What is the Fastest Military Ship?  

"Size matters, especially when it's rough" Cmon dude

“Size matters, especially when things get rough.” The rock: 🤨

The smaller ships aren't small, they're average sized. In fact, some would say they're above average. Bet they have a great personality too😔

Idc how many times I see an aircraft carrier, I will still always think to myself "how did humans make that??"

As seen in _Fast and Furious 23: Pacific Drift_

Yo hold up “Size really matters, especially when things get rough, but it’s not what you think” This guy is WILD

"They're to small to handle anything bigger, bigger is better" *BRUH💀*

_"Size matters, especially when things get rough. It's not what you think."_ Yes, yes it very much is.

I thought it would be the Iowa class battleships, since they're also huge and can travel at 33 knots

It's actually possible that nuclear carriers are no faster than older oil-fired ones. They're still propelled by steam turbines spinning the propellers, they just use angry rocks (Uranium) instead of burning oil to make the steam. Edit: I try to point something about naval engineering and everyone just focuses on a throwaway quip.

I once talked with an old veteran who served on USS ENTERPRISE CVN-65. He said she could go up to 60knots and is the only carrier with 17 different records that will never be broken including one where she was the only carrier capable of turning inside her own wake due to her 4 rudders.

A carrier’s top speed constraint is more a function of material strength of the prop shaft. There was a carrier easily capable going 40+ knots that used a screw with more aggressive geometry. They ultimately had to replace it with one less aggressive because it caused significant twisting/distortion of the shaft.

Commander we have to evacuate now! Why? USS Kitty-Hawk is on its way! Dear god!

Another certified hood classic

Those super carriers are badass

43 knots for a ship that size is seriously impressive !!!!

The Enterprise class was the fastest we've built so far. The design underestimated the power that could be produced by the reactors and during sea trials she demonstrated significantly more power then had been originally planned for. The later classes had the benefit of her experience.

“ Size matters, especially when it gets rough” *opens comments*

“Size matters, bigger is better” 😢

Imagine a ship so fast that it's illegal to know how fast it goes lol

An aircraft carrier uses a displacement hull design, this determines the maximum speed. There is a limit to how fast it can go regardless of how much thrust can be applied, different displacement hull types, and interface with the water mostly restrict max speed. It's safe to assume that when a military ship is designed like a carrier, maximum speed in all conditions is considered paramount. I'm no ship engineer, I'm sure one could tell us, but i don't think a displacement hull can travel much more that 60 knots without employing some trickery like cavitation bubbles.

I am somewhat confident that the limiting factor on modern carriers during standard operation is shaft torque spec. The throttles are governed (manually) to a maximum torque value.

I was aboard the USS Kitty Hawk when we were on our way to the Arabian Gulf in 2003. I distinctly remember our speed being over 32 knots from the Sea of Japan all the way till we stopped in the Arabian Gulf. On one of the TV stations on the ship, the speed was displayed.

Nuclear powered carriers traded off acceleration and possibly some speed for blue water capability. Their diesel ancestors were built for acceleration and speed, but had to always get back to port.

Can't the Norwegian Skjold-class make like 60++ kts in calm water and 40+ in conditions up to 5 meter waves? Those things are my pipedream assignment since I'm American lol.

I doubt we'll see any nuclear aircraft carrier drag races any time soon so I guess we'll never know.

Those ships are so god damn beautiful.

"when the going gets rough, he's super tough. With the Hong Kong Phooey chop!"

"size matters, especially when things get rough" "bigger is better" out of context feels wrong

I remember when we escorted a carrier, we were going full tilt and still fell behind her. The reasoning is that in a “windless” environment she has to generate her own headwind to launch planes.

He had us in the first half, not gonna lie.

I was on the Stennis for four years. I can say that I was impressed with our response time when we left Hawaii and headed to the Alaskan coast.

While aboard Forrestal we did a run for record and clocked 43 knots (nearly 50 mph). Gibraltar to CONUS in three days.

As somebody who has actually worked on these kind of ships, that carrier easily go about fifty knots. Now here's the kicker to that. It could do that kind of speed, but it won't be comfortable. See, military ships could go a lot faster than anything they've listed, but the maximum speed that's listed is the speed that the ship can do passively. By that, I mean you can go at that speed and not risk anything. It goes way faster than that, but then you're risking things like hull damage, shaft damage, engine damage, and the like. So that carrier to easily hit 50 knots, but no one on that ship is going to like it. And the shaft is going to hate it even worse.

“Size matters especially when its rough” “Its not about the size of the boat but the motion of the ocean” Wait a minute

"Size matters ,especially when things gets rough" That's what she said 🥺

Video doesn't answer the question, as size doesn't matter when you are comparing ships in a trump cards style. Fastest military ship ever would be a hydrofoil like Sparviero or Pegasus class of boats which made over 50 knots.

My berth was all the way aft and at the waterline aboard USS Ranger, CV61. I remember feeling the cavitation of the props. I remember wrestling with shipmates around the spinning drive shaft down in the center of the ship once also. I was up on top of the superstructure a lot as a photographer, and hung out on the Fantail and various sponsons regularly. Working Flightdeck required constant attention to deck activities, when on a lowered elevator, it's a good idea to have awareness if they turn the ship, because it can go under, and you may survive by holding on after quickly strapping everything. I remember us hammering across the globe a lot at around 31 knots probably. I can't remember how I knew the speed, but I remember I felt I could solidly judge it. We'd hold our highest speed for days sometimes, it was an odd feeling and kind of exhilarating at times. I still have vivid dreams of hanging onto the ship as it goes through Island archipelagos at hundreds of miles per hour. I don't believe our ship ever went over 36 Mph or 31 Knots. Man, it was so cool going through the fantastically beautiful Philippine archipelago at medium to slow speed. Remember going by Krakatoa, through the Straights of Sundra. It was unreal looking down into the tiny islands as we went by and seeing the people and their homes. I remember the sunset that evening, and my shopmates and I all standing out in the flight deck catwalk with no operations going on, just experiencing it together. I been aboard the Kitty Hawk in San Diego once. She was her own class of super carrier, but was sequential from Ranger as CV62 from CV61 I believe.

This was also the case in the past. We tend to think big ships are slow and cumbersome, but they're actually impressive compared to their smaller cousins (and why they were used). Most likely the same principle will apply to starships.

I freaking love this shit! Having served as a Marine on board a carrier, it was really awesome!

0:23 8 feet does not equal 1.25 m. 8 ft is about 2.4 m; 1.25 m is about 4 ft. EDIT: I see that at least two other commenters noted this and that you acknowledged the typo. Cheers!

8 feet is definitely not 1.25 meters lol. It’s almost 2.5 meters Edit: just saw that you said you made a typo, Nevermind

Nuclear power just refers to how they produce electricity on the ship. The how fast the ship can go is dependent on the electric engines that run the propulsion.

imagine the nuclear carriers actually go 40 knots while the navy tells us its 33

I was on the USS George Washington CVN73. I remember during the ship's sea trials, as it was a new ship at the time, often the whole ship shuddered for several minutes at a time because we were going so fast. I was told we were testing how fast the GW could go, and we had hit a max speed of around 40-45 knots. It seemed we were going faster than 45 knots. I stood out on the fantail and thought I definitely could water ski behind this big ass aircraft carrier . We were throwing up a huge wake.

Was on a carrier in the Arctic Circle with waves coming over the bow and the deck going up and down about 60 feet

Carriers are so fast they have to tie the planes down …headwinds can cause aircraft to float around on deck. It’s unnerving.

It’s just amazing that such a large ship moves that fast when conventional wisdom would have led you to believe they’d be outrun by smaller ships

"Size matters especially when things get rough"

The interaction between boat length and wave length (distance between two wave peaks) is not as simple as 'bigger is better'. The boat struggles as the boat length approaches the wave length. And that assumes the boat is running into the weather. If the boat is much longer than the wave length it powers through them with little effect. However if the boat is much _smaller_ than the wave length the waves also have little effect on the boat as it travels up and down them like a car driving up and down a hilly road.

I Love America 🇺🇸 and God Bless America’s Military. I Pray for America’s Military and their Families every day. They are the Greatest on the Planet. Enjoy and Stay Safe 🙏🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

I love how you say “Nu”

Size matters well that’s what she said

All's I'm saying is i was on the USS Enterprise and when they got it up to full speed it felt like it was skipping on the water.

Think about THIS! A DIGITAL NUCLEAR POWERED AIRCRAFT CARRIER! Now we're talkin'!

"Size matters, specially when things are rough." But it's not what you think.

„Size matters, especially when it’s rough“ Me: I know that for a fact- and I‘m male~

Can I see a Carrier taking on a storm, with 10mt high waves? I would love to watch it

They are fast enough that people on board can feel it accelerating.

That wave smashed that one dinky boat 😮😮😮

8ft=1.25m? There is something wrong with your math. PS. Maybe i heard it wrong?

I thought it would have been the “Sea Shadow” which is a stealth prototype ship.

I had a buddy stationed on the Forrestal when the Oriskany had her fire in the hanger deck. They were about 50 miles away and wet to flank speed to assist. The Enterprise was about 50 miles further out and also went to flank speed to assist. The 2 carriers arrived at the same time. The Big E's nuclear power allowed her to accelerate faster & reach a much higher top speed.

The LCS class of ships are made of aluminum. Running fast in heavy seas (for them) has caused stress cracks and caused them to run at reduced speeds to prevent further damage.

"Size matters" Me: **cries**

Carriers are limited by the damage that would be done to their hull at high speed, not by power

I want to see a super carrier drifting like a race car XD

Damn, 30 knot carrier sounds nuts

50kts+. Imagine running operation in a common 30kts tailwind with a 20kt headwind requirement for air ops. So 50kts to outpace the tailwind and generate a 20kt headwind for takeoffs. But…that never happens. Or does it?

During Margaret Thatcher's Falklands War the British fleet sailed at full speed from England. What wasn't discussed was that these ships refuelled at sea (at full speed) from Royal Fleet Auxiliary tankers which sailed with the fleet, refuelled the warships then went back to England for fresh supplies then caught up with the fleet & refuelled *again* before the fleet reached the Falkland Islands...

When carriers hit about 40kts, the entire ship starts vibrating. The more violent the vibration, the faster you know you're going. When they secure the flight deck in calm weather, you're zooming

“Size matters, especially when it’s rough” Dude you are playing with fire right now

Merchant marine ships: *heavy breathing*

I know a guy who was stationed on the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier in the late 70s during the Iranian hostage crisis. He told me they were speeding toward the Persian Gulf crossing the Horn Of Africa. He said no one was allowed on deck because they were doing 70 mph. The US Navy never discusses this.

Rumor has it the limit on the Nimitz class is at or just over 50 knots. This is based on sightings of one pulling ahead of a Pegasus-class hydrofoil that was traveling at full speed.

I deployed on the USS GHWB CVN 77 in 2011. That ship goes over 50 knots an at the time it was the most powerful ship in the world. Looking back on that I'm very proud to say I was there.

Jesus Christ. A carrier that can go basically 50MPH on water!?! That’s fast as hell for water and a ship that size!

This is the type of material I love. Please keep these coming!

The fastest carrier, traveled 80 knots. Dual nuclear.

For displacement vessels hull length is the limiting factor on speed, the longer the hull the faster they can go

This guy knew exactly what he was doing with those jokes

Tutorial : How to circumvent a question completely so you can talk about aircraft carriers instead.

This is so much better with the sound turned off

Navy friends have only said it will boggle the mind. They can leave the entire fleet in the dust and it’s nuclear power is not limited by distance. It’s wild. The worlds biggest speed boat

In 1994 we were deployed to the med and Persian gulf. The carrier in our battlegroup was called ahead. We tracked a nuke carrier at 50+ knots

When I was on the USS Ranger, 1993, on it's last cruise, we did a final speed trial. It got to 51 knots. The entire ship shook violently because one of the blades on the port, outboard propeller was bent. Skipper drove it through a typhoon. A sponson was damaged and the forward ship's store was flooded. The Ranger, "Hotel 61", "Danger-Ranger", "Rump-Ranger", was the last oil-fired carrier in the US fleet.-weezi-

"Freedom class" Most American thing I've heard today

I was on the USS Peleliu twice in the 90s. We hit 40 foot swells near Midway Island. The flight deck is 60 feet from surface and the front was dipping into the waves, coming over the top. 38° rolls. People were saying the superstructure was designed to break off at 45° so the ship didn't flip over, but I don't know if that's true. The ship can supposedly be steered from the aft part of ship somewhere.

Those coastal guards..AMAZING 💯💯💯👍

In 1982 I was a fireman in a 1960's class destroyer. Above the boiler room was a painted 48kts. I asked if it could do it. I was told so. Never experieced it. But in 10ft rolling swells 15kts barely left a wake. 300ft knife cutting the water. Here is the thing, cars, trucks, boats can only be run at full power for so long. Even marine diesels might only be rated for continous run at 80% power. 100% power is for short bursts and close in manuvers. Long haul travel will be much less. Fuel is the main issue.

The fact that modern carriers are nuclear-powered really only affects how long they can travel at speed. Far more important to the question of actual speed is the gearing between the reactors and the screws, what in an automobile is referred to as the transmission.

Friend serving on a Ford class carrier told me that a carrier strike group was going through the Panama Canal, but the carrier had to go around South America due to size. The carrier was on the other side of the canal before the carrier group made it through. Seriously had to be averaging over 60 knots.

Imagine the wake left by a US Aircraft Carrier traveling at 40 knots. It would sink or capsize most boats.

USS TARUS PHM-3 was the faster US Navy commissioned vessel. She was 440 metric ton hydrofoil. She ran almost 55 knots on a run in the mid 80’s

Seriously though, that boat pushing through the waves..... That looks super fun an absolutely crazy at the same time.

Coworker served during the gulf war on a carrier. Said it was more than 50 knots by an exceptional margin.

The Russian's Ekranoplan in their Sea Side: *"Need a Help?"*

PT boats: hold my beer (speeds up to over 120 knots)

I don't know if it was the Nimitz or Enterprise but, one of them (back when the tom cats F14) the deck was cleared, the hangar Chains on Equipment, Emergency recall to Pearl, clocked doing 57 knots after out running escorts and slowing. One of those two had a plant for each screw. Bubble head friend of mine said it was so loud even Russia complained.

The fact they got something that massive to even float is awesome....floats and goes 40mph mindblowing