World’s largest aircraft carrier
We toured the world’s largest aircraft carrier, which can house 75 aircraft (but doesn’t have urinals)
By Daniel Brown From Business Insider
The USS Gerald R. Ford is the US Navy’s newest and largest aircraft carrier — in fact, it’s the world’s largest.
Commissioned in July 2017, it is the first of the Ford-class carriers, which are more technologically advanced than Nimitz-class carriers.
It has an improved hull design and weapons stowage, a new weapons elevator, more space on the flight deck, a new electromagnetic-powered aircraft-launch system, three times the electrical-generation capacity of any previous carrier, and a lot more.
We recently got a chance to tour the behemoth as it was docked in Virginia’s Naval Station Norfolk. Climb aboard for a closer look:
We first saw the USS Gerald R. Ford from shore as it was stationed at a harbor in Naval Station Norfolk. The Ford stands about 134 feet tall.
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It was docked next to the USS George W. Bush, seen below, as well as the USS Truman and USS Lincoln.
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US Navy spokesman Corey Todd Jones, who showed us around the Ford, led us past a security checkpoint, which we were not allowed to photograph, to the entrance seen below.
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The entrance led to a massive hangar bay, where aircraft are stored when not in use.
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This short video below gives a better look.
This is one of the advanced weapons elevators, which connect to the flight deck and allows sailors to move ordnance from the magazines to the aircrafts.
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A statue of former President Gerald R. Ford — the carrier’s namesake — stands in the hangar bay. Ford served as a navigation officer on the USS Monterey during World War II. His shipmates credited him with saving the ship during a bad storm, Jones said.
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Jones said that a large wave almost washed Ford overboard the Monterey, but his foot got caught on a drain, preventing him from going over. The drain is immortalized in the statue.
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There weren’t any aircraft on the flight deck except for the “dud” seen below, an F/18 Hornet that has been stripped of its engine and components. It’s now used by the signalmen to practice flight deck operations and moving aircrafts.
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The afterburners have been stripped.
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Here’s a closer look of the hollowed-out engine.
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At this point, we had been onboard for a couple hours and our time was up. But on the way out, we saw one of the bathrooms. And it’s true: The Ford doesn’t have urinals.
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You can read more about why the Ford doesn’t have urinals here.
