USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76)

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Career
Laid down:	12 February 1998
Launched:	4 March 2001
Commissioned:	12 July 2003
Homeport:	San Diego, California
Fate:	in 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.

The USS Ronald Reagan is one of the very few US Navy ships to be named for a living person.

External link

• CVN-76 Homepage