Nimitz class aircraft carrier
The
Nimitz-class supercarriers are the largest
capital ships in the world. All of the ships in this class are
nuclear-powered aircraft carriers. These ships are numbered with consecutive hull numbers starting with CVN 68. The letters "CVN" denote the type of ship: CV is the
hull classification symbol for Aircraft Carriers, and N to indicate nuclear-powered propulsion. The number after the "CVN" means that this is the 68th "CV", or aircraft carrier.
Nimitz (CVN-68), the lead ship of the class, was commissioned in 1975. As of 2006,
George H. W. Bush (CVN-77), the tenth and last of the class, is being built by
Northrop Grumman Newport News and will enter service in 2008.
Bush will be the first transition ship to a new class of carriers (
CVN-21) to start construction in 2007 and will incorporate new technologies including a new
multi-function radar system, volume search
radar and open architecture
information network, and a significantly reduced crew requirement. To lower costs some new technologies were incorporated into
Ronald Reagan, though not nearly as many as will be involved with
Bush.
Because of construction differences between the first three ships (
Nimitz,
Eisenhower and
Vinson) and the latter seven (from
Theodore Roosevelt on), the latter ships are sometimes called
Theodore Roosevelt-class aircraft carriers, though the
U.S. Navy officially holds no difference between the two groups. As the older ships come in for
Refueling and Complex Overhaul (RCOH), they are upgraded to the standards of the latest ships, virtually eliminating differences.
By tonnage,
Nimitz class are by far the largest class of carriers ever built, holding the world record for displacement of any naval vessel. When
Bush is completed, the ten ships of the class will total just under a million tons combined displacement. Although the
Nimitz class ships are the heaviest ships in the US fleet they are not the longest ships in the fleet, as that honor belongs to the carrier
Enterprise.
Nimitz was the first to undergo its initial refueling during a 33-month
Refueling and Complex Overhaul (RCOH) at
Newport News Shipbuilding in
Newport News, Virginia, in 1998.
Dwight D. Eisenhower was next, completing RCOH in 2005.
Carl Vinson began RCOH in late 2005.
* Builder:
Newport News Shipbuilding Company,
Newport News, Virginia* Power Plant: Two
A4W reactors, four shafts
* Length: 333 m (1092 ft) overall
* Flight Deck Width: 76.8 m (252 ft)
* Beam: 41 m (134 ft)
* Displacement: 97,000 tons (98,600 metric tons) full load
* Speed: 30+
knots (56+ km/h)
* Aircraft: 85
** Intended to operate aircraft currently including the
F/A-18 Hornet,
EA-6B Prowler,
E-2 Hawkeye,
C-2 Greyhound,
SH/HH-60 Seahawk, and
S-3 Viking for many missions including self defense, land attack and maritime strike.
* Cost: about US$4.5 billion each
* Average Annual Operating Cost: US$160 million
* Service Life: 50 years
* Crew: Ship's Company: 3,200 — Air Wing: 2,480
* Armament:
** NATO
Sea Sparrow launchers: three or four (depending on modification)
** 20mm
Phalanx CIWS mounts: Three on
Nimitz and
Eisenhower and four on
Vinson and later ships of the class, except
Washington which has three.
**
RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile: Two on
Nimitz,
Washington and
Reagan, will be retrofitted to other ships as they return for RCOH.
* Date Deployed:
3 May 1975 (
Nimitz)
*
List of aircraft carriers*
List of naval ship classes in service
