Largest Vehicle you have ever driven/towed?
04-23-10, 02:53 AM
#33
Dysfunctional Veteran
Thread Starter
OK, Josh, here goes:
Length: 999 feet, Beam: 113 feet, plus overhanging angle deck. Draft: 35 feet. Displacement: 68,000 tons
Armor: 7.5 inch armored hull, 6 inch armored main (hangar) deck.
Armament Two fighter squadrons, F-4H, Two attack squadrons, A-6, plus recon and service fixed wing aircraft, one helicopter squadron. 4 gun turrets, twin 5"-54 guns each. 1 Marine detachment for the light work.
Power: 212,000 shaft horsepower, 12 boilers, 4 geared turbines, turning 4 screws
Max speed (unclassified) 32 knots, and as Scotty would say, "perhaps just a wee bit more".
Accommodations: Just you and 4,000 of your closest friends.
Length: 999 feet, Beam: 113 feet, plus overhanging angle deck. Draft: 35 feet. Displacement: 68,000 tons
Armor: 7.5 inch armored hull, 6 inch armored main (hangar) deck.
Armament Two fighter squadrons, F-4H, Two attack squadrons, A-6, plus recon and service fixed wing aircraft, one helicopter squadron. 4 gun turrets, twin 5"-54 guns each. 1 Marine detachment for the light work.
Power: 212,000 shaft horsepower, 12 boilers, 4 geared turbines, turning 4 screws
Max speed (unclassified) 32 knots, and as Scotty would say, "perhaps just a wee bit more".
Accommodations: Just you and 4,000 of your closest friends.
Pwn3d. In my own thread. I can't believe it
04-23-10, 05:38 AM
#34
Lead Lap
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: MD
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04-23-10, 07:06 AM
#35
Out of Warranty
We had one of the earliest SatNav systems on board. It was undergoing evaluation for the Navy and was about the size of a refrigerator with its own external antenna array. It acquired a satellite, measured doppler shift as it passed overhead, and after several passes, you calculated a solution by hand from a set of tables. Not a whole lot more convenient or accurate than using a sextant (+/- 10 miles), but at least it worked in any weather.
During sea trials after a yard overhaul I learned that stopping distance was measured in thousands of yards, and the turning radius wasn't much better. My hand on the helm probably hadn't made a bit of difference, because despite four massive rudders, response to small inputs was negligible.
Performance may have been pretty poor in automotive terms, but the "fun to drive" rating was terrific.
04-23-10, 08:26 AM
#37
04-23-10, 08:43 AM
#38
Out of Warranty
A few years after I disembarked another skipper crunched a Greek ship, doing considerable damage to both. It turned out to be FDR's last cruise, she went to the breakers upon returning to the US, after thirty years in service.
04-23-10, 09:15 AM
#40
Lexus Fanatic
They are often found on carriers, along with the Navy squadrons (the two, of course, sometimes fly the same aircraft). And, from your descriptions, I can infer two things. By then, the classic A1 Skyraiders were gone, and the EA6-B Prowlers weren't ready yet.
thread
04-23-10, 10:53 AM
#43
Dysfunctional Veteran
Thread Starter
LOL, I try.
Wow, thats no fun that she was dismantled, but YOU got to PILOT the USS Franklin D'elanor Roosevelt Aircraft Carrier. That is an experience to tell your grandbabies.
Oh the irony! You have a PM
As I said, not a competition...but whoever says size doesnt matter, has clearly never dealt with the United States Military .
Intimidation is (usually) everything. I can think of at least one French freighter who kept changing course to avoid us, while our skipper (did you know that captains of aircraft carriers are AVIATORS with little shiphandling experience?) kept dodging right and left. Result: we kissed the freighter in a head-on pass doing little damage but provoking (another) international incident (Moral: big boats hold your course).
A few years after I disembarked another skipper crunched a Greek ship, doing considerable damage to both. It turned out to be FDR's last cruise, she went to the breakers upon returning to the US, after thirty years in service.
A few years after I disembarked another skipper crunched a Greek ship, doing considerable damage to both. It turned out to be FDR's last cruise, she went to the breakers upon returning to the US, after thirty years in service.
Oh the irony! You have a PM
.
04-23-10, 10:55 AM
#44
Dysfunctional Veteran
Thread Starter
