Replies

Just love how after all these years the USN can stick to these vague speed claims for our Nimitz-class carriers. It's a bit like if the USAF stopped making speed claims for their combat aircraft immediately after Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier.

Actually, that "30+" is pretty accurate. Unless the USN is outright lying about how much SHP the turbines generate, the later Nimitz-class (which is really broken into four subclasses with each ship being fairly unique) should have a hard time reaching 31 kts.

A lot of people get hung up on the concept that "nuclear" conveys some sort of mystical superpowers on ships. In reality, the reactors are just a highly complex way of boiling water in unlimited quantities. The limitations on speed are driven more by hull form and the turbines than on the reactors (which can generate much more steam than the turbines could possibly absorb).