00X/004 future nuclear CATOBAR carrier thread

bd popeye

The Last Jedi
VIP Professional
CVN-65 is a special case since it is originally designed for conventional power, but later switched out its boilers by nuclear reactors one by one. Having eight nuclear reactors on a single ship makes for ridiculous speeds, but is way overkill and the sky high costs caused all sister ships to be cancelled.
Enterprise was built from the keel up as a nuclear powered carrier. The first of six in it's class.

USS Enterprise was commissioned into the Navy in 1961. Enterprise was to be the first of a new class of six nuclear carriers giving them theoretically unlimited range. Cost overruns and technical issues involving Enterprise caused the cancellation of the rest of the ships of the class, and the long-serving Nimitz class was built eventually instead. The Kitty Hawk class was built before the Nimitz class.
 

kwaigonegin

Colonel
If the 004 still don't have the balcony in the back for jet engine testing (which all USN carriers have and the 003 don't), I'm NOT gonna be happy at all
I like balcony .. in the USN it's called a fantail. Very useful for jet testing, launching weather balloons and just amazing view looking aft. Especially when the props are churning and you see all the white foam forming up.
 

Attachments

  • Screenshot_20250524-115350.png
    Screenshot_20250524-115350.png
    1,019.2 KB · Views: 85

bd popeye

The Last Jedi
VIP Professional
Very useful for jet testing
You mean like this?

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!


U.S. Sailors from the aviation intermediate maintenance department jet shop performs a jet engine test cell on an F/A-18 Super Hornet jet engine on the fantail aboard the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) in the Atlantic Ocean, April 14, 2019. IKE is underway conducting flight deck certification during the basic phase of the Optimized Fleet Response Plan (OFRP). (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Andrew Waters)

ALL US Navy carriers have a Jet Shop on the fantail to repair jet engines as necessary..jet engines do break..
 

by78

General
A closer view of the island of the carrier mockup.

54543445203_3fb61cdb77_o.jpg
 
Top