Carl Vinson (CVN 70) - Naval Cruise Book

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CONSTRUCTION AND COMMISSIONING America is strong, but she is in danger of becoming weak, Rep. Vinson said when the keel of the ship bearing his name was laid on October 11, 1975. This great aircraft carrier will add strength. But it must not stop here . . . Only with determination on the part of our people to remain militarily strong, will we survive. When the CARL VINSON was christened by the congressman ' s nurse and long-time friend, Molly Snead, on March 15, 1980, Mr. Vinson was present, making him the first U.S. citizen to see the launching of a Navy ship named in his honor. It is impossible for me to find words to express my gratitude for the high honor paid me here today, he siad. No event in my life, no event in my future, can ever equal this day. My cup runneth over. My star has reached its zenith. The keel of USS CARL VINSON was laid in October 1975 at Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Corp. The ship is the third in the series of NIMITZ Class nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and was formally commissioned on March 13. 1982. A year after commissioning, the Navy ' s newest aircraft carrier embarked upon an eight month, around-the-world deployment to its new homeport of NAS Alameda. California, where it is pictured on page 5. The other photos depict USS CARL VINSON during various stages of construction.

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1 CARL VINSON ' S MISSION and CAPABILITIES The primary mission of USS CARL VINSON, the Navy ' s newest nuclear-powered aircraft carrier is to be ready to employ its power anywhere in the world as directed by the President of the United States. Only by maintaining its equipment and personnel in the highest state of readiness will the CARL VINSON be capable of carrying out its wide variety of missions including anti-air warfare, anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare and electronic warfare. A floating city which displaces approximately 95,000 tons of water, it can move day and night at speeds of more than 30 knots. To serve its nearly 6,000 men, there are most of the facilities found in any small town. Besides living quarters and dining facilities, the ship has a waterworks plant to convert seawater into fresh water, a printing plant to produce everything from training books to a daily newspaper at sea, a weather bureau, machine shops, an oxygen plant, a post office, fire stations, a fully-statTed hospital, stores, a laundry, a library, several television stations, — the list goes on and on. All of this and an airport on the roof. But it is the people who make the CARL VINSON more than a mass of steel plate, electrical cable and pipe. People from every state in the union — officers with decades of military service and others who have just received their college degrees, veteran enlisted men in their 50 ' s and teenaged sailors and airmen away from home for the first time. P ach works in one of 17 specialized departments. Air, Deck, Operations and Reactor to name just four. But leadership, training and a sense of purpose blend nearly 6,000 individual personalities toward one goal — being ever ready to exercise the power of USS CARL VINSON in support of the goals of our country. Team work required for daily flight operations never stops. Catapult and Arresting Gear officers launch and recover the aircraft. Airmen do many jobs such as refuel aircraft and insure chocks and chains are in place to secure parked aircraft. The Air Doss oversees flight operations from primary flight control while air traffic controlmen direct pilots to a safe return to the moving flight deck. 1