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136-504: USS Nimitz (CVN-68) is an aircraft carrier of the United States Navy , and the lead ship of her class . One of the largest warships in the world, she was laid down, launched, and commissioned as CVAN-68, "aircraft carrier, attack, nuclear powered ", but she was later redesignated as CVN-68, "aircraft carrier, multi-mission , nuclear-powered", on 30 June 1975, as part of a fleet-wide realignment that year . The ship

272-590: A Bell 206 Jet Ranger helicopter, a Learjet 35 , and a B-25 bomber converted into a camera platform. Three Mitsubishi A6M Zero replicas, originally built for the film Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970), were flown by pilots from the Confederate Air Force, now called the Commemorative Air Force . Two of the replicas were featured in a dogfight with F-14 Tomcats; it was the first time such a dissimilar engagement had appeared in film, with

408-545: A Dolby Digital 5.1 EX audio track, as well as a DTS 6.1 ES audio track. On November 4, 2008, a high-definition two-disc Blu-ray set was released, but lacked some of the earlier background materials. A 4K Ultra High-Definition disc set was released in May 2021 as a limited edition with some additional special features, a copy of the film on Blu-ray disc and a copy of John Scott 's original motion picture score on CD . The Final Countdown received mixed reviews from critics. On

544-463: A Freedom of Navigation exercise in international waters in the Gulf of Sidra near Libya on 18 and 19 August 1981. On the morning of 19 August 1981, two Grumman F-14 Tomcats of VF-41 were engaged by two Libyan Su-22s , resulting in the two Libyan aircraft being shot down in what became known as the Gulf of Sidra incident . Nimitz ' s fourth deployment, from 10 November 1982, to 20 May 1983,

680-755: A Short Improved S.27 biplane "S.38" of the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) from the deck of the Royal Navy's pre-dreadnought battleship HMS  Hibernia , thus providing the first practical demonstration of the aircraft carrier for naval operations at sea. Seaplane tender support ships came next, with the French Foudre of 1911. Early in World War I , the Imperial Japanese Navy ship Wakamiya conducted

816-518: A Short Type 184 seaplane, launched from the seaplane carrier HMS  Ben-my-Chree . The first carrier-launched airstrike was the Tondern raid in July 1918. Seven Sopwith Camels were launched from the battlecruiser HMS  Furious which had been completed as a carrier by replacing her planned forward turret with a flight deck and hangar prior to commissioning. The Camels attacked and damaged

952-638: A naval force to project seaborne air power far from homeland without depending on local airfields for staging aircraft operations . Since their inception in the early 20th century, aircraft carriers have evolved from wooden vessels used to deploy individual tethered reconnaissance balloons , to nuclear-powered supercarriers that carry dozens of fighters , strike aircraft , military helicopters , AEW&Cs and other types of aircraft such as UCAVs . While heavier fixed-wing aircraft such as airlifters , gunships and bombers have been launched from aircraft carriers, these aircraft have not landed on

1088-405: A carrier due to flight deck limitations. The aircraft carrier, along with its onboard aircraft and defensive ancillary weapons , is the largest weapon system ever created. By their tactical prowess, mobility, autonomy and the variety of operational means, aircraft carriers are often the centerpiece of modern naval warfare , and have significant diplomatic influence in deterrence , command of

1224-550: A demonstrative retaliatory strike on the mainland, including the capital, Tokyo. However, the vulnerability of carriers compared to traditional capital ships was illustrated by the sinking of HMS  Glorious by German battleships during the Norwegian campaign in 1940 . This new-found importance of naval aviation forced nations to create a number of carriers, in efforts to provide air superiority cover for every major fleet to ward off enemy aircraft. This extensive usage led to

1360-412: A difficult and dangerous manoeuver and Dunning was later killed when his airplane was thrown overboard while attempting another landing on Furious . HMS Furious was modified again when her rear turret was removed and another flight deck added over a second hangar for landing aircraft over the stern. Her funnel and superstructure remained intact however and turbulence from the funnel and superstructure

1496-407: A flare gun to force the pilot to fly to Pearl Harbor. During a struggle with another crew member, the flare gun discharges, destroying the craft and stranding Scott and Owens on the island. The Nimitz launches a massive strike force against the incoming Japanese fleet, but right after that, the time vortex storm returns. After a futile attempt to outrun the storm, Yelland recalls the strike force, and

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1632-422: A flat-top flight deck , which launches and recovers aircraft. Aircraft launch forward, into the wind, and are recovered from astern. The flight deck is where the most notable differences between a carrier and a land runway are found. Creating such a surface at sea poses constraints on the carrier. For example, the size of the vessel is a fundamental limitation on runway length. This affects take-off procedure, as

1768-404: A landing area angled off axis to allow aircraft who missed the arresting wires to "bolt" and safely return to flight for another landing attempt rather than crashing into aircraft on the forward deck. If the aircraft are VTOL-capable or helicopters, they do not need to decelerate and hence there is no such need. The arrested-recovery system has used an angled deck since the 1950s because, in case

1904-458: A larger, more "militarized" version of the escort carrier. Although with similar complement to escort carriers, they had the advantage of speed from their converted cruiser hulls. The UK 1942 Design Light Fleet Carrier was designed for building quickly by civilian shipyards and with an expected service life of about 3 years. They served the Royal Navy during the war, and the hull design was chosen for nearly all aircraft carrier equipped navies after

2040-401: A number of other ships to provide protection for the relatively unwieldy carrier, to carry supplies, re-supply (Many carriers are self-sufficient and will supply their escorts) and perform other support services, and to provide additional offensive capabilities. The resulting group of ships is often termed a carrier strike group , battle group, carrier group, or carrier battle group . There is

2176-559: A number of the crew being fired and replaced. Taylor's direction was considered workmanlike, as he had a reputation for bringing projects in on time and on budget, but suggestions from U.S. naval aviators were ultimately incorporated into the shooting schedules with the "B" crew placed in charge of all the aerial sequences that became the primary focus of the film. In order to film the aerial sequences, Panavision cameras were mounted on naval aircraft while camera-equipped aircraft and helicopters were leased from Tallmantz Aviation , including

2312-421: A place in modern asymmetric warfare , like the gunboat diplomacy of the past. Carriers also facilitate quick and precise projections of overwhelming military power into such local and regional conflicts. Lacking the firepower of other warships, carriers by themselves are considered vulnerable to attack by other ships, aircraft, submarines, or missiles. Therefore, an aircraft carrier is generally accompanied by

2448-586: A port call in Guam . She arrived at Busan for a scheduled port visit on 28 March. Nimitz logged her 350,000th arrested landing on 22 April. On 24 April, Nimitz arrived in Laem Chabang , Thailand for a scheduled port visit. She returned to homeport on 2 July . The Nimitz -class carriers have a lifespan of approximately 50 years. Estimates on decommissioning for Nimitz herself were updated in April 2022, with

2584-479: A relatively small area called an island , a feature pioneered on HMS  Hermes in 1923. While the island is usually built on the starboard side of the flight deck, the Japanese aircraft carriers Akagi and Hiryū had their islands built on the port side. Very few carriers have been designed or built without an island. The flush deck configuration proved to have significant drawbacks, primary of which

2720-421: A shorter runway length of the deck requires that aircraft accelerate more quickly to gain lift. This either requires a thrust boost, a vertical component to its velocity, or a reduced take-off load (to lower mass). The differing types of deck configuration, as above, influence the structure of the flight deck. The form of launch assistance a carrier provides is strongly related to the types of aircraft embarked and

2856-482: A significant factor in warfare, driven by the superior range, flexibility and effectiveness of carrier-launched aircraft. Following the war, carrier operations continued to increase in size and importance, and along with, carrier designs also increased in size and ability. Some of these larger carriers, dubbed by the media as "supercarriers", displacing 75,000 tons or greater, have become the pinnacle of carrier development. Some are powered by nuclear reactors and form

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2992-501: A single medium-sized carrier. The US also has nine similarly sized Amphibious Warfare Ships. There are five small light carriers in use capable of operating both fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters; Japan and Italy each operate two, and Spain one. Additionally there are eighteen small carriers which only operate helicopters serving the navies of Australia (2), Brazil (1), China (2), Egypt (2), France (3), Japan (4), South Korea (2), Thailand (1) and Turkey (1). Kalaat Béni Abbès (L-474)

3128-412: A ski-jump ramp for launching lightly loaded conventional fighter aircraft but recover using traditional carrier arresting cables and a tailhook on their aircraft. The disadvantage of the ski-jump is the penalty it exacts on aircraft size, payload, and fuel load (and thus range); heavily laden aircraft cannot launch using a ski-jump because their high loaded weight requires either a longer takeoff roll than

3264-469: A surface contact is spotted on radar, Yelland launches two ready alert Grumman F-14 Tomcat fighter jets from VF-84 to intercept. The patrol witnesses a civilian wooden yacht being strafed and destroyed by two Imperial Japanese Navy Mitsubishi A6M "Zero" fighters, killing three of the five crew members. The F-14s are ordered to drive off the Zeros without firing, but when the Zeros inadvertently head towards

3400-631: A two-week multi-national fleet exercise involving the Third Fleet , as well as ships from the Royal Canadian Navy and JMSDF . Following the conclusion of the exercise, on 3 November the first F-35C Lightning II to land on an aircraft carrier recovered aboard Nimitz to begin a two-week Development Testing I deployment. This saw a pair of aircraft from VX-23 undertaking carrier operations of launch, recovery and handling aboard ship in both day and night conditions. The initial deployment

3536-528: A view among some military pundits that modern anti-ship weapons systems, such as torpedoes and missiles, or even ballistic missiles with nuclear warheads have made aircraft carriers and carrier groups too vulnerable for modern combat. Carriers can also be vulnerable to diesel-electric submarines like the German U24 of the conventional 206 class which in 2001 "fired" at the Enterprise during

3672-460: A visit by the carrier USS  Kitty Hawk . On 9 December 2010, the Navy formally announced that Everett, Washington was to be the new home port for Nimitz . This move was expected to save the Navy $ 100 million. On 9 March 2012, Nimitz arrived at her new homeport of Naval Station Everett after spending nearly a week at sea conducting post overhaul sea trials. In March 2012, Nimitz arrived at

3808-639: Is an amphibious transport dock of the Algerian National Navy with two deck-landing spots for helicopters. The Royal Australian Navy operates two Canberra -class landing helicopter docks . The two-ship class, based on the Spanish vessel Juan Carlos I and built by Navantia and BAE Systems Australia , represents the largest ships ever built for the Royal Australian Navy. The Final Countdown (film) The film

3944-467: Is mirrored. Non-VTOL or conventional aircraft cannot decelerate on their own, and almost all carriers using them must have arrested-recovery systems (-BAR, e.g. CATOBAR or STOBAR) to recover their aircraft. Aircraft that are landing extend a tailhook that catches on arrestor wires stretched across the deck to bring themselves to a stop in a short distance. Post-World War II Royal Navy research on safer CATOBAR recovery eventually led to universal adoption of

4080-416: Is most commonly used on US Navy fleet carriers as it allows the deployment of heavy jets with full load-outs, especially on ground-attack missions. STOVL is used by other navies because it is cheaper to operate and still provides good deployment capability for fighter aircraft . Due to the busy nature of the flight deck, only 20 or so aircraft may be on it at any one time. A hangar storage several decks below

4216-471: Is not further expanded upon). The film was released on DVD on March 30, 2004. It was later released by Blue Underground on a two-DVD set (with both full-screen and widescreen formats) and a special two-disc limited edition set with a hologram cover. Each DVD edition was accompanied by special featurettes, including a "behind-the-scenes" documentary and a commentary track by the producer and other studio principals. These THX certified releases also feature

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4352-496: Is not included as this would eliminate one or more helicopter landing areas; this flat deck limits the loading of Harriers but is somewhat mitigated by the longer rolling start provided by a long flight deck compared to many STOVL carriers. The US Navy has the largest fleet of carriers in the world, with eleven supercarriers currently in service. China and India each have two STOBAR carriers in service. The UK has two STOVL carriers in service. The navies of France and Russia each operate

4488-516: Is part of Carrier Strike Group Eleven (CSG-11) with Carrier Air Wing Seventeen (CVW-17) embarked, with Nimitz as the flagship of the strike group and the home of the commander of Destroyer Squadron 9 . USS Nimitz first deployed to the Mediterranean Sea on 7 July 1976, with Carrier Air Wing 8 embarked in company with the nuclear-powered cruisers USS  South Carolina and USS  California . In November 1976, Nimitz

4624-493: Is possible on a carrier deck, or assistance from a catapult or JATO rocket. For example, the Russian Sukhoi Su-33 is only able to launch from the carrier Admiral Kuznetsov with a minimal armament and fuel load. Another disadvantage is on mixed flight deck operations where helicopters are also present, such as on a US landing helicopter dock or landing helicopter assault amphibious assault ship. A ski jump

4760-455: Is sometimes combined with the aiming of jet thrust partly downward. This allows heavily loaded and fueled aircraft a few more precious seconds to attain sufficient air velocity and lift to sustain normal flight. Without a ski-jump, launching fully-loaded and fueled aircraft such as the Harrier would not be possible on a smaller flat deck ship before either stalling out or crashing directly into

4896-494: The Eastern Pacific Ocean . On 28 November 2022, Nimitz departed Kitsap and sailed to San Diego to pick up the carrier strike group leadership. She left San Diego on 3 December, for her Pacific deployment leading Carrier Strike Group 11 and embarking Carrier Air Wing 17 . On 21 January 2023, she made a port call to Singapore . The carrier departed Singapore on 26 January. On 26 February 2023, Nimitz made

5032-532: The Florida Keys , over two five-week periods in 1979. Scenes at Pearl Harbor consisted of mainly stock footage with most of The Final Countdown exteriors shot on the Nimitz while at sea, and at drydock for interiors. During operations, an emergency landing took place with the production crew allowed to film the recovery of the aircraft on the Nimitz ; the sequence appeared in the final film. Crew members of

5168-435: The Nimitz were used as extras, a few with speaking parts; a total of 48 of the crew appear as "actors" in the final credits. The difficulties in filming a modern jet fighter were soon apparent when the first setup to record an F-14 takeoff at Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia, resulted in both camera and operator being pitched down a runway. Dissension in the production crew led to major changes during location shooting, with

5304-535: The Nimitz , Yelland gives clearance to shoot them down. The Nimitz rescues survivors from the yacht: prominent U.S. Senator Samuel Chapman (Charles Durning), his aide Laurel Scott (Katharine Ross), her dog Charlie, and one of the two downed Zero pilots ( Soon-tek Oh ). Commander Owens (James Farentino), an amateur historian, recognizes Chapman as a politician who could have been Franklin D. Roosevelt 's running mate (and his potential successor) during his final re-election bid , had Chapman not disappeared shortly before

5440-627: The North Arabian Sea participating in Operation Earnest Will , the protection of reflagged Kuwaiti tankers. On 30 November 1988, while in the Arabian Sea, a 20 mm cannon accidentally fired during maintenance, striking a KA-6 Intruder . The ensuing fire spread to six other aircraft, and two sailors were killed. Nimitz returned to Bremerton on 2 March 1989. On 25 February 1991, Nimitz departed Bremerton for

5576-752: The Pacific Ocean . After a brief stop in San Diego , to offload the East Coast air wing, Nimitz arrived at her new home port of Bremerton, Washington , on 2 July 1987. Nimitz deployed to the Western Pacific with Carrier Air Wing 9 embarked on 2 September 1988. During the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul , Nimitz provided security off the coast of South Korea , then in October, operated in

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5712-540: The Persian Gulf in relief of USS  Ranger in the aftermath of Operation Desert Storm , returning to Bremerton on 24 August 1991. Nimitz again deployed to the Persian Gulf on 1 February 1993, in support of Operation Southern Watch , returning on 1 August 1993. On 27 November 1995, Nimitz deployed to the Western Pacific, Indian Ocean and Persian Gulf with Carrier Air Wing Nine (CVW-9). In March 1996,

5848-607: The Persian Gulf on 7 May 2005, returning on 8 November 2005. This deployment marked three decades of service, and was depicted in the Emmy award-winning 2008 PBS documentary series Carrier . In June 2006, Nimitz was awarded the 2005 Battle "E". The carrier departed North Island for her thirteenth deployment on 2 April 2007, to the Arabian Sea, relieving USS  Dwight D. Eisenhower in support of OIF. The carrier anchored off Chennai , India on 2 July 2007, as part of efforts to expand bilateral defense cooperation between India and

5984-552: The Turkish Straits between the Soviet Black Sea bases and the Mediterranean Sea . These ships, while sized in the range of large fleet carriers, were designed to deploy alone or with escorts. In addition to supporting fighter aircraft and helicopters, they provide both strong defensive weaponry and heavy offensive missiles equivalent to a guided-missile cruiser. Aircraft carriers today are usually divided into

6120-874: The United Kingdom and India each currently operate two STOBAR / STOVL aircraft carriers with ski-jump flight decks, with China in the process to commission a third carrier with catapult capabilities, and France and Russia each operate a single aircraft carrier with a capacity of 30 to 60 fighters. Italy operates two light V/STOL carriers and Spain operates one V/STOL aircraft-carrying assault ship. Helicopter carriers are also operated by Japan (4, two of which are being converted to operate V/STOL fighters), France (3), Australia (2, previously also owned 3 light carriers ), Egypt (2), South Korea (2), China (3), Thailand (1) and Brazil (1). Future aircraft carriers are under construction or in planning by China, France, India, Italy, Russia, South Korea, Turkey and

6256-455: The coronavirus was reported to have spread to Nimitz when the first case was reported on 7 April. One sailor had received a positive result the previous week after exhibiting symptoms, and was subsequently placed in isolation and removed from the ship. Another crew member also tested positive, but was reported to have not been working on the ship. On 27 April, Nimitz completed a 27-day quarantine and began COMPTUEX training. On 5 July 2020,

6392-525: The pennant numbers used by the Royal Navy, Commonwealth countries, and Europe, along with the hull classification symbols used by the US and Canada . The 1903 advent of the heavier-than-air fixed-wing airplane with the Wright brothers ' first flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina , was closely followed on 14 November 1910, by Eugene Burton Ely 's first experimental take-off of a Curtiss Pusher airplane from

6528-536: The "totally different speeds...environments and weaponry" of the aircraft causing extreme challenges for the jet pilots. In one scene where an F-14 "thumps" a Zero by flying under and streaking upward in front of the slower aircraft, the resultant " jet blast " of turbulent air was so intense that the yokes of both of the Zeros in the scene were violently wrenched out of the pilots' hands and caused both aircraft to momentarily tumble out of control. The lead pilot's headset, along with his watch, were ripped off and out of

6664-530: The 17 June 1981, edition of The New York Times , it was reported that "Experts at the National Institute on Drug Abuse say that it would probably be impossible to establish conclusively that any of the Nimitz crew had been smoking marijuana on the night of the crash because the test does not directly detect the component of marijuana smoke that acts on the brain. Because the metabolites may persist in

6800-689: The American and Russian aircraft. According to the Department of Defense , one of the two aircraft was said to have flown above Nimitz at an altitude of 2,000 feet (610 m). On the same day, Russian aircraft entered Japanese airspace, which caused the Japanese to raise protest to the Russian ambassador in Tokyo. Again, on 5 March 2008, a Russian bomber came within 3 to 5 nautical miles (6 to 9 km) and flew 2,000 feet (610 m) above Nimitz , and

6936-514: The Arabian Sea. It was reported that Nimitz , after eight months at sea, transited the Suez Canal on 20 October 2013, into the U.S. 6th Fleet area of responsibility, where the Navy intended to keep her for a few weeks conducting joint training with allied nations before returning home. Nimitz returned to Everett on 16 December 2013. In late 2014, following the completion of work up qualifications, Nimitz participated in her first deployment,

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7072-578: The German airbase at Tondern, Germany (modern day Tønder , Denmark), and destroyed two zeppelin airships . The first landing of an airplane on a moving ship was by Squadron Commander Edwin Harris Dunning , when he landed his Sopwith Pup on HMS Furious in Scapa Flow , Orkney on 2 August 1917. Landing on the forward flight deck required the pilot to approach round the ship's superstructure,

7208-458: The Japanese attack; the dumbfounded Japanese pilot is overcome and shot and killed by the other U.S. Marines of the on-board detachment on Nimitz . In the aftermath, Scott and Owens develop an attraction for each other. Chapman is outraged that Yelland knows of the impending Japanese attack but has not told anyone else, and rebuffs Yelland's claim that the Nimitz is capable of handling any attack. An attempt to warn Pearl Harbor by radio fails as

7344-680: The Mediterranean. The ship moved to the Indian Ocean in response to the Iran hostage crisis in which the U.S. Embassy in Tehran , Iran , was overtaken and 52 hostages were held. Prior to this trip, the ship took part in the shooting of the 1980 film The Final Countdown , whose story was specifically set aboard the Nimitz . After four months on station, Operation Evening Light was launched from Nimitz ' s decks in an attempt to rescue

7480-487: The Navy Press Corps indicating that, “USS Nimitz (CVN 68) is planned to be removed from the battle force in fiscal year (FY) 2025, when the ship's Terminal Off-load Program begins, with inactivation scheduled to begin in 2027.” The Final Countdown , a 1980 alternate history science fiction film about a contemporary aircraft carrier that travels through time to the day before the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor ,

7616-437: The Navy has no carrier Nimitz and considers it a prank call. Chapman then demands to be taken to Pearl Harbor to warn the naval authorities in person. Yelland agrees in front of Chapman, but instead then orders Owens to fly the civilians and sufficient supplies via helicopter to an isolated Hawaiian island ( Puʻuwai, Hawaii ), assuming they will eventually be rescued. When they arrive, Chapman realizes he has been tricked and uses

7752-595: The Pearl Harbor attack. When a Grumman E-2 Hawkeye scouting aircraft discovers the Japanese fleet task force further north in unpatrolled waters, poised to launch its attack on Pearl Harbor, the Nimitz crew realizes that they have been transported back in time to the day before the attack. Yelland has to decide whether to destroy the Japanese fleet and alter the course of history or to stand by and allow history to proceed as they know it. The American civilians and

7888-420: The Persian Gulf in mid-April 2003, launching Carrier Air Wing 11 aircraft sorties over Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF). She returned to San Diego on 5 November 2003. Nimitz and CVW-11 were awarded the 2003 Battle "E" and Flatley Award in early 2004. In November 2004, Nimitz was contacted by USS  Princeton , which

8024-430: The Persian Gulf, documenting the life and shipboard routines of the crew over 10 episodes. Aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase , equipped with a full-length flight deck and hangar facilities for supporting, arming, deploying and recovering shipborne aircraft . Typically it is the capital ship of a fleet (known as a carrier battle group ), as it allows

8160-617: The Persian Gulf, the ship was awarded the Meritorious Unit Commendation for back-to-back deployments in support of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan in 2007 and 2008. The award was presented by Admiral Gary Roughead in a ceremony on the ship on 6 January 2010. Nimitz visited Hong Kong for five days in February 2010 to allow the crew to rest and visit the city. The visit occurred despite China previously preventing

8296-510: The Royal Navy's HMS  Ark Royal , that had a length of 800 feet (244 m), a displacement of 22,000 tons and was designed to carry 72 aircraft. Since then, aircraft carriers have consistently grown in size, both in length and displacement, as well as improved capabilities; in defense, sensors, electronic warfare, propulsion, range, launch and recovery systems, number and types of aircraft carried and number of sorties flown per day. China ( type 004 aircraft carrier ), France ( PANG ) and

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8432-486: The U.S. Embassy staff. The mission was aborted after a helicopter crashed at a refueling point in the Iranian desert. The ship returned home 26 May 1980, having spent 144 days at sea. On 26 May 1981, a Marine Corps EA-6B Prowler assigned to Carrier Air Wing 8 (CVW-8) crashed on the flight deck, killing 14 crewmen and injuring 45 others. The Prowler was fuel-critical after a "bolter" (missed approach), and its crash and

8568-711: The United Kingdom all have carriers in service or under construction with displacements ranging from 65,000 to 85,000 tons and lengths from 280 to 320 meters (920 to 1,050 ft) which have been described as "supercarriers". The largest "supercarriers" in service as of 2022, however, are with the US Navy, with displacements exceeding 100,000 tons, lengths of over 337 meters (1,106 ft), and capabilities that match or exceed those of any other class. Several systems of identification symbol for aircraft carriers and related types of ship have been used. These include

8704-544: The United States. Some of the types listed here are not strictly defined as aircraft carriers by some sources. A fleet carrier is intended to operate with the main fleet and usually provides an offensive capability. These are the largest carriers capable of fast speeds. By comparison, escort carriers were developed to provide defense for convoys of ships. They were smaller and slower with lower numbers of aircraft carried. Most were built from mercantile hulls or, in

8840-564: The United States. Sailors participated in community work in Chennai prior to departing, on 5 July 2007, along with the destroyer USS  Pinckney towards the Persian Gulf, and then returned to North Island on 30 September 2007. On 24 January 2008, Nimitz deployed to the Pacific for a "surge"-deployment. On 9 February 2008, two Russian Tu-95 'Bear' bombers overflew the carrier in the Western Pacific. Four F/A-18C Hornets were launched when

8976-459: The Zero pilot are kept isolated. Still, while being questioned, the Japanese pilot forcibly obtains an M-16 rifle from one of the guards, kills two of the other U.S. Marine guards, and takes Scott, Owens, and Lasky hostage. He threatens to kill them unless he is given access to a radio to warn the Japanese fleet about the Nimitz . Lasky tells Commander Owens to recite and describe the secret plans for

9112-432: The aircraft carrier, fears that there may have been a nuclear strike on Hawaii or the continental United States. He orders general quarters and launches a RF-8 Crusader reconnaissance aircraft. The aircraft returns after photographing Pearl Harbor, but the images show an intact row of U.S. Pacific fleet battleships, of which several were destroyed during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. When

9248-462: The aircraft does not catch the arresting wire, the short deck allows easier take off by reducing the number of objects between the aircraft and the end of the runway. It also has the advantage of separating the recovery operation area from the launch area. Helicopters and aircraft capable of vertical or short take-off and landing ( V/STOL ) usually recover by coming abreast of the carrier on the port side and then using their hover capability to move over

9384-695: The battle group. Two F/A-18 fighters intercepted the Russian aircraft and escorted it out of the area. Nimitz was awarded the Navy Battle "E" for battle efficiency for 2007 along with the Ney award for food service excellence, and returned to her home port of San Diego on 3 June 2008. The Nimitz Strike Group, including CVW-11, departed the States for a scheduled Western Pacific deployment on 31 July 2009, and began to fly combat missions in support of Operation Enduring Freedom 21 September. In January 2010, while in

9520-538: The beginning of the effective and highly mobile aircraft strikes. This operation in the shallow water harbor incapacitated three of the six anchored battleships at a cost of two torpedo bombers. World War II in the Pacific Ocean involved clashes between aircraft carrier fleets. The Japanese surprise attack on the American Pacific fleet at Pearl Harbor naval and air bases on Sunday, 7 December 1941,

9656-446: The blood for many days, the test may detect marijuana that was used many days earlier long after the effects have worn off". As a result, President Ronald Reagan instituted a "Zero Tolerance" drug policy across all of the U.S. armed services, which started the mandatory drug testing of all U.S. military personnel. Nimitz deployed again to the Mediterranean on 3 August 1981. The ship, in company with USS  Forrestal , conducted

9792-425: The bombers were 500 miles (800 km) away from the US ships, and intercepted the bombers 50 miles (80 km) south of Nimitz . Two F/A-18s trailed one of the bombers, which twice flew over the deck of the carrier at an altitude of 2,000 feet (610 m), while the other two F/A-18s trailed another Tu-95 circling about 50 miles (80 km) away from the carrier. Reportedly, there was no radio communication between

9928-506: The carrier has varied over history and among navies , to cater to the various roles that global climates have demanded from naval aviation . Regardless of size, the ship itself must house their complement of aircraft, with space for launching, storing, and maintaining them. Space is also required for the large crew, supplies (food, munitions, fuel, engineering parts), and propulsion. US aircraft carriers are notable for having nuclear reactors powering their systems and propulsion. The top of

10064-513: The carrier is the flight deck, where aircraft are launched and recovered. On the starboard side of this is the island, where the funnel , air-traffic control and the bridge are located. The constraints of constructing a flight deck affect the role of a given carrier strongly, as they influence the weight, type, and configuration of the aircraft that may be launched. For example, assisted launch mechanisms are used primarily for heavy aircraft, especially those loaded with air-to-ground weapons. CATOBAR

10200-525: The case of merchant aircraft carriers , were bulk cargo ships with a flight deck added on top. Light aircraft carriers were fast enough to operate with the main fleet but of smaller size with reduced aircraft capacity. The Soviet aircraft carrier Admiral Kusnetsov was termed a "heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser". This was primarily a legal construct to avoid the limitations of the Montreux Convention preventing 'aircraft carriers' transiting

10336-695: The coast of southern California, which also served as a "Revolution in Strike Warfare" demonstration. The latter event was designed to demonstrate the capability of an aircraft carrier and an embarked air wing to project carrier-based airpower into littoral warfare. On 20 July 1997, Nimitz and Carrier Air Wing Nine began a high-intensity strike campaign. When flight operations were completed four days later, Nimitz and Carrier Air Wing Nine had carried out 771 strike sorties while dropping 1,337 bombs on target. Carrier Air Wing Nine flew 975 fixed-wing sorties during this four-day surge operation. Almost 80 percent of

10472-541: The construction of new heavy surface combat ships, most early aircraft carriers were conversions of ships that were laid down (or had served) as different ship types: cargo ships, cruisers, battlecruisers, or battleships. These conversions gave rise to the USS ; Langley in 1922, the US Lexington -class aircraft carriers (1927), Japanese Akagi and Kaga , and British Courageous class (of which Furious

10608-453: The core of a fleet designed to operate far from home. Amphibious assault ships, such as the Wasp and Mistral classes, serve the purpose of carrying and landing Marines, and operate a large contingent of helicopters for that purpose. Also known as "commando carriers" or "helicopter carriers", many have the capability to operate VSTOL aircraft. The threatening role of aircraft carriers has

10744-578: The crews while ordnance and aviation fuel stocks to be replenished. On 1 September 1997, Nimitz began an around the world cruise, again supporting Southern Watch, which ended in Newport News, Virginia on 2 March 1998. She next spent the next three years undergoing a nuclear Refueling and Complex Overhaul that ended on 25 June 2001. On 21 September 2001, after sea trials in the Virginia Capes, Nimitz began to transit around South America to

10880-543: The deck of a United States Navy ship, the cruiser USS  Birmingham anchored off Norfolk Navy Base in Virginia . Two months later, on 18 January 1911, Ely landed his Curtiss Pusher airplane on a platform on the armored cruiser USS  Pennsylvania anchored in San Francisco Bay . On 9 May 1912, the first take off of an airplane from a ship while underway was made by Commander Charles Samson flying

11016-467: The design of the carrier itself. There are two main philosophies to keep the deck short: add thrust to the aircraft, such as using a Catapult Assisted Take-Off (CATO-); and changing the direction of the airplanes' thrust, as in Vertical and/or Short Take-Off (V/STO-). Each method has advantages and disadvantages of its own: On the recovery side of the flight deck, the adaptation to the aircraft load-out

11152-417: The development and construction of 'light' carriers. Escort aircraft carriers , such as USS  Bogue , were sometimes purpose-built but most were converted from merchant ships as a stop-gap measure to provide anti-submarine air support for convoys and amphibious invasions. Following this concept, light aircraft carriers built by the US, such as USS  Independence (commissioned in 1943), represented

11288-434: The difference between the relative speeds of the aircraft and ship. Since the early 1950s on conventional carriers it has been the practice to recover aircraft at an angle to port of the axial line of the ship. The primary function of this angled deck is to allow aircraft that miss the arresting wires, referred to as a bolter , to become airborne again without the risk of hitting aircraft parked forward. The angled deck allows

11424-594: The exercise JTFEX 01-2 in the Caribbean Sea by firing flares and taking a photograph through its periscope or the Swedish Gotland which managed the same feat in 2006 during JTFEX 06-2 by penetrating the defensive measures of Carrier Strike Group 7 which was protecting USS  Ronald Reagan . Carriers are large and long ships, although there is a high degree of variation depending on their intended role and aircraft complement . The size of

11560-452: The film premiere and exploited the film as a recruiting tool to the extent that the theatrical poster appeared in U.S. Navy recruiting offices shortly after the film's release. Ebert and Gene Siskel selected the film as one of their "dogs of the year" in a 1980 episode of Sneak Previews , which surprised some readers of Ebert's column because he gave the film an unimpressed but hardly rancorous 2 stars out of 4 and praised some elements of

11696-421: The flight deck and land vertically without the need for arresting gear. Carriers steam at speed, up to 35 knots (65 km/h; 40 mph) into the wind during flight deck operations to increase wind speed over the deck to a safe minimum. This increase in effective wind speed provides a higher launch airspeed for aircraft at the end of the catapult stroke or ski-jump, as well as making recovery safer by reducing

11832-457: The flight deck is where most aircraft are kept, and aircraft are taken from the lower storage decks to the flight deck through the use of an elevator. The hangar is usually quite large and can take up several decks of vertical space. Munitions are commonly stored on the lower decks because they are highly explosive. Usually this is below the waterline so that the area can be flooded in case of emergency. As "runways at sea", aircraft carriers have

11968-404: The flight deck of a US aircraft carrier, the sailors wear colored shirts that designate their responsibilities. There are at least seven different colors worn by flight deck personnel for modern United States Navy carrier air operations . Carrier operations of other nations use similar color schemes. The superstructure of a carrier (such as the bridge , flight control tower ) are concentrated in

12104-424: The flight deck. This was first developed to help launch short take off vertical landing (STOVL) aircraft take off at far higher weights than is possible with a vertical or rolling takeoff on flat decks. Originally developed by the Royal Navy, it since has been adopted by many navies for smaller carriers. A ski-jump ramp works by converting some of the forward rolling movement of the aircraft into vertical velocity and

12240-454: The following four categories based on the way that aircraft take off and land: The appellation "supercarrier" is not an official designation with any national navy, but a term used predominantly by the media and typically when reporting on larger and more advanced carrier types. It is also used when comparing carriers of various sizes and capabilities, both current and past. It was first used by The New York Times in 1938, in an article about

12376-512: The fuel passed to Carrier Air Wing Nine aircraft during this surge operation. This surge had been preceded by a 16-hour preparation after undergoing four days that had generated about 700 fixed-winged sorties. A following study by the Center for Naval Analyses determined that Nimitz and Carrier Air Wing Nine could have maintained this high-sortie operational tempo for another twelve to twenty-four hours before requiring equipment maintenance, rest for

12512-412: The handler, and the air boss. Shooters are naval aviators or naval flight officers and are responsible for launching aircraft. The handler works just inside the island from the flight deck and is responsible for the movement of aircraft before launching and after recovery. The "air boss" (usually a commander ) occupies the top bridge (Primary Flight Control, also called primary or the tower ) and has

12648-438: The installation of one or two "waist" catapults in addition to the two bow cats. An angled deck also improves launch and recovery cycle flexibility with the option of simultaneous launching and recovery of aircraft. Conventional ("tailhook") aircraft rely upon a landing signal officer (LSO, radio call sign 'paddles') to monitor the aircraft's approach, visually gauge glideslope, attitude, and airspeed, and transmit that data to

12784-498: The need for land use authorizations from third-party countries, reduces the times and transit logistics of aircraft and therefore significantly increases the time of availability on the combat zone. There is no single definition of an "aircraft carrier", and modern navies use several variants of the type. These variants are sometimes categorized as sub-types of aircraft carriers, and sometimes as distinct types of aviation-capable ships. Aircraft carriers may be classified according to

12920-482: The new home port of NAS North Island in San Diego , California , arriving there on 13 November 2001. Aircraft from Carrier Air Reserve Wing 20 were embarked for the transit. From January to May 2002, a four-month post-shakedown maintenance availability was completed at North Island; during this time Advanced combat direction system was installed. Nimitz ' s eleventh operational deployment began on 3 March 2003. The group relieved USS  Abraham Lincoln in

13056-697: The new home port of Naval Station Everett in Washington state after more than a year of maintenance work in Bremerton, replacing sister carrier, Abraham Lincoln . On 3 August 2012, Nimitz departed from Pearl Harbor after a two-day port call, arriving at NAS North Island on 9 August 2012, to begin Fleet Replacement Squadron carrier qualifications. On 6 October 2012, a Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft from squadron VMM-165 landed and refueled on board Nimitz . This operation

13192-468: The nuclear-powered warship. Once at sea, the Nimitz encounters a mysterious electrically-charged storm-like vortex . While the ship passes through it, radar and other equipment become unresponsive, and everyone aboard falls into agony. Initially unsure of what has happened to them and having lost radio contact with U.S. Pacific Fleet Command at Pearl Harbor, Captain Yelland (Kirk Douglas), commander of

13328-669: The ocean in a screaming recovery. At one point during filming, one of the Tomcat aircrews held up a profane sign addressed at Katharine Ross in retaliation for the actress denying a request from the VF-84 pilots to meet her in a hotel the previous day. The shot made it into the dailies and reportedly infuriated Ross. During the climactic attack on Pearl Harbor, scenes reproduced in monochrome from Tora! Tora! Tora! featured Aichi D3A Val dive bombers, Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighters and Nakajima B5N Kate torpedo bombers. The Final Countdown

13464-480: The open canopy of his Zero, resulting in a few anxious moments as the F-14 pilots were unable to establish contact. During a scene when a Zero fires on an F-14, in order to get on the "six" of the low and slow Zero—that is, to bring one's aircraft directly behind the target aircraft in a position corresponding to six o'clock on an analog clock face—the jet fighter did a low pull up that ended just 100 feet (30 m) above

13600-541: The overall responsibility for controlling launch, recovery and "those aircraft in the air near the ship, and the movement of planes on the flight deck, which itself resembles a well-choreographed ballet". The captain of the ship spends most of his time one level below primary on the Navigation Bridge. Below this is the Flag Bridge, designated for the embarked admiral and his staff. To facilitate working on

13736-408: The pilot. Before the angled deck emerged in the 1950s, LSOs used colored paddles to signal corrections to the pilot (hence the nickname). From the late 1950s onward, visual landing aids such as the optical landing system have provided information on proper glide slope , but LSOs still transmit voice calls to approaching pilots by radio. Key personnel involved in the flight deck include the shooters,

13872-584: The production (particularly the details about life on board the aircraft carrier). Christopher John reviewed The Final Countdown in Ares Magazine #5 and commented that "there is nothing wrong with what is on the screen in Final Countdown ; what is on the screen, however, is only half of the film. Maybe someday, like Close Encounters of the Third Kind , someone will go back and put in

14008-494: The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , the film received an approval rating of 52% based on 21 reviews, with an average rating of 5.9/10. Vincent Canby of The New York Times considered it more of an interesting, behind-the-scenes tour of Nimitz : "We see planes landing and taking off with beautiful precision and, just to let us know that things don't always run smoothly on Nimitz , we also see one plane, which has lost its landing hook, landing safely anyway because of

14144-422: The runways of Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport . The ship returned to Norfolk on 4 October 1985. Nimitz , again with CVW-8 embarked, departed Norfolk for the sixth and final Mediterranean deployment on 30 December 1986. After four months and numerous Mediterranean port visits, the carrier crossed the equator en route to Rio de Janeiro . From Rio de Janeiro, she proceeded south around Cape Horn and into

14280-603: The sea and air supremacy . Since the Second World War , the aircraft carrier has replaced the battleship in the role of flagship of a fleet, and largely transformed naval battles from gun barrages to beyond-visual-range air strikes . In addition to tactical aptitudes, it has great strategic advantages in that, by sailing in international waters , it does not need to interfere with any territorial sovereignty and thus does not risk diplomatic complications or conflict escalation due to trespassing, and obviates

14416-494: The sea. Although STOVL aircraft are capable of taking off vertically from a spot on the deck, using the ramp and a running start is far more fuel efficient and permits a heavier launch weight. As catapults are unnecessary, carriers with this arrangement reduce weight, complexity, and space needed for complex steam or electromagnetic launching equipment. Vertical landing aircraft also remove the need for arresting cables and related hardware. Russian, Chinese, and Indian carriers include

14552-498: The ship and its aircraft safely return to 1980, leaving the past relatively unchanged. Upon the return of the Nimitz to Pearl Harbor, Pacific Fleet admirals board the ship to investigate the Nimitz ' s unexplained disappearance. Lasky leaves the ship with Scott's dog, Charlie, and encounters the mysterious Mr. Tideman face-to-face. Tideman is revealed to be a much older Owens. He and his wife, Laurel Scott, invite Lasky to join them as they have "a lot to talk about". Peter Douglas

14688-604: The ship patrolled the waters off Taiwan amid missile tests conducted by the Chinese in the area, becoming the first American warship to pass through the Taiwan Strait since 1976. Nimitz also cruised the Persian Gulf in support of Southern Watch prior to returning from deployment on 20 May 1996. Between 14 and 24 July 1997, Nimitz participated in Joint Task Force Exercise 97-2 (JTFEX 97–2) off

14824-934: The ship was deployed in the South China Sea along with USS  Ronald Reagan . On 31 December, acting Secretary of Defense Chris Miller ordered Nimitz to return directly to her home port following a nearly ten-month deployment in the Fifth Fleet area of operation. The carrier was at the time supporting the withdrawal of U.S. troops in Somalia along with USS  Makin Island and her amphibious ready group . On 3 January 2021, in an abrupt reversal, acting Defense Secretary Miller ordered Nimitz to redeploy due to "Recent threats issued by Iranian leaders against President Trump and other U.S. government officials." In May 2022, Nimitz led Carrier Strike Group 11 in

14960-424: The ship's emergency gear". Roger Ebert commented that "logic doesn't matter in a Star Wars (-like) movie". He went on to clarify: "Unfortunately, the movie makes such a mess of it that the biggest element of interest is the aircraft carrier itself". Later reviews concentrated on the intriguing aspect of the time travel story, again stressing that the military hardware was the real star. The U.S. Navy sponsored

15096-523: The size of capital ships including carriers. Since World War II, aircraft carrier designs have increased in size to accommodate a steady increase in aircraft size. The large, modern Nimitz class of US Navy carriers has a displacement nearly four times that of the World War II–era USS ; Enterprise , yet its complement of aircraft is roughly the same—a consequence of the steadily increasing size and weight of individual military aircraft over

15232-540: The sorties flown were strike sorties, with strike support accounting for another 10 percent. F/A-18 Hornet strike fighters flew nearly 80 percent of the strike sorties. Of the 771 strike sorties, 727 were loaded with ordnance, while 44 were electronic support by EA-6B Prowlers . During this four-day period, only a portion of the medium-range interdiction strikes required tanking support. KC-135 and KC-130 tanker aircraft provided most of this support. S-3 Vikings conducted recovery tanking and supplied more than one-third of

15368-450: The subsequent fire and explosions destroyed or damaged nineteen other aircraft. Autopsies showed later that the pilot had had six times the normal level of the stimulant brompheniramine in his blood. Despite having no connection to the accident, the media focused on the autopsy results of several members of the Nimitz ' s enlisted flight deck crew who were killed, who tested positive for marijuana . In an article by Robert Reinhold in

15504-514: The type of aircraft they carry and their operational assignments. Admiral Sir Mark Stanhope , RN, former First Sea Lord (head) of the Royal Navy , has said, "To put it simply, countries that aspire to strategic international influence have aircraft carriers." Henry Kissinger , while United States Secretary of State , also said: "An aircraft carrier is 100,000 tons of diplomacy." As of November 2024, there are 47 active aircraft carriers in

15640-402: The war, until the 1980s. Emergencies also spurred the creation or conversion of highly unconventional aircraft carriers. CAM ships were cargo-carrying merchant ships that could launch (but not retrieve) a single fighter aircraft from a catapult to defend the convoy from long range land-based German aircraft. Before World War II, international naval treaties of 1922 , 1930 , and 1936 limited

15776-583: The world operated by fourteen navies. The United States has 11 large nuclear-powered CATOBAR fleet carriers — each carrying around 80 fighters — the largest in the world, with the total combined deck space over twice that of all other nations combined. In addition, the US Navy has nine amphibious assault ships used primarily as helicopter carriers , although these also each carry up to 20 vertical/short takeoff and landing (V/STOL) jetfighters and are similar in size to medium-sized fleet carriers. China ,

15912-669: The world's first successful ship-launched air raid: on 6 September 1914, a Farman aircraft launched by Wakamiya attacked the Austro-Hungarian cruiser SMS  Kaiserin Elisabeth and the Imperial German gunboat Jaguar in Jiaozhou Bay off Qingdao ; neither was hit. The first attack using an air-launched torpedo occurred on 2 August, when a torpedo was fired by Flight Commander Charles Edmonds from

16048-496: The years. In 1980, the aircraft carrier USS  Nimitz departs Naval Station Pearl Harbor for naval exercises in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The ship takes on a civilian observer, Warren Lasky (Martin Sheen) — a systems analyst for Tideman Industries working as an efficiency expert for the U.S. Defense Department — on the orders of his reclusive employer, Mr. Tideman, whose secretive major defense contractor company designed and built

16184-455: The years. Today's aircraft carriers are so expensive that some nations which operate them risk significant economic and military impact if a carrier is lost. Some changes were made after 1945 in carriers: Modern navies that operate such aircraft carriers treat them as capital ships of fleets, a role previously held by the galleons, ships-of-the-line and battleships . This change took place during World War II in response to air power becoming

16320-439: Was a clear illustration of the power projection capability afforded by a large force of modern carriers. Concentrating six carriers in a single unit turned naval history about, as no other nation had fielded anything comparable. In the " Doolittle Raid ", on 18 April 1942, the US Navy carrier USS  Hornet sailed to within 650 nautical miles (1,200 km) of Japan and launched 16 B-25 Mitchell medium bombers from her deck in

16456-562: Was again moved to Naval Station Everett in Washington in 2012. In January 2015, Nimitz changed home port from Everett back to Naval Base Kitsap . With the inactivation of USS  Enterprise in 2012 and decommissioning in 2017, Nimitz is now the oldest U.S. aircraft carrier in service, and the oldest serving aircraft carrier in the world. Nimitz was authorized by the U.S. Congress in fiscal year 1967 and Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co. in Newport News, Virginia ,

16592-524: Was awarded the Battle "E" from Commander, Naval Air Force U.S. Atlantic Fleet , for being the most efficient and foremost aircraft carrier in the Atlantic Fleet. The cruise was uneventful, and the carrier returned to Norfolk, Virginia on 7 February 1977. A second uneventful Mediterranean cruise was conducted from 1 December 1977, to 20 July 1978. The third deployment began on 10 September 1979, to

16728-440: Was awarded the $ 106.5 million contract (equivalent to $ 973.17 million today). The keel was laid down on 22 June 1968. The vessel was christened on 13 May 1972, by Catherine Nimitz Lay, the daughter of the late Admiral Nimitz , six years after his death. Nimitz was delivered to the Navy in 1975, and was commissioned at Naval Station Norfolk on 3 May 1975, by the 38th President of the United States, Gerald R. Ford . Nimitz

16864-616: Was becoming a significant factor in warfare. The advent of aircraft as focal weapons was driven by the superior range, flexibility, and effectiveness of carrier-launched aircraft. They had greater range and precision than naval guns, making them highly effective. The versatility of the carrier was demonstrated in November 1940, when HMS  Illustrious launched a long-range strike on the Italian fleet at their base in Taranto , signalling

17000-511: Was completed on 14 November 2014. In 2015, Nimitz transferred to Bremerton to undergo a 16-month maintenance cycle. On 1 June 2017, Nimitz left Naval Base Kitsap for her next scheduled deployment. This deployment was against ISIS in Iraq and Syria. Her F/A-18s played an important role in the Battle of Tal Afar , providing precision air support for advancing Iraqi soldiers. On 1 March 2018, Nimitz entered dry dock at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard for ten months of overhaul. In April 2020,

17136-415: Was management of the exhaust from the power plant. Fumes coming across the deck were a major issue in USS  Langley . In addition, lack of an island meant difficulties managing the flight deck, performing air traffic control, a lack of radar housing placements and problems with navigating and controlling the ship itself. Another deck structure that can be seen is a ski-jump ramp at the forward end of

17272-547: Was named after World War II Pacific fleet commander Chester W. Nimitz , USN, (1885–1966), who was the Navy's third fleet admiral . Nimitz had her homeport at Naval Station Norfolk until 1987, when she was relocated to Naval Station Bremerton in Washington (now part of Naval Base Kitsap ). Following her Refueling and Complex Overhaul in 2001, her home port was changed to Naval Air Station North Island in San Diego County, California . The home port of Nimitz

17408-656: Was one). Specialist carrier evolution was well underway, with several navies ordering and building warships that were purposefully designed to function as aircraft carriers by the mid-1920s. This resulted in the commissioning of ships such as the Japanese Hōshō (1922), HMS  Hermes (1924, although laid down in 1918 before Hōshō ), and Béarn (1927). During World War II , these ships would become known as fleet carriers . The aircraft carrier dramatically changed naval warfare in World War II, because air power

17544-540: Was part of an evaluation of the feasibility of the MV-22 as a potential replacement for the C-2 Greyhound carrier onboard delivery (COD) cargo transport aircraft. The BBC reported that Nimitz was located in the Persian Gulf, ready to contribute to an operation against Syria when President Obama ordered a military strike. Two days later it was reported that the carrier task group had been re-routed westwards across

17680-480: Was produced with the cooperation of the United States Navy 's naval aviation branch and the United States Department of Defense . It was set and filmed on board USS  Nimitz (CVN-68), filming operations of the modern nuclear warship, which had been launched in the early 1970s. The Final Countdown was a moderate success at the box office. The film has later developed a cult following over

17816-469: Was released to theaters in the United States on August 1, 1980. A novelization by Martin Caidin , based on the screenplay, was released in the same month and largely dovetailed with the film presented on screen (the novelization ending with Lasky accompanying Tideman/CDR Owens and Laurel to their home, where it is revealed that the time travel phenomenon explored in the film had an extraterrestrial origin that

17952-545: Was set and filmed on board the real-life USS Nimitz . Nimitz is the focus of The Big Aircraft Carrier in Little Mammoth Media 's BIG Adventure Series . In it, they talk how the navy ship works for children including a complete tour of the carrier, how the sailors and pilots work and even all the training they undertake. The PBS series Carrier followed the May–November 2005 deployment of Nimitz to

18088-478: Was severe enough that only three landing attempts were successful before further attempts were forbidden. This experience prompted the development of vessels with a flush deck and produced the first large fleet ships. In 1918, HMS  Argus became the world's first carrier capable of launching and recovering naval aircraft. As a result of the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922, which limited

18224-547: Was the driving force behind The Final Countdown . With a limited budget and a promising script, he was able to attract interest from the U.S. Navy. Officials from the Department of Defense offered full cooperation after seeing a script, but insisted that for safety and operational readiness, the film schedule would be dependent on the "on location" naval consultant, William Micklos. Principal photography took place at Naval Air Station Key West , Naval Station Norfolk , and off

18360-560: Was to the Caribbean Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. Nimitz deployed for a fifth time on 8 March 1985. On 14 June 1985, two Lebanese gunmen hijacked TWA Flight 847 , which carried 153 passengers and crew and included Americans. In response, Nimitz was deployed to the coast of Lebanon , where the ship remained until August 1985. The embarked Airwing 8 flew continuous sorties for 67 days, bombing several sites in Beirut including

18496-618: Was tracking reported unidentified flying objects . Princeton subsequently contacted two Navy F/A-18F fighters from Nimitz whose cockpit instrumentation recorded data and imagery that some pilots interpreted as an object accelerating and maneuvering at extraordinary speeds . The incident was publicized in December 2017 along with details of the Advanced Aviation Threat Identification Program . Nimitz , again with CVW-11 embarked, deployed to

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