How Long Does It Take An Aircraft Carrier To Cross The Atlantic?

SlashGear ^ | Jun 28, 2025 | Jonathan H. Kantor

[where's_the_Outrage?]

When it comes to aircraft carriers, the nation with the most is the United States. The U.S. Navy operates 11 nuclear aircraft carriers of various designs, and more are on the way as the service replaces its aging fleet of Nimitz-class carriers with the new Gerald R. Ford-class carriers. These are massive ships and the largest warships ever constructed in military history. Each Ford-class vessel displaces around 100,000 tons of seawater and measures 1,092 feet in length, with a flight deck width of 256 feet.

That's a lot of ship to move around, but despite its mass, a Ford-class carrier can sail along the ocean surface at an impressive 34.5 mph. Moving such a ship requires a great deal of power, and these carriers are fully equipped with two Bechtel A1B nuclear reactors capable of delivering around 700 megawatts thermal (MWt) each. These help the Ford-class carriers to make more than three times the electricity of legacy Nimitz-class carriers.

That energy is used to move the massive ships at a considerably high speed across the Atlantic Ocean, a journey that can take around a week. The USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), the first of its class, made its first Atlantic crossing in 2022 during its maiden voyage, and it's done so multiple times since entering active service. It started in Halifax, Canada, and followed the same path its predecessors paved during World War II, though it did so at a much faster rate, as older carriers were slower and less powerful ships. More recently, the USS Gerald R. Ford set sail across the Atlantic Ocean in October 2023 to act as a deterrent in the Israel-Hamas conflict.

[Mariner]

30kts?

Laughable ignorance.

[Tallguy]

“Given the same power, the longer hull is always faster.”

Partly why US cruisers were noted for “weak bows.” A lot of US Cruisers, both heavy & light, had their bows blown off by torpedoes and I believe once by hurricane.

Certain IJN cruiser designs were also thought to be weak in the bow.

[mund1011]

It takes nine years to build one.

Between January 1942 and December 1944, the US launched 47 aircraft carriers.

+++++++

Consistent with the time it took to erect the Empire State Building in 1931 (14 months) with the time it took to decide what to build in the aftermath of the twin towers destruction, over 10 years. Different eras with vastly different people.

[P8riot]

The six days mentioned in the article assumes the carrier is traveling in a more or less direct course at maximum speed. In my several transatlantic deployments on Nimitz class carriers, we never took a direct course due to tactical considerations and ocean currents, and we never outran our escorts. About 10-12 days is the average I remember.

[South Dakota]

Nope...uss arkansas

[Who is John Galt?]

See post #25
;^)

[Dr. Franklin]

Of course, but what is of particular interest is how quickly it can do so which would be — if not classified — would be, well, interesting.

Warp 9 is highly classified, but we know its hard on the dilithium crystals.

[glennaro]

It will be hard on the crystals, that's a certainty, but at that speed the carrier would arrive at its destination before it left port (even taking the time zones into consideration) which would justify the cost of replacing them at a billion a pop.

Good stuff, this! Cheers!