Capability
- Top speed exceeds 30 knots
- Expected to operate in the fleet for about 50 years
- Carries over 80 combat aircraft
- Three arresting cables can stop a 28-ton aircraft going 150 miles per hour in less than 400 feet
Size
Towers 20 stories above the waterline
- 1092 feet long; nearly as long as the Empire State Building is tall
- Flight deck covers 4.5 acres
- 4 bronze propellers, each 21 feet across and weighing 66,200 pounds
- 2 rudders, each 29 by 22 feet and weighing 50 tons
- 4 high speed aircraft elevators, each over 4,000 square feet
Dates
- Dec 8, 1994 Contract awarded to Newport News Shipbuilding
- Feb 12, 1998 Keel laid
- Oct 1, 2000 Precommissioning Unit established
- March 4, 2001 Christened by Mrs Nancy Reagan
- May 5, 2003 First underway
- July 12, 2003 Commissioned
- July 23, 2004 Arrived at homeport in San Diego, CA
Capacity
- Home to about 6,000 Navy personnel
- Carries enough food and supplies to operate for 90 days
- 18,150 meals served daily
- Distillation plants provide 400,000 gallons of fresh water from sea water daily, enough for 2000 homes
- Nearly 30,000 light fixtures and 1,325 miles of cable and wiring
- 1,400 telephones, 14,000 pillowcases and 28,000 sheets
- Costs the Navy approximately $250,000 per day for pier side operation
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