Sunday, October 13, 2013

TOUCHING THE SEA FOR THE FIRST TIME

A little piece about the almost USS GERALD FORD touching the ocean for the very first time.

Some ships sip where others dive in.


6 comments:

Anne Bonney said...

This is impressive.

Buck said...

In re: sip vs. dive. They don't send 'em down the ways any longer, do they? I have a USS MASON (DDG 87) coin from her June 2001 launch, which was billed as "the last launch" by BIW. Mebbe that's just Bath, I really don't know.

HMS Defiant said...

They used to call these 4 and a half acres of sovereign US territory. I don't know how much larger the Ford is than the Nimitz class carriers. I'd love to tour the ship though.

HMS Defiant said...

I don't know if they launch them or not come to think of it. I remember reading about synchro-lifts many years ago back when I was in dock but my ship was so small they used a marine railway to pull it up out of the water just like a big crab boat in Maine. :) We went back into the water after 10 weeks with no drama.

virgil xenophon said...

In WW II didn't they launch some/MANY ships side-ways?

HMS Defiant said...

I've seen videos of lots of launches you describe but I think that was a more modern device. Most slipped backwards into the sea.