Supercarrier
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- This is about the warships. For the television program, see Supercarrier (TV series).
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A supercarrier is a warship belonging to the largest (unofficial) class of aircraft carrier, and generally has a displacement greater than 75,000 tons. Few countries operate carriers (such as Charles de Gaulle) with displacements larger than 40,000 tons, and those (such as HMS Illustrious) closer to 20,000 are more typical. Supercarriers are the largest warships ever built (although some oil tankers are longer and heavier).
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[edit] History
The USS Forrestal displaced 60,000 tons standard, and 78,000 tons in deep load, when launched.[1], and is considered the first operational supercarrier, as dubbed by the American press.[2] The similarly-sized USS United States would have been in service earlier, had it been completed; its cancellation triggered the "Revolt of the Admirals". United States would have had a nuclear strategic bombing role, rather than the multipurpose role that all subsequent supercarriers have had, carrying tactical fighters only for defense. The 72,000-ton armored Japanese carrier Shinano of the World War II era was almost heavy enough to be considered a supercarrier, but lacked several defining features, such as catapults, arrestor wires, and angled flight decks, and also did not possess the sheer size of modern supercarriers. Because of the angled deck and large deck area, supercarriers can have a far larger island than conventional carriers, greatly improving both their aviation capabilities and their capability as flagships.
The U.S. Navy is no longer alone in building large aircraft carriers, with Britain building two 75,000-ton carriers and France another of the same design, and the Soviet Union having built the 67,000-tonne Admiral Kuznetsov (considerably larger than the earlier Kiev class). The Soviet Union's 85,000-ton nuclear carrier Ulyanovsk, comparable in size to earlier American supercarriers, was 40% complete when it and a follow-on vessel were canceled in 1991, due to post-Cold-War funding cuts, and all completed supercarriers are American.
The two Queen Elizabeth class vessels will provide the United Kingdom with capabilities much closer to United States Navy carriers than their current Invincible class vessels. Indeed, they will be the second largest carriers in service, reaching a displacement of 75,000 tons (due to refits and extra equipment fits) toward the end of their service around 2050. Giving evidence to the House of Commons Defence Committee, the First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Alan West explained that interoperability with the United States Navy was as much a deciding factor of the size of the carriers as the firepower of the carrier's airwing:
| “ | I have talked with the CNO (Chief of Naval Operations) in America. He is very keen for us to get these because he sees us slotting in with his carrier groups. He really wants us to have these, but he wants us to have the same sort of clout as one of their carriers.[3] | ” |
[edit] Classes
- United States (USA, 1950s): Single-unit laid down, canceled along with four others
- Forrestal class (USA, 1955): Four-unit class, all decommissioned
- Kitty Hawk class (USA, 1961): Three-unit class, two decommissioned, one active
- Enterprise (USA, 1961): Single-unit class, still active
- John F. Kennedy (USA, 1968): Single-unit class, a modified Kitty Hawk design, decommissioned
- Project 1153 Orel (USSR, 1970s): canceled
- Nimitz-class (USA, 1975): Final unit (of ten) scheduled for completion in 2008, all units still active
- Ulyanovsk (USSR, 1990s): Two units canceled after partial completion
- Gerald R. Ford class (USA, 2013): One unit in construction, two pending, construction of more units likely over coming decades
- Queen Elizabeth class two units being built by 2014 for UK and one for France by 2015.
[edit] References
- ^ Donald, David; Daniel J. March (2001). Carrier Aviation Air Power Directory. Norwalk, CT: AIRtime Publishing. ISBN 1-880588-43-9.
- ^ MacDonald, Scot (1964-02-01). "14", Evolution of Aircraft Carriers. Washington, D. C., 20402: U.S. Government Printing Office, 69. “The versatility of the current U.S. carrier fleet is largely due to the operation of what the press has labeled "super-carriers," heavy duty aircraft carriers of the size, power, and potency of the Forrestals and the nuclear-powered Enterprise.”
- ^ House of Commons Minutes of Evidence
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Haze Gray & Underway, World Aircraft Carrier Lists comprehensive and detailed listings of all the world's aircraft carriers and seaplane tenders from 1913-2001, with photo gallery.
- Aircraft carriers of the USN
