From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
 The USS Ronald Reagan arriving in Fort Lauderdale, FL | |
| Career |  |
|---|---|
| Laid down: | 12 February 1998 |
| Launched: | 4 March 2001 |
| Commissioned: | 12 July 2003 |
| Fate: | in active service |
| General Characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 77,600 tons light, 98,235 tons full |
| Length: | 1092 feet (333m) overall, 1040 feet (317m) waterline |
| Beam: | 252 feet (77m) flightdeck, 134 feet (41m) extreme |
| Power plant: | two A4W reactors, four steam turbines |
| Propulsion: | four screws; 260,000+ shp |
| Speed: | untested, over 30 knots |
| Endurance: | 1.5 million nm at 20 knots (estimated) |
| Complement: | 5700-5900 officers and men |
| Aircraft: | 80+ F/A-18 Hornets and Super Hornets, F-14 Tomcats, E-2 Hawkeyes, C-2 Greyhounds, S-3 Vikings, EA-6 Prowlers, and SH-60 Seahawks |
USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76) is the ninth and penultimate Nimitz-class aircraft carrier of the United States Navy. It was built at Northrop Grumman Newport News (formerly Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry dock Company) in Virginia. The keel was laid in 1998 and the ship was launched in 2001 sponsored by Ronald Reagan's wife Nancy. Ronald Reagan was commissioned at Norfolk Naval Station, Virginia, on 12 July 2003, under the command of Captain J. W. Goodwin. At the commissioning ceremony, Mrs. Reagan gave the ship's crew their first order as an active unit of the Navy: "Man the ship and bring her to life."
The ship displaces approximately 95,000 tons of water fully loaded and has a top speed of over 30 knots, powered by two nuclear reactors driving four screws. It is nearly as long as the Empire State Building is tall at 1,092 feet (333m) and is 134 feet (41m) at its widest point. The flight deck covers over 4.5 acres. When deployed, it will be the home of more than 5,500 sailors and over 80 aircraft. It's home port will be San Diego, California.
The USS Ronald Reagan is one of the very few US Navy ships to be named for a living person.
