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T.E. Raja Simhan

USS Nimitz to stay for 4 days; Centre's clearance awaited

Chennai June 7 USS Nimitz, a supercarrier in the US Navy and one of the largest warships in the world, is likely to visit Chennai next month.

The Rs 19,000-crore warship is a floating airport. On its 4.5-acre flight deck 85 warplanes can sit, while four can take off every minute.

The ship is currently in the Persian Gulf and is likely to arrive in Chennai on July 1. "She will stay here for four days," a source said.

Facility supervision

Officials from the Navy visited the Chennai port recently to supervise the facilities.

An official clearance from the Centre is awaited. Arrangements to receive the warship would start after the communication is received, the source said.

With over 6,000 crew on board, the warship is over one km long. It was built at Newport News Shipbuilding, US and deployed in the US Navy on May 3, 1975.

The warship was named after Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, who commanded the Pacific fleet in World War II.

The Nimitz-class carriers are the largest warships in the world. Each carrier costs around $4.5 billion.

USS Nimitz was commissioned as an attack aircraft carrier (nuclear propulsion) but was re-designated nuclear-powered multi-mission aircraft carrier.

Nuclear reactor

The carrier's two nuclear reactors give the warship unlimited range and endurance and a top speed in excess of 30 knots.

There are eight steam turbine generators, each producing 8,000 KW, enough to serve a small city.

USS Nimitz and her embarked Carrier Air Wing Eight played a key role in The Final Countdown, a 1980 science-fiction movie starring Kirk Douglas and Martin Sheen.

Although the action supposedly takes place in the Pacific, near Pearl Harbor, it was actually assigned to the Atlantic Fleet at the time, says a US Navy Web site.

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