Gerald R. Ford carrier structure halfway complete

August 18, 2011|By Peter Frost, pfrost@dailypress.com | 247-4744

NEWPORT NEWS — The structure of the Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier is halfway complete, Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc. said today.

Newport News shipyard workers have assembled about 860 feet of the ship's total 1,092-foot length and completed 250 of the 500 total structural lifts required to complete the ship.

About 23,000 tons of steel has been lifted into place by the iconic gantry crane in the north end of the shipyard that still bears the logo of the shipyard's former parent company, Northrop Grumman Corp.

Portions of the Ford, the lead ship in the nation's first new class of carriers for more than five decades, are assembled up to the main deck level, about 64 feet above Dry Dock 12.

Built using modular construction, the Ford is taking shape one structural unit at a time. Aided by the newly upgraded 1,050-ton gantry crane, shipyard workers now are able to pre-build much larger ship sections before lifting them into the dry dock, a process that saves time and money.

More than 1,800 shipyard workers are assigned to the ship, also known as CVN-78, which is on track to meet its scheduled launch in 2013 and delivery to the Navy in 2015, the company said.

"We have a tremendous team of shipbuilders that is working hard and making great progress," said Rolf Bartschi, the shipyard's vice president of the Ford program. "There is still work to be done, but it is incredibly satisfying to see Gerald R. Ford taking shape."

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/photo- ... 2011-09-15