How fast the Nimitz travels, and other facts

The keel of the USS Nimitz, flagship of a class of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, was laid in 1968 and the warship was first launched in 1972. It was commissioned three years later.

Inside is a maze of corridors and compartments, all designed to accommodate a crew of about 5,000 who run the ship, launch and recover warplanes.

The Nimitz, based at Naval Station Everett, is one of 11 nuclear-powered aircraft carriers that operate on the world’s oceans on behalf of U.S. interests abroad. It is a big ship. Here are some quick facts that demonstrate its size and purpose:

For propulsion, it has two nuclear power plants that enable it to travel vast distances without refueling.
It can travel well over 30 miles per hour.
Four propellers, each with five blades, drive the ship.
Four aircraft elevators can rapidly move aircraft from hangars to the flight deck.
It has four catapults to launch planes and four arresting cables on the deck for landing them.
The overall length of the ship is 1,115 feet, overall width is 252 feet and the beam at the waterline is 134 feet.
The flight deck covers about 4.5 acres.
Fully loaded, the ship displaces about 97,000 tons.
While under way, between 12,000 and 14,000 meals a day are served.
The ship is 23 stories high from the keel to the top of the mast.
The hangar bay extends nearly the full length of the ship. It is used for repairs and to shelter aircraft not involved in flight operations on a given day.
It has four distilling units, enabling engineers to make more than 400,000 gallons of fresh water a day for use by the crew, propulsion plant and steam-driven catapults used for launching planes.
Huge refrigerators and storage facilities can stock at least 70 days of food.
Tons of clothes are washed every day by laundry and tailoring services personnel.
The ship has a fully equipped dental facility staffed by five dentists.
There are three chaplains aboard who conduct daily religious services in an interdenominational chapel.