The USS Theodore Roosevelt Operating Its Air Wing

03/25/2015

03/25/2015: USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) March 18, 2015.

Theodore Roosevelt deployed from Norfolk and will execute a homeport shift to San Diego at the conclusion of deployment.

Theodore Roosevelt is seen conducting naval operations in the U.S. 6th Fleet area of operations in support of U.S. national security interests in Europe and prior to its reaching Portsmouth, England.

And an article in The Daily Mail described the arrival of the USS Theodore Roosevelt of a Portsmouth on March 25. 2015 as follows:

She weighs in at an impressive 100,000 tons and is longer than The Shard is tall.

And today the mammoth USS Theodore Roosevelt was anchored just off the coast of Hampshire because she was simply ‘too big’ to sail into the Royal Navy’s historic Portsmouth dockyard.

 Thousands of stunned spectators jammed roads and lined the banks of the River Solent to welcome the 1,092ft-long floating city as it arrived for a five-day visit to the UK on the first stop of a global deployment.

 While a debate rages in the UK over the Government’s failure to commit to the Nato target of spending two per cent of GPD on defense, the Roosevelt is a potent symbol of American military might. 

The USS Theodore Roosevelt was accompanied into Hampshire by its escort ship, the destroyer Winston S Churchill, which traditionally has a UK navigator on board to honour the ship's British connection and the post is currently being held by 27-year-old Lieutenant Lynsey Sewell. Credit: The Daily Mail
The USS Theodore Roosevelt was accompanied into Hampshire by its escort ship, the destroyer Winston S Churchill, which traditionally has a UK navigator on board to honour the ship’s British connection and the post is currently being held by 27-year-old Lieutenant Lynsey Sewell. Credit: The Daily Mail

With 90 aircraft on board, the ship can operate for up to 25 years at over unlimited distances, projecting US air power around the globe.

 She can go three months without resupply and her two giant nuclear reactor generate enough power for a small city.

One social media user wrote: ‘Most ships get measures in metres, this one comes in acres!’

Another joked in reference to recent increased tensions between the West and Russia: ‘Wonder if any Russian bombers will fly up the Channel this week?’

Brian and Jacqui Rodgers, who travelled from Dorset to see the 30-year-old carrier arrive at Stokes Bay, said they were ‘very impressed’ by the ship.

Mr Rodgers told The News local paper: ‘It’s a slumbering giant. I guess it’s one of the biggest carriers in the world.

It’s a bit like watching a floating town arrive off the coast.’

Mrs Rodgers added: ‘It’s massive. When you see a sailing boat by go by the side of it you realize how huge it is.’

Various shots of F-18s, including the Growler variant as well as of the Hawkeye are shown of the USS TR at sea.

Credit:Navy Media Content Services:3/18/15