A week later, the carrier returned to Naval Base Kitsap in Bremerton the flattops homeport.
Yet, nine of her sister ships of theNimitz-class will continue to serve for the coming half-century.
As they were overhauled and additional equipment was installed, the displacement exceeded 100,000 long tons.
The aircraft carrier USSNimitz(CVN-68) transits the Pacific Ocean in preparation for Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2012 maritime exercise. Image: MCS2C Michael D. Cole/U.S. Navy
[Read about theForrestal-class aircraft carriers here.]
That included dividing the three fire bays with thick steel doors that could greatly restrict the spread of fire.
That is a feature that has been present on all U.S. carriers since the Second World War.
A Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company workman welds parts during the building of the USSNimitzin October 1969. Image: U.S. Navy
The latest to join the fleet was USSGeorge H.W.
Bush(CVN-77), which was commissioned in 2009.
She is expected to remain in service until the late 2050s.
Mrs. Catherine Nimitz Lay christens the USSNimitzat Newport News, Virginia on May 13, 1972. Image: U.S. Navy
The ships can reach a maximum speed of 31.5 knots.
The supercarriers can stock at least a 70-day supply of refrigerated and dry storage goods.
The Food Services Department can provide up to 20,000 meals a day.
The USSNimitzreplenishes from the USSMount Baker(AE-34), during UNREP training in Guantanamo Operations Area, Caribbean, July 1975. Image: U.S. Navy
Each of the carriers also has its own library, supermarket, TV and radio stations.
Yet, as noted, the remaining carriers have years and decades of future service.
It took five years of planning and three years of execution.
The USSNimitzpasses by Mukilteo Lighthouse Park on its way to homeport at Naval Station Everett in 2013. Image: MCS1 Nathan Lockwood/U.S. Navy
This also explains why the scrapping of the USSNimitzwill be a costly and complicated affair.
It is the downside to having such a powerful and capable warship.
Sailors perform flight operations on the flight deck aboard the aircraft carrier USSNimitz. Image: MCS2 Cole Schroeder/U.S. Navy
In 1986, aircraft from the carrier’s air wing fly in a diamond formation over the flight deck of the USSNimitz. Image: NARA
AF-4J Phantom IIfrom squadron VF-74 ready on the catapult on board USSNimitz. Image: U.S. Navy
A U.S. Navy F-4J Phantom fighter escorts a Soviet Union Tupolev TU-95 “Bear” as it flies past the USSNimitzin July 1976. Image: U.S. Navy
Lt. Scott Small mans the Integrated Catapult Control System (ICCS) in the Waist Bubble of the USSNimitzduring flight operations. Image: NARA
The U.S. Navy’s Blue Angels fly in the Delta Formation over the aircraft carrier USSGeorge H.W. Bush(CVN-77) off the Florida coast near Mayport Naval Station. Image: MCS1 Terrence Siren/U.S. Navy
The USSCarl Vinson(CVN-70) launches a RIM-7M Sea Sparrow missile during a live fire launch exercise following a deployment in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in 2002. Image: NARA
A port view of the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USSDwight D. Eisenhower(CVN-69) underway. Commissioned in 1977, it was the secondNimitz-class carrier to enter service. Image: NARA
ABAN Maria Ramoscarver, covered in grease, assists in replacing an arresting recovery wire aboard the USSNimitzduring a Maritime Security Operations deployment. Image: NARA
QM3 Lisa Hutchins plots the ship’s course aboard the aircraft carrier USSRonald Reagan(CVN-76). Image: MCS3 Charles D. Gaddis IV/U.S. Navy
The USSNimitzhas full medical facilities among its many services. Here surgeons perform an appendectomy in aNimitzoperating room while at sea. Image: NARA
An F-35C Lightning II from the “Rough Raiders” of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 125 makes an arrested landing on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USSNimitz. Image: MCS2 Bryant Lang/U.S. Navy
Planes of Carrier Air Wing 11 perform a fly-by performance for sailors and their family members on a tiger cruise aboard the aircraft carrier USSNimitz. Image: MCSS Aiyana S. Paschal/U.S. Navy
The USSGeorge H.W. Bush(CVN-77) is the first aircraft carrier to successfully catapult launch an unmanned aircraft. Shown is an X-47B being readied on the starboard catapult. Image: U.S. Navy
The USSEisenhowertransits the Suez Canal through Egypt in the 1980s. At the time of this writing, theEisenhoweris deployed to the Mediterranean. Image: NARA
