Aircraft Carriers II (Closed to posting)
- Thread starter Jeff Head
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Well the CGD is 860 feet long and it's flight deck is 203 feet wide.
A US Nimitz carrier is 1,092 feet long and 257 feet wide. That's 230 feet longer and 54 feet wider.
The Burke Class DDG is 513 feet long and 66 feet wide.
The US AOR, USNS Arctic (T-AOE-8) is 755 feet long and 107 feet wide. But at a full displacment of 49,600 tons, she is actually heavier than the Charles de Gaulle which displaces 42,000 tons full load.
So, yes, as carriers go, the CDG is small compared to a US carrier.
However, still carries a very potent air wing...and that's what really matters. With the Rafael Ms, the Super Etendards, and the E-2C Hawke sheyes, that French air wing can be more powerful than any other current air wing on any other carrier in the world, outside of the US air wings.
I see six Rafaels and five super Etendards sitting on deck there in those pictures. How many does she normally carry these days?
I know in the 2012 FANAL exercises her fixed wing aircraft consisted of seven Rafael Ms and seven Super Etendards and two E-2Cs. That's just 16 aircraft out of the 40 she can carry. Is she typically carrying more now?
asif iqbal
Lieutenant General
Older pic but still a great shot, 7 x Nimitz Class
Actually, this picture is from Bremerton Washington in 2009 and the first four carriers to the left are all older, non-nuclear carriers that are decommissioned and in storage...and not Nimitz class carriers.
Then you have one in overhaul, and then two active carriers in port.
So, yes, there are seven carriers there, but only three active Nimitz class and one of those is in overhaul.
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kwaigonegin
Colonel
This is about as rare as they come where you see FIVE current carriers and a bunch of LHD's on port at the same time.
USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69), USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77), USS Enterprise (CVN 65), USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75), and USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) at Norfolk.
Yes. Now that one was at Christmas 2012.
Five carriers (but one was the Enterprise which had just been taken out of service on December 1st, 2012) and four Wasp Class LHDs.
A HUGE concentration of US naval force. (IMHO, too much in one place at one time.)
navyreco
Senior Member
According to the French Navy, the airwing for this specific deployement is:
Which is normal for peace time i guess. During operation in Libya, I am pretty sure it was more but I lack time now to dig it up
asif iqbal
Lieutenant General
Great spot, this is what happens when you post pics in a rush without checking them!
I see them now, bottom left hand side clearly not Nimitz Class
Well, 27-28 aircraft out of 40 is a pretty good load.
That would be more in line with what I would expect, if they have enough Rafael Ms to maintain that.
As to the Libya campaign, it would be very interesting to know what she carried then too.
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