Nimitz-class aircraft carriers are some of the largest and most dangerous warships in the world. Each of them has its own nuclear power plant. Their main purpose is to conduct various military operations as part of air strike groups, the main task of which is to destroy surface targets of any size, as well as to provide air defense for US warships.
Basic data
The Nimitz aircraft carriers, with a total mass of 1954 tons of ammunition, are considered one of the most powerful warships in the world.
The main armament of these ships is carrier-based aviation consisting of fighters, helicopters and military aircraft, thanks to which the aircraft carrier can easily cope with such tasks as:
- electronic warfare;
- detect the enemy at a significant distance;
- shipping.
At the same time, if onthe aircraft carrier will be attacked at the moment when all the air equipment will be involved in carrying out any operation, it will easily be able to repel the attack with its own anti-aircraft, missile and artillery systems that are installed on board.
In fact, Nimitz-class aircraft carriers compare favorably with other warships. So, for example, their hull is made entirely of steel sheets, and all key elements, including the deck used for flights, are made of armored steel.
At the same time, the structure of the ship is designed in such a way that not only improves driving performance, but also allows for a more rational placement of the propulsion and steering system.
Building features
When creating the Nimitz aircraft carrier, the developers focused on the design of the flight deck, making it one of the main elements of the ship. She played a key role not only in the appearance of the aircraft carrier, but also made it possible to place a record number of fighters and various technical equipment on it. At the same time, the usable area of the flight deck is divided into three main zones:
- Take-off - in this part of the ship there are 4 steam catapults with a weight of 180 tons and a length of up to 100 m. They allow for a trouble-free take-off of combat aircraft, the weight of which reaches 40-43 tons with an acceleration speed of up to 300 km/h.
- Landing.
- Park.
Each part of the aircraft carrier is equipped with all the necessary systems used for maintenancefighter jets and helicopters. On some Nimitz-class ships, these zones are combined due to the limited size of the flight deck.
Protection measures
Since most of the aircraft on board are equipped with jet engines, special reflectors are provided on the deck to protect the people working on the ship and the equipment and weapons located there from the action of gas jets. At the same time, so that the deck surface, which is under the almost constant influence of various technical means and tools, does not overheat, special deck panels are made, cooled naturally as a result of continuous exposure to water coming directly from the side.
In order to ensure greater stability of the flight deck, which must withstand the enormous weight of fighters and related equipment (especially in the area of the side sections hanging over the water), a special gallery deck is provided on the aircraft carrier. On some ships, in the space that remains under it, an additional hangar with two-layer protection is equipped.
In addition, this deck houses the personnel quarters and most of the command quarters. Access to the upper deck is provided by walkways. In addition, the military can, without rising from the gallery deck to the upper one, move along the front of the ship from bow to stern through a special through passage.
On the remaining decks there are special mechanisms that allow you to move fighters for morerational distribution of spaces. In addition, officers' quarters and medical offices are also located here. There are also canteens for personnel, which, if necessary, can be immediately converted into aviation ammunition assembly areas.
The hold is equipped with cellars used for storing ammunition, tanks with fuel for aviation equipment and pantries for various purposes. In addition, freezers and refrigerators for storing food are also located here, thanks to which the crew can spend a long time on the high seas without experiencing any special difficulties.
Aircraft carrier defense
The Nimitz aircraft carrier system includes two main levels of protection:
- Surface - consists of 3 decks, the compartments between which are used to fill with water or fuel.
- Onboard/underwater - protects the ship from the sides and bottom from contact explosions of torpedoes and various shells. These elements of the ship are equipped with armored decking and armored transverse bulkheads.
The first Nimitz-class ship
The Nimitz aircraft carrier, whose photo is presented in this article, became the first and, as a result, the main ship of this series of warships. It was repeatedly used in various military operations, including in operations conducted in Yugoslavia and Iraq.
Nimitz is an aircraft carrier named after the admiralAmerican fleet. His name is William Nimitz.
Nimitz aircraft carrier: characteristics
Today, the "Nimitz" is a universal warship with the most modern weapons on board, which can be successfully used not only for attack, but also for defense. The maximum speed that the nuclear aircraft carrier Nimitz can develop on two nuclear reactors and four steam turbines is 31.5 knots (58.3 km / h).
The duration of the operation of the ship reaches 50 years, after which the obsolete aircraft carrier is replaced with a more modern ship of this type.
Composition of the series
It is noteworthy that the American aircraft carrier Nimitz, like all ships of this type, has a personal tail number.
So, for example, the first ship of this type has the number CVN-68, which stands for:
- C - Cruiser.
- V - Voler (French to fly).
- N - Nuclea (English nuclear).
- 68 - Ordinal number.
| 68 | Nimitz |
| 69 | Eisenhower |
| 70 | Vinson |
| 71 | Roosevelt |
| 72 | Lincoln |
| 73 | Washington |
| 74 | Stennis |
| 75 | Truman |
| 76 | Reagan |
| 77 | Bush |
Armaments
The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier is armed with three Sea Sparrow missile systems and four Vulcan-Phalanx twenty-millimeter anti-aircraft artillery systems. In the future, it is planned to install several triple-tube 324-mm torpedo tubes on each of the aircraft carriers, designed to combat torpedoes guiding along the wake.
"Nimitz" - an aircraft carrier, whose armament usually includes up to 86 combat aircraft and carrier-based helicopters of several types. So, for example, on the aircraft carrier CVN-71 - Theodore Roosevelt, which took part in the hostilities against Iraq in January 1991, there were 78 aircraft in the air wing.
Crew
Nimitz is an aircraft carrier with a crew of 6,286:
- Staff - 3184 people.
- Air wing maintenance - 2800 people.
- Travel headquarters - 70 people.
Features of the control system
The US aircraft carrier Nimitz is equipped with a large number of innovative systems that allow you to control military equipment with little or no human intervention. So, for example, to land an aircraft in poor visibility, when the pilot does not see the runway, an automatic landing system called ACLS is used.
As soon as the visibility starts to be less than 1000 m, the system independently requests and processes all data on flight parameters from the TACAN air navigation system and other aircraft devices, encodes the information and sends the appropriate situationson-board autopilot signals. After that, the aircraft is automatically displayed exactly on the cut of the corner deck of the aircraft carrier without the participation of the pilot in the landing process.
Performed operations
The attack aircraft carrier Nimitz participated in the failed Operation Eagle Claw in 1980. Its main goal was to free the hostages of the American embassy in Tehran. During the operation, he stayed at sea for about six months.
In addition, Nimitz is an aircraft carrier that provided security for the 1988 Olympic Games, which were held at that time in Seoul. In 1991, he took part in Operation Desert Storm, and since 2003 has been actively used by the US armed forces in the war with Iraq.
Cost of an aircraft carrier
The cost of building an aircraft carrier depends on many factors. First of all, on the number of carrier-based ships, the type and number of aircraft on board, as well as the presence and type of weapons. About several hundred million dollars were spent on the construction of the first aircraft carriers of this class. At the same time, the cost of the last aircraft carrier called "Bush" has already amounted to about $6.5 billion.
Since the most modern weapons and high-end technological equipment are installed on board each new aircraft carrier, the share of innovative technology on board the latest aircraft carriers is 50%, which could not but affect their increase in cost.
As for the timing of construction, it usually takes up to 8 years from the moment such a ship is laid down to launch. Aircraft carrierhas a complex structure and control system, as a result of which it takes much longer to build than a conventional ship.
Conclusion
Today, the US military leadership considers it inappropriate to increase the number of Nimitz-class ships, believing that it is necessary to maintain 10 existing aircraft carriers and one training carrier in service, replacing them only as needed, when the life of one of the ships will be suitable towards the end.
