Nimitz-Class Aircraft Carriers

Osprey New Vanguard #174

by Brad Elward, Paul Wright (Illustrator)

The Nimitz class aircraft carrier is the ultimate symbol of the United States superpower status. A true behemoth, this is an unsurpassed weapons platform that overshadows all of its nearest rivals. A history of the largest aircraft carriers in the world, with runways over 300 meters long, this book looks at the development and deployment of the nuclear-powered Nimitz class aircraft carriers from 1975 when the USS Nimitz, the lead ship of the class, was commissioned, to the present day.

All of the class are still operational and the tenth and last of the class, the USS George H. W. Bush, was commissioned in 2009. Here, Brad Elward provides a detailed overview of their design and development, highlighting their unique features, from jet blast deflectors to cutting edge radar systems, and a history of the Nimitz class in service, from deployment in the Gulf during Operation Desert Storm, through to the enforcement of the no fly zone over Bosnia.

Genres: Military Fiction, Military History

48 pages, Paperback

First published November 23, 2010

Reviews

[Sean Chick · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pretty in depth look at the class. I took at star off for the first few pages, which repeat information from the previous volume. The result is the discussion of the carrier's actual careers in the back of the book is short.

[Steven Peterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dwight D. Eisenhower, Theodore Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, George H. W. Bush, Enterprise, John C. Stennis, Nimitz, Abraham Lincoln, Ronald Reagan, Carl Vinson, and George Washington. Major American political figures? No, a class of modern aircraft carriers--the Nimitz class.

This Osprey volume, a part of the New Vanguard series, examines the class of contemporary aircraft carriers. The book begins with a consideration of the development of super carriers; the design, structure, and function of the series; its "operational history." The volume closes with a bibliography.