AIRCRAFT CARRIERS
Enterprise (CVN 65)
The Enterprise was the world’s second nuclear-powered surface warship and was the world’s largest and most expensive warship when she entered service in 1961. The Enterprise was built to a modified Kitty Hawk design and features a fully angled deck with two C13 steam catapults, two more catapults at the bow, three elevators to starboard (two ahead of the island and one abaft it), and one elevator on the port quarter. Each elevator measures 85 x 52 ft (25.9 X 15.9 m).
The big difference from the Kitty Hawk was the machinery layout, with no fewer than eight reactors generating steam for four steam turbines. No other ship had even half as many nuclear reactors. Relatively small reactors and the immense size of the ship led to the complex arrangement.
In her original configuration, Enterprise was readily recognizable through the distinctive arrangement of “billboard” planar-array radar antennas and EW “beehive” on her island; these were removed in the late 1970s. Her flight deck has the greatest area of any aircraft carrier, her hangar is the largest and longest, she carries 8,500 tons of aviation fuel (approximately 2.72 million US gal/ 10,295,200 liters), and she has an ordnance capacity of 2,520 tons.
DEVELOPMENT •
Enterprise was authorized in FY1958 and ordered from Newport News Shipbuilding in November 1957, completing in September 1960. Estimated construction cost was $444 million (contemporary conventional aircraft carrier construction costs in same-year dollars were estimated at $265 million) . Hopes for five more in the class ran afoul of the high cost and complex reactor layout.
In January 1991, the Enterprise began a Refueling and Complex Overhaul (RCOH) at Newport News that included new reactor cores, overhauled propulsion plant, and modernization of the navigation, communications, and aviation support systems. Cost is estimated at between $1.5 and $2 billion to gain another 20 years. Enterprise was recommissioned in September 1994.
COMBAT EXPERIENCE •
The Enter prise began flying air strikes against North Vietnam in November 1965, becoming the first nuclear-propelled ship to enter combat. She served two more tours off Vietnam but suffered a serious fire in January 1969 on her way out to a fourth tour.
In April 1988, A-6 and A-7 aircraft from the Enterprise attacked several Iranian Navy ships and craft in the Persian Gulf, sinking the frigate Sahandand several Bo-gharnmar fast attack craft and severely damaging the frigate Sabalan. (The Enter prise did not actually enter the gulf.)
SPECIFICATIONS •
DISPLACEMENT 90,970 tons full load
DIMENSIONS
length 1,101 ft 3 in (335.8 m)
overall
beam 133ft (40.5m)
draft 39ft (11.9m)
flight deck width
257 ft 2 in (78.4m) max, area 4.94 acres (2 hectares) hangar deck length 860 ft (262.1 m), width 107ft (32.6m), height 25 ft (7.6 m) MACHINERY 8 Westinghouse A2W pressurized-water reactors, 4 Westing-house steam turbines, 280,000 shp on 4 shafts=30+ kts, electric power 40,000 kW CREW 3,208 + air wing 2,092
WEAPONS
2 8-tube NATO Sea Sparrow launchers Mk 29
3 20-mm Mk 15 Phalanx Gatling-type
CIWS
AIRCRAFT 85 SENSORS
SPS-48 3D air-search radar
SPS-49 2D air-search radar
SPS-64 surface-search radar
SPS-65 threat-warning radar
2 Mk 91 missile fire control systems
SLQr32(V)3 active/passive EW system
ForresfaJ (CV 59, AVT 59)
These four ships were the world’s first aircraft carriers to be built from the keel up after World War II, construction beginning in the early 1950s. The Forrestal introduced the basic supercarrier concept of four elevators and four catapults, avast, 8° angled flight deck, “hurricane” bow for better seakeeping, a powerful propulsion plant, and great increases in fuel and ordnance storage capacity. Two longitudinal bulkheads run from stem to stern and extend from keel to waterline; transverse bulkheads are placed approximately every 33 ft (10 m). This subdivision results in 1,200 watertight compartments under an armored flight deck.
The elevator layout is the weakest point of the design in that one is positioned at the forward end of the angled deck, limiting its use during flight operations. Each elevator measures 62 ft x 52 ft 4 in (18.9 x 15.98 m). The island is midships in the carrier’s silhouette with one elevator ahead and two astern along the starboard side. The Forrestal has two inboard four-blade propellers, two outboard five-blade propellers, and three rudders.
DEVELOPMENT •
Newport News Shipbuilding was the lead yard and constructed the Forrestal and Ranger from 1952 to 1957 while the Brooklyn Navy
Yard built the Saratoga and Independence from 1952 to 1959.
The 1980s Service Life Extension Program (SLEP) updates include rehabilitation of the ship’s hull, propulsion, auxiliary machinery, and piping systems, with improved radars, communications equipment, and aircraft launch and recovery systems provided. Kevlar armor was added to vital spaces, and more powerful C13 catapults, the Phalanx Mk 15 Mod 3 Close-in Weapons System (CIWS), Mk 23 TAS radar, and Mk 29 Sea Sparrow short-range Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) launchers were fitted.
The Saratoga-was first to enter the SLEP (October 1980-February 1983), then the Forrestal (March 1983-May 1985), and Independence (April 1985-February 1988). The Ranger did not enter the SLEP program, getting instead a 1984-85 overhaul that included many of the self-defense sensor and weapons upgrades, an improved fire-fighting system, and improved evaporators.
The Forrestal replaced Lexington (AVT 16) as the Navy’s training carrier in February 1992. Her start in the new role was delayed by her six-month deployment to the Mediterranean in mid-1991. Later cutbacks led to her being decommissioned in FY1994.
The Independence shifted home ports to Yokosuka, Japan, in September 1991, relieving the USS Midway (CV 41). The Ranger was decommissioned in 1993, the Saratoga in 1994.
COMBAT EXPERIENCE •
All four ships launched raids against North Vietnam in tours conducted from 1964 to 1975. The Forrestal, Saratoga, and Independence each had one tour; the Forrestal lost 134 crew dead to a fire in July 1967. The Ranger made four tours.
In August 1990, the Independence moved first to the northern Arabian Sea in response to Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait and later (October 1990) became the first US carrier to enter the Persian Gulf since 1974. She was relieved by the carrier Midway in November.
The Saratoga arrived in the Desert Shield operating area in late August 1990 and remained in the Red Sea throughout Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. Her air wing flew 12,500 sorties during the deployment, more than 4,000 of them in Desert Storm, in which 2,025 tons of ordnance were delivered.
The Ranger reached the gulf a few days before Operation Desert Storm began, Her air wing delivered 2,110 tons of bombs and missiles.
SPECIFICATIONS •
DISPLACEMENT 78,200 tons full load (Forrestal); 79,200 tons full load (others) DIMENSIONS
length 1,039 ft (316.7 m) overall (firsts); 1,046 ft 6 in (319.0m) overall (Independence)
beam 130ft (39.6m)
draft 37ft (11.3m)
/light deck width
250 ft 3 in (76.3 m) (first
2); 270 ft (82.3 m) (last
2)
hangar deck length 740 ft (225.6 m),
width 101 ft (30.8m), height 25 ft (7.6 m)
MACHINERY 8 Babcock & Wilcox boilers, 4 Westinghouse steam turbines, 260,000 shp (in Forrestafy, 280,000 shp (others) on 4 shafts=33
kts (in Forrestal), 34 kts (others),
range 12,000 nm at 20 kts CREW 2,793-2,958 + air wing 3,400 WEAPONS
3 8-cell NATO Sea Sparrow launchers
Mk 29 in Saratoga and Independence, 2 launchers in Ranger
3 20-mm Mk 15 Mod 3 Phalanx
Gatling-type CIWS AIRCRAFT 85 SENSORS
SPS^8C (except SPS^9E in Saratoga) 3D air-search radar
SPS-49 2D air-search radar
SPS-10 surface-search radar
3 Mk 91 missile fire control systems
SLQ:29 (SLQ-17 jammer and
WLR-8(V)4 radar-warning system)
John F. Kennedy (CV 67)
Officially a one-ship class that followed the three Kitty Hawks (CV 63), this ship has a distinctive single stack canted outboard. Her underwater protection layout also is different from earlier carriers. Otherwise, she resembles the Kitty Hawks, having the island set well aft and the four elevators at the deck edges. Three elevators are located on the starboard side, two ahead of the island and one abaft of it; the portside elevator is fitted on the port quarter. The elevators measure 85 x 52ft (25.9 X 15.9m).
The Kennedy was completed with a bow sonar dome, but, unlike the America, never had the SQS-23 sonar installed. The Kennedy originally had three Sea Sparrow Mk 25 launchers and Mk 115
PCS; she was later refitted with Mk 29 launchers.
DEVELOPMENT •
The Kennedy was built by Newport News Shipbuilding and entered service in 1968; her construction was delayed by lengthy debates over whether the ship should have nuclear or conventional propulsion. (All subsequent large carriers built for the US Navy have been nuclear-powered.)
Her Service Life Extension Program (SLEP) refit was canceled in the FY1992 budget submitted in February 1991. A $400-million Complex Overhaul (COH) —a less elaborate refit—at Philadelphia was approved in the Operation Desert Storm supplemental funding bill passed in April 1991, with work beginning in 1993.
COMBAT EXPERIENCE •
The Kennedy was deployed to the Sixth Fleet in August 1990 to replace the Eisenhower (CVN 69) and to support US forces in the Persian Gulf as part of Operation Desert Shield. The Kennedy was the only one of the six carriers not to embark F/A-18 Hornet dual-role fighters. Instead, she deployed the last A-7E Corsairs on active duty. Her CAW-3 air wing delivered 1,750 tons, including the only AGM-84E SLAMs used in the conflict. Altogether, more than 11,000 sorties left her deck during her deployment.
SPECIFICATIONS *
DISPLACEMENT 80,940 tons full load
DIMENSIONS
length 1,050 ft 9 in (320.3 m)
beam 128 ft 6 in (39.2m)
draft 36 ft 6 in (11.1 m)
flight deck width
266 ft 11 in (81.4m) hangar deck length 688 ft (209.75 m),
width 106 ft (32.3m), height 25 ft (7.6 m)
MACHINERY 8 Foster Wheeler boilers, 4 Westinghouse steam turbines, 280,000
shp on 4 shafts=30+ kts, range 12,000
nm at 20 kts, electric power 17,000 kW CREW 3,045 + air wing 2,500
WEAPONS
3 8-cell NATO Sea Sparrow launchers
Mk29
3 20-mm Mk 15 Phalanx Gatling-type
CIWS AIRCRAFT 85
SENSORS
SPS-48 3D air-search radar SPS-49 2D air-search radar
SPS-10 surface-search radar 3 Mk 91 missile fire control systems Mk 23 TargetAcquisition System (TAS) SLQ-17 jammer and SLQ-26 EW systems
Kitty Hawk (CV 63)
These three ships have a modified Forrestal (CV 59) configuration, with improved elevator and flight deck arrangements, that would be the standard for all later Navy carriers. The island was moved farther aft; the new elevator layout placed all four at the deck edges. Three elevators are located on the starboard side, two ahead of the island and one abaft of it; the portside elevator is fitted on the port quarter. The elevators measure 85 X 52 ft (25.9 X 15.9m).
The America has a bow sonar dome to house the SQS-23 sonar. She was the only postwar US carrier so fitted at the time; the set was removed in late 1981.
These ships were built with Terrier surface-to-air missile launchers (Mk 10 Mod 3 on starboard quarter and Mk 10 Mod 4 on port quarter) and SPQ-55B missile control “searchlight” radars that have been removed.
DEVELOPMENT •
Delivery of the Kitty Hawfcwas delayed because of problems at New York Shipbuilding; her condition on delivery in 1961 was severly criticized by the Navy. The Constellation was delayed because of a fire on board while under construction at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, also completing in 1961. The America, built by Newport News Shipbuilding, entered service in 1965. (The John F. Kennedy, although similar, is considered a separate class; see the John F. Kennedy entry.)
The Kitty Hawk and Constellation SLEPs (Service Life Extension Program) at the
Philadelphia Naval Shipyard included rehabilitation of the ship’s hull, propulsion, auxiliary machinery, electrical, and piping systems. Improved radars, communications equipment, and aircraft launch and recovery systems—including new blast deflectors, three-wire Mk 7 Mod 3 arresting gear, and new catapult rotary engines—were fitted as well as the Advanced Combat Direction System (ACDS).
Kitty Hawk’s SLEP began in January 1988 with her first post-SLEP deployment coming in November 1992. The Constellations SLEP began in July 1990, with her first post-SLEP deployment coming at the end of 1993.
The America’s SLEP, planned for FY1995, was canceled as a part of force level cutbacks.
COMBAT EXPERIENCE •
All three ships operated off the Vietnam coast from 1964 to 1975. America and Kitty Hawk served 3 tours each, while the Constellation saw duty on Yankee Station six times, the most of any supercarrier.
Aircraft from the America raided five Libyan airfields and other targets in 1986.
When Iraq invaded Kuwait in August 1990, both Kitty Hawk and Constellation were undergoing SLEPs. The America sailed from the West Coast in December, arriving in her launch area a few days before Operation Desert Storm began. Her CAW-1 flew more than 3,000 sorties during the air war and delivered 2,000 tons of ordnance.
In January 1993, aircraft from the Kitty Hawk struck at SAM sites in three raids intended to enforce a “no-fly” zone over southern Iraq.
SPECIFICATIONS •
DISPLACEMENT 80,800 tons full load
DIMENSIONS
length 1,045 ft 8 in (318.8m)
(first 2); 1,047 ft 2 in (319.25m) (America]
beam 129 ft 11 in (39.6m)
draft 37ft (11.3m)
flight deck width
251 ft 11 in (76.8m)
hangar deck length 740 ft (225.6 m), width 101 ft (30.8m),
height 25 ft (7.6 m)
MACHINERY 8 Foster Wheeler boilers, 4 Westinghouse steam turbines, 280,000 shp on 4 shafts=30+ kts, range 12,000 nm at 20 kts, electric power 15,000 kW (first 2), 18,000 kW (America)
CREW 2,773-3,017 + air wing 2,500
WEAPONS
3 8-cell NATO Sea Sparrow launchers Mk29
3 20-mm Mk 15 Phalanx Gatling-type CIWS AIRCRAFT 85 SENSORS
SPS-48E 3D air-search radar (except SPS-48C in America)
SPS-49(V) 2D air-search radar
SPS-10 surface-search radar Mk 23 Target Acquisition System (TAS)
SLQ-32(V)3 active/passive EW system
Nimitz (CVN 68)
These ships are the largest warships ever built and are the definitive supercarrier design. Construction of this class will cover more than 30 years, a record for a single class in the steam and steel age. The general arrangement of these ships is similar to the previous Kitty Hawk (CV 63) class with respect to flight deck, elevators (three to starboard, one on the port quarter), and island structure. Each elevator measures 85 X 52 ft (25.9 X 15.85 m).
The Nimitz was completed with two bridle retrieval horns extending forward from the bow catapults. Later ships in the class have only the starboard horn, as most Navy aircraft no longer require a wire bridle for launching. The number of arresting wires is being reduced from four to three during refit; the gear is currently produced by the Dutch firm Hy-draudyne Systems and Engineering.
The flight deck and hull are constructed from high-tensile steel. Protection includes 2 Va-in (63-mm) side armor, Kevlar armor over the magazines and engine rooms. 23 watertight transverse bulkheads and longitudinal bulkheads divide the hull into 2,000 watertight compartments. Payload includes up to 2,970 tons of aviation ordnance and 2.7 million US gal (10,219,500 liters) of aviation fuel.
These carriers have only two reactors compared to the eight in the first nuclear carrier, the Enterprise (CVN 65). The initial fuel cores in the Mmz’fe-class ships are estimated to have a service life of at least 13years (800,000-1 million nm).
As designed, these ships can operate about 85 fighter, attack, antisubmarine, and airborne early-warning aircraft and helicopters. Beginning in 1993, US carriers sailed in some deployments as the flagship of a Joint Task Group of surface combatants and amphibious ships. Some of the normal aircraft were sent ashore to make room for a 600-person Marine Corps unit accompanied by six CH-53 transport and four UH-1N utility helicopters.
DEVELOPMENT •
Six ships are in service, two more are under construction, and initial funding for a ninth was requested in the FY1993 budget. The first three (CVN 68-70) were delayed by shipyard problems and the fourth
(CVN 71) by conflicts between the Congress and the Carter administration. The next four (CVN 72-75) were ordered in
pairs in 1983 and 1988. CVN 76 was ordered in large part to maintain a US capability to build nuclear-powered surface ships.
COMBAT EXPERIENCE ‘
In August 1981, Ata’fe-based F-14 Tomcat fighters shot down two Libyan Su-22 aircraft during operations in the Gulf of Sidra.
In August 1990, the Dwight D. Eisenhower, which was nearing the end of a scheduled six-month deployment in the Mediterranean, entered the Red Sea as part of the US response to the Iraqi invasion and annexation of Kuwait. She was relieved in late September by the John F, Kennedy (CV67).
The Theodore Roosevelt entered the Red Sea on January 15, 1991, and launched aircraft against Iraqi targets on January 17 as part of Operation Desert Storm, the only nuclear-powered carrier to participate in the air war. Her aircraft delivered approximately 1,615 tons of ordnance during the air war.
SPECIFICATIONS •
DISPLACEMENT 91,700 tons full load
(first 3); 96,300-96,700 tons full load
(later ships)
DIMENSIONS
length 1,089 ft (332.1 m) overall
beam 134 ft (40.85 m)
draft 37 ft (11.3 m) (first 3); 38
ft 5 in (11.7m) (later ships) flight deck width
252 ft 11 in (77.1 m)
(first 3); 257 ft (78.3 m) (later ships) HANGAR DECK length 684 ft (208.5 m), width 108 ft (32.9 m), height 26 ft 5 in (9.5 m) MACHINERY 2 Westinghouse pressur-ized-water reactors, 4 steam turbines, 260,000+ shp on 4 shafts=30+ kts, electric power 64,000 kW CREW 3,000-3,200 + air wing 2,865
WEAPONS
3 8-cell NATO Sea Sparrow Mk 29
launchers
20-mm Mk 15 Mod 3 Phalanx Gatling-type CIWS 3 mounts in CVN 68 and CVN 69, 4 in later ships
AIRCRAFT 85 including 20 F-14 Tomcat,
20 F/A-18 Hornet, 16 A-6E Intruder, 5 EA-6B Prowler, 5 E-2C Hawkeye, 8 S-3 Viking, 6 SH-3 Sea King or SH-60F
CV-Helo
CVN71
U.S. GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
SENSORS
SPS-48B 3D air-search radar in CVN 68-70
SPS-48C in CVN 71-73 (to be replaced
by SPS-48E) SPS-49 2D air-search radar SPS-10F surface-search radar in CVN
68-70
SPS-67(V) surface-search radar in CVN 71-73
SPS-64 surface-search radar in CVN
71 and later ships SPS-65 threat-detection radar in
CVN-71 and later ships
4 Mk 91 missile fire control systems SLQ-29 (SLQ-17 jammer + WLR-8
radar-warning receiver) WLR-1H radar-warning receiver 4 Mk 36 SRBOC 6-barrel chaff/flare
launcher
