Nimitz class aircraft carrier

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USS Nimitz
Class overview
Builders:	Newport News Shipbuilding
Operators:	United States Navy
Preceded by:	Kitty Hawk-class
Succeeded by:	Gerald R. Ford-class
In commission:	May 3, 1975
Building:	USS George H. W. Bush
Completed:	10
Active:	USS Nimitz USS Dwight D. Eisenhower USS Carl Vinson USS Theodore Roosevelt USS Abraham Lincoln USS George Washington USS John C. Stennis USS Harry S. Truman USS Ronald Reagan
General characteristics
Displacement:	78,280 tons light 101,196 tons full load
Length:	1,040 ft (317 m) waterline 1,115 ft (340 m) overall
Beam:	134 ft (41 m) waterline 257 ft (78 m) extreme
Draft:	40 feet (12 m)
Propulsion:	2 × Westinghouse A4W nuclear reactors 4 × steam turbines 4 × shafts 260,000 shp
Speed:	30+ knots (56+ km/h)
Range:	Unlimited
Complement:	3,200 ships company 2,500 air wing
Armament:	16-24 surface-to-air missiles 4 close-in weapons systems
Aircraft carried:	85

The Nimitz-class supercarriers are a line of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers in service with the United States Navy, are the largest capital ships in the world, and are considered to be a hallmark in the United States' superpower status. 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" indicates 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, was built by Northrop Grumman Newport News and will enter service in 2009. Bush will be the first transition ship to the Ford class, the first ship of which began construction in 2007 and will incorporate new technologies including a new multi-function radar system, volume search radar, an open architecture information network, and a significantly reduced crew requirement. To lower costs, some new technologies were also incorporated into Ronald Reagan, the previous carrier to the Bush, 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 considers them to all be in one class.^[1] As the older ships come in for Refueling and Complex Overhaul (RCOH), they are upgraded to the standards of the latest ships.^[2]

By tonnage, Nimitz class are the largest class of carriers built so far, holding the world record for displacement of any naval war 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 distinction belongs to the carrier Enterprise.

Nimitz was the first to undergo her initial refueling during a 33-month 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. USS Abraham Lincoln entered dry dock at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard on September 8, 2006, leaving ahead of schedule on December 18.^[2]

Contents 1 General characteristics 2 Ships in class 2.1 USS Nimitz (CVN-68) 2.2 USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) 2.3 USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) 2.4 USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) 2.5 USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) 2.6 USS George Washington (CVN 73) 2.7 USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) 2.8 USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) 2.9 USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) 2.10 USS George H. W. Bush (CVN 77) 3 References 4 See also

[edit] General characteristics

• 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 - 78.4 m (252 - 257 ft 5 in)
• Beam: 41 m (134 ft)
• Displacement: 98,235 - 104,112 tons full load
• Speed: 30+ knots (56+ km/h)
• Aircraft: 85 (current wings are closer to 64, including 48 tactical and 16 support aircraft)
  • 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
• Range: Capable of continously operating for 20 years without refueling
• 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)
  • 20 mm Phalanx CIWS mounts: Three on Nimitz and Dwight D. Eisenhower and four on Carl Vinson and later ships of the class, except Theodore Roosevelt and George Washington which have three. (USS Ronald Reagan has none, initially outfitted with Rolling Airframe Missile system during construction)
  • RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile: Two on Nimitz, George Washington and Ronald Reagan, will be retrofitted to other ships as they return for RCOH.
• Date Deployed: May 3, 1975 (Nimitz)

[edit] Ships in class

The United States Navy lists the following ships in the Nimitz class:^[1]

[edit] References

GlobalSecurity article on Nimitz Class carriers Naval Vessel Register page for USS Nimitz

[edit] See also

• List of aircraft carriers
• List of naval ship classes in service
• Modern US Navy carrier operations

v • d • e Nimitz-class aircraft carrier Nimitz subclass Nimitz | Dwight D. Eisenhower | Carl Vinson Theodore Roosevelt subclass Theodore Roosevelt | Abraham Lincoln | George Washington | John C. Stennis | Harry S. Truman Ronald Reagan subclass Ronald Reagan | George H. W. Bush List of aircraft carriers of the United States Navy

v • d • e Aircraft carrier classes in service Admiral Kuznetsov • Cavour • Centaur / Viraat • Chakri Naruebet • Charles de Gaulle • Enterprise • Giuseppe Garibaldi • Invincible • Kitty Hawk • Nimitz • Principe de Asturias • Clemenceau / São Paulo