Navy's Newest Carrier Successfully Completes Acceptance Sea Trials

Navy News ^ | 4/9/2009 | Program Executive Office Carriers

[Freeport]

:-)

[Old Sarge]

Fun Facts About CVN-77:

* There is no broccoli served in the Officers’ Mess;

* The all-hands announcement “NOW HEAR THIS!” is replaced by “READ MY LIPS!”

[Psycho_Bunny]

You are permitted to be seasick on any person of the same rank.

[Dixiekraut]

How commonplace is it to name Naval vessels after living servicemen, politicians,etc.?

Used to be they named carriers after famous battels ( Lexington, Yorktown, Saratoga, Midway, ...Battleships after States...Iowa,New Jersey...Cruisers after Cities...Indianapolis...Submarines after fish...Tarpon,Skipjack... )

[P8riot]

Ah yes, but they do serve jelly beans on the USS Ronaldus Magnus

[pabianice]

The bad news is that CVN(X) is dead, and thus there are no follow-on carriers. I foresee smaller ships like LHAs carrying unmanned aircraft as replacements to our CVNs. The last manned tactical aircraft crews are now being trained.

[gate2wire]

They sure do...”Jelly Belly.” I still have a bag.

[PurpleMan]

Anticipate this being the last one built for a while.

[central_va]

The French will pick up the slack.

[KarlInOhio]

The bad news is that CVN(X) is dead, and thus there are no follow-on carriers.

They're canceling the USS Ford?

[Al B.]

How commonplace is it to name Naval vessels after living servicemen, politicians,etc.?

Uncommon, but it's been done before. CVN-70 (Carl Vinson) comes to mind. Vinson participated in the ship's christening but I think he passed away before the ship was commissioned. Ronald Reagan was around when they decided to name CVN-76 after him but passed away before the ship was built.

[YankeeReb]

You have the USS J F Kennedy and the USS Reagan was commissioned while he was still living.

[pabianice]

The bad news is that CVN(X) is dead, and thus there are no follow-on carriers. They're canceling the USS Ford?

USS Ford will be a test platform for new technolgies, much like USS Zumwalt (DDG-1000). It will carry unmanned aircraft. There is no money for more carriers and only enough for three Zumwalts of what was to have been a 55-ship fleet. The Navy is being hit hard by Obama.

[B-Chan]

Yep. The age of the big-deck fleet carrier is just about done. The future belongs to jeep carriers and carrier subs packing unmanned multirole aircraft.

B-Chan
Former MM3
USS ENTERPRISE (CVN-65)

[jag.drafting]

Was the term “Nimitz Class” formed after the Admiral was dead?

The X-craft has been cancelled? I watched an interesting show on the military channel about it a while ago.

[bmwcyle]

Another big submarine target sails.

[Jeff Head]

Where is your source fo the CVN-78 being dead?

Construction has already started on CVN-78, USS Gerald Ford, and the other follow-on carriers are still in the budget cycle, slated to replace the Nimitz class one for one after the Ford replaces the Enterprise.

The one caviat with the Obama budget regarding carries is that we will be down to ten carriers for several years after the Ford comes online...but slated to go back to 11 in the late 20-teens.

Here are some pics of the current CVN-78, PCU Gerald Ford construction:

Inner bottom unit of PCU Gerald Ford hoisted by crane at Northrup Grumman Shipbuilding


Propeller shafts for CVN-78 in machine shop.


CVN-78 side shell unit being lifted in place.


CVN-78 Structural units on final assembly.

[Al B.]

Was the term “Nimitz Class” formed after the Admiral was dead?

I'm not sure. Nimitz died in early 1966 and CVN-68's keel was laid in 1968.

My dad lost part of a finger in a stupid accident while the ship was being built. He always said it helped his golf game...cured his hook. LOL.

[jag.drafting]

I didn’t mean “X-Craft”
I meant CVN-X.....

Monday morning brain drain.

[P8riot]

I’ve got a few too, including some small bags they passed out at the commissioning.