10 Amazing Facts About the USS Gerald Ford

Last updated on December 16th, 2022 at 10:34 am

USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) is the lead ship of her class of United States Navy aircraft carriers. The ship is named after the 38th President of the United States, Gerald Ford, whose World War II naval service included combat duty aboard the light aircraft carrier Monterey in the Pacific Theater.

The keel of the new warship was ceremonially laid on 14 November 2009 in Dry Dock 12 by Ford’s daughter, Susan Ford Bales.

The USS Gerald Ford is the most expensive and advanced aircraft carrier of all time, if you are a Navy or ship geek then you must know these 10 interesting facts about the USS Gerald Ford.

1. Cost

The aircraft carrier costs a whopping $13.3 billion in total, making it the most expensive aircraft carrier in the world.

2. Size

The USS Gerald R Ford has a total length of 333 meters, a beam of 41 meters at the waterline, and a height of 76 meters, its Flight deck is 78 meters wide.

3. Speed

According to the officially published statistics, the USS Gerald Ford is capable of achieving a top speed of 35 MPH or 56 KPH or just over 30 Knots.

4. Number of Aircraft she can carry

According to the official figures, she comes equipped with around 75+ aircraft, while some other sources claims that she can carry as much as 90 aircraft.

5. Its Unique Propellers

USS Gerald Ford is fitted with Four Propellers, and each of them weighs 30 tons. They are each 21 feet or 6.4 meters in diameter and are made up of Bronze.

6. Starbucks onboard USS Gerald Ford

USS Gerald R. Ford actually has its own shops and even offers Starbucks Coffee onboard. The coffee shop is not for profits and all proceeds go to support various schemes for the ship’s crew.

7. Operating Cost

In comparison to the Nimitz-class, each Gerald Ford class ship will save more than $4 billion in total ownership expenditures over its 50-year service life.

8. Quantity of Paint

A total of 200,000 gallons (757,082 liters) of paint was used to cover the entire exterior hull of the ship. Apparently, this is enough to coat the exterior of the White House 350 times over.

9. Powered By Nuclear Reactors

The ship is outfitted with two upgraded A1B nuclear reactors, the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS), Advanced Weapons  Elevators, Advanced Arresting Gear (AAG), and Dual Band Radar (DBR). All these systems result in increased capability, and less number of crew requirements.

10. Design of its Toilet