It takes 200,000 gallons of paint to cover the ship, and between 120 and 170 painters.Įven the anchor of the USS Gerald R. And you can't just leave it looking all rusty when it's done - the ship needs to be painted, too. Ford requires 4 million pounds of metal just to weld the ship together. It takes roughly 5,000 people to build and assemble a Ford-class carrier.īut that's not all. Of course, you need more than just a crane to get the job done. The upper bow unit and lower bow unit, meanwhile, are 868 and 750 tons, respectively.įortunately, Newport News Shipbuilding has a 1,157-ton crane to lift everything into place. Ford, the gallery-deck-to-flight-deck bridge, weighs in at 1,131 tons (that's 2.26 million pounds). The heaviest component of the USS Gerald R. And a big dose of reality.Īssembling an aircraft carrier takes, well, a lot. "These are the qualities we will model as we take steel, electronics and millions of components, to create a fitting tribute and living testament to a president who took a country in need and in pain and provided a much needed sense of calm and unity." "Integrity, commitment, steadfastness, honesty and uncompromising ethics," said Mike Petters, corporate vice president and president of Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding. In case you were wondering, a goal was also laid out: Make a ship worthy of President Ford. Once the keel is declared "well and truly laid," the actual shipbuilding process is said to officially begin. 14, 2009, when Northrop Grumman held another ceremony to celebrate the laying of the keel. So, for the Gerald Ford, the next big step came on Nov. That's a key structural component on the bottom of a ship's frame. Ford began back on August 11, 2005, when defense contractor Northrop Grumman ceremoniously cut the first piece of steel, a 15-ton plate, for it.īut a shipbuilder really can't get going before the laying of the keel. Ever wonder how you even build one of these things? Construction on the USS Gerald R.
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