Starship Enterprise

[Carrier USS Gerald Ford Leaves Norfolk for Last Repairs Before Maiden Deployment - Sam LaGrone, USNI News - 2021]

Microsoft brought me news this morning of the large aircraft carrier, USS Gerald R Ford, paying a visit to Portsmouth, anchoring in the Solent rather than in the harbour proper. Given that our carrier does fit, and it is not that much smaller, one wonders why they have chosen the Solent. Why not park up next to the Victory? Were they being tactful in not rubbing in our massive relative decline since the days of Rule Britannia and Trafalgar? 

I associate to the naval uncle and his wife, veterans of the second and Korean wars, who found it hard to adapt to the naval changes since then. Also to the impressive brown wood panelled wardroom, in an important part of Portsmouth Harbour, full, at lunch time, of commanders, captains and admirals, while the harbour outside was more or less empty.

In any event, the Rest & Recreation teams have been put on full alert. There is talk of reinforcements being bussed in from Plymouth and Aldershot.

This, the newest carrier in the US Navy, was plagued by delays and overruns during construction, but is now fully operational. Centrepiece of one of around ten carrier strike groups. One supposes that the US naval planners are hard at work at devising defences against swarms of air-borne and water-borne drones. One assumes that they can handle the odd cruise missile.

Captain Paul Lanzilotta, the commanding officer of the warship said: 'The US aircraft carrier brings with it power projection, it’s a visible statement of presence wherever we go, it shows commitment to our allies and to peace and stability in the region'. Which is all well and good, but I am reminded of the locution about sauce for the goose being sauce for the gander. What would the US feel about the Chinese parking up in the Persian Gulf? Never mind Cuba.

PS: remembering all the fuss when the Russians sent their only remaining carrier through the English Channel, I turned up reference 4, from which I learn that their carriers burn a particularly smoky sort of oil, which can result in an impressive plume of black smoke. Also of various shenanigans of classification which allow the ship to pass through the Dardanelles.

References

Reference 1: 'Biggest badass’ warship in the world moors off the South Coast - Ben Mitchell, PA - 2022.

Reference 2: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Gerald_R._Ford.

Reference 3: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrier_strike_group.

Reference 4: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_aircraft_carrier_Admiral_Kuznetsov.