New US Aircraft Carrier, CVN-77 George H. W. Bush to be Christened Saturday, October 7, 2006

Northrop Grumman Construction Site ^ | Oct 2006 | Northrop Grumman/US Navy

[Jeff Head]

CVN-77 to be Christened on October 7th, 2006

From the Northrop Grumman site.

On Saturday, October 7, 2006, Northrop Grumman Newport News will christen the nation’s 10th and final Nimitz-class aircraft carrier, George H. W. Bush (CVN 77). The ship’s namesake and 41st President of the United States, George H. W. Bush, is scheduled to attend the ceremony along with his wife Barbara and their daughter, Doro Bush Koch, Mrs. Koch also serves as the ship’s sponsor and will do the traditional honor of breaking a bottle of American sparkling wine across the ship’s bow during the ceremony. Employees of Northrop Grumman Newport News and their families are invited. The general public is also invited to the ceremony. Visit the links below for additional information.

Here are some of the latest construction pictures...a beautiful site to behold:

CVN-77 nearing completion

CVN-77 props added

CVN-77 Island lift

CVN-77 ready for christening

CVN-77 another view of CVN-77 ready for christening

[cva66snipe]

Had Gore won we would be waiting for the commissioning of the USS Franklin Roosevelt or the USS Lyndon Johnson or USS Woodrow Wilson.

Aircraft Carrier FDR was decommed in the mid 1970's. I saw it in the yards in Portsmouth, VA before it went to Philly. But you're right the naming of carriers is way out of hand and some toes got stepped on with naming CVN-78.

[Cheburashka]

JFK and Kitty Hawk are both non-nuke.

[Cheburashka]

Either Langley or Lexington would be good.

They have to retire the present Enterprise before the name is freed up.

[gopwinsin04]

Too bad the CVN-78 Gerald Ford probably may not have its namesake at the ceremony.

[cva66snipe]

The problem is that the first CVN21, CVN-78, will come out before the exiting Enterprise is decommissioned. They will not have two carriers called the Enterprise at the same time. I believe the second ship will be the Enterprise and should be. Make the first the Halsy...or better yet, name it the Shanksville!

Jeff it would have been traditionally fitting to have given CVN-78 only one name. The name of the carrier that was sank to gather the data to build that new class of carrier. It should have been USS AMERICA CVN-78. Named for a good ship ran needlessly to a very early end. {Likely with prejudice because of her very name} Several other mothballed carriers could have taken that test as well. The Pentagon was excuse my french hellbent on getting that name off the list.

[Doctor Raoul]

Whatever ship it it, it'll leak...

[Doctor Raoul]

Whatever ship it IS, it'll leak...

[Jeff Head]

America would be a GREAT nbame too! United States, several others. Too much politicing going on with this for sure...and you and I both know that when you politicize the military, that it will lead to bad things.

[cva66snipe]

I would love to go to that. I served on two of those, Nimitz and Eisenhower. Did an overhaul period in Newport News on Ike, where I got to walk underneath the ship while in drydock. They are huge!!!! BTW, I also did a tour on the JFK during my 20 year Navy career

Yea but did you ever crawl inside the boiler of the JFK and climb to the base of the stacks :>} Done that on CV-66 in 1978. Walked under it in 79&80.

Looks like the Navy is fixing to decomm JFK as well. She'll go to Boston Harbor you can bet the bank on it. JFK was done much like the AMERICA. Oddly enough KITTY HAWK has out lived them all. JFK was the last conventional but was not a KH Class carrier but rather a KENNEDY Class. The only one.

[Cheburashka]

Nixon gets a carrier first. Unlike Bubba, he was never impeached.

As an aside, it's too bad they named an AEGIS cruiser for Admiral Halsey. A new carrier would be better.

[fredhead]

No boiler tours, but being an ET, climbed to the top of the mast on all three ships, and going up the Truman's mast in a couple of weeks, for the command I work at here in Norfolk.

[riverdawg]

"JFK and Kitty Hawk are both non-nuke."

Oops. I meant to say that the JFK was the last non-nuke carrier *built*.

[PhiKapMom]

As long as they don't name it after Clinton, I will be happy! :)

[VaBthang4]

Thanks for the Jeff Head's up..

:o)

[Cheburashka]

If Billy Jeff gets a carrier it should be in the PLAN. After all the good services her performed for them it is only fitting.

[kabar]

Tenet presideed over the renaming in 1999 because it was in the Intelligence Authorization Act for fiscal year 1999. It was under a Rep Congress. I think it played a role in keeping him around when Bush 43 took over.

DCI George Tenet’s Introduction of President Bush on April 26, 1999

I agree that Casey would have been a better choice.

[steve-b]

Now, now, now, Surely you didn't mean to suggest that a ship bearing Clinton's name should be HAULING garbage....

[denydenydeny]

Jeff, I'm of course intrigued by the part about "potential exotic defensive systems powered by the increased energy" of the CVN-21. Are we talking chemical lasers?

[cva66snipe]

I doubt that the Kittyhawk will be far behind. Maintenance budgets are getting axed left and right to pay for Iraq.

She won't be around long. But here is something interesting. She out lasted all in her class namesake including and the lone newer JFK class KENNEDY. Kennedy will go out before her.

[riverdawg]

"I also did a tour on the JFK ..."

Did you ever visit the captain's quarters? I was on a shipyard inspection crew that was checking for minor (mainly cosmetic) things that needed to be fixed at the last minute before turning it over to the Navy. There was a large adjoining suite for female, on-board guests. The "bathroom" (I won't call it a "head") had been painted hot pink, and it had a bidet - first one I had ever seen!