Question about the MIGHTY UNITED STATES OF AMERICA aircraft carrier that PWNAGES!

[LiuKangBakinPie]

Or you can use Wikipedia. It's free, needs no installation, and is available everywhere.

Encarta is free as well and not full of citation numbers.

 

[sao123]

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=aircraft+carrier+cutaway

 

[JTsyo]

http://www.snopes.com/military/lighthouse.asp

It makes no sense anyway. Why would a carrier be sailing close enough to land that it would run the risk of running into a lighthouse. Though I'm sure the carrier was carrying enough munitions to level a lighthouse. This is probably the attitude the story is making fun of

 

[jessieqwert]

Each is parked on a 360 treadmill with gyroscopes

 

[Rage187]

Or you can use Wikipedia. It's free, needs no installation, and is available everywhere.

Isn't that site banned in China?

 

[spacejamz]

I always wondered how are the planes parked on the Aircraft carrier deck... I mean what happens if the ship are caught in a big storm with huge waves and the rocking of the boat causes some of the planes to fall off into the sea?

I heard there are side cranes to lift the planes that fell off back onto the deck?

 

[marvdmartian]

THANKS for taking the time to write this! Greatly appreciated! What is the policy of dealing with civilian ships (fishing boats etc) that stray too close to the carrier group and you can't contact them on the radio?
Does the captain eat together with the rest of the crew and are you allowed to visit the bridge?

You're welcome.
The "small boys" usually take care of any ships that may stray too close, though it's not usually a problem. Back in the 80's, it wasn't unusual for a Soviet "fishing trawler" to shadow the carrier battle groups, though they stayed well back, to keep out of the way. More than once, we would simply crank up the engines, and sail away from them, for whatever tactical reason (hard for a 20-25 knot trawler to keep up with a 30+ knot carrier, ya know?). We would also, occasionally, get fly-byes from Soviet military aircraft, usually bombers that had the longer range, and could carry the air to surface cruise missiles. We always had a combat air patrol (CAP) up, though (usually, in my day, F-14's), and they would "escort" the "Bear" aircraft around the carrier battle group (overflight of a US Navy ship, even out on the open ocean, by any unfriendly country's military aircraft, could be construed as an act of war......strange and funny "rules" we all played by, back in the bad old days!).

In port, most ships and boats will give right of way to an aircraft carrier.....mostly because they don't want to argue with something that big!

The captain, executive officer, and all the rest of the officers on board have their wardroom that they eat in. Usually a little bit better food (though the chiefs still ate better, since there's fewer of them, and they don't have to buy the same food, from the same vendors, that the supply officer uses to feed the officers and crew), and they eat on real china plates, with table cloths and nicer silverware (versus the crew's stainless steel utensils). Never cared to really look and see what it was like for them in there, but it's probable that they got served, versus having to stand in line and use a compartmented tray (like the enlisted guys do).

If we're at sea, the only people on the bridge are those with business there. I only had occasion a couple times to be up there during underway times, and that was to run paperwork up there, that the OOD (officer of the deck, who's in charge of the bridge when the captain's not there) needed to have. You knock, enter, announce yourself and the reason you're there, take care of your business, and leave. Couple of minutes each time, for me. In port, though, you can go up on the bridge.

Are those white pods the lifeboats arrayed on racks just below deck level?

Yes. They're designed to actually hit the water, sink to ~25-30 feet, where a pressure switch will initiate the inflation of the raft (CO2 cylinder), and it will pop back up to the surface. When I was on board, each raft could hold ~30 people, and there were looped straps around the outside, where about the same number of people could hold on (while in the water).

Funny thing was, we were required to run for our physical fitness tests, not swim. Funnier thing was, when I pointed out that it might be a better idea for Navy guys to know how to swim, just in case we got our ship shot out from under us, it was never received very well by the supervisory types! :whiste:

 

[ElFenix]

i'd like to see an aircraft carrier transiting the suez.

here you are in the middle of the desert and there's an aircraft carrier

 

[EagleKeeper]

Funny thing was, we were required to run for our physical fitness tests, not swim. Funnier thing was, when I pointed out that it might be a better idea for Navy guys to know how to swim, just in case we got our ship shot out from under us, it was never received very well by the supervisory types! :whiste:

Burning fuel oil is not pleasant to swim in.
The amount of time one can survive in the water outside the tropics makes swimming skills not very valuable.
I think the expectancy is only about 5 minutes in the areas of the Atlantic/Pacific where icebergs get to.

Without life vests you may make 30-60 minutes elsewhere unless the temp of the water is 80 (tropics)

 

[IronWing]

Yes. They're designed to actually hit the water, sink to ~25-30 feet, where a pressure switch will initiate the inflation of the raft (CO2 cylinder), and it will pop back up to the surface. When I was on board, each raft could hold ~30 people, and there were looped straps around the outside, where about the same number of people could hold on (while in the water).

So in battle the life boats are the first thing to take fire?

 

[Gibsons]

Burning fuel oil is not pleasant to swim in.
The amount of time one can survive in the water outside the tropics makes swimming skills not very valuable.
I think the expectancy is only about 5 minutes in the areas of the Atlantic/Pacific where icebergs get to.

Without life vests you may make 30-60 minutes elsewhere unless the temp of the water is 80 (tropics)

There was one guy who managed to fall off a carrier and survived 36 hours in the water. This was near the persian gulf, so warm water.

http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=19951130&slug=2155247

 

[LiuKangBakinPie]

When I was at college just after I finish school there were navy guys doing the course with us. Now we use to make fun of them because our biggest ship is probably the size of a American lifeboat. Now we asked them about the subs and wanted to know that if they use the same piece of shit you get in Down Periscope. The one navy guy said: "
Diesel subs are great you can't hear them in rough waters!"

 

[BlahBlahYouToo]

So the carrier can store ALL the places below deck?

lol, chiner.

 

[irishScott]

Do they provide music as the planes are raised/lowered?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNxvXj9nff4

 

[feralkid]

These guys are lying, there is no storage on deck. The planes are always anchored on deck but are made invisible with invisi-tarp. Turned out it was cheaper to just tarp them all than create elevators, plus underneath are all the people rowing so not much room anyway.

So true; every day I still meet people that think elevators move, not realizing it's the building that goes up & down.

Idjits.

 

[feralkid]

i'd like to see an aircraft carrier transiting the suez.

here you are in the middle of the desert and there's an aircraft carrier

Like this?

 

[EagleKeeper]

No one goes in the other side until this bad boy is ready. :biggrin:

 

[LiuKangBakinPie]

 

[EagleKeeper]

I am unsure if they have that many aircraft just forward of the island based on the example.

I could be wrong thoug

 

[Linflas]

If a plane falls off, you ain't getting it back. I'm sure it happens every once in a while, but even on a slippery, wet deck, with the wheels chocked, they ain't going far.

Umm no. The planes are "tied down" with tie down chains to the deck at all times except when they are ready for launch.

I always wondered how are the planes parked on the Aircraft carrier deck... I mean what happens if the ship are caught in a big storm with huge waves and the rocking of the boat causes some of the planes to fall off into the sea?

I heard there are side cranes to lift the planes that fell off back onto the deck?

When at all possible they will sail around storms of that magnitude, if not then the planes that remain on the flight deck will be be tied down securely with tie down chains. We went through just such a storm when I was on the USS Independence and had 1 A-7 Corsair that was caught by a wave while they were still preparing them for the storm while they were spotting it on the bow. They tied it down while it was still sitting cockeyed and it was still there 3 days later when we emerged from the storm however the catwalk along both sides of the flight deck from the bow back close to the island area were gone.