26USS Carl Vinson
Aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson was deployed to Haiti after the 2010 Earthquake and it provided the island with 200,000 gallons a day of fresh drinking water from its desalination plants.
27. A total of more than 200 aircraft carriers were built throughout World War 2. By 1943, the US pacific fleet alone was larger than all the warring powers’ navies combined.
28. The US navy's new class of aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford can accomplish 25% more aircraft launches per day than the Nimitz class and requires 25% fewer crew members. The Navy estimates it will save $4 billion in operating costs over a 50-year lifespan. It costs $7 million per day to operate the whole strike group.
29. Aircraft Carriers are truly a floating city. Nimitz class carriers can easily house more than 6000 people. They have multiple galleys to eat in, a convenience store, various gyms, library, a barbershop, sleeping quarters, restrooms, hangar space for 100 aircraft, a laundry, recycling center, desalinization plants for freshwater, and a bank (to provide sailors with access to their cash to spend on shore leave in foreign ports).
30. In 2002, while returning to the US, the USS John C. Stennis aircraft carrier stopped in Australia, where the sailors wore out the local sex workers to the point the brothel had to close down temporarily.
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31HMS Queen Elizabeth
The Queen christened the British Royal Navy’s new aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth with a bottle of single malt Scotch whisky from the Bowmore distillery on the island of Islay instead of champagne because the ship had been built and launched in Scotland.
32. USS Midway was one of the last internal combustion carriers used by the USA. It consumed about 100,000 gallons of fuel a day. Its ship and air-fuel tanks had the capacity to hold a total of 3.5 million gallons of fuel. At its most efficient speed of about 15 knots, it reached a fuel efficiency of about 20 feet per gallon.
33. In 2009, a smoldering cigarette caused fire to break out aboard USS George Washington. The fire raged on for 11 hours, causing $70 million worth of damage, yet it didn’t disable the ship.
34. The main purpose of an aircraft carrier is to project force. Each full US carrier (the Nimitz-class carriers) can carry something like 100 aircraft. When an aircraft carrier deploys, it takes a Carrier Strike Group (CSG), made up of several other warships and supply vessels. They are always escorted by at least one (sometimes two) attack submarine(s), guided missile cruisers, guided-missile destroyers, frigates and supply support ships.
35. There are 3 types of Aircraft carriers. CATOBAR - Catapult Assisted Take-Off Barrier Arrested Recovery. These are only used by the US Navy and France, although the Chinese are expected to build some. STOBAR - Short Take-Off Barrier Arrested Recovery. These are used by Russia, China, India. STOVL - Short Take-Off Vertical Landing. These are used by UK, Italy, Spain, Thailand, Japan, and South Korea will operate carriers in this configuration. The US also has 9 STOVL carriers (Wasp and America class ships).
