USS Nimitz (CVN.68) aircraft carrier images
and information.
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Name
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USS. Nimitz (CVN.68)
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Class
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Aircraft Carrier
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Ent/Service
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May 3rd 1975
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Built
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Newport News / Virginia / America
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Weight
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100,000 Tons?
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Length
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1,092 Feet
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Width
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134 Feet - Flight Deck 252 Feet
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Speed
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30 Knots
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Propellers
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4 - 21 Feet 66 TONS
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Engines
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2 - Nuclear Reactors Powering 4 Geared Steam
Turbines - 280,000 HP
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Aircraft
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85 - Tomcats / Hornets / Prowlers &
Helicopters
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Nimitz class carriers were the largest warships
built in the 20th Century. There were ten ships in
this class built for the US Navy, Nimitz,
Dwight D Eisenhower, Carl
Vinson, Theodore Roosevelt,
Abraham Lincoln, George
Washington, John C Stennis,
Harry Trueman, Ronald Regan, and
George H.W.Bush the last to enter service in
2009.
The next class of US Aircraft Carrier was the Ford
class with the lead ship USS.
Gerald R. Ford entering service in 2017,
with others to follow in 2025, 2028, 2032 and 2034.
These ships are similar in size to the Nimitz class.
US Carrier List.
The largest Container Ships today are about 1,300
feet long, 200 feet wide, 232,618 gross tons. Largest
Cruise Ships 1,181ft long, 198ft wide,
227,000 Gross Registered Tons, largest Oil Tankers
1,504ft long, 226ft wide, 260,851 Gross Registered
Tons. GRT is the dimensions of a ship, length, width
and height.
Larger Image of the
USS Nimitz by Tony Alter at Flickr.
Large Image of the
USS Nimitz next to the British carrier
HMS Ark Royal at Wiki.
On May 25th 1981, Nimitz was being prepared
for deployment in the Mediterranean when one of her
Prowler’s crash-landed on the flight deck
killing 14 of the crew and injuring 45 others.
During her 4th deployment to the Mediterranean in
August 1981, she took part in operations in the Gulf
of Sidra near what the Libyan leader Colonel Khadafi
called the line of death. On the morning of the19th,
two Libyan Sukhoi jets targeted two of Nimitz
Tomcats. This led to the US pilots shooting down both
Libyan aircraft with Sidewinder missiles.
Larger Image of the
USS Abraham Lincoln by the Official U.S. Navy Page at
Flickr.
Nimitz next deployment to a war zone was
in 1988 during the Iran/Iraq war of 1980 - 1988. As
both warring countries relied heavily on oil
revenues, they began targeting oil tankers
transporting each other’s oil. These attacks
escalated in 1984 to an extent tanker’s from
neutral countries were being attacked. This led to
warships from around the world being deployed to the
Arabian Gulf to protect tankers supplying their
country.
On May 17th 1987, two missiles from an Iraqi
aircraft attack hit the US frigate Stark
killing 37 of her crew. Soon after that attack, the
United States agreed to re-flag 11 Kuwaiti tankers
and protect them with their warships. The war ended
August 20th 1988 after Iran agreed to a cease-fire
proposed by the United Nations. Three years later,
Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait led to Nimitz
being returned to the Arabian Gulf to take part in
Operation Desert Storm (the war to liberate
Kuwait).
Larger Image of the
USS John C. Stennis by by the Official U.S. Navy Page
at Flickr.
On September 1st 1997, Nimitz set out from
her homeport of San Diego on an around the world
cruise. She was intended to arrive at her builders on
the east coast a few months later to undergo a mid
life scheduled nuclear refueling. Following
Iraq’s refusal to comply with United Nations
mandates regarding arms inspection, Nimitz
world cruise had to be cut short so she could support
Operation Southern Watch in the Arabian Gulf (the
operation to patrol the no fly zones and force Iraqi
troops to stop encroaching on their neighbor’s
borders).
Nimitz was returned to her builders March
1st 1998 after having conducted operations in the
Gulf over the New Year period. The completion of
Nimitz 37-month refueling operation should
allow her to continue operating out of San Diego well
into the 21st Century.
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