“Eye On The World”
CARRIER – Projecting Power
United States Ship Nimitz – a super aircraft carrier of gigantic proportions – projecting power. This might carrier can go almost anywhere in the world at 30 knots and then commence and sustain combat operations – launching or landing a plane EVERY 25 seconds. PBS produced an amazing documentary series entitled: Carrier, Life aboard the Aircraft Carrier USS Nimitz. Through ten hour-long episodes, “Carrier” captures daily life aboard the USS Nimitz Aircraft Carrier during its six-month deployment to the Persian Gulf in 2005. You should really check out the full episodes on Hulu – here’s the preview below.
CARRIER: Preview – Watch FULL Screen
Powered by two nuclear reactors, the Nimitz class “supercarriers” carry a large armament of weapons inside the ship and 90 aircraft on the flight deck.
PBS Series – CARRIER
Keel Laid: June 22, 1968
Launched: May 13, 1972
Commissioned: May 3, 1975
Propulsion: Two nuclear reactors
Speed: 30+ Knots
Overall length: 1,092 feet
Overall width: 252 feet
Beam at waterline: 134 feet
Area of flight deck: About 4.5 acres
Full load displacement: About 95,000 tons
Accommodations: About 6,000 persons
Main Engines: Four
Propellers: Four
Blades on each Propeller: Five
Aircraft elevators: Four
Catapults: Four
Arresting gear cables: Four
The Nimitz reaches over 23 stories high from the keel to the top of the mast.
The Hangar Bay extends for most of the ship’s length. It is used for major repair and shelters the aircraft not needed for that day’s flight schedule.
Four distilling units enable Nimitz engineers to make over 400,000 gallons of fresh water a day, for use by the propulsion plants, catapults and crew.
The Food Services Department provides 18,000-20,000 meals a day.
The Nimitz can stock at least 70 days of refrigerated and dry storage goods.
One barber shop trims over 1,500 heads each week.
The Post Office processes more than one million pounds of mail each year.
Six doctors, including a general surgeon, provide everything from surgery to hydro-therapy. The ship also has five dentists.
The Nimitz also features a 53-bed hospital ward, a three bed ICU, and acts as the hospital ship for the entire Nimitz battle group.
Three chaplains conduct daily religious services in an interdenominational chapel.
Two nuclear reactors provide more power to take up less space than traditional ship propulsion. This allows the ship to store 50 percent more ammunition and almost twice as much aviation fuel as the largest conventional carrier.
| Print article | This entry was posted by Kent Beatty on December 1, 2008 at 1:41 pm, and is filed under The Profession of Arms, Video. Follow any responses to this post through RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site. |
