USS Nimitz is head of its class

Today the USS Nimitz is to dock at Naval Station Everett and settle in as the base’s resident aircraft carrier. It replaces the recently departed USS Abraham Lincoln, which is on deployment and then will be refueled on the East Coast and reassigned. The Nimitz is the namesake of a class of 10 nuclear-powered “super carriers” that includes the Lincoln. Here’s a look at one of the world’s biggest warships.

USS Nimitz | CVN-68

Nuclear-powered multi-mission aircraft carrier

Launched: 1972

Commissioned: 1975

Builder: Newport News Shipbuilding

Named for: Fleet Admiral Chester William Nimitz (1885-1966)

Length: 1,092 feet

Beam: 134 feet

Flight deck width: 252 feet

Draft: 37 feet

Propulsion: two Westinghouse A4W nuclear reactors, four steam turbines, four propeller shafts

Speed: 31.5 knots

Crew: 3,200

Air wing: 2,480

Aircraft (airplanes and helicopters): 90

Last refueling and complex overhaul: 2001

Anticipated decommissioning: 2018

SOURCES: U.S. Navy, Wikipedia

‘5,000 stories’

In 2005, the U.S. Navy did something remarkable: The brass allowed 17 filmmakers aboard the USS Nimitz for the duration of a six-month deployment that included time in the Persian Gulf during the Iraq War.

The result: 10 remarkable episodes of a PBS mini-series, “Carrier,” which first was broadcast in 2008.

It’s an unflinching depiction of life aboard a floating military base, seen through the eyes of crew members. Like all good reality TV, the characters hail mostly from the humbler ranks of society. Many of them toil in obscure corners of the Nimitz.

Watching them navigate life aboard ship is inspiring, endearing and at times disappointing. The series slogan — “1 ship, 5,000 stories” — pretty much sums it up.

If you’ve ever looked out at a carrier on Puget Sound and wondered who’s within the vast gray hull, this is colorful, must-see television. “Carrier” is widely available for DVD purchase or rent and can be watched via the Internet at Hulu.com.