Naval Military Technology USS NIMITZ Worlds Largest Aircraft Carrier

Image from WikipediaQuick Facts

The USS NIMITZ is named after Fleet Admiral Chester W NIMITZ. The ship was Commissioned on May 3rd 1975. The NIMITZ is the worlds largest Aircraft Carrier weighing in at over 99,000 Tons and can reach speeds of 55KM Hour or 34 MPH. The USS NIMITZ can float 20 years without refueling, house 6000 shipmates, detect threats at over 320 miles away, launch 1 plane every 20 seconds and holds up to 90 aircraft above and below the deck.

Technology behind the NIMITZ

The control tower on the NIMITZ has a miniature flight deck that keeps track of everything that is going on the deck. In the event of a power failure this model is always kept up to date. Below the deck there is a Pressurized tube with fluid that compresses with a plunger that hooks to a catch wire to slow down in-coming planes within 328 ft. The NIMITS has a RADAR bunker deep within that can launch anti-missile rockets in a range up to 5 miles. The ship is powered by 2 four speed Nuclear Power plants that run off 8 nuclear reactors. There are distilling plants that create 400,000 gallons of fresh water used by the power plants, crew and catapults. The ship has a dental facility staffed with 5 dentists and has a hospital with 53 beds and a 3 bed ICU.

Impressions of The USS NIMITZ

While there are a total of 9 NIMITZ the latest being the USS George W Bush costing around 6 billion dollars US, these are small floating cities. Providing 18,000 meals a day, 1,500 hair cuts a week and 3 interdenominational chapels allow this floating fortress to provide all aboard a safe living environment. The newest of these next generation of aircraft carriers wont be available till 2014. Until then these are the super carriers with attitude that no country wants to mess with. kudos to our military and the advancement of Naval Technology

Additional Resource: USS NIMITZ