USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76)
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USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76), the ninth and penultimate Nimitz-class supercarrier, was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for former President Ronald Reagan.
Very few ships of the United States Navy have been named for a person who was alive at the time of the christening; the list includes Carl Vinson (CVN-70), Hyman G. Rickover (SSN-709), Arleigh Burke (DDG-51), John C. Stennis (CVN-74), Bob Hope (T-AKR-300), Ronald Reagan (CVN-76), Nitze (DDG-94), Jimmy Carter (SSN-23), and George H. W. Bush (CVN-77).
The contract to build Ronald Reagan was awarded to Northrop Grumman Newport News and Dry Dock Company in Newport News, Virginia on 8 December 1994 and her keel was laid down on 12 February 1998. She was launched on 10 March 2001, sponsored by Ronald Reagan's wife Nancy, and commissioned on 12 July 2003, with Captain J. W. Goodwin in command. At the commissioning ceremony, Mrs. Reagan gave the ship's crew the traditional first order as an active unit of the Navy: "Man the ship and bring her to life."
President Reagan died eleven months later. At the end of the graveside services, the ship's commanding officer at that time, Navy Captain James Symonds, presented the flag that draped the former president's casket to Mrs. Reagan at her request. This was also the flag that had flown over Capitol Hill on January 20, 1981, when the president was inaugurated. Captain Symonds also presented Mrs. Reagan the flag that had been flying over the Ronald Reagan when the former president died.
Ronald Reagan 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, and can sail for 20 years before refueling. She is nearly as long as the Empire State Building is tall at 1,092 feet (333 m) and is 134 feet (41 m) wide at the beam and has a flight deck 252 feet (77 m) wide. The flight deck covers over 4.5 acres (18,000 m²). She carries more than 5,500 sailors and over 80 aircraft.
During her transfer from the Atlantic to the Pacific, she transitted the Straits of Magellan. Her homeport is San Diego, California.
On July 6, 2006 the Ronald Reagan returned to her homeport of San Diego from her maiden deployment where she conducted operations in support of the continuing war on terror. During a short stay in Brisbane, Australia an FA-18 Hornet strike fighter was unable to perform a night landing on the ships deck. The pilot ejected safely, but the US Navy has ruled out salvaging the lost fighter, a decision which has angered conservationists. This, combined with an incident involving sailors from the USS Ronald Reagan dumping garbage into Australian waters, has sparked a debate over the prospects of further US vessels being permitted to enter Australian ports.
She forms part of Carrier Strike Group SEVEN (CSG-7) and has Carrier Air Wing FOURTEEN (CVW-14) embarked.
CVW-14 is currently, as of January 2006, made up of
- VFA-22 Fighting Redcocks — F/A-18E Super Hornet
- VFA-115 Eagles — F/A-18E Super Hornet
- VFA-113 Stingers — F/A-18C Hornet
- VFA-25 Fist of the Fleet — F/A-18C Hornet
- VAQ-139 Cougars — EA-6B Prowler
- VAW-113 Black Eagles — E-2C Hawkeye 2000
- HS-4 Black Knights — SH-60F / HH-60H Seahawk
- VRC-30 (Det 1) Providers — C-2A Greyhound
- CG-57 USS Lake Champlain — Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser
- DDG-73 USS Decatur — Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer
- DDG-85 USS McCampbell — Arleigh Burke Flight IIA-class guided missile destroyer
- T-AOE-7 USNS Rainier — Supply-class Fast Combat Support Ship. Formerly AOE-7 USS Rainier
- EOD-11 Det 15 (Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit)
See also
External links
- [The official Ronald Reagan web site]
- [An unofficial USS Ronald Reagan webpage]
- [Maritimequest USS Ronald Reagan photo gallery]
- [US jet crashes off Queensland]
| Nimitz-class aircraft carrier |
| Nimitz | Dwight D. Eisenhower | Carl Vinson |
| Modified Nimitz-class aircraft carrier (Theodore Roosevelt-subclass) |
| Theodore Roosevelt | Abraham Lincoln | George Washington | John C. Stennis | Harry S. Truman | Ronald Reagan | George H. W. Bush |
| List of aircraft carriers of the United States Navy |
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