"ALWAYS GOOD SHIPS"

Newport News Shipbuilding

Looming over the horizon at Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS), legendary war hero and the world’s first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Enterprise (CVN 65) awaits her final destination. In her shadow, the newest generation aircraft carrier bearing the same name is being born, bringing full circle NNS’ proud legacy of “Always Good Ships.”

For more than 136 years, the women and men of NNS have built legends. From the tugboat Dorothy in 1891 to today’s technologically advanced Gerald R. Fordclass aircraft carriers, NNS continues its service to America as the nation’s sole designer, builder, and refueler of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and one of only two shipyards in the United States capable of designing and building nuclear-powered submarines.

Thousands gathered Nov. 9, 2013, as history was made at Newport News Shipbuilding with the christening of Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), the first of the newest generation of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers.

NEWPORT NEWS SHIPBUILDING PHOTO

NNS’ aircraft carrier legends began with Ranger (CV 4). Since her delivery in 1934, the shipyard has delivered 31 aircraft carriers, including all 10 ships of the Nimitz class. NNS is currently building three additional carriers.

Each aircraft carrier has her own battle wounds and war stories to tell, such as Yorktown (CV 5), Enterprise (CV 6) and Hornet (CV 8) – which helped turn the tide of World War II during the Battle of Midway in 1942 – and Ranger (CV 61), one of the first carriers to operate jet aircraft.

Newport News Shipbuilding is busier than it’s been in at least four decades. Today, shipbuilders are working on 25 Navy ships, including five aircraft carriers.

NEWPORT NEWS SHIPBUILDING PHOTO

Throughout their historic service, these symbols of American military power have provided unmatched capability and sovereign U.S. territory wherever they sail. They support and protect the global economy through the protection of sea lanes around the world and provide humanitarian aid in times of crisis. These steel giants are agile, providing a critical mass of air power anywhere in the world it’s needed, when it’s needed.

Future chapters of the aircraft carrier story will share more victories and even greater advancements, and be told by the Gerald R. Ford class, the first new carrier design in nearly 50 years. The new class’ design provides enhanced flight deck configuration, increased electrical generating capacity, and improved operating margins. These improvements will enable Ford-class aircraft carriers and their embarked air wings to project power, sustain sea control, deter adversaries, and reassure allies well into the 22nd century.

In February 1933, Newport News Shipbuilding launched Ranger (CV 4) into the James River. Ranger was the first U.S. Navy ship designed from the keel up as an aircraft carrier. However, she was not the first American aircraft carrier. Langley (CV 1), Lexington (CV 2), and Saratoga (CV 3) all preceded Ranger, but they were originally laid down as a collier and battlecruisers, respectively, and later converted. Ranger, commissioned in 1934, earned two battle stars for her service during World War II. The ship was decommissioned in 1946 and sold and scrapped the following year.

NEWPORT NEWS SHIPBUILDING PHOTO

Newport News Shipbuilding is busier than it’s been in at least four decades. Today, shipbuilders are working on 25 Navy ships, including five aircraft carriers.

Investments in digital technologies, enhanced construction processes and economic order quantity strategies are helping NNS ensure Ford-class aircraft carriers are built to support future air wings, weapons systems, radars, sensors and command and control systems, and in the most effective, efficient and affordable way.

But the real secret to the shipyard’s success is its shipbuilding team. While the art and science of building ships has evolved over the last century, two things have remained constant: the pioneering and patriotic spirit of NNS’ shipbuilders and the network of shipbuilding suppliers that spans all 50 states, and the strong partnership between NNS and the Navy.

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Each day, the NNS team accomplishes what no other team can. They work with their hands, practicing precision and skills that are unmatched anywhere else in the world. And they work with their hearts to serve our country by creating the legends that protect our nation’s freedoms.

Today, 25 Navy ships are being born or reborn behind the shipyard’s gates. Work includes the refueling and complex overhaul of USS George Washington (CVN 73) and USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74); and the construction of Ford-class carriers John F. Kennedy (CVN 79), Enterprise (CVN 80), and Doris Miller (CVN 81), some of which will serve for the next five decades and beyond.

Building legends is noble work, and NNS is proud to be an important part of the aircraft carrier story. The shipyard’s longstanding commitment, deep-rooted in determination, patriotism, and its “Always Good Ships” philosophy, will help carry on America’s aircraft carrier legacy for centuries to come.