John Stennis (CVN 74) - Naval Cruise Book

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JSEK5MS5K SJ 1i S and piping before being lifted in a giant crane and placed in a dry dock to form the ship. Advanced fabrication facilities 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 purchased more than 60,000 tons of structural steel, over 2,000 telephones, more than 900 miles of cable and wiring and nearly 30,000 light fixtures. In all cases, the material was competitively priced, scheduled to arrive on time and manufactured to precise specifications. The result of modular construction techniques, computer design technology, streamlined purchasing, and lots of hard work all contribute to this efficiently built, modem and extremely capable war ship, USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74).

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' 7i(DjJ ieABiEii2af, mar While the basic mission of aircraft carriers, power projection, hasn ' t changed since Newport News Shipbuilding constructed the first aircraft carrier, USS Ranger (CV 61). in 1934, the construction process has changed dramatically. Carriers are state of the art weapons platforms, capable of launching and recovering modem jet aircraft at intervals of less than a minute. Comprised of complex electronic equipment and millions of feet of wiring 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 the art tools and the dedicated talent of literally thousands of men and women at Newport News Shipbuilding to create this magnificent ship. While USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) is preceded by six other ships of the Nimitz Class, advancements in technology have caused each ship to be increasingly more capable. Using sophisticated three dimensional computer modeling systems, engineers are able to design and update 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 design information that is sent via computer program to pipe, sheet metal and machine shop equipment. Upon command, these machines manufacture an exact number of perfect ship pieces every time. Most ship hulls are produced 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 construction. This process is very similar to working with building blocks, only on a gigantic scale. USS John C. Stennis was assembled 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 building. Each module was pre- outfitted with machinery, electrical components 6 USS JOHN C. STENNIS (CVN 74)

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