www.aircraftcarrier.com
Honoring the value,
accomplishments and
contributions of U.S. Navy
aircraft carriers, and the
men and women who
serve aboard them.
What is an Aircraft Carrier?
1. A very large ship
Queen
Mary II
USS
Nimitz
Empire
State
Building
1,092 feet long, 252 feet wide, 200 feet tall
Powered by two nuclear reactors – 20 years without refueling
Top speed 35 mph
5,000+ crew – ship's company 3,200; air wing 2,480
Floating airfield with 75 aircraft
Operates 24 hours a day
Launch and land aircraft day or night, in any weather
www.aircraftcarrier.com
2
What is an Aircraft Carrier?
2. A medium-sized city at sea:
Living space for over 5000 people
Dining halls and kitchens serving 4 meals/day
Radio and TV station
Barber shop
Library
Gymnasium
Hospital and dentist office
Shops
Laundry
Post Office
Internet
www.aircraftcarrier.com
3
What is an Aircraft Carrier?
2. A medium-sized city at sea:
… even a Starbuck’s!
www.aircraftcarrier.com
What is an Aircraft Carrier?
3. A very small international airport
Shortest runway at
Washington-Dulles
Not much room to take off or land
The aircraft need help to speed up and stop
www.aircraftcarrier.com
USS Nimitz
(CVN 68)
What is an Aircraft Carrier?
3. A very small international airport
4 arresting wires to
stop aircraft
“The Island” –
control tower
and ship’s bridge
www.aircraftcarrier.com
4 catapults to
launch aircraft
4 elevators to
move aircraft
… and the wings
fold to save
parking space!
4.5 acres of
flight deck
What is an Aircraft Carrier?
3. A very small international airport
The catapult
shoots the
aircraft off the
deck
The tailhook
has to catch a
wire to stop the
aircraft
www.aircraftcarrier.com
What is an Aircraft Carrier?
3. A very small international airport
A hangar bay
below the flight
deck for
maintenance
Aircraft elevators
It can get
crowded!
www.aircraftcarrier.com
What does an Aircraft Carrier do?
1. Provides a movable military base
4.5 acres of US territory
Can strike at enemies or defend our friends
Operates from international waters
No need to get permission from other nations
Can deter others from hostilities
Carrier Strike Group:
Carrier
Guided missile cruiser
Guided missile destroyers
Attack submarine
Supply ships
www.aircraftcarrier.com
What does an Aircraft Carrier do?
1. Provides a movable military base
Aircraft form a Carrier Air Wing:
FA-18C Hornet
Strike fighter (20)
FA-18E/F Super Hornet
Strike fighter (24)
www.aircraftcarrier.com
EA-18G Growler
Electronic warfare (5)
E-2C/D Hawkeye
Airborne Early Warning (4-5)
SH-60/MH-60 Seahawk
Multi-mission helicopter (19)
C-2 Greyhound
Cargo aircraft (2)
What does an Aircraft Carrier do?
2. Launch and recover aircraft
Flight deck is a very dangerous place to work
20-25 high performance aircraft taxiing, taking off or landing
People have different jobs shown by the color of their shirts:
Brown: “Plane Captains” who service and take
care of aircraft.
Blue: Plane handlers, help move aircraft around
the deck, operate elevators and tractors.
Green: Maintain the ship’s catapults, arresting
wire equipment and squadron aircraft.
Purple: “Grapes,” fuel the aircraft.
Red: Firefighters and crew who handle weapons.
White: Medical personnel, safety observers and
Landing Signal Officers (LSOs), who control and
grade pilot landings and make sure the deck is
clear.
Yellow: Aircraft directors and “Shooters”
(catapult officers)
www.aircraftcarrier.com
What does an Aircraft Carrier do?
2. Launch and recover aircraft
Landing on the flight deck is very demanding
Pilot must do 3 things at once:
Glide slope: Not too low, not too
high – keep the “meatball” in the
center
Lineup: Straight down the
centerline, not left or right
Airspeed: Not too slow or too fast
so the hook will catch a wire
… and the ship is moving!
All landings are televised,
recorded, graded and debriefed to
the pilot by the Landing Signal
Officers (LSOs).
Everybody can see your grades.
www.aircraftcarrier.com
What does an Aircraft Carrier do?
3. Humanitarian assistance/disaster relief
Carriers can help victims of hurricanes, floods and earthquakes
Evacuate patients by helicopter
Provide air traffic control
Treat people with a 50-bed hospital manned by six doctors,
including surgeons and dentists
Transport large amounts of food, water and medicine
Serve 18,000 to 20,000 meals per day
Turn 400,000 gallons per day of ocean into pure
drinking water
www.aircraftcarrier.com
How long have we had aircraft
carriers?
Aircraft carriers have been around over 90 years
The first carriers were converted from surface ships
USS Langley (CV 1), 1922
Ships began to be designed and built as carriers
USS Ranger (CV 4), 1934
The first “supercarrier”
USS Forrestal (CV 59), 1955
The first nuclear powered carrier
USS Enterprise (CVN 65), 1961
The current class of carriers
USS Nimitz (CVN 68), 1975
The next class of carriers
USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 79), 2016
www.aircraftcarrier.com
How many aircraft carriers are
there?
•
The U.S. has 10 active carriers:
USS Nimitz (CVN 68), Bremerton, WA
•
They go all over the world
–
–
–
USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69), Norfolk, VA
USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70), San Diego, CA
USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71), San Diego, CA
3-4 are deployed
3-4 are in home port and ready
3-4 are in repair or maintenance
USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72), Newport News, VA
USS George Washington (CVN 73), Norfolk, VA
USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74), Bremerton, WA
USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75), Norfolk, VA
USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76), Yokosuka, Japan
USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77), Norfolk, VA
•
There are two more under
construction:
USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), Newport News,
VA
USS John F. Kennedy (CVN 79), Newport
News, VA
•
Most are named for US presidents
www.aircraftcarrier.com
•
We need about 3 more to respond
to all world crises
What have we learned?
An aircraft carrier is:
A very big ship
A medium sized city
A very small airport – needs catapults and arresting gear
An aircraft carrier:
Protects us and fights wars
Launches and recovers aircraft – very
challenging!
Provides humanitarian assistance/
disaster relief
We have had carriers for over 90
years
We have 10 carriers and need
about 15
Aircraft carriers are cool!
www.aircraftcarrier.com
www.aircraftcarrier.com