Tell us something we don’t know.

[dstig1]

I was inside Newport News shipyard a few years back for work. It is amazingly huge. Not as much walking as you might expect, since the distances are so big everyone drives trucks or golf carts around everywhere. Pretty sure I was inside both of those vessels while under construction, too. Well, parts of them as everything is built in sections and then glued together.

The picture below has the main lift crane circled. You cannot even imagine how big this is. But then it can lift aircraft carrier sections... It is waaaay up in the sky. Climbing that is a commitment, I'm sure.

 

[bcp]

From:

HII shipyard starts testing aircraft carrier John F Kennedy EMALS with dead-load launches

HII's Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS) unit has started testing of the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) on aircraft carrier John F Kennedy (CVN 79), marking...

www.janes.com

For the dead-load testing, large, wheeled car-like structures of graduated weights up to 80,000 lb (36,287.4 kg) to simulate the weight of actual aircraft are launched off the carrier's bow into the James River bordering the shipyard in Virginia, HII said.


The dead loads are retrieved and relaunched until the conclusion of the test programme to ensure the catapults are deemed ready to launch all US Navy (USN) carrier-based fixed-wing aircraft.

Bruce

 

[MossRoad]

I was inside Newport News shipyard a few years back for work. It is amazingly huge. Not as much walking as you might expect, since the distances are so big everyone drives trucks or golf carts around everywhere. Pretty sure I was inside both of those vessels while under construction, too. Well, parts of them as everything is built in sectins and then glued together.

The picture below has the main lift crane circled. You cannot even imagine how big this is. But then it can lift aircraft carrier sections... It is waaaay up in the sky. Climbing that is a commitment, I'm sure.

View attachment 854473

This little thing?

 

[dstig1]

Yepperdo. You cannot imagine just how immense that thing is in person... And then you start thinking...what crane did they use to build THIS ONE?!?!

 

[ponytug]

This little thing?

View attachment 854476

Love the crane on the crane for repairing it.

It must be a nice view from the cantilevered cab. That's a ways out there.

Here's a video of how cranes like that one are put together;

All the best,

Peter

 

[dstig1]

I seem to recall there were 2 or 3 smaller cranes down lower on the legs of it too, but it has been a few years.

 

[ponytug]

I seem to recall there were 2 or 3 smaller cranes down lower on the legs of it too, but it has been a few years.

I think you are right that there are three more smaller ones of a similar design. The above video is for the construction of one of the smaller models. The big one went up in 1976.

All the best,

Peter

 

[dstig1]

Yeah I think it was 2018 or 19 when I was there and the big one was clearly not close to new.

 

[Grumpycat]

Love the outhouse on the deck of the submarine!

 

[scootr]

Love the outhouse on the deck of the submarine!

A real poopdeck