USS Abraham Lincoln CVN 72

.....Abraham Lincoln boasts all the amenities found in any American city with a comparable population. These include a post office (with its own ZIP code), TV and radio stations, newspaper, fire department, library, hospital, general store, barbershops, and more.

.....The ship has enough electrical generating power to supply electricity to 100,000 homes, food and supplies to operate for 90 days, and the capability of distilling more than 400,000 gallons of fresh water from the sea each day.

.....Keeping the ship ready at all times is critical. This requires repair shops to maintain machinery and aircraft, heavy duty tailor shops to repair parachutes and other survival gear, and electronic shops to keep communication, navigation, and avionics equipment up and running.

.....Of course, there are a few things that are unusual for a city of 5,000 people. For example, Abraham Lincoln is a floating airport, capable of launching as many as four aircraft every minute. In fact, the ship hosts seven different types of aircraft which perform a variety of missions.

.....During flight operations, the 4.5 acre flight deck is the scene of intense activity, with crew, aircraft, and other equipment functioning as a well-rehearsed and carefully choreographed team to ensure efficiency and safety.

.....The various functions of the flight deck crew are identified by the colors of the jersey they wear. For example, yellow is for officers and aircraft directors purple for fuel handlers green for catapult and arresting gear crews blue for chock and chain runners and red for crash/salvage teams and ordnance handlers.

.....Four aircraft elevators, each the size of two average city lots, bring aircraft up to the flight deck from the hanger bays below. Aviation fuel is pumped from the tanks below and bombs, rockets, and missiles are brought up from the magazines.

.....Powerful steam catapults (affectionately known as "Fat Cats" can accelerate a 37-ton jet from zero to 180 miles per hour in less than three seconds while traveling nearly the length of a football field. The weight of each aircraft determines the amount of thrust provided by the catapult.

.....In recovery, pilots use a system of lenses to guide their aircraft "down the slope" (the correct guide path for landing). Four arresting wires, each consisting of two-inch thick wire cables connected to hydraulic rams below decks, snag the arresting hook, stopping the aircraft from 150 miles per hour to zero in less than 400 feet.

.....High in the island, seven stories above the flight deck, the "Air Boss" and his staff coordinate the entire operation, carefully monitored from the flight deck as well as from the Captain on the Navigation Bridge .

.....When deployed, Abraham Lincoln is the nucleus of a carrier battle group which includes guided missile cruisers, destroyers, frigates, replenishment ships, and submarines.

Keel Laid: November 3, 1984

Christening: February 13, 1988

Commissioning: November 11, 1989

Complement: with air wing Nearly 5,500

Armament: Two NATO Sea Sparrow launchers; four 20mm Phalanx CIWS mounts

Length: 1,092 feet

Maximum Speed: In excess of 30 knots

Height: keel to mast 206 feet, 6 inches

Breadth: at flight deck 257 feet, 5 inches

Flight Deck Area: Approximately 4.5 acres

Displacement: 97,500 tons

Spaces and Compartments: Approximately 3,200

Propulsion: Two nuclear power plants

Main Engines: Four

Propellers: Four, five blades each, 21 feet high, 11 tons apiece

Rudders: Two, 29-by-22 feet, 45.5 tons apiece

Anchors: Two, 30 tons apiece

Anchor Chains: 1,082 feet, 308,000 pounds

Shipboard Telephones: More than 1,900

Aircraft Elevators: Four

Catapults: Four

Evaporators: Four (capable of distilling more than 400,000 gallons of fresh water per day, enough for 200 homes)

Air Conditioning Capacity: 2,530 tons (enough to serve 800 homes)

Meals Prepared Daily: More than 20,000

Bread Baked Daily: 600-800 loaves

Sodas Consumed Daily: 13,000

Milk Consumed Daily: 600 gallons

Hamburgers Consumed Daily: 620 pounds

Eggs Consumed Daily: 180 dozen

Vegetables Consumed Daily: 800 pounds

Fruit Consumed Caily: 900 pounds

Laundry Cleaned Caily: 5,550 pounds

Haircuts Given Daily: 250

.....USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) is America ’s fifth Nimitz-class aircraft carrier. The ship was named in honor of our nation’s 16th president and is the second ship in the U.S. Navy to bear his name. The ballistic missile submarine Abraham Lincoln (SSBN 602) was in service 1961-81. Abraham Lincoln’s keel was laid November 3, 1984 at Newport News, Virginia Four years later the ship was christened and began a series of performance trials leading up to commissioning November 11, 1989 at Norfolk, Virginia .

.....After completing shakedown and acceptance trials, Abraham Lincoln departed Norfolk in September 1990 for an interfleet transfer from the Atlantic to the Pacific. The ship completed a transit around South America with the naval forces of Brazil, Argentina and Chile.

.....On May 28, 1991, Abraham Lincoln made its maiden deployment nearly four months ahead of schedule in response to Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm. While en route to the Arabian Gulf, the ship was diverted to support evacuation operations following the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo, Republic of the Philippines. Operation Fiery Vigil became the largest peacetime evacuation of active duty military personnel and family members in history. Abraham Lincoln led a 23-ship armada that sea lifted 20,000 evacuees. The armada relocated approximately 45,000 people from Subic Bay Naval Station before taking up station in the Arabian Gulf in support of allied and U.S. troops remaining in the region for Operation Desert Storm. CVW-11, the embarked air wing, provided combat air patrol, reconnaissance and support air operations over Kuwait and Iraq.

.....The ship spent early 1992 in a selected restricted availability (SRA) at Naval Air Station Alameda. It departed again June 15, 1993 on deployment. After a brief port visit to Hong Kong, it returned to the Arabian Gulf in support of Operation Southern Watch, the U.N.-sanctioned enforcement of a "No Fly Zone" over Southern Iraq.

.....In October 1993, Abraham Lincoln was ordered to the coast of Somalia to assist U.N. humanitarian operations. The carrier spent four weeks flying patrols over the city of Mogadishu and surrounding areas, backing American ground troops during Operation Restore Hope. After returning stateside in December 1993, Abraham Lincoln spent several months in SRA and prepared for the next deployment.

.....In April 1995, Abraham Lincoln departed on its third deployment. The ship made visits to Hong Kong and Singapore on the way to the Arabian Gulf. In the Gulf, the Abraham Lincoln Battle Group lent support to Operation Southern Watch in response to renewed Iraqi military posturing and also participated in Operation Vigilant Sentinel.

.....Upon returning from deployment, Abraham Lincoln left Alameda, California, for the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton, Washington. There, the ship underwent a one-year comprehensive overhaul including a period in dry-dock. Following completion of the project, the ship moved to its current homeport of Everett, Washington Jan. 8, 1997.

.....In June 1998, Abraham Lincoln commenced her fourth deployment, spending three months in the Arabian Gulf during the hottest summer on record. Apparent temperatures on the flight deck at midday sometimes reached 150 degrees Fahrenheit! Port visits en route to the Gulf included Hong Kong and Singapore. After several visits to Jebel Ali, UAE, between Operation Southern Watch missions, USS Abraham Lincoln headed home by way of Perth and Hobart, Australia, and Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, arriving in Everett before the Christmas holiday.

.....The crew then began a nine-month Interdeployment Training Cycle (IDTC) before participating in RIMPAC 2000, a multinational exercise conducted off the Hawaiian Islands. RIMPAC completed the IDTC and prepared the ship for deployment to the Arabian Gulf. During deployment, the ship spent more than 100 days on station supporting Operation Southern Watch and maritime interception operations.

.....In April 2001, the ship moved to the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard for a scheduled Planned Incremental Availability period. Completing PIA in October, Abraham Lincoln began workups for its next operational cycle. In July 2002, the ship and air wing deployed to support Operations Enduring Freedom and Southern Watch. On the way, Abe visited Sasebo, Japan; Hong Kong , China; Singapore, and Bahrain.

.....The deployment turned out to be anything but routine, as the normal six month rotation became a record-setting, extended 10 months. After providing support to OEF and OSW, the Abraham Lincoln paid a much deserved port visit to Perth, Australia. It was then that the determination was made to return to the northern stretches of the Arabian Gulf where the entire carrier battle group and air wing helped deliver the opening salvos and air strikes in Operation Iraqi Freedom. A total of 16,500 sorties were flown during that 10 months, and 1.6 million pounds of ordnance were used during OIF, on top of 265.118 pounds expended during support of OSW and OEF.

.....Upon arrival in Pearl Harbor, the ship had logged 102,816 nautical miles. Before steaming into San Diego, the deployment was culminated by a visit by the Commander-in-Chief, President George W. Bush, who welcomed the crew home for a job well done.