My brother just sent me this pic.... Iowa during speed trials. Looking aft. Look at that wake!
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What carrier steamed over the Russian sub near Japan?
I flew with a pilot at my job who flew EP3 back in his military days. He told me the Russians were rather pissed and sent their fleet steaming to assist the damaged sub.
They flew the EP3 near the Soviet ships and gathered shit load of electronic intelligence (peeps and squeaks).
Also said the sub lost a propeller when it was rolled by the carrier. The frogmen found the subs screw embedded in the carrier hull!
It was this reason the USA learned the Russian subs had newer quieter screws installed.
Thanks to Clinton selling technology to China?Can't blame Clinton..lol
edit... occurred back in the ‘80s
What's really impressive is what's at the other end of that shaft: a two stage steam turbine whose power and torque output will warp your mind.
I was watching a show on the building of the Ford and laughed when they brought up some people believing that aircraft carriers are “obsolete” in today’s world.
IIRC from my days the total HP of a Nimitz class main engine (HP and LP turbine combined output) is quite a bit more than 54K, with the torque capability being six figures per shaft.The other end of the shaft is connected to a set of reduction gears.
The turbine connected to those gears is pretty impressive though. The ones we had were rated and right around 54,000 horsepower. My first day in there, I thought the main condenser inlet valve was the actual condenser...
+1Sometimes I miss it... then I remember how much the rest of it sucked.
IIRC from my days the total HP of a Nimitz class main engine (HP and LP turbine combined output) is quite a bit more than 54K, with the torque capability being six figures per shaft.
And yeah, there's a gearbox in between it and the shaft.
+1
True.. all combined was right over 250,00HP not accounting for losses. We (CVN76) actually ran at full power wayyyyyy too much and basically doubled our expected fuel use. Pushing 97,000 tons around the globe at 32kts takes its toll haha.
OK, Old Salts how good/bad was the chow on board the Carriers? My very limited experience was dining in the Officers Mess as a little kid and all I remember is getting all the soft serve ice cream I could eat. My son-in-law is on a Fast Attack sub out of Pearl and his tales of the food are so-so. After he qualified it seemed to get better.
We had great food in the Officer's Wardroom on the Indy. And, yes... soft serve always available! We called it "dog," because it looked like a dog taking a dump coming out. "Hey, you gonna put some dog on that cake?? Ya gotta put some dog on it!"
LOVE it. I was of such an age that I remember barely able to reach the lever to dispense it. My father was fully engaged in conversation with his Navy officer friends, and i had no idea what was going on. I do also recall the wonderful red bug jucice and I drank o.
Amazing what a 10 year old remember from dining on the wonderful Lady Lex back in the day.
I also remember everything was very shiny and I remember going out to Easter Sunrise services on the flight deck.
I miss my father, very, very, much.
Ain’t that the damn truth?!? ???Never
Again
Volunteer
Yourself
Am I not remembering right? For some reason 100K hp per shaft sticks in my mind
I stood PPWO watches on Nimitz from mid 92 to October of 94.
AH SHIT officer on deck!
Although it would have been cool to skim across the water at 40+ kts with that kind of power, we weren't there. I was a nuke MM and spent countless hours staring at the Westinghouse data plates on the turbines. Pretty sure the exact number on the HP was 54,235. There's no way the LP was an additional 50k.
I'll check with one of my friends that are still in, but yeah I'm fairly certain we weren't close to 400k.
Did you go to training in South Carolina or Florida?
OK, Old Salts how good/bad was the chow on board the Carriers? My very limited experience was dining in the Officers Mess as a little kid and all I remember is getting all the soft serve ice cream I could eat. My son-in-law is on a Fast Attack sub out of Pearl and his tales of the food are so-so. After he qualified it seemed to get better.
LOL I'm old. Memory sucks.
Nuke school in Orlando. D1G prototype in Ballston Spa NY
I was on the Reagan (CVN76) from 2005-2010...
The food was actually really good for us basic enlisted folks. The aft mess served regular hot meals. Steak and chicken were pretty common. There was a salad bar. Breakfast was standard sausage, eggs, bacon. There was a cold cereal/fruit bar up there. The forward mess usually had "fast food" type stuff. Burgers, chicken strips, nachos etc. Forward also served the midrats meal, which was usually a mixture of random stuff but was always edible. Never really had any complaints.
The officer's mess was good also. Not really much of a step up from the enlisted meals.
The chief's mess on the other hand... was a whole different story. That was where the best food was. They had servers that would wait tables. The food was cooked to order. It was like a restaurant. My division usually had a couple people working in the chief's mess that would sneak breakfast burritos and other treats to us.
None of this really included the Filipinos. Those guys had their own secret food society. You'd walk by the mess decks and see them all eating lumpia and pancit that was never on the menu. I guess that was the perk of running the entire supply department though.
Same here.In our wardroom, we had Filipino specialties on the menu regularly, including Lumpia and Chicken Adobo. Yum!
The only meal that was not well-liked was "triangle fish" (fish sticks).
You were in the ball!
I hated Friday's underway because I hate fish.In our wardroom, we had Filipino specialties on the menu regularly, including Lumpia and Chicken Adobo. Yum!
The only meal that was not well-liked was "triangle fish" (fish sticks).
I hated Friday's underway because I hate fish.
Wednesday was always good.
One of the ships I was on made hamburger buns from scratch.
The Navy doesn't run on JP-5, DFM, and U-235. It runs on Folgers.
I'm hungry now...…...
We would run out of fresh eggs in about 4 days, fresh milk in about a week.Everything on the ship was made from scratch, including all baked goods... bread... cookies... cake... etc. I believe even the pasta was made fresh from scratch ingredients. We ate well!
We would run out of fresh eggs in about 4 days, fresh milk in about a week.
We would run out of fresh eggs in about 4 days, fresh milk in about a week.
Were you on a submarine?
Cause on everything else we have this
MCM - 224 feet of glass reinforced plastic coated wood.Were you on a submarine?
Cause on everything else we have this
MCM - 224 feet of glass reinforced plastic coated wood.
Max speed - 14 knots
Did an Unrep coming back from europe.
Very difficult, everything hauled over by hand.
Everything got wet, because everything ended up in the water.
MCM's are very top heavy, with a 15 foot navigational draft, so they roll...a lot.
Astern refueling was tons of fun, the delivery ships had difficulty keeping steerage way at such slow speeds.
Our normal steaming speed was 8 knots. Since it took us four days to get from Texas to Key West, we used to run out of shit all the time.
Only during major exercises or transits did they arrange for unreps and at sea refueling.
Here's the USS Rainier doing one of the first alongside refueling with an MCM, we typically did astern refueling.
Gives you an idea of size difference:
View attachment 7179581
Same here.
And coffee. Lots of coffee. The Navy doesn't run on JP-5, DFM, and U-235. It runs on Folgers.
I'm hungry now...…...
All the coffee on the Reagan was Starbucks.. it was actually kinda weird.
Fuck starbucks!
Id probably start drinking tea.
All the coffee on the Reagan was Starbucks.. it was actually kinda weird.
Took my dad on a Tiger Cruise (from Pearl Harbor to San Diego). He LOVED it.
For you naval experts.. what are the exercise mats used for under the gun in these pics?
This is the USS Forrest Sherman and the few pictures of it firing the main gun, it has this mats directly under the barrel.
Edit: I think I see the spent cases in the second pic. The mats are meant to soften impact from the ejected cases?
Such a cool story I’m jealous.Yep! The S-3 pilots had the Hoover (vacuum cleaner) logo on their flight suits! I flew with VS-37 (Sawbucks). Just got one flight. But, man it was so cool!
I had to qualify to fly back seat. Fortunately, I had a friend who was friends with the director of Aviation Physiology at Miramar. So, I took two days of leave to take that course. I was the only non-pilot there. I managed to pass and get "qual'ed," though I did not know if I'd ever have the opportunity to fly back seat. But, I knew that without the "qual," I would not ever be allowed to fly back seat in an aircraft equipped with ejection seat.
One day, I took care of a pilot "after hours" in the dental clinic. (I was a dental officer.) He told me that if he could ever do anything for me, he would. I said, "I'd love to ride back seat." He asked, "Do you have back seat quals?" YEP! Got the paperwork! A couple days later, I got the call that they had a seat for me. My department head said, "GO! We'll take care of your patients. This is once in a lifetime." And, off I went!
So, after the flight.... after we parked the plane, the door opened. While I was fiddling with my harness (to unlatch it), a flight deck crew came up to me and said, "We saved this for you," and handed me two chunks of metal. I was a bit "loopy" / disoriented / nauseated after all the aerobatic maneuver. They looked like a miniature metal barbell that had been sheared in the middle. It was the "hold back fitting" that keeps the jet from moving when the engines are at full thrust before the catapult is activated. It's traditionally saved for pilots on their first cat shot. Otherwise, they are garbage and pitched overboard after each cat shot.
At that moment, I had no idea what it was. As I fondled it, the razor-sharp edge of the sheared section sliced open my finger! So, now I'm disoriented, nauseated, and BLEEDING!
I staggered down to the ready room and they bandaged me up (and explained what a special memento I had been given). After that, I took the two pieces to the dental clinic lab and polished off the sharp edges on a lathe. Then I engraved the date on them.
View attachment 7175386
My best day in the Navy!
View attachment 7175387
Years ago when an Iowa class battleship was in Bremerton before sailing out to Hawaii, it was dwarfed by the two carriers on either side. The battleship sat low in the water while the carriers towered over it.Pics don't do justice to how massive 100,000 tons of ship really is. I got to walk under mine while it was in drydock.
I also remember my dad's reaction as he got pierside to Nimitz getting ready to come aboard at Pearl Harbor for tiger cruise on our way home to PSNS. He just looked up and said "wow". This from a guy that ran container lines operating some of the largest container ships of the 70s and 80s.
Going from the markings on the plane I would say Dwight t Eisenhower. It says so under the vx 23 right at the wing root.
Going from the markings on the plane I would say Dwight t Eisenhower. It says so under the vx 23 right at the wing root.