What is a carrier "Shakedown"?

[RustyBattleship]

What about 'listing'?

Listing is not caused by external forces such as hard turns or high winds. It's caused by having too much weight on one side of the ship. Especially worrisom if the list is caused by something punching a hole in the side at or just below waterline.

But large ships, such as Battleships, Carriers, etc., have lots of fuel tanks, water tanks and void spaces on board they can counter flood to take the list out. Battleships especially have flooding tanks for trim of list and pitch as the heavy ammo is used up.

[Guest]

Oh, I thought a "carrier shakedown" is when the US parks an aircraft carrier off some poor sap's coast and then proceed to bully the said sap.

That's REAL diplomacy not the pansy stuff.

[SnowLeopard]

.........
Its SOP the carrier dont recieve her air wings until she leaves for the open sea or bay. Somewhere where air ops wont interfere with the general public. And customary for them to take off the carrier and return to the airfield just before the carrier arrives in home port after deployment........

But from the other direction.......decades ago, one of my classmates, a Marine flight officer (but now a pilot) noted how for deployment, they didn't fly on the carrier but checked in over the gangway. Note, that's the FO, not the pilot. At any rate, he said it would be too much of a culture shock to say good bye to wife in the morning, take off ........... and not see her again for 6, 8, or more months.
-------------------------------------------------
(Extend the deployment of a carrier for this or that reason and watch the divorce rates in the home port go up.--in service feelings, (wtte))

[Gun Grape]

Golden anchor? whatis? educate me...

The Golden Anchor Award is given to commands that meet a 56 percent retention rate for Sailors within their first six years of service, a 73 percent retention rate for Sailors with six to 10 years of service, and an 86 percent retention rate for Sailors with more than 10 years of service. And an attrition rate below 18%. Ships that receive the award receive the honor of painting their anchor gold as a symbol of their accomplishment.

If I'm not mistaken, its 1 anchor per award. But if you do it 2 years in a row, you can have both anchors painted.

[BenRoethig]

Very interesting. Thanks guys, I have never seen a carrier bank like that. I didn't think it was possible!!

They don't do it operationally. A shakedown cruise is a lot like flight testing a new aircraft. They'll try to do everything they can to break it. If it pulls through, it's ready for service. If something breaks they'll figure what they did wrong.

[neilmpenny]

Listing is not caused by external forces such as hard turns or high winds. It's caused by having too much weight on one side of the ship. Especially worrisom if the list is caused by something punching a hole in the side at or just below waterline.

But large ships, such as Battleships, Carriers, etc., have lots of fuel tanks, water tanks and void spaces on board they can counter flood to take the list out. Battleships especially have flooding tanks for trim of list and pitch as the heavy ammo is used up.

When I was on our single, solitary miniscule aircraft carreir we had a department called 'double bottoms'. It was their job to fill, monitor and clean all the ships tanks as well as pump all the various fluids around (feed water, fresh water, avgas, avcat, FFO etc etc).

[wabpilot]

I saw this pic. Could someone educate me on what a shakedown consists of? How much is classified?

Tex, the picture is a heeling test. Plain and simple, there is a standard for an aircraft carrier (and every other naval vessal) for how much it can heel in a maximum effort turn at a certain speed. To verify that the ship meets the standard the Navy set out in the beginning, the test must be run. An inclinometer measures the heel and if it is within the limit, then it passes and you move to the next test. To find out what all must be tested during an INSERV you can look at the contract specifications. There are classified matters which of course I won't write about.

[hello]

When you lean over from the centrifugal force of a turn to the OUTSIDE of the turn, it is called HEELING.

When leaning one way or the other due to high seas and/or high winds it is called ROLLING.

BANKING into a turn means leaning to the INSIDE of a turn which only hydrofoils and airplanes can do at the present time.

Some tilting trains like the TGV also effectively bank, that is lean, or rather tilt to the inside of their turn with the help of their suspension or rails. They do it increase passenger comfort at high speeds.

[Dreadnought]

A very good shot of BB61 Iowa "heeling" at high speed manuvering during her shakedown in the Chesapeak Bay MD. Note the water approaching the deck at the stern.

[Dreadnought]

Everybody "shaken down" now?

[HistoricalDavid]

I would be genuinely frightened to be a sailor on that deck and not tied down to anything. Maybe that's cause I haven't been on a 45,000+ ton, 110-foot wide behemoth. :p

A question about carriers; when are the planes off and onloaded for duty? Do they have a see-off from the airbase as 60 aircraft swarm out to meet papa bear? :p

[temujin77]

A question about carriers; when are the planes off and onloaded for duty? Do they have a see-off from the airbase as 60 aircraft swarm out to meet papa bear? :p

I imagine in war time when time is of the essence, a "swarm" of fighters racing out to meet the carrier isn't totally out of the question. During normal circumstances however, using cranes to lift aircraft on and off of carriers is probably the main method. I'm more familiar with WW2-era carriers than modern carriers, so I might be off...

[rickusn]

"During normal circumstances however, using cranes to lift aircraft on and off of carriers is probably the main method."

Say what?

LOL Ive read some goofy things here.

But this one has claimed the top spot by a wide margin. LOL

The aircraft are flown on and off board.

Repeat..

The aircraft are flown on and off board.

LOL

[temujin77]

"During normal circumstances however, using cranes to lift aircraft on and off of carriers is probably the main method."

Say what?

LOL Ive read some goofy things here.

But this one has claimed the top spot by a wide margin. LOL

The aircraft are flown on and off board.

Repeat..

The aircraft are flown on and off board.

LOL

I've seen a lot of photos like this one:
WW2DB: [Photo] A Wildcat lifted from APV Kitty Hawk to ACV Long Island, Fila Harbor, New Hebrides, 28 Aug 1942

I might be assuming too much... I always thought it simply wastes too much aviation fuel to start up the radial engine, warm up, take off the aircraft and risk a carrier landing just to transfer some aircraft from land to a carrier. That's why I thought crane lifts would be the method when the carrier is in port?

I didn't realize it was so laughable. If it is, I'm glad I brought a smile to someone's day today :)

[Dreadnought]

I've always been uder the assumption that when a carrier leaves port certain aircraft are presumablely aboard wether flown or loaded im not sure. This would constitute "standard" aircraft for the carriers main mission or deployment meaning aircraft that are aboard for every mission. The carrier air wing i.e. fighters would be flown aboard from whatever base dispactched said airwing for deployment. I have also heard of "standard" craft being flown aboard as well if they were not already present or ready when the vessel deployed from berth. Any imput from the flyboys on carrier ops?