Aircraft carriers of the Nimitz type are one of the largest and most dangerous warships in the whole world. Each of them has its own nuclear power plant. Their main purpose is to conduct a variety of military operations as part of aviation strike groups, the main task of which is to defeat surface targets of any size, as well as providing air defense to US warships.
Basic data
The Nimitz aircraft carriers, whose total ammunition mass is 1954 tons, are considered one of the most powerful warships in the world.
The main armament of these ships is carrier-based aviation as part of fighters, helicopters and military aircraft, thanks to which the aircraft carrier can easily cope with such tasks as:
- electronic warfare ;
- detection of the enemy at a significant distance;
- transportation.
At the same time, if an aircraft carrier is attacked at a time when all the airborne equipment will be involved in any operation, he can easily repel the attack with his own anti-aircraft, missile and artillery systems that are installed on board.
In fact, aircraft carriers of the Nimitz type compare favorably with other warships. 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.
Moreover, 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 complex.
Structural 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 allowed to place on it a record number of fighters and various technical means. At the same time, the useful area of the flight deck is divided into three main zones:
- Take-off - 4 steam catapults with a weight of 180 tons and a length of up to 100 m are installed in this part of the ship. They allow for a trouble-free take-off of combat aircraft, whose weight 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 to service fighters and helicopters. On some ships of the Nimitz type, these zones are combined due to the limited size of the flight deck.
Protective measures
Since most aircraft on board are equipped with jet engines to protect people working on the ship and the equipment and weapons there from gas jets, special reflectors are provided on the deck. At the same time, so that the surface of the deck, which is under almost constant influence of various technical means and tools, does not overheat, special deck panels are made that are naturally cooled as a result of the 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 lateral, hanging over the water), the aircraft carrier has a special gallery deck. On some ships in the space that remains under it, an additional hangar with two-layer protection is equipped.
In addition, crew cabins and most command rooms are located on this deck. Access to the upper deck is through bypass bridges. In addition, the military can, without rising from the gallery deck to the top, move along the front of the ship from the bow to the stern through a special through passage.
On the remaining decks there are special mechanisms that allow moving fighters for a more rational distribution of spaces. In addition, officer cubicles and medical rooms are also located here. There are also dining rooms for personnel, which, if necessary, can be immediately converted into assembly areas for aviation ammunition.
The hold is equipped with cellars used for storing ammunition, fuel tanks for aircraft and pantries for various purposes. In addition, freezing and refrigerating chambers for storing food are also located here, thanks to which the team, without any special difficulties, can be in the open sea for a long time.
Aircraft carrier protection
The system of the aircraft carrier "Nimitz" includes two main degrees of protection:
- Above-water - consists of 3 decks, 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 flooring and armored transverse partitions.
The first ship of the Nimitz type
The aircraft carrier "Nimitz", the photo of which is presented in this article, became the first and, as a result, the main vessel 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 admiral of the American Navy. His name is Nimitz William.
Aircraft carrier "Nimitz": characteristics
Today, 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 Nimitz nuclear carrier on two nuclear reactors and four steam turbines can develop 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 by a more modern ship of this type.
Series Composition
It is noteworthy that the American aircraft carrier Nimitz, like all ships of this type, has a personal side number.
So, for example, the first ship of this type has the number CVN-68, which stands for:
- C - Cruiser (English cruiser).
- V - Voler (French to fly).
- N - Nuclea.
- 68 - Sequence number.
List of American Nimitz-class aircraft carriers| Number 68 | Nimitz |
| Number 69 | Eisenhower |
| Number 70 | Vinson |
| Number 71 | Roosevelt |
| Number 72 | Lincoln |
| Number 73 | "Washington" |
| Number 74 | Stennis |
| Number 75 | Truman |
| Number 76 | Reagan |
| Number 77 | "Bush" |
Armament
The Nimitz class aircraft carrier is armed with three Sea Sparrow missile systems and 4 Volcano-Falanks twenty-millimeter anti-aircraft artillery systems. In the future, it is planned to install several three-pipe 324-mm torpedo tubes on each of the aircraft carriers, designed to combat torpedoes guided by the wake of the wake.
“Nimitz” is an aircraft carrier, the armament of which usually includes up to 86 combat aircraft and several types of carrier-based deck aircraft. So, for example, on the aircraft carrier CVN-71 - "Theodore Roosevelt", which participated in the hostilities against Iraq in January 1991, there were 78 aircraft in the wing.
Crew
Nimitz is an aircraft carrier with a crew of 6,286 people:
- The staff is 3184 people.
- Air wing service - 2800 people.
- Camping headquarters - 70 people.
Management System Features
The US Nimitz aircraft carrier is equipped with a large number of innovative systems that allow controlling military equipment with little or no human involvement. So, for example, for landing an aircraft with poor visibility, when the pilot does not see the landing strip, an automatic landing system called ACLS is used.
As soon as 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 information and sends signals to the onboard autopilot according to the situation. After that, the aircraft is automatically displayed exactly on the slice of the angular deck of the aircraft carrier without participation in the process of landing the pilot.
Operations performed
The strike aircraft carrier Nimitz in 1980 participated in a failed operation called the Eagle Claw. Its main goal was to free the hostages of the American embassy in Tehran. During the operation, he stayed in swimming for about six months.
In addition, Nimitz is an aircraft carrier that ensured the safety of the Olympic Games in Seoul at that time in 1988. 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.
Aircraft carrier cost
The cost of building an aircraft carrier depends on many factors. First of all, the number of deck 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” amounted to about $ 6.5 billion.
Since the most modern weapons and high-tech technological equipment are installed on board each new aircraft carrier, the share of innovative equipment on board the latest aircraft carriers is 50%, which could not but affect the increase in their cost.
As for the construction time, it usually takes up to 8 years from the moment such a ship is laid to launch. The aircraft carrier has a complex structure and control system, as a result of which it takes much more time to build it than to create a conventional ship.
Conclusion
To date, the US military leadership considers it inappropriate to increase the number of Nimitz-type ships, believing that it is necessary to maintain 10 existing aircraft carriers and one training one, replacing them only when necessary, when the life of one of the ships is approaching its end.