Prep Work Continues On Second Ford-class Supercarrier

gCaptain ^ | March 4, 2014 | Mike Schuler

[artichokegrower]

U.S. military shipbuilder, Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII), announced Tuesday that its Newport News Shipbuilding division has received a $1.295 billion extension to a previously awarded construction preparation contract for the second aircraft carrier in the new Ford-class, John F. Kennedy (CVN 79).

[artichokegrower]

The first ship in the Ford-class, Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), has been under construction at Newport News Shipbuilding since November 2009 and was recently launched in November 2013. The ship is scheduled for delivery to the U.S. Navy in 2016.

7 years to build an aircraft carrier? How many did they build during WWII in four years?

[Blood of Tyrants]

In WWII the didn’t build them to last 50 years.

[tgusa]

7 years is what it took to build the Nimitz-class carriers along with CVN-77 (sort of a transition ship). HII knows what it’s doing and they’re pretty darn good at building aircraft carriers and submarines.

[delapaz]

Even in WWII it took some time to build a CV or BB. 24 Essex Class carriers were ordered in December 1941. We didn’t get the Yorktown until 1943. And that’s in a full on war economy, for a ship that’s much smaller than a Nimitz or Ford class.

[mad_as_he$$]

CVN-65 took three years to build.
CVN-69 took seven years to build.

[Mycroft Holmes]

Any excuse for ship pron.

Official U.S. Navy Imagery - USS Gerald R. Ford under construction.

[sinsofsolarempirefan]

Wow, not even built yet and it already looks rusty as heck.

[Lou L]

I know that Ingall's Shipyard, in Pascagoula, uses a modular technique of ship construction, assembling the hull and superstructure in sections, and then bringing the sections together for final assembly of the hull. This eliminates the traditional "laying of a keel, and the build of the ship from there.

Is this the way they build aircraft carriers as well?

[Tallguy]

It’s open-air construction. Steel rusts immediately. They will seal it with primer, perhaps after sandblasting, then paint.

But as the article states, the “Gerald Ford” was launched last year. It’s floating (or perhaps dry-docked) while fitting-out.

[houeto]