I was few lucky one to get to tag along to go board on USS Nimitz Carrier Strike Group (CSG) CVN68, one of the world’s largest aircraft carriers, the nuclear-powered USS Nimitz docked at Wesport, Port Klang for 4 days.
The Nimitz Carrier Strike Group, on a routine deployment in the region, has as its Commanding Officers Captain Paul O Monger. The Nimitz‘s 333-metre length is only surpassed by the USS Enterprise‘s 342 metres. The former, however, is the undisputed heavyweight displacing 102, 000 tonnes to the latter’s 93,500 tonnes.
Reaching more than 23 storeys high and spread over 4.5 acres, the Nimitz is home to four F-18 strike fighter squadrons comprising 45 F-18 Super Hornets of the Foxtrot and Echo variants. It also hosts helicopter anti-submarine and combat squadrons, an electronic attack squadron and a explosive ordnance disposal mobile unit.
The Nimitz can stock a 70-day supply of refrigerated and dry goods. The ship’s medical services include a dental facility staffed by five dentists. Crew also have access to laundering and tailoring services among others.
If one of these **** drop...
we are finish!
The Nimitz reaches a top speed of 30 plus knots courtesy of its two nuclear power plants the cooling of which is taken care by four distilling units which enable her engineers to make more 1,500 litres of fresh water a day for the propulsion plants. The carrier can accommodate a maximum crew of up to 5,000 for whom more than 20,000 meals are prepared daily.
Catapult launching
The Nimitz launches her fighter jets using four steam catapults. These ‘cats’ propel the heaviest aircraft from the deck at speeds in excess of 270 km/per hour, these speeds reached from a standing start in less than three seconds.
Aircraft are launched in a 100 metre ‘catapult stroke’- an equivalent land-based take-off would require more than 2,000 metres of runway. The catapults consist of a large piston underneath the deck and only a small device engages the aircraft’s nose gear above deck.
When the fighters are ready for take-off, the pilot increases the thrust of the jet engines and the catapult accelerates the plane to launch speed. Using all four catapults, the Nimitz, can launch aircraft at a rate of one every half-a-minute.
From abcNEWS 25th Nov 2010
For its part, North Korea South Korea
In a statement from the U.S. Navy's Seventh Fleet, the military exercises are described as a measure to show the United States' "commitment to regional stability through deterrence." The exercises were planned before the artillery attack.
USS George Washington
USS Nimitz met USS George Washington in Gulf 21 Oct 1997
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