05.02.03

Facts About the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln

U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) will proudly join the men and women of the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln, their families, and the local community at the Everett homecoming celebration on Tuesday, May 6.

The Lincoln and other ships in its carrier strike group are returning from a record-setting deployment. The ship deployed on July 20, 2002, and set a record for the longest naval deployment by a nuclear powered aircraft carrier in history by remaining deployed for 290 consecutive days. In that time, the Lincoln and its crew traveled more than 100,000 miles – a distance equivalent to circling the globe more than four times. This is the longest deployment of a carrier strike group in the last 30 years, and the ninth-longest since the end of World War II.

Interesting Facts About the Lincoln

Length 1,092 feet (more than three football fields) Flight deck area 4.5 acres Displacement 97,500 tons Propellers Four five-bladed propellers that are 21 feet high and weigh 11 tons apiece Rudders Two 29-by-22 feet rudders that weigh 45.5 tons apiece Anchors Two anchors that weigh 30 tons apiece Meals prepared daily +20,000 Bread baked daily 600-800 loaves Sodas consumed daily 13,000 Milk consumed daily 600 gallons Hamburger consumed daily 620 pounds Eggs consumed daily 180 dozen Vegetables consumed daily 800 pounds Fruit consumed daily 900 pounds Laundry cleaned daily 5,550 pounds Haircuts given daily 250

Contributions to the war effort

• Aircraft from the Abraham Lincoln flew 597 combat sorties in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan, 975 sorties in support of Operation Southern Watch in Iraq, and 1558 sorties in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

• Aircraft from the ship dropped nearly 1.2 million pounds of ordnance in support of those military operations.

• Flight operations were conducted for more than 15 straight hours on 16 different days.

Air operations

• Abraham Lincoln is a floating airport, capable of launching as many as four aircraft every minute. In fact, the ship hosts seven different types of aircraft, which perform a variety of missions.

• During the ship’s deployment, its carrier air wing launched more than 16,000 aircraft and helicopter sorties.

• During flight operations, the 4.5 acre flight deck is the scene of intense activity, with crew, aircraft, and other equipment functioning as a well-rehearsed and carefully choreographed team to ensure efficiency and safety.

• The various functions of the flight deck crew are identified by the colors of the jersey they wear. For example, yellow is for officers and aircraft directors purple for fuel handlers green for catapult and arresting gear crews blue for chock and chain runners and red for crash/salvage teams and ordnance handlers.

• Four aircraft elevators, each the size of two average city lots, bring aircraft up to the flight deck from the hanger bays below. Aviation fuel is pumped from the tanks below and bombs, rockets, and missiles are brought up from the magazines.

• Powerful steam catapults (affectionately known as "Fat Cats") can accelerate a 37-ton jet from zero to 180 miles per hour in less than three seconds while traveling nearly the length of a football field. The weight of each aircraft determines the amount of thrust provided by the catapult.

• In recovery, pilots use a system on lenses to guide their aircraft "down the slope" (the correct guide path for landing). Four arresting wires, each consisting of two-inch thick wire cables connected to hydraulic rams below decks, snag the arresting hook, stopping the aircraft from 150 miles per hour to zero in less than 400 feet.

• High in the island, seven stories above the flight deck, the "Air Boss" and his staff coordinate the entire operation, carefully monitored from the flight deck as well as from the Captain on the Navigation Bridge.

Life on the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln

• About 5,500 men and women comprise the crew of the Abraham Lincoln and its air wing.

• The ship boasts all of the amenities found in any American city with a comparable population, including a post office (with its own ZIP code!), TV and radio stations, newspaper, fire department, library, hospital, general store, barbershops, and more.

• The ship is powered by two nuclear power plants, which provide enough electrical generating power to supply electricity to 100,000 homes, food and supplies to operate for 90 days, and the capability of distilling more than 400,000 gallons of fresh water from the sea each day.

• Keeping the ship ready at all times is critical. This requires repair shops to maintain machinery and aircraft, heavy-duty tailor shops to repair parachutes and other survival gear, and electronic shops to keep communication, navigation, and avionics equipment up and running.

For more information about the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln and her crew, including photos, please visit the ship’s official web site at http://www.navy.mil/local/cvn72/.

Facts courtesy of the U.S. Navy.