Aircraft carriers in focus...

[Jolanta Zofia Nowak]

Does anyone have links to good shots of aircraft carriers? Nationality immaterial.

[Captain Hornblower]

Have you tried to use the search engine?

[Munden]

For what it's worth, one of the major US Navy ports for carriers is detailed here:

http://www.gearthhacks.com/dlfile25609/Norfolk-and-Newport-News.htm

Includes one undergoing maintenance and the new CVN-77 which is still under construction. I can point you at more, but they're all stored in various navy files for ports all over the world so it'd be a seriously massive post.

[SpiderX22]

My favorite is probably the USS Intrepid: http://www.gearthhacks.com/dlfile4276/USS-Intrepid,-USS-Growler,-New-York.htm

[D14D]

The US Department of Defense does not allow detailed images of either its bases or seacraft for National Security purposes. Done mainly to prevent foreign opponents fm being able to gather intel to use it against the US Federal Government.

The USS Intrepid currently sits in the Military Ocean Terminal in Bayonne, New Jersey while repairs get made to it. When completed it will be tugged back to its spot at 40th & West side Highway on the Hudson River.

[Munden]

The US Department of Defense does not allow detailed images of either its bases or seacraft for National Security purposes. Done mainly to prevent foreign opponents fm being able to gather intel to use it against the US Federal Government.


I've tried to parse this in any way other than 'No high res images of US bases exist' but I just can't do it. If you meant something else, it's not coming across. Not only is Google Earth RIFE with crystal-clear satellite images, but it also has very clear aerial imagery of US bases. Examples would include San Diego, Mayport (FL) and Pearl Harbor.

Of course it's not just limited to Google Earth. Consider Local Live:How about an Ohio Class SSBN returning to King's Bay? (http://local.live.com/default.aspx?v=2&cp=30.751192~-81.483745&style=h&lvl=18&tilt=-90&dir=0&alt=-1000&scene=941315&encType=1) (recent update)
There's been a different one visible for a long time (http://local.live.com/default.aspx?v=2&cp=30.71058~-81.383103&style=h&lvl=17&tilt=-90&dir=0&alt=-1000&scene=941315&encType=1), but the image quality isn't good.

The sub base at New London is also in excellent resolution (http://local.live.com/default.aspx?v=2&cp=qx08rq8zrxbv&style=o&lvl=1&tilt=-90&dir=0&alt=-1000&scene=15076590&encType=1) as is the SSBN base at Bangor. (http://local.live.com/default.aspx?v=2&cp=ryqdz54s52sh&style=o&lvl=1&tilt=-90&dir=0&alt=-1000&scene=10352738&encType=1)

And the list goes on and on and I haven't even mentioned the DoD Media site which has lots of public shots of ships in action.

[D14D]

All images on The DoD website have already been approved for release.

[Munden]

All images on The DoD website have already been approved for release.

So then the blanket statement that no high resolution images exist isn't really the case. Google Earth. Local Live. DoD Media .... lots of sources.

[Twidget]

Hi, here's China's supercarrier docked at Dalian, China:
38.940365, 121.643694

And here's the USS Kitty Hawk, CVA63, docked at Yokosuka, Japan:
35.291464, 139.663191

Anyone know what that strange structure is on the flight deck?

[Munden]

Short answer: Maintenance

Longer answer: That's where the arrestor cables are, so it's likely some maintenance there, and given that's the part of the deck that's the most abused, it was probably time to fix up the surface too.

[grimreaper]

By my calculation, the Kitty Hawk is slightly longer than the Chinese 'Super Carrier"?

[Munden]

By my calculation, the Kitty Hawk is slightly longer than the Chinese 'Super Carrier"?

Correct. The Chinese carrier is an old Russian ship named the Varyag. It's generally listed at 300 meters, which is only about 984 feet. The Kitty Hawk is 1,062 and only 30 feet shorter than the later Nimitz class carriers. The Varyag isn't even in proper service. There's quite a bit of speculation about what the Chinese are using it for and what they plan to use it for in the future.

[BillyBob]

Here's one waiting to be scrapped in India, I don't know if it's the ex-HMS Vengeance or the French Clemenceau.

[sladys]

It's the brasilian airctaft carrier Minas Gerais formerly HMAS Vengeance.

http://www.gearthhacks.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6618

http://www.hazegray.org/navhist/carriers/brazil.htm

[BillyBob]

I'm not sure it is the Vengeance. It's 204 metres long, the Vengeance is 192 metres, and if you look at this photo, and the front starboard side, left as you look at it, the shape is very different.

FormerAircraftCarrierHMAS.html (http://ahoy.tk-jk.net/macslog/FormerAircraftCarrierHMAS.html)

[McMaster_de]

It's the Minas Gerais.

http://www.hms-vengeance.co.uk/images3/lastV3.jpg

[BillyBob]

Well if that is, then this isn't, because they are different.

http://ahoy.tk-jk.net/MoreImages6/Vengeance_MG_Refit_2000.jpg

[Munden]

It's not the Clemenceau. That ship never made it to India on its trip. I don't know if it made the trip through the Suez or not, but the stories do say it never entered Indian territorial waters.

The most solid pointer, honestly, is the date of the Digital Globe image. It makes it entirely clear that this is the Vengeance / Minas Gerais in the process of being beached.

I'm not sure where you have that length because I've never seen that listed unless that was the original length when constructed and it was lengthened later in its service. Look at this one:

http://www.hms-vengeance.co.uk/technica.htm
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0517-06.htm

For what it's worth, I don't see the problem with any of the photographs either.

[BillyBob]

Well if you look at the front edge on my photo, on the left as you look at it, the side is shaped. It goes in a bit, then comes out around the bridge. The carrier on GE has a straight side, no curves.

http://img172.imageshack.us/img172/7027/ac01qr7.jpg


The bridges are different too, and the comms towers.

[McMaster_de]

http://www.naval.com.br/biblio/NAeL_Minas/minas5.jpghttp://www.naval.com.br/biblio/NAeL_Minas/minas3v.gif

This is from a brasilian site: http://www.naval.com.br/biblio/NAeL_Minas/dossie01.htm

[McMaster_de]

Well if you look at the front edge on my photo, on the left as you look at it, the side is shaped. It goes in a bit, then comes out around the bridge. The carrier on GE has a straight side, no curves.

The bridges are different too, and the comms towers.

But you can see the markings for the helicopters, the one catapult on port side, the two elevators for the aircrafts. Everything is the same as on the GE pic.
And by the way you can see the Clemenceau in Toulon.

[sladys]

Here is a photo of the Clemenceau. You see it has another look on the deck.

http://anciendesporteavions.free.fr/Photos/Clemenceau/clemenceau_106.jpg

[BillyBob]

I'm not claiming it was the Cemenceau, that was a different size and was still in the Med in 2004.

I'm just saying the two pics, show different ships, and both claim to be the Vengeance.

[McMaster_de]

Every picture here shows the Minas Gerais and take a look at the brasilian site.

Here is another brasilian site with many pictures: http://br.geocities.com/mgportaavioes/brasilminas.htm