Great pic from MAA. Berthed are four aircraft carriers, the Coral Sea, the Hancock, Oriskany and the Big E to the far right. Notice the differences in design, deck structure and size?

Fast and the Furious: Pacific Drift

In the last post, Ice gave you a size comparison of an aircraft carrier to a B-52 Stratofortress. Pretty big, right?

Now, imagine this: a high speed bank.

Typically, these awe-inspiring turns are performed as "rudder checks" during post-refit sea trials/shakedown cruises. Imagine a mass, longer than the Empire State building's height, doing a bank like that, at sea, at such an angle. The above pictures are of the USS Nimitz and the USS Harry S. Truman conducting those maneuvers. 

Awesome, isn't it?

Mav out.

Woah that's big.

That's what she said! Haha, sorry, couldn't resist.

For those of you who've never been near a supercarrier before, you're probably wondering... is it really that big? Or are the pictures taken at angles or from a crazy perspective to make them look that way? 

Well, the above is a pretty cool picture I found a while ago of a B-52 Stratofortress doing a low pass near the USS Ranger, circa 1990. There were 2 B-52s in the vicinity of the carrier, during a military exercise. The pilots asked the carrier air boss if they could perform a fly-by and were granted the approval. When the BUFFs were 9 km out, the observers on the carrier's island still couldn't see the big grey birds. Till they got closer. Then only were they able to make out the shape of these massive planes, right above the water; their engines kicking back a spray from the ocean. 

If you've ever been up close to a B-52 at an air show, you'll know it's a pretty big plane. Now, look at the picture. Woah. Right? 

Better than Top Gun?

Check out this mega-ultra super awesome video of flight deck ops aboard the supercarriers of the US Navy!

Mav, out.

Midway

"The most stunning and decisive blow in the history of naval warfare."

Arguably the most important naval battle of the Pacific Campaign of World War Two, 70 years ago on this day, the Battle of Midway began when US naval forces ambushed Japan's attacking fleet steaming for Midway Atoll. Japanese flag officers believed the American forces would react poorly to an attack on Midway and would be defeated easily, considering Midway came a mere 6 months after the devastating blow at Pearl Harbor. Little did the Japanese admirals realize that the US had gathered enough intelligence and anticipated such a surprise attack and had set up their own counter-ambush.

In the ensuing battle, 4 IJN aircraft carriers and a cruiser were sunk. Among the list of ships destroyed was the Akagi, one of the carriers that participated in the attack on Pearl Harbor. The battle raged on fiercely for 3 days, and the prowess of US naval aviators proved too much for the Japanese.

A stunning loss for the Japanese, it turned the tide of war and the US was able to gain supremacy on the seas and obliterate IJN ships at an awe-inspiring rate.

Remember those who perished.

100 years of Marine Corps Aviation

More like 100 years of kicking ass and taking names in the skies above some of the largest battles to every take place on the face of the earth.

100 years ago on the 22nd of May, 1912, a Marine 1st Lieutenant by the name of Alfred Austell Cunningham reported for flight-training to the Naval Academy where a training facility for aviators was set up. Thus, May 22nd was recognized as the birthday of Marine aviation.

In naval aviation, you'll hear of the exploits of Navy pilots and their daredevil stunts in the face of death. Lesser known are the accomplishments of their counterpart Marine pilots. Take for example Lt. Col. "Pappy" Boyington. That man had balls of steel. On one occasion, he and 24 fighters flew over a Japanese-occupied airfield (Kahili airdrome), during the Pacific campaign of WWII, taunting the guys on the ground into sending up a few planes. Turns out, the Japs weren't too happy with the sudden appearance of these Marines and sent up more fighters than the Black Sheep (Pappy's squadron) bargained for. In the ensuing battle, 20 Japanese pilots were shot down, forcing back their defensive force, while the Black Sheep returned home with not a single aircraft lost.

How about John Glenn... Marine fighter ace, first American to orbit the earth in 1962, US senator and the oldest human to fly into space in 1998? Or John Bolt, double-ace? Or, get this... TED WILLIAMS! Hell yeah, the legendary left-fielder for the Boston Red Sox was a decorated Marine fighter bomber in WWII and the Korean War!

Iceman and Maverick don't have s**t on the "Duke of Mukden"

Today, the Corps still flies their older F/A-18s, which will be replaced with the F-35s later on. They still fly their AV-8s (to be replaced by the STOVL F-35 variants) and their Sea Knights and Super Stallions. But the Air Wing's going through a major overhaul. Enter, the UH-1Y Venoms and the AH-1Z Vipers. Oh, and the super-awesome tiltrotor MV-22 Ospreys. This massive update will ensure that years from now, Marine aviation elements will still be relevant to America's war-fighting capabilities and will still be one of the leading forces at the tip of America's military spear.

Call the Ball

Awesome footage of the air wing landing aboard the USS Enterprise (CVN-65) for its last cruise! You also get to see a few cat-shots, and some of the flight deck operations.

Haze gray and underway

Today, the USS Enterprise (CVN-65) departs on her last cruise. The first ever nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, the second-oldest ship in commission with the United States Navy, and the longest warship in the world, the Big E is nothing short of a marvel. Active during the Cuban Missile Crisis, the war in Vietnam and on through the 70s, 80s and 90s, the Enterprise has been present in almost every single conflict the US has been involved in over the last 50 years. When the towers fell on 9/11, the Enterprise was on its way home, though as soon as word was received of the attacks, without orders, the ship returned at flank speed to its station near the Persian Gulf, ready to attack targets in Afghanistan.

The Big E has a ton of history in its hull, and will forever remain the sweetheart of America's modern Navy. There's beauty in the sharp lines of this ship, and though it'll be deactivated later this year, and put through the scrapping process, it will forever hold a place in the hearts of all those touched by its fighting spirit.

Sadly, the Enterprise will not stay afloat as a museum ship, due to the removal of the nuclear fuel, and the costs involved in fixing up the ship, after the reactors are taken out (extremely large portions of the ship will have to be cut out in order to extract the nuclear equipment). However, there is a petition circulating around that a ship of the Gerald Ford class, the CVN-80, be named the 9th USS Enterprise.

(http://www.petitiononline.com/CVN79ENT/petition.html)

 Task Force One, the first nuclear-powered task force, sailed around the world (26,540 nmi) in 65 days!

The Big E during her shakedown cruise.

http://www.navytimes.com/news/2012/03/ap-navy-enterprise-crew-revels-ships-long-history-031012/

The ultimate roller-coaster ride.

Six Flags, Cedar Point, Disney? Nooo. The ultimate roller-coaster ride is most definitely getting launched off the deck of a carrier, 0 to 150 mph in just under 2 seconds!