USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76)
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The USS Ronald Reagan arriving in Fort Lauderdale, FL |
| Career | |
|---|
| Laid down: | 12 February 1998 |
| Launched: | 4 March 2001 |
| Commissioned: | 12 July 2003 |
| Fate: | in active service |
| General Characteristics |
|---|
| Displacement: | 77,600 tons light, 98,235 tons full |
| Length: | 1092 ft (333 m) overall, 1040 ft (317m) waterline |
| Beam: | 252 ft (77 m) flightdeck, 134 ft (41 m) extreme |
| Power plant: | two A4W reactors, four steam turbines |
| Propulsion: | four screws; 260,000 shp (190 MW) |
| Speed: | untested, over 30 knots (56 km/h) |
| Endurance: | 1.5 million nautical miles (2.8 million km) at 20 knots (37 km/h) estimated |
| Complement: | 5700-5900 officers and men |
| Aircraft: | 80+ F/A-18 Hornets and Super Hornets, F-14 Tomcats, E-2 Hawkeyes, C-2 Greyhounds, S-3 Vikings, EA-6 Prowlers, and SH-60 Seahawks |
USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76), the ninth and penultimate Nimitz-class aircraft carrier, was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for former President of the United States Ronald Reagan. Very few ships of the United States Navy have been named for a person who was alive at the time of the christening; the list includes
Carl Vinson (CVN-70),
Arleigh Burke (DDG-51),
Jimmy Carter (SSN-23),
Ronald Reagan (CVN-76),
Hyman G. Rickover (SSN-709),
Bob Hope (T-AKR-300), and
George H. W. Bush (CVN-77).
The contract to build Reagan was awarded to Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company in Newport News, Virginia on 8 December 1994 and her keel was laid down on 12 February 1998. She was launched on 10 March 2001 sponsored by Ronald Reagan's wife Nancy, and commissioned on 12 July 2003, with Captain J. W. Goodwin in command. At the commissioning ceremony, Mrs. Reagan gave the ship's crew their first order as an active unit of the Navy: "Man the ship and bring her to life." President Reagan died eleven months later.
The ship displaces approximately 95,000 tons of water fully loaded and has a top speed of over 30 knots, powered by two nuclear reactors driving four screws, and can sail for 20 years before refueling. It is nearly as long as the Empire State Building is tall at 1,092 feet (333 m) and is 134 feet (41 m) wide at the beam and has a flight deck 252 feet (76.8 m) wide. The flight deck covers over 4.5 acres (18,000 m²). When deployed, it will be the home of more than 5,500 sailors and over 80 aircraft. Her home port will be San Diego, California.
