Carl Vinson (CVN 70) - Naval Cruise Book

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The teamwork required for daily operations never ceases. Gunner ' s mates continuously train with the 50 caliber machine gun, signalmen transfer information from ship to ship, the helmsman keeps the ship on the desired course while below decks the mess management specialists prepare the crew ' s meals as aerographers pre- pare the weather forecast. n USS CARL VINSON

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USS CARL VINSON S MISSION AND CAPABILITIES More than six decades have passed since the emer- gence of the aircraft carrier in the U.S. Navy, and it has been more than four decades since the carrier became the dominant element of U.S. seapower. No other type of ship is nearly as flexible as the carrier which can operate an innumerable variety of weapon systems by changing the mix of her aircraft. The mission of USS CARL VINSON is to launch, recov- er, and carry aircraft. The four main functions of the ship embarked airwing team are reconnaisance, long range at- tack, antisubmarine warfare, and protection for other ships against airborne, surface and subsurface attack. The CARL VINSON, one of the largest mobile man- made structures in the world, displaces approximately 95,000 tons of water and can steam at speeds of greater than thirty knots with unlimited endurance. It is almost ar long as the Empire State Building is tall and from keel to mast- top it is as high as a twenty-four story building. With elec- tronic deception, speed, and use of weather, this supercar- rier can literally hide from the enemy. With a crew of nearly 6,000, the CARL VINSON is equivalent to a small city with some additional features: It has its own nuclear power plant, it moves, and it has an airport on the roof! In addition to living quarters and din- ing facilities, the ship has a waterworks for conversion of seawater to freshwater, a printing plant which even pro- duces a daily newspaper, a weather bureau, machine shops, a dental clinic, post office, laundry, fire department, bank, retail stores, and several radio and television stations. But it is flesh and blood sailors who make the CARL VINSON more than a mass of steel plate, cable and pipe. The ship is populated by men from every state in the Union and with all degrees of experience — officers with decades of experience and others just out of school; veteran enlisted men in their fifties and teenage sailors and airmen away from home for the first time. Each works in one of the twenty specialized departments or in one of the nine sepa- rate squadrons. But leadership, training, and a sense of purpose blend nearly 6,000 individual personalities toward one goal — being ever-ready to exercise the awesome pow- er of the BA TTLESTAR in support of the defense and goals of our country. Men and machine, this ship and her crew are on the cutting edge! USS CARL VINSON

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T ' lp: A Corsair 11 in its attack role. Above middle: The fliRht of the Intruder beuins at the end of C:at 3. Abiive: A Seasparrow missile airborne from the port aft launcher. Ccnfcr a( ' . A controller in the Carrier warbird home to the nest. rii E 8 — USS CARL { ' JNSON