Arial view

Big ship.

This is USS JFK docking in Malta.

To get an idea of the size of this aircraft carrier, compare the nearby buildings.

Click for larger image.

About Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Fr. Z is the guy who runs this blog. o{]:¬)
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24 Comments

  1. Thomas in MD says:

    It’s really a shame Doug Kmiec isn’t there to see it.

  2. JohnE says:

    That’s impressive, but what’s that big murky cloud underneath?

  3. Federico says:

    Great picture, but I don’t think it’s recent. The airplanes on the stern look like F-14 Tomcsts, which were finally retired from the fleet in 2006.

  4. jasoncpetty says:

    JohnE, that’s silt coming up from the seafloor because of all the motoring around to bring the ship alongside.

  5. Eric says:

    de Valette could have used one of those. 546 years too late.

  6. pyrosapien says:

    Ahhhhh.
    The Aircraft Carrier…. the second most powerful warship in the world.

  7. trespinos says:

    I do get impressed with our national assets. Sadly, though, our national debt stood at 14 trillion, 373 billion, 842 million dollars a few minutes ago, and our deficit for the current year stood at 1 trillion, 362 billion, 18 million dollars. A day of reckoning cannot be far off and we shall be forced to accept a much smaller presence everywhere, living within our means.

  8. Jacob says:

    What would you say is the most powerful, pyrosapien?

  9. Flambeaux says:

    I’m going to guess that pyrosapien will say “submarine”.

  10. kneeler says:

    90,000 TONS OF DIPLOMACY

  11. Stephen Matthew says:

    By shear destructive power, the Ohio-class SSBN is the most powerful weapon in the inventory. Those strategic missile submarines are nuclear powered and carry submarine launched ballistic missiles of the Trident II D5 variant, 24 missiles per sub, with a usual load rumored to be 4 or 5 MIRVs (some sources indicate upgraded to MARVs) each with yields of 475 kt each or 100 kt depending on warhead choice. To put that in perspective, that is 120 indepently targeted warheads each packing up to 24 times the yield of Fat Man dropped on Nagasaki. (At one time as many as 12 warheads were carried on each missile.) As has been said by some, if these “boats” ever fully expend their missile load, there really won’t be much point in surfacing ever again.

  12. Sandy says:

    Go Navy! It may not be recent, but it’s still an awesome picture.

  13. pseudomodo says:

    GASP!!!*$& Arial view!

    Does this mean the Arian Heresy has resurfaced?

  14. Stephen Matthew says:

    My guess is this dates to June 2004.

    Appears to have, at first glance, (and our imagery folk can clear this up) on deck:
    25 F/A 18 Hornets
    7 F-14 Tomcats
    4 E-2 Hawkeye
    6 EA-6 Prowler
    4 S-3 Viking
    1 ?H-60 Seahawk (good luck IDing the variant)

  15. amenamen says:

    @Thomas in MD “It’s really a shame Doug Kmiec isn’t there to see it.”

    The last view one sees of Malta from the air: maybe he is the one who took the picture?

  16. pyrosapien says:

    @Flambeaux ~ You are correct!! :-)

    @ Stephen ~ :-)

    @Trespinos ~ Not maintaining a powerful military deterence/capability simply leads to catastophic and exponentially more expensive results. A strong military saves money and innocent lives. Sadly, the financial mismanagement of both parties will probably result in a weakened military thus putting our lives, liberty, and persuit of happiness in danger. Look at the 1920’s-1930’s….

  17. chloesmom says:

    Beautiful ship ! Thanks for sharing, Father.

  18. frdanbecker says:

    It takes a long time to turn this ship around. Same for this carrier, too.

  19. WaywardSailor says:

    The photo is from the June, 2004 goodwill visit of the USS John F. Kennedy CSG (Carrier Strike Group) to Malta. JFK was decommissioned in March, 2007 and is awaiting disposition as a museum ship. Even on her visits to Boston, JFK dominated the skyline – the newer carriers are even larger.

  20. James Joseph says:

    The Americans heard Malta doesn’t have divorce and so they sent Navy and Marines.

  21. EWTN Rocks says:

    frdanbecker,

    How long does it take to turn the ship around (and the carrier)?

  22. Jacob says:

    Glad people mentioned the Ohios. :)

  23. asophist says:

    I was stationed on an aircraft carrier when I was in the Navy in the late 1960’s, the USS Kearsarge (46,000 tons, 5,500 man crew, scrapped in 1970) – and that was a huge ship at HALF the size of the JFK!

  24. John Nolan says:

    The RN is to get two new carriers (years late and well over budget) but to save money there won’t be any aircraft to fly off them. And it’s rumoured that one will be sold at a knock-down price on completion, no doubt to our trusty ally Pakistan. Rule, Britannia!

    PS. Hats off to your special forces. When the SAS stormed the Iranian embassy they didn’t take any prisoners, and nobody minded then.

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