The first aircraft carrier , christened by the US Navy , set sail in 1922. A converted support vessel that was more of an experiment than a warship. The USS Langley (CV-1) was converted from USS Jupiter and gained the nickname of “covered wagon” for the newly installed flight deck.
With a deck of 542 feet (165 meters) long and displacing less than 20,000 tons, the Langley would be dwarfed by her descendants. While the pioneers who created Langley had high hopes, it’s unlikely they would have imagined how such a humble beginning would lead to the leviathans that sail the high seas today. At the outbreak of WW2 , the Yorktown Class boasted a 900 foot (274 meter) flight deck and averaged 40,000 tons with the air wing aboard.
The post-war Forrestal Class launched in 1955, would grow to 1,067 feet (325 meters) and 81,000 tons ; becoming the first class of warship dubbed supercarriers. In 1961, the remarkable immensity of the Forrestal Class would surpassed by the first nuclear-powered supercarrier, USS Enterprise (CV-66). Measuring 1,088 feet (331 meters) and displaced 94,000 tons and named for the most decorated flat-top of WW2, Enterprise would be the capital ship of the US Navy through many conflicts over decades of service until finally being decommissioned in 2017.
In her wake, the ubiquitous Nimitz Class - the tip of the spear, always ready to project power ashore wherever and whenever they are called to action. Launched in 1972, the Nimitz Class built upon the technology of the Enterprise while also increasing the flight deck to 1,115 feet (339 meters) and displacing 101,000 tons . In 2017, the newest class of supercarriers came online with the commissioning of the USS Gerald R Ford (CVN-78), a warship armed with fearsome technology and capability that promises to carry the legacy of US Naval air power proudly into the future.
War in the Pacific and Lessons Learned The traditions of US Naval Aviation trace much of their history to the many battles fought by American sailors and airmen who valiantly served in the Pacific Theater during World War II. At the outset, it was great fortune for the US Navy that when the attack on Pearl Harbor occurred the flat-tops happened to be at sea. They narrowly survived the devastation that left so many of the battleships and other warships crippled or destroyed.
The US Pacific Fleet was left hollow and reeling from the surprise assault. There was no time to mourn or rest, the admiralty of the Pacific fleet focused on immediate reorganization and mobilization. The redeployment of the fleet was imperative both to strike back and prevent another tragedy on American soil.
The absence of the great battleships that traditionally served as capital ships, along with the clear need for air power at sea brought forth a new Navy. The carriers took up the mantle as flagships and led the US fleet into a struggle of proportions that had never been seen before. (For more about the pivotal battle of the "Marianas turkey shoot," click here !).
The flagship class of the war was the Yorktown carriers, with a displacement of 20,100 tons, measurement of 809 feet (246 meters) in length, traveling speed of 32.5 knots (37.4 mph/60 kmh), and a complement of 2,919 personnel.
They carried up to 90 aircraft and were equipped with three elevators and two flight deck catapult s. Though ultimately victorious, the Yorktown class suffered heavy losses in battle. When the war finally ended, the USS Enterprise (CV-6) would become the most decorated American ship of the war.
The veterans of the merciless Pacific battlefield would use their hard-fought experience to build a Navy that would ensure America’s aircraft carriers would be ready to fight and win against any adversary. The "Slow But Deadly" Dauntless wasn't just the most effective US dive-bomber of WW2. It was an outright game-changer Written in blood, the dawning of the jet age “Every line in NATOPS is written in blood” - a caution told to every pilot, crew member, or ground handler that has served in the US Navy.
While this may sound like hyperbole at first, it harkens to the very real sacrifices made by many Americans that paved the way for modern naval aviation. The deck of an aircraft carrier is the most dangerous place on earth between spinning propellers, rotor blades, heavy equipment, moving decks and flame shooting jets, there’s 60,000-pound (27,000-kilogram) aircraft moving at violent speeds on and off the ship..
. Then there’s the flying – with the introduction of jets and helicopters to the tailhook community demanded dramatic reorganization for the Navy and Marine Corps. The speed and capabilities of new technology revolutionized carrier air wing capabilities, but the consequences of even small mistakes were even more swift and violent than ever before.
It was already a feat of airmanship to land a propeller-driven plane onto the postage stamp that is a carrier deck (which happens to be moving, at sea). Now every American air wing fielded jets that flew twice as fast, with greater wingspans and far heavier airframes. Every idea of how naval aviation operated would have to change, and so to would the ships that they flew from.
The Korean War (1950-1953) was a pioneering age of the modern carrier air wing as we know it. Development of the U.S.
Navy's "supercarriers" began with USS Forrestal (CVA 59), commissioned in 1955 . Ships in this class measured 1,036 feet (316 meters) in length with a displacement of 56,000 tons and a fully integrated angled deck. Steam-powered catapults and angled flight decks were just some of the modifications that were installed to counter the much more powerful aircraft .
The Kitty Hawk class would continue to build upon the improvements of the Forrestal class until their successors entered the fleet, ushering in another era of revolutionary changes. Carrier strike group, the nuclear era The first nuclear aircraft carrier entered service in 1961 with the USS Enterprise (CVN 65). Inheriting the name of the US Navy’s most revered flat-top came with a great deal of promise and expectation.
She was the longest warship ever constructe d at 1,088 feet (331 meters) until the commissioning of the USS Gerald R Ford (CVN 78) at 1,092 feet (332 meters). After commissioning, Enterprise began a lengthy series of tests and training exercises, designed to determine her full capabilities. Beginning six days of builder’s and Navy pre-acceptance trials on 29 October 1961, she exceeded expectations, her reactors generating such horsepower that she literally out-ran her destroyer escort .
Naval aviators evolved to meet new enemy threats on a broad spectrum of tactics: providing close air support in dense jungle against an often invisible array of anti-aircraft fire, clearing the skies of enemy MiGs, rescuing fellow aviators from behind enemy lines and more. Jets became faster and heavier; many new and specialized aircraft were developed to meet the demanding missions of the war. Helicopters became a prevalent force on the battlefield.
The US Navy’s carrier force was constantly adapting to an ever changing battlefield. Amidst the flurry of changing tactics and technology, the fire on the USS Forrestal (1967) served as a stark reminder that the fundamental skills of every soul aboard are imperative to avert disaster. Not only the combat performance but the survival of the aircraft carrier depends on the duty of every individual.
A ship the size of a small city that’s filled with jet fuel and ordinance is a powder keg that can go off with just one wrong misstep in the intricate dance that is carrier operations. Nothing can be left to chance, the ship and every crew member must perform perfectly, every cycle. The tragedy and triumph experienced by the American sailors and aircrews who fought in Vietnam is deeply etched into both legacy as well as the blueprint of modern American carriers.
The Vietnam War (1955-1975) was a tumultuous time for America. Like all of the Armed Forces, and the nation itself, American naval aviation emerged in a very different from how it began. Naval airpower was crucial in supporting the war effort.
US Marines stormed the beaches on the first days of the conflict, with naval air cover protecting them above. When the war drew to an end, during the desperate and frantic evacuation of Saigon - the USS Midway (CV 41) would prove an invaluable lifeboat for thousands of souls fleeing the end of the war. The final days of the war would witness the introduction of the modern iteration of American carriers - the Nimitz class supercarriers.
The USS Nimitz first entered service on May 13, 1972 and today, a fleet of 10 nuclear-powered Nimitz Class carriers are currently in service . The Nimitz Class is truly an icon of American naval power as we know it today. The symbol of American military might wherever there is conflict.
The Nimitz are superbly fast ships, just like the Enterprise, easily outpacing their support ships and often trading one escort for another underway to maximize their remarkable speed in delivering the awesome power of the carrier air wing, anywhere on Earth. The flight deck is angled at nine degrees to allow for simultaneous launch and recovery operations and they are equipped with catapult assisted take-off and arrested recovery (CATOBAR) system for launch and recovery cycles that outstripped the speed of any rivals. Nimitz class carriers also only utilized two nuclear reactors, where USS Enterprise had 8, allowing them to carry 90 percent more fuel and 50 percent more ordnance which dramatically increased the air wing's lethality and time on station.
Carriers were successful because they were the first modular warships. They could operate successive generations of naval aircraft without radical reconstruction. The outer limits on size, landing speed, and takeoff speed of postwar nuclear bombers accommodated later aircraft like the F-14 and the A-6 Intruder.
The current generation of F/A-18 Super Hornet is smaller than either, and the F-35 falls within these same limits . The Ford class supercarriers feature even greater capacity and capability than the Nimitz ships, promised at a lower operating cost than their predecessors. Armed with a host of new technologies, including magnetically driven catapults, the Ford was designed with the future air wing in mind.
This new class was conceived with the ability to carry the F-35 Lightning II, C V-22 Osprey and unmanned combat drones . The next generation of capital ship for the US Navy’s carrier strike group are poised to counter any threat on the battlefield and win any conflict they may be called upon to fight - far into the future. The USS Ford’s first 239 days underway debuted the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) into real-world operation.
The Ford’s advanced arresting gear and advanced weapons elevators along with the myriad of other new systems are designed to generate a higher sortie rate with a 20% smaller crew than a Nimitz-class carrier. During their 8 months at sea, the nearly 5,000-strong crew consumed: 48,000 dozen eggs 24,000 gallons (910,000 liters) of milk 131,000 hamburgers 367,000 pounds (16,700 kilograms) of chicken 79,000 chocolate chip cookies (Gerald R. Ford’s favorite) Hopefully, those numbers won’t cut into the expected savings on operating costs.
.. nonetheless, Captain Rick Burgess (Commanding Officer) was quoted : "The Gerald R.
Ford is everything our nation hoped it would be, and more. I am so proud of the crew, who breathed life into the world’s most technologically advanced warship and stood the watch in defense of our national interests.” It is with high hopes and great expectations that the world will watch the USS Ford and her sister ships as they carry a proud legacy of courage and valor into the future - maintaining vigilance, always at the ready to answer the call to duty in defense of freedom anywhere in the world.
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