John Stennis (CVN 74) - Naval Cruise Book

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' ' 9t € Jt miiliilOOUIC { Wh ' :? the basic | %f mission of aircraft car- |W%I Tiers, power projection, m hasn ' t changed since mmmmm a Newport News Ship- building constructed the first aircraft carrier, USS RANGER, in 1934, the construction pro- cess has changed dramatically. Carriers are state of the art weapons platforms, capable of launching and recover- ing modern jet aircraft at intervals of less than a minute. Comprised of complex elec- tronic equipment and millions of feet of wir- ing they take 40 million man hours and nearly 5 years to build. But, it takes more than just time. It takes the blend of state of the art tools and the dedicated talent of literally thousands of men and women at Newport News Shipbuilding to create this magnificent ship. While JOHN C. STENNIS is preceded by six other ships of the NIMITZ Class, advance- ments in technology have caused each ship to be increasingly more ca- pable. Using sophisticated three dimensional computer modeling systems, engineers are able to design and up- date in a single data base all the vast and complex structures and systems associated with JOHN C. STENNIS. They can see how various ship systems interact in a hull long before the ship is built. Employees at more than 400 CADAM (computer-aided design and manufacturing) terminals generate de- •qn information that is sent via com- .ler program to pipe, sheet metal and inachine shop equipment. Upon com- hese machines manufacture an of perfect ship pieces osr. ship hulls are pro- tgr. r --. 1 .

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ang the full facts and knowing the needs, know that a strong and powerful Navy - a Navy second to none - is vital and essential to the Nation ' s security. Such a Navy is needed to go into battle if war should be forced upon us. Of equal importance, such a Navy is needed in time of peace to provide the evident muscle and sinew to enforce our foreign policy and, if necessary, to call the bluff of a would-be aggressor. Senator Sam Nunn of Georgia, former Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said of Senator Stennis, ' ' His career in the Senate and particularly his leadership of the Armed Services Committee were an inspiration to me. As Chairman, he set a standard that all of his successors strive to meet ' Senator John C. Stennis was referred to by President Ronald Reagan as ' ' the father of America ' s modern Navy be- cause of his years of consistent and steadfast support. As Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee (1969-1980), Senator Stennis stood firm for U. S. military superiority. He fought and won many battles on the floor of the Senate on b ehalf of the American mili- tary men and women. A strong Navy, second to none in the world, was always at the top of John C. Stennis ' agenda. I On 19 December 1988, then Sec- I retary of the Navy, William L. Ball, III, designated CVN 74 to be named the USS JOHN C. STENNIS in honor of John Cornelius Stennis, United States Senator from Mississippi, an unwa- vering advocate of peace through strength. Senator Stennis died in April 1995. USS JOHN C. STENNIS (CVN-74)

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i n « niB . c K • r . 1 1 -X Pkr jr jrrjy aja F IT • : f mk ■ — - duced on this type of equipment, which precisely cuts and bends large steel plates to meet design specifications. Today ' s aircraft carriers are assembled using a process called modular construc- tion. This process is very similar to work- ing with building blocks, only on a gigan- tic scale. JOHN C. STENNIS was as- sembled with these huge building blocks , called modules. These units weighed up to 900 tons each, and some were the height of a five foot story build- ing. Each module was pre-outfitted with machinery, electrical components and piping before being lifted in a giant crane and placed in a dry dock to form the ship. Advanced fabrication facili- ties and large capacity cranes allowed USS JOHN C. STENNIS to be built with greater accuracy and fewer crane lifts. In ordering material for JOHN C. STENNIS, Newport News Shipbuilding pur- chased more than 60,000 tons of struc- tural steel, over 2,000 telephones, more than 900 miles of cable and wiring and nearly 30,000 light fixtures. In al cases, the material was competitively priced, scheduled to arrive on time and manufactured to precise specifica- tions. The result of modular construc- tion techniques, computer design technology, stream lined purchasing, and lots of hard work all contribute to this efficiently built, modern and extremely capable war ship, USS JOHN C. STENNIS (CVN-74). USS JOHN C. STENNIS (CVN-74) ||!