships on duty: CVN 68 Nimitz One more ship of the Nimitz class is scheduled to be built. Whether it will make it, or be cut from the budget remains to be seen.
US Carrier Strike Force Another class of carrier is the John F. Kennedy class. There is only one carrier in this class. It displaces 83,100 tons loaded and has the following dimensions, 1052 feet long X 267 feet wide X 37 feet high. It has 8 boilers and puts out 280,000 horsepower and has an admitted speed of 30+ knots. Its crew is smaller than the Nimitz class and is comprised of 4,870 and carries 80+ aircraft. Another class of carrier with only one ship is the Enterprise class. It has a displacement of 93,300 tons under full load and its size is 1101 feet long X 248 feet wide X 39 feet high. It used 8 nuclear reactors and puts out 280,000 horsepower and also has an admitted speed of 30+ knots. It has a crew of about 5,770 and carries 80+ aircraft. Before I go any further, I would like to say that some of these admitted numbers are obviously hiding the truth. The speed of these ships is claimed to be a lot faster. I am also suspect of the horsepower, since showing the true horsepower would allow an approximation of the speed. Some of these ships could also hold more planes than show. Notice how the much shorter Kennedy is listed as holding 80+ planes. We had two aircraft carriers in the Kitty Hawk class. They were the Kitty Hawk and Constellation, but the Constellation was decomissioned in 2003 and the Kitty Hawk was decomissioned a few months ago on 31 January 2009. The United States is not the only country with aircraft carriers. When we send our carriers out they are part of a large battle group, now called a carrier strike force, that includes one aircraft carrier, 2 guided missile cruisers, 2 anti aircraft warships, 1 or 2 anti submarine destroyers or frigates. While it isn’t stated submarines may join the group.
Italian Aircraft Carrier Cavour Other countries with carrier strike forces are: There is a debate going on now, on the vulnerability of the carrier group. With huge advances in torpedoes, smart bombs and missiles the carrier group is more susceptible to damage than ever before. A torpedo traveling from 300-600 miles per hour through the water leaves little time to defend against. The same is true for an incoming missile. While we don’t hear much about protection from these new torpedoes, we know that there are different anti-missile systems that have been put into place. Will the aircraft carrier remain a significant weapon into the future, or will it just become a large target? |
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