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Contents
2 Early Carriers 14 Wing
Carrier Air
4 Carriers of WWII 16 FlightDeck Crew
6 The Jet Challenge 18 Today and Tomorrow
8 Back to War 20 The Carrier Quiz
10 Supercarriers 24 World Carriers
12 Defending the Carrier
EARLY CARRIERS
The US Navy was a pioneer in carrier operations, developing the
technology of its ships and aircraft as well as the tactics for their
successful employment during the years between the great wars.
'Tssss^ffi
Coral Sea ^^
12:00, May 7
AUSTRALIA Sims sunk, Neosho damaged
Carriers Up Close: USS Essex USS Essex in
May 1943. The 15
Essex-class fast
Name: USS Essex, CV-9
aircraft carriers
Commissioned: December 1942
31,
were among ttie
Machinery: Westinghouse geared turbines, most successful
eight boilers, four shafts ever built and a
Displacement: 34,880 tons number of them
Length: 872 feet served into the
Speed: 32.7 knots (37.65 miles per hour) jet age.
Typical number of aircraft: 91
Crew: 2,682
Fighting Back
Clever tactics and good
carriers allowed the US to
take the war back to the
Japanese after the blow of
Pearl Harbor. Lexington
sank during the first major
engagement, the Battle of
the Coral Sea, but by the
time the key battles in the
Philippine Sea and Leyte
Gulf were fought, the USS Langley and USS TIconderoga enter
Essex-class carriers were in the anchorage at Ulithi Atoll. By this time,
in December 1944, the might of the Pacific
service and the Japanese were
Fleet had obliterated most of the Imperial
resorting to kamikaze attacks. Japanese Navy.
The Tet Challenge
Jet-powered aircraft were faster and more capable than their
piston-engined forebears, but required new technology including
the steam catapultfor safe carrier operations.
On March
began
10, 1948, the
its first jet
US Navy
operations, off
)F the USS Boxer. Although these
tests used the disappointing North
American FJ-1 Fury, they began to
show the new challenges presented
by the carrier-borne jet. The jets were
faster than the piston-engined aircraft
that preceded them, they were heavier
and they required huge amounts of
fuel for their thirsty engines.
Steam Catapults
Until then, the pneumatic and
;r^v,r
The Catapult System
The steam catapult was designed by British naval engineers and subsequently adopted
and adapted by the US Navy. Some are connected to the shuttle by a strap
aircraft
that connects to two points on their underside, but all current US Navy types have
a launching bar attached to their nosewheel legs.
The steam catapult derived power its decks and new landing systems were
directly from the and
ship's boilers introduced.Some Essex-class ships
was such a powerful mechanism were upgraded and a new generation
that it could even launch an aircraft of carriers was launched with the first
Anew breed of
carrier based on
the Forrestal class joined
the fleet in 1961 and
these ships, Kitty Hawk,
Constellation, America
and John F. Kennedy,
were soon in service off
Number Of Time
Class Ship name
Cruises Period
Powerful Defense
Now the air wing could perform
every function, protecting its carrier
from subsurface, surface and airborne
attack, controlling the battle,
disrupting enemy communications
and radar systems and reaching out to
These VFA-22 F/A-18E Super Hornets strike distant sea and land targets.
were arranged on USS Ronald
In fact, the Nimitz-class ships carry
Reagan's deck.
an air wing larger in size and far more
No More F-14s capable than some of the world's
A radical change affected all the US smaller air forces.
Navy's carrier air wings. For many
years F-1 4 Tomcats were synonymous
with carrier flying, but they have now
been replaced by F/A-18E Super
Hornets. These bring huge savings in
terms of maintenance and a massive
increase in capability. As one old hand
remarked: "On deck... nothing looks
better than a Tomcat. It always looked
like it was ready to go out and kill
someone, but if you really need to get USS Dwight D. Eisenhower was the second
the job done, send a Super Hornet." Nimitz-class ship. It has taken part in
operations off Iraq and Haiti.
10
USS Nimitz was commissioned in 1975. Its
air wing
fias flown in excess of 6,500 missions
in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Tlie USS
Nimitz's 2001/02
refit included
the addition
ofVFA-14
"Tophatters"
and its F/A-18E
Super Hornets
to its air wing.
Carrier aircraft
usually carry
their parent
ship's name
above the Navy
titling on their
rear fuselage.
11
Defending the Carrier
Supremely capable, the supercarrier makes for a primary target
and therefore relies on sophisticated, layered defenses provided
by its weapons and aircraft and those of its escorting ships.
Supercarriers sail as the lead ship in Against airborne threats the carrier
a carrier strike group, which varies is equipped with 58-mile-range Sea
according to task, but at the very least Sparrow missiles and the Phalanx
includes a Ticonderoga-class cruiser, system, which can fire against close-
an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, a range threats. Phalanx is also common
Los Angeles-class attack submarine to the carrier's support ships. If a
Range of Fire
To defeat submarine threats, both Key
ships have 10,000-yard-range OASROC engagement
zone, 5.7-mile radius
anti-submarine missiles in addition
to their ASW helicopters. OSea Sparrow engagement
zone, 58-mile radius
Ship- and
. . Submarine torpedo range,
Submarine-Based Defenses *.* 24-mile radius
Standard engagement
O zone, 230-mile radius
Arleigh
Burke class
12
Air Defense System Key
This diagram illustrates how air defenses
OF/A-18E/F radar range,
can be put up by a carrier and just two of 100-mile radius
its escorts. The ranges noted here are all
13
Carrier Air Wing
A new mix of advanced aircraft types and precision weapons
is taking the carrier air wing into the future as a leaner, more
efficient and more effective unit.
Launching aircraft such as this JDAM-armed F/A-18E allows US carriers to strike with an
accuracy of 43 feet across ranges of several hundred miles. This VFA-115 "Eagles" Super
Hornet is performing a "touch-and-go" on USS Abraham Lincoln.
Atypical carrier air wing can take Hornet form, or as the F/A-18C
on multiple roles thanks to its (single-seat) or D (two-seat) Hornet.
mix of F/A-18s, EA-6B Prowlers, The Super Hornet offers a quantum
S-3B Vikings, E-2C Hawkeyes and leap in capability over the "Legacy
various helicopters. Hornet," with greater range and
The F/A-18 is used in F/A-18E more effective systems. It has
(single-seat) or F (two-seat) Super replaced the Tomcat as the fleet's
Jamming
US forces rely on the Navy's EA-6Bs
to jam enemy air defenses and mask
the movements of US strike aircraft.
14
The US Navy and Marine Corps have responsibility for all US jamming needs. This
VAQ-137 "Rooks" EA-6B Prowler jamming aircraft was photographed over the Arabian
Sea during Enduring Freedom operations from USS Theodore Roosevelt
The EA-6B is usually flown unarmed, radar to search for enemy aircraft and
representing an asset that is too high controls the air wing's own forces.
in value to risk in a "shooting war." Every carrier sails with helicopters
for the plane guard mission. Typically
Hawkeyes an SH-60F Ocean Hawk works
Once an important ASW type, the around the carrier, ready to pick
Viking was re-equipped as a multi- up any flight crews unlucky enough
role guidance, surveillance and tanker to end up in the sea.
platform. In 2006, however, it is in Time is limited for both the F/A-18C and the
the process of being phased out. USS Kitty Hawk, from which this example
is flying. However, the Hornet is likely to
The Hawkeye represents the far-
remain in service beyond Kitty Hawk's
reaching eyes of the fleet. It uses its 2008 scheduled retirement date.
15
Flight Deck Crew
Safe and successful flying operations rely on a large collection of
people doing many different jobs. Flight deck personnel
wear colored clothing to identify their roles.
Color Coded
In order to make operations as safe
and coordinated as possible, the
flight deck jobs have associated
Green: The
"frogs" include
catapult and
arresting gear
crews, air wing
maintenance
<^^^
personnel,
cargo handlers,
ground support
/v*.'-^-.
-'^nfcfM *'^^-
equipment ^^^^^^^^BBlnfl
troubleshooters,
i^2_ ^Bfl^^^^^^
helicopter
landing signal
personnel and
hook runners.
MiEMM
V10450 1,1
..T-378lfl
Red: This category includes crash and
salvage crews, ordnancemen and explosive
ordnance disposal personnel.
m
Brown: Air wing plane captains and air
wing line leading petty officers.
\'
aw
of 12 aircraft-carriers: nine
Nimitz-class and three other ships.
The tenth of the Nimitz carriers,
George H. W. Bush, is under
construction and should be ready
for service in 2008. It will replace
USS Kitty Hawk.
It takes around five years from the
laying down of a Nimitz-class keel
to the ship's commissioning, and
advances in technology between
ships are vast. These are generally
in the ship's electronic systems:
USS Ronald
Reagan was
deployed in
support of
Operations
Enduring
Freedom and
IraqiFreedom,
even though
itwas only
commissioned
in 2003.
The Carrier Quiz
Answers on inside back cover
"I
What was the name of 4 Which was the first battle in
A Westinghouse A Air
1^^
I
20
'"*
k'
-''
' \
' -v/v .
*"
.^
T^JW ^^T
h^^:.!:
USS Nimitz?
A Arleigh Burke
B Forrestal A Two
C Kitty Hawk B Eigiit
C One
A Nine A 42 mph
B Seven B 30 mph
C Three C 38 mph
21
11 Which is name of
the 1 4 ^OM/ many seats does
the group of ships and an F/A-18F Super
submarines that deploys Hornet have?
with a carrier?
A One
A Carrier strike group B Two
B Carrier support group C Four
C Carrier air wing
A Airborne early
warning and control
B Delivering mail
C Attacking ships
22
1 Q A flight deck crewman is 19 Which is the name of the
wearing a purple jersey. final Nimitz-class ship?
Which does he or she
work with? A USS Ronald Reagan
B USS George H. W. Bush
A Catapults C USS Dwight D. Eisenhower
"^k
B Aviation fuel
C Ordnance
20 When is the first of
the Navys new class of
17 What color is aircraft carriers expected
"yellow gear"? to enter service?
A Yellow A 2113-2114
B Yellow or white B 2007-2008
C Green C 2013-2014
'^msmsnsf
23
WORLD
Only three countries other than the
Carriers
US fly conventional fixed-wing
aircraft off ships. These are France, which is commissioning a
second carrier for Its fleet, Russia and Brazil.
France:
Charles tie Gaulle
^^
The nuclear carrier Charles de Gaulle
the only such ship outside the US Navy
was commissioned in 2001 It sails with
.
Russia:
Atimiral Kuznetsov
Admiral Kuznetsov operates the
formidable Su-33 "Flanker-D" fighter
and helicopters. The ship is impressive
in capability, but it is relatively small
Brazil:
Sao Paulo
Brazil's carrier Sao Paulo was built as
Foch for the French navy. It is equipped
withA-4KU and two-seat TA-4KU
Skyhawks purchased from Kuwait. It
embarks a number of helicopters, but
navy funds for its operations are limited.
24
Quiz ANSWERS
1(c) 6(b) 11(a) 16(b)
2(b) 7(b) 12(c) 17(b)
3(a) 8(c) 13(a) 18(a)
4(a) 9(a) 14(b) 19(b)
5(c) 10(c) 15(c) 20(c)
PHOTO Credits
Front cover: US Navy Page 15 top US Navy, bottom Aerospace
Page 1 US Navy Page 16 US Navy
Page 2 top left Summertime Publishing Page 17 US Navy
Ltd., bottom TRH
right Page 18 US Navy
Page 3 top right US National Archives, Page 19 US Navy
bottom TRH Page 20 bottom left TRH, bottom right
Page 4 Michael J.H. Taylor Robert L. Lawson
Page 5 US National Archives Page 21 US Navy
Page 6 McDonnell Douglas Page 22 US Navy
Page 7 US Navy Page 23 US Navy
Page 8 US Navy Page 24 top Wingman Aviation, middle Aerospace,
Page 10 US Navy bottom Caliaro Luigino
Page 11 US Navy Back cover: US Navy
Page 13 US Navy Spine image Aerospace, DT.G.N, K.M.V, Lockheed
Page 14 top Aerospace, bottom left US Navy Martin, SAAB and US Navy.
us NAVY CARRIERS
# Packed with combat action from key
DVD traces the fascinating
conflicts, this
rise ofthe biggest warships the world
has ever known.
$250,000.
is
is illegal. Criminal
Weapons of War may contain some scenes of violent battles that some parents may deem unsuitable for very
young children. The program contains no material that is defamatory obscene or harmful to the customer or