USS NIMITZ CLASS
USS NIMITZ CLASS
AIRCRAFT CARRIERS.
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These carriers were named after Admiral Chester W Nimitz ( 1885-1966 ), who became the commander-in-Chief of the US Pacific fleet following the attack on Pearl Harbour on 7th December 1941 by the Imperial Japanese Navy. He later became the Commander-In-Chief of the entire US Naval fleet in 1945. ==============================X============================== The Nimitz class aircraft carriers are the worlds largest warships. with a displacement of 95,000 tons up to 102,000 tons and a flight deck of over 1,000 feet long. Each carrier is complimented with a crew of approximately 6,000. Consisting of 3,184 personnel (with 203 officers); 2,800 aircrew (with 366 officers); and 70 flag crew (with 25 officers). Aircraft carriers such as the Nimitz class provide a visible threatening presence that demonstrates superiority of the nation that has sent it namely the USA. The carrier is the Queen on the chessboard of the game of warfare and it has its supporting pieces on this board such as destroyers, frigates, missile cruisers, submarines, mine sweepers and cruisers.
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On The Flight Deck. Nimitz class aircraft carriers are equipped with four catapults and four arresting gear engines to enable the launch and recovery of aircraft in rapid momentum. The carriers normally carry onboard seven different types of aircraft and the 4.5 acre flight-deck becomes the most dangerous place in the world to work. Four huge elevators bring the aircraft out of the hanger below decks and tractors help to position the planes on the flight deck ready for take off. Aviation fuel is pumped up from tanks below, and bombs, missiles and other ordnance are also brought up from the arsenal below decks. Powerful steam catapults "Fat Cats" accelerate 35+ ton jets from 0 to 180 MPH in three seconds and to a height of 300 feet. The weight of each aircraft is calculated to the amount of thrust that should be provided by the catapult to launch it. A steel arrester pole attaches to the front wheel assembly on the plane and breaks off when the plane has reached the right amount of thrust as an extra safety measure. When landing, pilots use a system of lenses and lights to help guide the aircraft correctly in alignment to the deck. There are Four arresting wires, that help to ' catch ' the plane on landing, each consisting of two-inch thick steel hawsers that are connected to huge hydraulic rams below decks, these arrest landing aircraft going as fast as 180 miles per hour to a dead stop in the limited space of about 400 feet. Above the flight deck is a team of crew that act the same as a civilian control tower crew and co-ordinate the entire process of ' bringing one in ' all of this is simultaneously co-coordinated from the crew on deck level, who, I hasten to add, are positioned well clear of the landing area. If a planes approach is not judged to be correct then the pilot will get a ' wave off ' from the ground crew and will have to re-attempt the landing after a circular fly pass. The flight deck crew are identified by the various colour coding of their smocks, RED for crash, ordnance and rescue teams, BROWN for chain runners and wheel chocks, BLUE for tractor drivers and transport teams, GREEN for landing stabiliser teams, PURPLE for fuel emergency teams and YELLOW for air marshals officers in charge wear WHITE.
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The carriers normally carry enough food and supplies to operate for 90 days. Four distilling units enable Nimitz-class engineers to make over 400,000 gallons of fresh water from seawater a day, for use by the propulsion plants, high pressure steam catapults and crew necessity's. The carrier normally carries 3 million gallons of fuel for her aircraft and escorts, and enough weapons and stores for extended operations without replenishment. Nimitz class carriers are self sufficient in every way including repair shops both electrical and mechanical from the most mundane welding jobs to the most intricate micro-electrical repairs. Nimitz class carriers also have every imaginable amenity available just as a small city would, including a cinema, hospital, post office, television stations, Nimitz print press producing news paper weeklies, a fire department, hairdressers, supermarket, swimming baths, games centres, library, educational centres just to name a few. Life on board a modern carrier such as the Nimitz is not that different from living in any city, and it would be hard to tell that you were actually onboard a ship until you looked out of the window ! ==============================X============================== Overview Of The Nimitz Class. A Nimitz class aircraft carrier is in all effect a fully mobile airfield capable of launching four aircraft a minute and can intervene rapidly to any crisis anywhere in the world at any time. The strategic role that the carrier gives is very important and imposing, a role that is realised by the enemy, thus the carrier is a magnificent target and presents itself as a great threat to be removed, and a single modern, high powered, high explosive torpedo can destroy a carrier with one hit ! Nimitz class aircraft carriers are subsequently equipped with awesome firepower and the very latest ultra high technological weapon systems. All Nimitz class carriers are nuclear powered, they are built by ' Newport News Shipbuilding ' which is based in Virginia. There will be a total of 10 Nimitz class carriers ( 2 under construction ) and these are, USS Nimitz, commissioned in 1975 USS Dwight D Eisenhower, commissioned in October 1977 USS Carl Vinson, (seen below ) commissioned March 1982
USS Theodore Roosevelt, commissioned in Oct 1986 USS Abraham Lincoln, (seen below) commissioned in November 1989
USS George Washington, ( seen below ) commissioned in July 1992
USS John C Stennis, commissioned in December 1995 USS Harry S Truman, ( seen below ) commissioned in July 1998
USS Ronald Reagan will be commissioned in March 2003 A tenth and possibly the last Nimitz class carrier will be commissioned in about 2008. It will be equipped with so much technology that the crew requirement will be reduced. ==============================X============================== Basic Specification Of The Nimitz Class Aircraft Carriers. Power plant 2 Nuclear A4W water pressurised General Electric reactors sending power to four turbines of 260,000 hp through four prop shafts to 5 bladed propellers. The carrier's two nuclear reactors give her virtually unlimited range and endurance The carrier has enough electrical generating power to supply electricity to a city with a population of 100,000. Max speed 31 knots There are also four emergency diesel engines of 10,720 hp each. Dimensions. 1.092 feet ( 332.85 meters) in length. Flight deck width 252 feet ( 76.8 meters) Beam of 123 feet (40.84 meters) Armament Four Raythoen/General Electric Dynamics 20mm Phalanx 6 barreled Mk 15 computer controlled weapons systems. @ 3,000 rounds per minute fire cycle to 1.5 km range.
Over-view of the Raytheon / Phalanx Close-In Weapons system. Primary Function:
Anti-missile defense. Sea- Sparrow Three Raytheon GMLS Mk 29 8 cell NATO semi-active radar guided Sea-sparrow surface to Air missiles @ 14.5 Km range.
Sea-sparrow is a radar-guided, short-to-medium range missile capable of destroying both aircraft and cruise missiles. Raytheon RAM anti-missile defense system. ==============================X============================== Typical Aircraft Carried Twenty F-14D Tomcat fighters ( seen below )
==============================X============================== Thirty-six F/A-18 Hornet fighters ( seen below )
==============================X============================== Four E-2C Hawkeye planes ( seen below ) The E-2C Hawkeye is the
carriers all-weather, tactical warning and control system aircraft.
==============================X============================== Four EA-6B Prowler aircraft ( seen below ) The EA-6B Prowler is an aircraft that's function is to protect strike aircraft, ground troops and ships by jamming enemy radar, electronic data links and communications with ultra sophisticated electronic anti-combat systems.
==============================X============================== Eight S-3 A/B Viking ( seen below ) Similar to the function of Prowler aircraft the S-3B Viking aircraft is equipped for many missions, including day/night surveillance, electronic countermeasures, command/control/communications warfare, and search and rescue primarily of downed pilots in the sea.
==============================X============================== Six Seahawk helicopters ( seen below ) The Seahawk is a twin-engine helicopter. Its prime function is for anti-submarine warfare, whilst search and rescue, drug running interdiction, anti-ship warfare, cargo lift, and special operations are amongst its other capabilities. The Nimitz's SH-60B Seahawk is very versatile and deploys sonic detectors and torpedoes in an anti-submarine role. Whereas the enemy submarine is the carriers greatest threat.
This compliment of aircraft aboard a Nimitz class carrier can be increased to a total of Eighty-five Aircraft. ==============================X============================== Self Defense Measures Decoys include four Sippican SRBOC (Super Rapid Bloom Off-Board Chaff) 6-barrelled Mk 36 decoy launchers, which deploy infrared flares and chaff, SSTDS torpedo defense system and AN/SLQ-25 Nixie torpedo countermeasures system. The Raytheon AN/SLQ-32(V) electronic warfare system detects hostile radar emissions by two sets of antennae and the system analyses the pulse repetition rate, the scan mode, the scan period, and the frequency. The system identifies the threat and direction, provides a warning signal and interfaces to the ship's countermeasures systems. The carriers’ combat data systems are based around the Block 0 or 1 naval tactical and advanced combat direction system (ACDS) with communications Links 4A, 11, 14, and 16. Weapons control is managed by three Mk 91 Mod 1 MFCS directors for the Seasparrow missile. USS Nimitz is being fitted with the SSDS Mk2 Mod 0 ship self-defense system, developed by Raytheon. The SSDS will provide automated self-defence against anti-ship cruise missiles (ASCMs) by integrating and coordinating the ship’s weapon and electronic warfare systems. Air search radars include the ITT SPS-48E 3-D, operating at E/F-band; Raytheon SPS49(V)5, C/D-band; and Raytheon Mk 23 TAS, D-band. Surface search radar is the Northrop Grumman Norden Systems SPS-67V, operating at G-band. ==============================X============================== Final Notes Each carrier has a service life of 50 years. Expenditure of a Nimitz class Aircraft carrier is quite colossal as these figures will show. 1 Aircraft carrier $4,500,000,000 ( 4.5 Billion Dollars) Each carrier costs about 160 million dollars a year to run including...... Acquisition into service....................$4,000,000 Modernisation upgrade mid term plan................$2,500,000 Basic operational and support cost..........$12,000,000 Indirect outside support cost..........$3,500,000
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