Nimitz class aircraft carrier

USS Nimitz in 1997

The Nimitz class supercarriers are the largest warships in the world. All of the ships in this class are nuclear-powered carrier vessels (CVN).

Nimitz, the lead ship of the class, was commissioned in 1975; Bush, the tenth and last of the class, will be 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.

Because of construction differences between the first three ships (Nimitz, Eisenhower and Vinson) and the latter seven (Theodore Roosevelt on), the latter ships are sometimes called Theodore Roosevelt-class aircraft carriers, though the US Navy officially holds no difference between the two groups.

Nimitz was the first to undergo its initial refueling during a 33-month Refueling Complex Overhaul at Newport News Shipbuilding in Newport News, Virginia, in 1998.

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 m (252 ft)
Beam: 41 m (134 ft)
Displacement: 98,500 tons full load, somewhat less than big cruise ships
Speed: 30+ knots (56+ km/h) -- in June 1999, the USN publicly released these trial speeds:
- Nimitz: 31.5 knots (58.3 km/h)
- Theodore Roosevelt: 31.3 knots (58.0 km/h)
- Harry S Truman: 30.9 knots (57.2 km/h)
Aircraft: 85
- Intended to operate fighter aircraft including the F/A-18, bombers and other military aircraft for many missions including self defense, land attack and maritime strike.
Cost: about US$4.5 billion each
Crew: Ship's Company: 3,200 - Air Wing: 2,480
Armament:
- NATO Sea Sparrow launchers: two or three (depending on modification)
- 20mm Phalanx CIWS mounts: Three on Nimitz and Dwight D. Eisenhower and four on Vinson and later ships of the class
- RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile: Two on Nimitz and Ronald Reagan, will be refit to other ships as they return for RCOH.
Date Deployed: May 3, 1975 (USS Nimitz)

Ships

Nimitz-class aircraft carrier

List of aircraft carriers of the United States Navy