USS George H.W. Bush

USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77)
USS George H.W. Bush in January 2011
History
United States
NameGeorge H.W. Bush
NamesakeGeorge H. W. Bush
Ordered26 January 2001
Awarded26 January 2001
BuilderNorthrop Grumman Newport News[1]
Cost$6.2 billion[2]
Laid down6 September 2003[1]
Sponsored byDorothy Bush Koch[1]
Christened7 October 2006
Launched9 October 2006
Commissioned10 January 2009[2]
HomeportNorfolk
Identification
MottoFreedom at Work
Nickname(s)Avenger
Statusin active service
Badge
General characteristics
Class and typeNimitz-class aircraft carrier
Displacement102,000 long tons (114,000 short tons)[3][4]
Length
  • Overall: 1,092 feet (332.8 m)
  • Waterline: 1,040 feet (317.0 m)
Beam
  • Overall: 252 ft (76.8 m)
  • Waterline: 134 ft (40.8 m)
Draft
  • Maximum navigational: 37 feet (11.3 m)
  • Limit: 41 feet (12.5 m)
Propulsion
Speed30+ knots (56+ km/h; 35+ mph)[7]
RangeUnlimited distance; 20–25 years
Complement
  • Ship's company: 3,532
  • Air wing: 2,480
Sensors and
processing systems
  • SPS-48E 3-D air search radar
  • SPS-49A(V)1 2-D air search radar
  • SPQ-9B fire control radar
  • 2 × SPN-46 air traffic control radars
  • SPN-43C air traffic control radar
  • SPN-41 instrument landing system radar
  • 3 × Mk 91 NSSM guidance systems
  • 3 × Mk 95 radars
Electronic warfare
& decoys
Armament
Armor2.5 in (64 mm) Kevlar over vital spaces[9]
Aircraft carried90 fixed wing and helicopters

USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77) is the tenth and final Nimitz-class supercarrier of the United States Navy. She is named for the 41st President of the United States and former Director of Central Intelligence George H. W. Bush, who was a naval aviator during World War II. The vessel's callsign is Avenger, after the TBF Avenger aircraft flown by then-Lieutenant George H. W. Bush in World War II. Construction began in 2003 at Northrop Grumman, in Newport News, Virginia and was completed in 2009 at a cost of $6.2 billion. Her home port is Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia.

  1. ^ a b c "Future USS George H.W. Bush to Transit". Naval Sea Systems Command Public Affairs. 18 December 2008. Archived from the original on 6 October 2012. Retrieved 22 December 2008.
  2. ^ a b "Aircraft Carrier Named the USS George H.W. Bush Commissioned". Fox News. 10 January 2009. Archived from the original on 21 October 2012. Retrieved 2 June 2009.
  3. ^ Polmar, Norman (2004). The Naval Institute guide to the ships and aircraft of the U.S. fleet. Naval Institute Press. p. 112. ISBN 978-1-59114-685-8. Retrieved 26 September 2016. nimitz class displacement
  4. ^ "CVN-68: NIMITZ CLASS" (PDF).
  5. ^ Kuperman, Alan; von Hippel, Frank (10 April 2020). "US Study of Reactor and Fuel Types to Enable Naval Reactors to Shift from HEU Fuel". International Panel on Fissile Materials. Archived from the original on 5 October 2021. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
  6. ^ Hanlon, Brendan Patrick (19 May 2015). Validation of the Use of Low Enriched Uranium as a Replacement for Highly Enriched Uranium in US Submarine Reactors (PDF) (MSc). Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 October 2021. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
  7. ^ Gibbons, Tony (2001). The Encyclopedia of Ships. London, United Kingdom: Amber Books. p. 444. ISBN 978-1-905704-43-9.
  8. ^ "USS George HW Bush Project". USS George HW Bush (CVN-77) Aircraft Carrier, United States of America. Net Resources International/SPG Media LTD. Archived from the original on 4 December 2012. Retrieved 25 December 2012.
  9. ^ Fontenoy, Paul E. (2006). Aircraft carriers: an illustrated history of their impact. ABC-CLIO Ltd. p. 349. ISBN 978-1-85109-573-5.