USS Gerald R. Ford and USS John F. Kennedy are two new Gerald R. Ford-class super carriers about to be equipped for the US Navy. In March, USS Gerald R. Ford (ship code CVN-78) will officially enter the payroll and it will replace the legendary aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CVN-65), which is over 51 years old. Meanwhile, USS John F. Kennedy (CVN-79) is still being built and is expected to be operational by 2020.
Under the convention of naming warships established by the late President Theodore Rossevelt, aircraft carriers (CV and CVN ship code) will carry the names of naval admirers and politicians (usually presidents) to honor their name after their death. Except for USS Enterprise, the remaining aircraft carriers carry the names of US presidents, starting with USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67).
In the case of CVN-78, the decision to name the 38th President of the United States was proposed by US President George W. Bush on October 17, 2006. At this time, Gerald Ford is still alive and By January 2007, after Gerald Ford died (December 26, 2006), the US naval adviser Donald Winter officially announced that the CVN-78 would be named USS Gerald R. Ford in accordance with the naming convention. .
Meanwhile, CVN-79 is the third warship to carry the name of a deceased member of the Kennedy family and is the second aircraft carrier named John F. Kennedy (formerly USS John F. Kennedy ( CV-67) or "Big John" of Nimitz class, is now retired.
USS Gerald R. Ford has a manufacturing cost of about US $ 17 to 18 billion, of which US $ 12.8 billion is for materials and labor costs, US $ 4.7 billion for research and development in accordance with The contract was signed between the US Navy and shipbuilding branch of military contractor Northrop Grumman. This branch was later acquired by Huntington Ingalls investment fund in 2011.
The image above shows the giant of the USS Gerald R. Ford when the ship is still on the dry dock 12 of Newport News Shipbuilding shipyard.
Shipbuilding activities take place around the clock. USS Gerald R. Ford has many noticeable enhancements compared to the Nimitz class, especially a better quality environment for sailors with quieter sleeping chambers, more recreational areas, fitness training. and better air conditioning systems.
Computer model of USS Gerald R. Ford. The complete ship has a length of 337m, a height of 76m, a 78m-long cross-beam girder, a volume of 100,000 tons of water stretch.
USS Gerald R. Ford has an airport of 333 x 78m, carrying more than 75 types of aircraft and 4660 sailors.
Each component of the Gerald R. Ford class vessel is designed to be a true 3D size using Huntington Ingalls' Rapid Operational Virtual Reality (ROVR) virtual reality system . USS Gerald R. Ford was the first aircraft carrier designed with this technology.
On February 25, 2011, Newport News Shipbuilding held the first steel cutting ceremony for the USS John F. Kennedy.
According to estimates by Newport New Shipbuilding, it takes up to 2,000 tons of metal just to weld the components of the ship together.
The workers are squeezing the screws on a propeller of the USS Gerald R. Ford with a tightening lever. The ship is equipped with 4 propellers, using 2 A1B nuclear reactors. The propellers will help the Gerald R. Ford class vessel reach a speed of 35 mph (56 km / h), a respectable speed for a ship weighing up to 10,205 tons.
Newport News Shipbuilding operates its own steel foundry and here workers are casting anchor pipes for the USS John F. Kennedy.
In the picture is a pipe installation specialist Trevin Wilson working on the USS John F. Kennedy. Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carriers are designed with significantly reduced lead pipe lines. Compared to the ships of Nimitz class, USS John F. Kennedy has a number of pipeline valves less than 1/3.
An indispensable component on the carrier deck is the catapult . In the picture is the test operation of the new US Navy's electromagnetic flight launch system. On the deck of the USS Gerald R. Ford, they launched a sledge of a fighter-jet weight down the James River.
The successful launch, the electromagnetic flight launcher system can accelerate an object weighing more than 45 tons to a speed of 201km / h on a distance of less than 91m.
Big Blue crane at Newport News Shipbuilding shipyard is bringing the air traffic control tower aboard USS Gerald R. Ford in January 2013.
This is a compartment weighing 1026 tons - the heaviest component of the USS Gerald R. Ford's structure. The compartment is 38m long, 38m wide, is located below the deck and contains a lot of things including fire fighting systems, jet fuel and aircraft launching systems.
In the past, warships were often built from the bottom up. Today, ships are built modular assembly. In the picture, the engineers are taking the last piece of the USS Gerald R. Ford.
And this is the part under the bow of the USS Gerald R. Ford, it weighs about 680 tons, being lowered by a crane to join the ship.
The crane in Newport New Shipbuilding is in the process of assembling the section on the bow which weighs 787 tons. This is a process that requires very high precision.
Susan Ford, the daughter of Gerald R. Ford and honorary sponsor, visited the ship bearing her father's name in 2011. She also followed many manufacturing steps of USS Gerald R. Ford and in the picture above, she is Help an engineer tighten a component on the ship's main deck.
The picture taken from above shows the panorama of the USS Gerald R. Ford in the finishing process. The ship was located at Dry Dock 12 in approximately 7 years and after 25 years of service, the ship will be returned to this dry dock.
Son is an important step in completing all ships and Newport News Shipbuilding estimates that nearly 760,000 liters of paint have been used and 170 workers to paint the entire USS Gerald R. Ford. In addition, this ship is also covered with a self-healing coating that can resist heat and ultraviolet rays.
The naming ceremony for the CVN-78 Gerald R. Ford took place on November 9, 2013. In the picture, Ms. Susan Ford smashed a bottle of premium Portuguese wine into the bow of the ship.
USS Gerald R. Ford will join the US Navy warship fleet on March 16 this year. At the ceremony named, Newport News Shipbuilding president - Matt Mulherin announced: "The ship will be the queen dominating the sea for 50 years and will be a symbol of the supreme territory of the United States at any place. At the same time, the ship will represent Gerald R. Ford - the man who embodies integrity, honor and courage ".
Video Timelapse aircraft manufacturing process USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78):
