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USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67)
USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67) (formerly CVA-67), the only ship of her class, was an aircraft carrier, formerly of the United States Navy. Considered a supercarrier, she was a variant of the Kitty Hawk class, and the last conventionally-powered carrier built for the Navy, as all carriers since have had nuclear propulsion. Commissioned in 1968, the ship was named after John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States. John F. Kennedy was originally designated a CVA, for fixed-wing attack carrier, however the designation was changed to CV, for fleet carrier.
Paul Montgomery, former Boiler Technician aboard USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67), recalls on Quora;
‘I was present for an emergency stop test in the engine room of the JFK back in the early 80s. I have first hand knowledge of doing this.
‘But how do I explain this experience to the average Joe or Josephine?
‘Here is what I came up with. Please fasten your seat belts.
Aircraft carrier emergency stop
‘A ship has no brakes. Normally it coasts to a stop. This takes about five miles for a carrier at full speed as someone else alluded to in another answer. You can do this in a car coming to a red light if you want to. It will irritate the other drivers, but who cares right?
‘I knew someone who drove like this. She was old in the 1970s. Real old. In her 90s. I mowed her yard. She had this old 50s something Chevy she bought new. Each spring she would buy a few cans of blue spray paint and give it a new coat. She did an amazing job.
‘One day, I was admiring the car. It did not have a scratch on it. No dents. No dings. No bent chrome. No rust. She bragged to me that she still had the original brake shoes. She made them last by planning ahead. She knew where the stops were and could just let off the gas beforehand and coast to a stop.
‘She was sweet and fierce. She fed me little cakes. If you got out of line she would slap you up side the head, hard.
‘That sums up an aircraft carrier nicely.
‘Now imagine a car with no brakes. You coast to a stop just like ships do. Everything is fine until some guy ruins your day by pulling out in front of you.
‘What do you do, You have no brakes?
‘YOU CRAM IT INTO REVERSE AND STEP ON THE GAS.
Aircraft carrier stopping in less than a mile during an emergency stop
‘In cars, that would likely break something even if you have a straight shift, but you can do it if you are:
- In the dirt.
- Aided by brakes.
- Have fancy foot work.
‘I can hear the comments now. Impossible.
- It’s not.
- I’ve done it.
- Yes it is likely to tear things apart.
‘I’ll refrain from giving the details of when, where and why I did this. I am not sure what the statute of limitations is.
‘On an aircraft carrier, you are doing just that when you do an emergency stop. In the engine room, things are absolutely screaming in protest.
- The ship starts shaking.
- The throttleman and boiler console operator are working desperately together to keep from breaking stuff.
- People are calling off times and pressures as everything starts vibrating.
- Dust and dirt falls on you from the pipes and wiring above.
- Hands grab tight to things bolted down to keep standing.
- The ship’s tires start losing grip. That’s the screws (props) as they try to catch water so hard it boils. Yes, the water boils (cavitates). As the pressure is lowered, it turns to steam.
- A few might wet themselves just a little.
- 82,655 tons of metal that wants to keep on truckin’ protests loudly.
‘And it does not take miles to stop. It happens in a few ship lengths. Remember, a mile is only five lengths of a US aircraft carrier. Yes, it is intense.
‘We did this without any equipment on the flight deck. No planes. No green, red, yellow, white, blue, brown, or purple shirted guys running around. Everything tied down tight.
Bonus memory
‘The night I reported to the ship it was dark and rainy. I walked up to the watch at the pier and showed my orders. He pointed toward this dark shadow. I was confused.
‘“Is the ship behind that warehouse?” I asked.
‘He laughed and said, “That warehouse is the ship”’
Montgomery concludes;
‘You really can’t appreciate the size of a US Carrier until you walk up and get swallowed by it.’
Photo credit: PH2 Day / US Navy
