Carriers

In total, two US naval aviators flying the F/A-18E Super Hornet and four French aviators, flying the French Rafale and an E-2C Hawkeye, conducted carrier operations including touch-and-goes and one trap and recovery on each carrier.

U.S. Navy F/A-18E Super Hornets have recovered and launched from French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle.

The Nimitz-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) and the French nuclear-powered aircraft carrier FS Charles de Gaulle (R91) in fact participated in cross-deck inter-operability exercises in the Mediterranean Sea on Mar. 3, 2020.

According to the US Navy news release, the unique opportunity allowed pilots from both navies to land and launch on the two flight decks while the leaders of each strike group met aboard both carriers for a tour and an opportunity to observe their respective pilots operate aboard a foreign naval vessel.

“It was an honor to participate in the first-ever F/A-18E Super Hornet recovery aboard the FS Charles de Gaulle,” said Lt. Cmdr. Nick Smith, a naval aviator attached to Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 32.”The seamless integration of French and US systems and operators shows not only the compatibility of our practices and procedures but also the strength of our alliance.”

In total, two US naval aviators flying the F/A-18E Super Hornet and four French aviators, flying the French Rafale and an E-2C Hawkeye, conducted carrier operations including touch-and-goes and one trap and recovery on each carrier. Additionally, each country moved people and parts between the two ships via helicopter throughout the duration of the exercise.

“The exchange of traps and catapults of a French Rafale on Ike and a US Super Hornet on CDG [Charles de Gaulle] not only displayed the versatility of each country’s naval air power but was a striking visual of comradery in arms of two great powers at sea,” said Capt. Trevor Estes, commander Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 3. “The Battle Axe team was honored to execute the first trap by a Rhino aboard the CDG and more importantly, extend even further an already strong allied relationship through inter-operations in the skies over the Mediterranean.”

The launching and recovering of aircraft aboard each vessel represent a continued effort by both navies to operate side-by-side and demonstrate their naval sea power as one combined force.

“The dual-carrier operation represents a high-end interoperability showcase for our two navies,” said Rear Adm. Marc Aussedat, commander, Task Force 473. “It is a concrete way to enhance our know-how to operate together, amongst which a swift ability to plug, to share tactical information, to catch and catapult aircraft indifferently on either aircraft carrier and to couple our fighting spirits in a complex maritime environment for a wide range of actions alongside.”

This exercise is not the first time that Ike and CDG have operated alongside one another. The two aircraft carriers conducted joint operations in Support of Operation Inherent Resolve from the Mediterranean Sea in 2016.

Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Kaleb J. Sarten / U.S. Navy

B-52 Pilot: “Ranger, we’re 5 miles out.”
USS Ranger: “We do not have visual…”
B-52 Pilot: “Look down”

Taken in the spring of 1990 in the Persian Gulf, the impressive pictures in this post feature U.S. Air Force (USAF) B-52 Stratofortress strategic bombers buzzing USS Ranger (CV-61) aircraft carrier.

The story went as follows.

Two B-52s called the USS Ranger and asked if they could do a fly-by, and the carrier air controller said yes.

When the B-52s reported they were 9nkilometers out, the carrier controller said he didn’t see them. The B-52s told the carrier folks to look down.

B-52 Pilot: “Ranger, we’re 5 miles out.”
USS Ranger: “We do not have visual…”
B-52 Pilot: “Look down”

According to The Tailhook Association website, the B-52 paint scheme made it hard to see from above, but as it got closer, the sailors could make it out, and the water the B-52 jets were causing to spray out.

As we have already explained (click here to read the article) B-52s usually practiced low-level flights during the Cold War years to come in under Soviet radar. In this case, the B-52 pilots asked the carrier controller if they would like the bombers to come around again. The carrier guys said yes, and a lot more sailors had their cameras out this time.

Although it’s very rare for a USAF aircraft to do a fly-by below the flight deck of a carrier, it’s not rare seeing B-52sndoing low fly-bys over US Navy flattops.

In the winter of 1981 in fact, two Guam-based B-52 Stratofortress strategic bombers performed a low fly-by over USS Midway (CV-41) aircraft carrier. Here you can read the whole story of the USS Midway low fly-by written by B-52 commander Doug Aitken.

Update: Tim Manley, the reader of #AW#, brought to our attention that the main photo used for this article was taken on the USS Independence (CV62) not the USS Ranger. A claim was proved by the tail markings on the F-14 from VF-154 and the E-2C from VAW-115 parked on the flight deck. Both squadrons were deployed as part of CAG-5 which is can be identified as NK in the tail of the aircraft that were​ assigned to CV-62. They were never deployed on the​ Ranger. Stay tuned for additional updates if further details on this story had to come to light!

Photo by U.S. Navy

The mishap was caught on the PLAT (Pilot Landing Aid Television System) camera. Amazingly there were no injuries.

Taken during Operation Desert Storm onboard USS Saratoga (CV-60), the shocking video in this post shows a VAW-125 Tigertails E-2C Hawkeye sliding on the oily flight deck while taxing aft to the waist catapults.

While sliding on the flight deck, the E-2C cut off the nose of an F-14 Tomcat belonging to VF-103 Sluggers with the crew in it. The mishap was caught on the PLAT (Pilot Landing Aid Television System) camera. Amazingly there were no injuries.

A former Plane Captain with VA-35 remembers: ‘I was on deck, I was a Plane Captain with VA-35 at the time the E-2 came to rest on the horizontal stabilizers of one of our KA-6D’s. I will never forget the sound of this when it happened, made me sick to my stomach because I was sure someone got hurt. We were all lucky that night. Shit like this is why we always said, “Head on a swivel”.’

The USS Saratoga had a long and illustrious naval history. For nearly forty years she served in the Mediterranean, in the waters off Guantanamo Bay during the Cuban Missile crisis, off the coast of Lebanon during the Six Day War, and as part of the Vietnam War cruise in 1972, for which she received one battle star for service.

The USS Saratoga served during Operation Desert Storm from August 1990 until March 1991. She logged 11,700narrested landings, 12,700 sorties and traveled 36,382 miles.

Her last deployment was to the Mediterraneannran from January to early June of 1994. She returned to Naval Station Mayport in Florida where she was decommissioned. After proudly serving in the US Navy, the ship was docked at the Naval Station in Newport, Rhode Island.

A reservist, with 1,742 years of service, Adm. Santa Claus specializes in vertical delivery of high-value items.

The Department of the Navy issued orders on Dec. 17, 2019, to Adm. Santa Claus, recalling him to active duty, with a report date of Dec. 24. A reservist, with 1,742 years of service, this Naval Aviator specializes in vertical delivery of high-value items. He is carrier flight deck qualified. He is also a Public Affairs Officer.

Also recalled, were Lt. Cmdr. Dasher, Master Chief Dancer, Senior Chief Prancer, Lt. Vixen, Cmdr. Comet, Lt. Cmdr. Cupid, AW1 Donner, and AW1 Blitzen, Individual Augmentees from the Naval Reserve. Ensign Rudolph is also authorized to report for duty; however, he must first complete Carrier Qual training, which he has failed three times.

Although the above Sailors are on orders for only 24 hours, it is anticipated that they will submit a travel claim forn24,901 miles at .56/mile, using a POV. Suitable government transportation is not available.

As a special operations unit, each member is granted a high level of uniform flexibility, as well as relaxed grooming standards. Per diem is authorized and has been modified to include large quantities of hot cocoa and cookies.

Credit: USS George Washington (CVN 73) Facebook Page

Airborne- and surface-based fleet air defense elements, such as F/A-18s and at least two guided-missile destroyers safeguarded the US Navy flattop during the exfiltration.

Released on Dec. 4, 2019, by the Iranian news agency the satellite imagery in this post shows the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) aircraft carrier “escorted” out of the Persian Gulf via the Strait of Hormuz by 20 Iranian fast inshore attack crafts.

According to T-Intelligence, airborne- and surface-based fleet air defense elements, such as F/A-18s and at least two guided-missile destroyers safeguarded the US Navy flattop during the exfiltration.

Noteworthy Abraham Lincoln only transited the Strait of Hormuz on Nov. 19 after nearly six months of staying in open waters due to intelligence concerning an imminent Iranian threat.

Carrier Air Wing Seven (CVW-7, which is comprised of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 25 “Fist of the Fleet,” VFA-86 “Sidewinders,” VFA-103 “Jolly Rogers,” VFA-143 “Pukin’ Dogs,” Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron (VAW) 121 “Bluetails,” Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 140 “Patriots,” Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 5 “Nightdippers,” and Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 79 “Griffins”) is attached to “Abe” and encompasses F/A-18E/F Super Hornet strike fighters and EA-18G Growler electronic warfare aircraft. The guided-missile cruiser Leyte Gulf and guided-missile destroyers Bainbridge, Mason, and Nitze are assigned to the strike group. 

This was the first Strait of Hormuz transit for the Nimitz-class USS Abraham Lincoln ever since it was hurried to the Middle East on May 5, 2019, in response to an undisclosed intelligence warning of an imminent Iranian attack.

As previously reported, on Jun. 20, 2019, in a major provocation Iran shot down an unarmed and unmanned U.S. Navy MQ-4C Triton drone while it was flying in international airspace over the Strait of Hormuz.

In early May, the Pentagon rushed USS Abraham Lincoln and a B-52 bomber task force to the Middle East to deter possible attacks by Iran or Iranian-backed groups on U.S. forces and U.S. interests in the region.

Pentagon spokesman Charles Summers pointed “to indications of heightened Iranian readiness to conduct offensive operations against U.S forces and our interests.”

A claim confirmed by U.S. Navy Capt. BillnUrban, a Central Command spokesman, said in a statement that “U.S.nCentral Command continues to track the number of credible threat streams emanating from the regime in Iran throughout the CENTCOM area of responsibility.”

The escalating tensions followed an Aprilnannouncement by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo of new sanctions against any country, including U.S. allies, that imports Iranian oil, the country’s top source of income. The White House also designated the Revolutionary GuardsnCorps as a foreign terrorist organization, part of a hardening stance toward Iran.

 

USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) in the Arabian Sea https://t.co/XSCrUrKwnq pic.twitter.com/r1kyTVL88f

— Samir (@obretix) October 21, 2019

As a result of the Iranian threat, after decades of American aircraft carriers sailing through the Strait of Hormuz, thenU.S. Navy made the decision to keep CVN-72 in open waters for security reasons. Satellite imagery showed the Lincoln loitering in a “tight operational box” in the North Arabian Sea, the Gulf of Oman, and occasionally conducting port calls at Duqm, Oman for the past five months. 

As T-Intelligence reports, the Iraniannmilitaries regularly rehearse asymmetric tactics to trap and sink U.S. aircraft carriers in the Persian Gulf in case of conflict. Aircraft carriers are particularly vulnerable when passing through the Strait of Hormuz, which is 30nkm at its narrowest. The recent decision to forward deploy CVN-72 into the enclosed Gulf could indicate that the threat posed by Iran decreased to an acceptable level for transiting the strait.

USS Harry Truman (CVN-75) will take CVN-72’s place in the U.S. Navy Fifth Fleet and U.S. Central Command area of responsibility.

Aircraft Carrier Admiral Kuznetsov caught fire during repairs while docked at the Barents Sea port of Murmansk. Fuel is reportedly burning aboard the ship.

A huge fire has broken out on AdmiralnKuznetsov, Russia’s only aircraft carrier.

State-run news agencies have warned the fire is spreading and is currently covering 600 square meters (6,460 square feet) of the huge ship, an emergency services source told TASS.

The ship caught fire during repairs while docked at the Barents Sea port of Murmansk. Fuel is reportedly burning aboard the ship.

Workers have been evacuated from the burning vessel. Six people have been injured, while two are missing, the source said. One shipyard worker is said to have sustained head trauma.

Separately, a source told TASS that a naval officer and a sailor are among the injured.

Aleksey Rakhmanov, head of the state-run United Shipbuilding Corporation, told Interfax that “a human factor” could be the cause of the fire.

The press service of the Zvyozdochka ship-repair center said the specialists working onboard the vessel had been evacuated.

 

В Мурманске произошел пожар на авианосце «Адмирал Кузнецов»

Крейсер загорелся во время ремонтных работ. pic.twitter.com/Dk8uTRE9wo

— Актуальная Россия (@RussiaActually) December 12, 2019

Admiral Kuznetsov is Russia’s only aircraft carrier. It has been undergoing repairs and maintenance since 2017, after completing a mission in the eastern Mediterranean, where the vessel took part in the country’s campaign in Syria.

Noteworthy on Oct. 30, 2018, Admiral Kuznetsov was damaged when Russia’s biggest floating dry dock, the PD-50, sank and one of the dock’s 70-ton cranes crashed onto the ship’s flight deck leaving behind a 200-square-foot hole in the flight deck. One person was reported missing and four injured as the dry dock sank in Kola Bay. Admiral Kuznetsov was in the process of being removed from the dock when the accident happened, and was towed to a nearby yard after the accident. The cost for repairs of the damage was estimated to be 70 million rubles (about 1 million dollars) and should not affect the timing of the currently underway overhaul and modernization of the ship. Although it is unclear how the overhaul and repair schedule would not be affected with the dry dock sunk.

The fallen crane was removed within two to three months. In late May 2019, seven months later, information posted on Digital Forensic Research Lab’s blog suggested that repair work of the aircraft carrier was underway.

Admiral Kuznetsov was originally commissioned in the Soviet Navy and was intended to be the lead ship of the two-ship Kuznetsov class. However, its sister ship Varyag was still incomplete when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991. The second hull was eventually sold by Ukraine to the People’s Republic of China, completed in Dalian, and commissioned as Liaoning.

Photo by Twitter

17 years ago, USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) embarked on the longest deployment for an aircraft carrier in post-Vietnam military history.

On Apr. 1, 2019, the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) departed Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia for a scheduled deployment. The following month, in the wake of rapidly escalating tensions with Iran, the carrier and her strike group were tasked to deploy to waters just outside the Strait of Hormuz, the entrance to the geopolitically vital Persian Gulf.

Then, in late October, the United States Navy officially extended Abe’s deployment indefinitely.

Sister supercarrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75), which was Lincoln’s scheduled relief, was unable to set sail due to problems with its electrical distribution system, forcing its escorts to depart Norfolk without it. Over half of the U.S. carrier fleet is undergoing maintenance or training, leaving only two, USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) and USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76), ready for some level of real-world tasking. Lincoln’s extension also comes on the heels of significant deployment of reinforcements to Saudi Arabia to deter Iran.

Though CVN-72 is now on pace for an extra-long deployment, it is not without precedent. From the 1970s to the early 1980s, seven-to-eight-month deployments were often the norm. Nor is Abraham Lincoln specifically sailing in uncharted waters with regards to an extension – 17 years ago, the same carrier embarked on the longest deployment for an aircraft carrier in post-Vietnam military history.

On July 20, 2002, CVN-72 departed Naval StationnEverett, Washington for deployment as the centerpiece of a battle group flagged under Cruiser-Destroyer Group Three. In addition to the carrier, the group consisted of Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruisers Mobile Bay and Shiloh, ArleighnBurke-class guided-missile destroyer PaulnHamilton (DDG-60), Spruance-class destroyer Fletcher (DD-992), and OlivernHazard Perry-class guided-missile frigates Crommelin (FFG-37) Reuben James (FFG-57). The Los Angeles-class nuclear-powered attack submarines Honolulunand Cheyenne were also assigned to the battle group. Within days, Carrier Air Wing Fourteen (CVW-14) had flown aboard and the battle group set a course due west to commence the deployment.

Abe’s 2002 cruise occurred during a critical juncture in world history. Terrorists, at the direction of Osama bin Laden, had attacked America by striking the World Trade Center less than a year before; U.S. and allied forces had overthrown the Taliban and were well into an extended occupation of Afghanistan, and preparations were now underway for an invasion of Iraq. With the War on Terror being waged at full bore, it was easy to foresee Abraham Lincoln playing a critical role in the campaigns to come.

The first month-plus of CVN-72’s deployment took place in the Western Pacific, featuring port calls in Sasebo, Japan, Hong King, and Singapore. According to the ship’s official command history for 2002, the carrier then transited the Indian Ocean, relieving USS George Washington (CVN-73) on, coincidentally enough, September 11, and commenced air operations into Afghanistan from its station in the North Arabian Sea. Abe’s participation in Operation Enduring Freedom was uneventful and lasted little over a month, however; on Oct. 21, the battle group charted the course for the Persian Gulf, where its first stop was Bahrain, the headquarters of the Navy’s Fifth Fleet.

Come Oct. 28, Lincoln was patrolling the Gulf and her air wing commenced Southern Watch operations, the no-fly zone covering southern Iraq, which had now been in place for over a decade. Unlike in years past, however, the missions, this time around, constituted anything but uneventful airspace policing.

Three months earlier, in a major policy shift that went unnoticed by the public at the time, the U.S. and its Coalition partners decided to escalate the air war against Saddam Hussein. It was a response to an increasing number of no-fly zone violations and provocations by Iraq, but also a means of softening up Saddam’s defenses in preparation for an eventual ground offensive. Codenamed Southern Focus, this new effort was conducted under the guise of no-fly zone enforcement, even as it became clear the Bush administration was clearly on a path to war.

For the next month-plus, CVW-14 formed the spearhead of SouthernnFocus, joining forces with the Air Force, Marine Corps, and British warplanes to tighten the noose around Baghdad and shape the battlefield. If it was not officially a war yet, it certainly appeared that way to the pilots. CVW-14’s commanding officer, NavynCapt. Kevin Albright, summed it up bluntly when he told the media, “They’renshooting a lot at us. It seems to me they’re really trying hard to shoot one of us down.”

Numerous strikes took place during Lincoln’s time on-station, with one of the more significant ones occurring on Nov. 6. That day, an air defense facility and surface-to-air missile sites near Al Kut were struck, almost 100 miles southeast of Baghdad. It was also the combat debut of the Boeing F/A-18E Super Hornet, which had then been in active service for only a few years. Lts. Eric Doyle and John Turner, both assigned to Strike Fighter Squadron 115 (VFA-115) “Eagles,” each flew a single-seat Super Hornet on the strike, employing satellite-guided JDAM bombs against a command bunker, achieving direct hits. Despite being fired upon by Iraqi air defenses in response, both pilots returned safely to Lincoln.

Additional strikes followed. The dates vary depending on the source, but CVW-14 warplanes also struck an air defense command and control bunker at Tallil Air Base in the city of Nasiriyah in southeast Iraq. Later in the month, more strikes took place, including an exceptionally large one on either the 23^rd or 24^th (again, depending on the source). The following morning, a voice on the carrier’s main announcing circuit proclaimed that more bombs were dropped the night prior than ever before.

OperationnIraqi Freedom was still months away from commencement, but, for the pilots of CVW-14, they were already at war.

After a change-of-command at sea and another Bahrain port call, Lincoln was relieved by USS Constellation (CV-64). On Dec. 10, CVN-72 and her escorts set a course due east for the journey home that would involve two more stops and take at least another month to complete. By the time it arrived in Perth, Australia on Dec. 22, the carrier had been deployed for five months. While crewmembers were undoubtedly excited to spend Christmas in the Land Down Under and return home, a sense of unease filled the air; tensions with Iraq were not de-escalating and Southern Focus operations continued uninterrupted.

By the first day of the new year, it was clear plans were going to change. Abraham Lincoln was ordered to “be available as required to meet national security requirements,” mil-speak for “you’re going to war.” The carrier returned to Australia, dropping anchor off the port city of Fremantle, and spent two weeks resurfacing the flight deck, which had been worn out by weeks of intense flight operations during Southern Focus. Meanwhile, fighters from CVW-14 trained ashore at an Australian military air base to stay sharp. By Jan. 20, with all aircraft aboard, the battle group began the journey back to the Persian Gulf.

How did the crew react to the news of the extension? Even a Lincoln spokesman admitted to the press that the change was difficult for the crew to take. But the battle group leadership made it clear on the day the extension was announced all were expected to embrace the misery or suffer in silence.

“We don’t need to be home holding our loved ones, we need to be here holding the line,” admonished battle group commander RADM John Kelly in his address to the crew on New Year’s Day, concluding with what could only be interpreted as an order – “Get over it!” The crew later had some fun with this, creating an employment patch featuring a sailor being kicked in the groin with the phrase “Get Over It!” employed as an unofficial cruise slogan.

Upon its return to the Gulf in early February, Lincoln picked up where it had left off, conducting missions and strikes to further whittle down Iraq’s defenses. It’s F-14D Super Tomcats of Fighter Squadron 31 (VF-31) “Tomcatters” also flew reconnaissance missions using the Tactical Air Reconnaissance Pod System (TARPS), gathering imagery for targeting intelligence.

The order-of-battle had changed dramatically since the carrier was last in-theater – more aircraft and ships had arrived, with Lincoln set to operate alongside Constellation and KittynHawk, the forward-deployed carrier based out of Japan. Two more carriers, Theodore Roosevelt and HarrynS. Truman would operate from the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Land-based Air Force warplanes, along with those of the United Kingdom and Australia, occupied airbases throughout the Gulf theater.

By this point, it was clear the U.S. was going to invade Iraq.

The main thrust of Operation Iraqi Freedom began on Mar. 20, but Southern Focus and special operations on the ground meant the fighting had been ongoing for some time. On the evening of Mar. 19, a long-range strike on Iraqi airfields in the far west of Iraq took place, involving warplanes from all three carriers in the Gulf, the Air Force, and the British Royal Air Force, along with special operations forces on the ground.

Abraham Lincoln’s F-14Ds, F/A-18Es, and the “legacy” F/A-18C(N) Hornets of VFA-25 “Fist of the Fleet” and VFA-113 “Stingers” launched strikes into Iraq on the first night, exhibiting far greater precision-strike capability than the Navy had back in the 1991 Gulf War. The Tomcats had recently received the D04 software update to deploy JDAMs and geared with the LANTIRNntargeting pod for dropping laser-guided bombs (LGBs). The Super Hornetsnpossessed the brand-new ATFLIR, which were fewer in quantity and provednsomewhat problematic during the war, making the Tomcat-LANTIRN combinationnindispensable. As a side note, Lincoln’s 2002- ’03 deployment was the only time F-14s andnF/A-18E/Fs both deployed aboard the same carrier, making it a unique “super air wing” of sorts.

As Benjamin Lambeth assessed, the Super Hornet displayed its operational prowess in a resounding fashion. The new, sophisticated strike fighter averaged only 15 maintenance man-hours per flying hour, compared with 20 for then“legacy” Hornet and a whopping 60 for the legendary Tomcat. Across the board, the Super Hornets also achieved an impressive Fully-Mission Capable status ofn90 percent, compared with 87 percent for the F/A-18C, and 78 for the SupernTomcats. It was obvious the “Super Bug” was the future of U.S. Naval Aviation and the real deal.

For 17 days, CVN-72/CVW-14 continued to pound targets throughout central and southern Iraq, as Coalition ground forces advanced towards Baghdad. They comprised the “day shift” alongside Kitty Hawk, while Constellation was tasked as the “night shift.” On Mar. 31, the already-formidable air wing became even more so, as two F/A-18Es and two of the newer two-seat F/A-18F Super Hornets embarked aboard Abe from USS Nimitz (CVN-68) which was just days away from arriving and relieving Lincoln in the Gulf. Meanwhile, the battle group’s surface combatants and submarines unleashed Tomahawk cruise missiles upon Iraq.

Finally, the end came. On Apr. 7, with Nimitz on-station, Abe and her battle group were relieved, and they set course for home. There was one more surprise left – on May 1, off the coast of San Diego, President George W. Bush landed aboard Lincoln on an S-3B Viking, which had been used as an aerial refueling tanker, surface attack and surveillance platform by the air wing. It was quite a moment – one that would ultimately prove controversial, with Abe, unfortunately, serving as the stage.

That same day, Bush delivered a speech announcing the “end of major combat operations.” Behind the president on the ship’s island, however, was a large banner displaying the words “Mission Accomplished.” The invasion had already generated controversy; as the war persisted, failed to deliver a decisive outcome and the insurgency intensified, Bush’s speech was seized upon by his political opponents as a dramatic publicity stunt and, derisively, came to be known as the “Mission Accomplished speech.”

Bush, however, never said “Mission Accomplished.” While critics parroted the narrative the Bush administration had effectively staged a stunt, the “Mission Accomplished” banner was actually requested by Abraham Lincoln. The long, eventful deployment they had justncompleted had apparently instilled, in the crew, a sense somethingnextraordinary had indeed been accomplished and they wanted to commemorate thenoccasion, especially with the president visiting. Nevertheless, there was no doubt that the banner created a perception problem Bush never recovered from nor could explain away.

None of it detracted from the accomplishments of Abraham Lincoln, CVW-14, and her battle group. By the time it arrived home in Everett, CVN-72 had completed a 290-day deployment, traveling a total distance of 102,816 nautical miles. The air wing spent 29,837 hours in the air and delivered a jaw-dropping 1.865 million pounds of ordnance. Though it didn’t break USS CoralnSea’s 329-day extravaganza fromn1965, this is one accomplishment the crew was probably happy to fail to achieve.

Back in the present day, Abraham Lincoln will be eventually relieved and end his deployment, which will likely reach or exceed eight months. Grueling as it may be, the carrier, her air wing, and strike group are living up to an example it set over 17 years ago, when Abraham Lincoln and her team proved they were more than great – they were ultimate.

Photo by U.S. Navy

There is an old marketing slogan used by florists worldwide that has been in use for years: “Say it with Flowers!” The carrier-equipped navies of the world have a better way to express sympathy, love, admiration, pride, patriotism, and commemoration—they SAY IT WITH SAILORS!

The following story was written by Dave O’Malley and originally appeared on the Vintage Wings of Canada website.

The flight deck of an aircraft carrier is perhaps the most dangerous place on earth to work. The Navy ratings who work there risk death in any number of ways—propeller strikes, engine intake ingestion, ordnance explosion, fuel fire, arrestor cables removing limbs, aircraft losing control, and on and on. Every few minutes a 35,000-pound airplane literally crashes to the deck, airplanes are moving, and propeller discs are threatening decapitation or de-limbing. People are everywhere. Flame, heat, deafening noise, fumes, toxins, and danger are omnipresent. On top of all this are layered high winds, driving rain, a heaving deck, and even the dark of night. It’s not the place to be if you are preoccupied with something other than the one part you have in this choreographed mayhem. It’s not the place to be if you are not aware of your surroundings.

So why, then, is it that the aircraft carrier’s flight deck can also become a thousand-foot-long, thousand sailors-strong, sentimental Hallmark greeting card? How can the most dangerous working environment also be the same place where a crew can send a message to a little boy dying of cancer, or birthday greetings to a Queen, or even just let their mothers know they are thinking of them? I am speaking of the long-entrenched and truly weird practice of the aircraft carrier spell-out. TimnDubé, military historian and former Navy cadet, explains the history of the spell-out: “This is an evolution of the custom of ‘manning the rails,’ itself an evolution of ‘manning the yards’ when sailors would climb the masts and position themselves along the spars or yards to render honors. It’s also done as a form of honor when entering a harbor to show no hostile intent—if you are manning the rails, you can’t be manning the guns. With aircraft carriers not really having rails, it would make sense to ‘say it with sailors,’ particularly if there was a bridge to pass under like the Golden Gate Bridge at San Francisco.”

The art of arranging large groups of sailors on the deck of an aircraft carrier is a practice long entrenched in the world of carrier operations. It is not known when this practice began, but a recent article on the Smithsonian’s Air & Space website suggested it may have started around the end of the Second World War. To be fair, they admitted it may have been earlier, but they were not sure. In my quest to find photographs of aircraft carrier flight deck spell-outs, I came across one photograph of the USS Lexington (CV-2) with her decks cleared of aircraft and a few hundred of her sailors turned out in dress whites and lined up quite artistically to spell-out the word NAVY. I probably will never know if this is the first example of a spell-out on a carrier deck, but the date is nearly ten years before the end of the war—1936 to be exact. The early date and the fact that they are spelling out perhaps the most simple of all words a navy crew could spell (NAVY) leads me to postulate that this may be one of the first deck spell-outs.

The practice has come a long way sincenthen. Today, it is a tradition that every carrier in the US Navy, and indeed innmost aircraft carrier-equipped navies of the world, carries out. The first timenit was thought of, I can imagine the Captain of the ship (let’s just say it was Lexington)nthinking to himself, “I’ve got a floating parade ground 888 feet long and 107nfeet wide. I have 2,800 bored sailors and airmen. I have a ship’s photographernand any number of aircraft that can climb above this deck. What can I do toncreate a photo that will get attention for the Lady Lex, the Navy and myncrew?” My guess is it went something like that but now, nearly 80 years later,nit is a tradition practiced by every crew of every aircraft carrier in everynnavy. Even the submariners are doing it… but one can imagine the limitationsna submarine forces on creativity. Not so the carrier.

In the 1930s, as it still is today, thenaircraft carrier was the height of technology, a magnet for the press,npoliticians, the curious, the young ladies and the young men of America. Just asnsoon as the first flight deck spell-out photo was taken, there is no doubt thatnit appeared in Navy magazines like “All Hands” and was a huge hit with localnand national newspapers. Copying the idea was guaranteed to happen. By war’snend, carriers returning home were sending flight deck spell-out messages tontheir home ports or new ports of call.

My earliest memory of seeing a carrier flight deck spell-out was the now famous image of America’s first nuclear-powered carrier and her attendant nuclear powered task force steaming together at high speed across the ocean with the massive deck of USS Enterprise hosting a thousand or more sailors in brilliant white uniforms formed up to spell out E=mc2, the famous mass-energy equivalence formula, first proposed by Albert Einstein and considered a fundamental formula of the Nuclear Age. Alongside steamed two other ships of the line that were also powered by the atom—USS Long Beach and USS Bainbridge. The ships were demonstrating the capabilities on the new Navy by circumnavigating the planet without refuelling. Enterprise’s deck was immense, the aircraft—Vigilantes, Crusaders and Skyhawks—were all arranged in an artistic arrowhead design. The formation of the letters and number was perfection. The sun was shining. It blew my mind.

Over the past few months, I had beennresearching a couple of stories about aircraft carriers and began to comenacross many photographs of this strangely compelling practice of getting ship’sncrews to form letters on the decks to send messages to people on shore. Instarted collecting them in a folder. Then I came across a page on Wikipedianwhere someone had collected scores of these photographs in one place, many ofnwhich I had in my folder. These photos also had US Navy press release-stylencaptions attached, indicating that the media or public affairs people of the USnNavy often got involved in these spell-outs… at least after the fact.

I also went repeatedly to a site called navsource.org, an excellent unofficial website which has collected statistics, cruise logs, photographs and anecdotes of nearly every ship ever to sail with the United States Navy. It is an astonishing collection of information and images and certainly one of the better, if not the best, site of this type I have found. I highly recommend a visit to the site, as it will draw you in for hours on end.

Scouring the entries for every aircraftncarrier, I found many fine examples of the spell-out. I also noticed a fewnthings. Escort carriers rarely were the canvas for a spell-out. Spell-outs onndecks devoid of aircraft are not nearly as impressive as ones with aircraft.nSome were exquisitely perfect, while others were remarkably sloppy. Somencarriers were more active in the practice than others. The one thing that wasncommon to all of these images was the clear message of pride in one’s ship andnone’s navy.

Here now, for your enjoyment, are only somenof the many photographs of aircraft carrier spell-outs I was able to discovernover the past year.

There is an old marketing slogan used bynflorists worldwide that has been in use for years: “Say it with Flowers!” Thencarrier-equipped navies of the world have a better way to express sympathy,nlove, admiration, pride, patriotism and commemoration—they SAY IT WITH SAILORS!
n
nDave O’Malley, with thanks to Navsource.org and Kevin Nesdoly

The Port Of Call Shout-Out

 For me, the greatest and mostnpowerful of the great carrier flight deck spell-outs are those that give anmassive shout-out to the ports of call they are arriving at or departing from.nThey are crowd favourites indeed. Like a rock star who shouts out “Hey Ottawa!nWe’re happy to be here tonight!” or “Hey Des Moines! Those Iowa girls are thencutest!” or “What’s up Green Bay, how about them Packers?” a carrier shout-outnis never interpreted as manipulative and is always embraced by the community.nOften the carrier creates the spell-out while approaching the city, passingnunder her bridges, below her lofty buildings. This is designed to get as muchnattention as possible… perhaps to get the word out to the pretty girls.

The ship usually puts up their own aircraftnor helicopter, but sometimes newspaper photographers will take their ownnphotographs from a bridge or high point. Regardless, the photographs are soonnto appear in the port’s daily newspapers and, more often than not, are pickednup in others across the country.

Here, starting with some good old hometownnCanadian shout-outs, are some of the finest I could find on God’s gift to thencurious—the internet.

We Speak Your Language.

Not all spell-outs are written in thenalphabet or language that we Westerners think is the only one. In fact, if younwant your 1,000 sailor message to be understood in Yokosuka, Athens ornBrunsbüttel Roads, you best form it up in the language and even the alphabet ofnthe girls you want to impress. Sometimes, you want to transliterate the messagenso that both sides can understand what is being said… SAYONARA for instancenwas used a number of times by carriers heading home from duty in Japanesenwaters. And then, if you happen to be a Chinese or Indian aircraft carrierncrew… spell it your way!

Ain’t Too Proud to Brag or Commemorate an Anniversary

One of the only ways a crew member of anfamous carrier can show proof of his part in an accomplishment such as anquarter million deck landings is by assembling with his mates on deck and spellingnit out for the world to see and for a ship’s photographer to capture. Whethernit’s an anniversary, a milestone, an award, a pile of awards or final ride intonthe sunset, the flight deck spell-out photo is the finest take-home a sailorncan receive.

Throughout North America and Europe, therenare hundreds of thousands of family albums with faded or discolourednphotographs showing a deck full of sailors in some alphanumerical message, andnbeneath may be a handwritten note: “Dad is in the letter ‘X’ of BOXER.” For allnthose exceptional men and women on carriers who “Ain’t Too Proud to Brag,” herenis a selection of some of the finest I found on the web.

How do You Spell Ship’s Pride?

The deck spell-out was made for sailorsnwanting to tell the world about their ship and its accomplishments, itsncomebacks, its patriotism and its nickname. When a deck spell-out uses the namenof the ship these days, it is likely that the image will be shared with thenentire crew so that they may send it to family members via e-mail. In days gonenby, the spell-out photo would have been printed at cruise’s end and handed outnor used for a ship’s postcard or even Christmas card.

Here, for your enjoyment, is a selection ofncarrier deck spell-outs over the decades, from nuclear-powered super-carrier tonescort carrier. Some are perfectly formed, others… well, let’s just saynpenmanship is not everyone’s forte. One thing that is common to all, however,nis the powerful sense of belonging.

Seasonal Greetings

The Sporting Spell-Out

Any Reason is a Good Reason

Special thanks to Dave O’Malleynof Vintage Wings of Canada.

The developmental delays in the new technologies that are included aboard the first-in-class nuclear aircraft carrier have continued to slip Ford’s first deployment date, originally planned for 2018.

USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78), the newest US Navy aircraft carrier, may not be ready to deploy until 2024, further complicating the service’s persistent problems of generating deployable flattops from the East Coast.

The developmental delays in the new technologies that are included aboard the first-in-class nuclear aircraft carrier have continued to slip Ford’s first deployment date, originally planned for 2018. The delays are also in part due to the Department of Defense’sndecision for Ford to undergo full-ship shock trials before its first deployment.

According to USNI News, the latest news of the later deployment date came on Oct. 22, 2019 during House Armed Services readiness subcommittee hearing in an exchange between Naval Sea Systems Command head Vice Adm. Tom Moore and Rep. Elaine Luria (D-Va.).

“The original deployment was 2018 and best estimates we’re looking at 2024?” Luria asked Moore during the hearing.
n“I think we’ll beat that,” Moore replied. “We’re going to pull back as far to the left as we can, but I think we’re going to beat that.”

As James Geurts, assistant secretary of thenNavy for research, development and acquisition pointed out, the initial estimated deployment date is still under review, pending a decision by Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Gilday in consultation with Moore and Geurts himself.

Luria, a former surface warfare officer and guided-missile cruiser executive officer, said Ford is currently a “$13-billion nuclear-powered floating berthing barge.” Moreover she highlighted the ongoing carrier readiness issues at Norfolk that include: the delay in deploying USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75) due to emergent electrical problems, the two-plus-year maintenance period for USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77) and the long-extended availability of USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) that left the carrier unable to relieve USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) in the Middle East and forced Truman into a double pump deployment.

As Luria pointed out currently there are onlyntwo yards in the U.S. that are capable of repairing the Navy’s domestic nuclearncarriers and the Navy’s Optimized Fleet Response Plan that was supposed to deliver the service the ability to surge forces in case of emergency has been ineffective.

Geurts and Moore did stress to the panel the importance of the Navy’s $21 billion plan to improve the service’s four public shipyards.

They also updated the committee on the ongoing certification of Ford’s electromagnetic Advanced WeaponsnElevators. The third AWE has been certified for use, leaving eight more to undergo certification.

Geurts told reporters following the hearing that the issues were largely construction-related and the technology has proved effective.

“We certified now and turned over to the crew three elevators. The fourth one is very close,” he said.

Ford is set to leave Norfolk NavalnShipyard at the conclusion of its post-shakedown availability at the end of the month, and the remaining elevators will be certified over the next 18 months,nGeurts said.

USS Gerald R. Ford is the first aircraft carrier to make a significant leap to electrical power, replacing many legacy steam‐powered systems and preparing the ship for future technologies.

• The new electrical distribution system increases electrical capacity by 250 percent.
• An Electromagnetic aircraft launch system (EMALS), similar to the system that powers many of today’s roller coasters, replaces steam catapults, enabling a smoother launch for the airwing of the future.
• Ten million feet of electrical cable is installed on Ford, enough cable to span the distance from Washington, DC to Albuquerque, NM. 
• Four million feet of fiber optic cable is installed on Ford, the length of more than 7,200 Washington Monuments stacked on top of each other.

CVN 78 is the most efficient aircraft carrier ever designed, reducing necessary maintenance by 30 percent.

• The ship’s design enables the Navy to operate the ship with less manpower, saving the Navy more than $4 billion over the ship’s 50‐year life.
• 9,900 tons of air conditioning reduces maintenance caused by humidity and reduces required manning in hot spaces.
• About 44,000 high‐efficiency fluorescent T‐8 light bulbs will be used, which produce more light and last nearly twice as long.

Photo by Erik Hildebrandt / U.S. Navy