The USS Gerald R. Ford is America's newest aircraft carrier. The 1,092-foot ship has a crew of 5,500 and carries more than 75 aircraft at a time. It weighs roughly 100,000 tons. All of that adds up to a ship that needs a truly massive anchor and chain to hold steady, and this video proves it.
The anchor and chain system aboard the USS Ford is very, very heavy. The anchor itself weighs 30,000 pounds. The chain is 1,440 feet long and each link weighs 136 pounds. Believe it or not, this combination is actually lighter than those fitted to the heavier Nimitz-class carriers.
The video shows sailors aboard the Ford treating the anchor chain like a chained dragon. One sailor uses a sledgehammer to drive out the pins holding the chain in place. A second sailor holds a strap connected to the first sailor's back, in case he somehow gets attached to the fast moving chain. It's pretty clear that once the chain starts moving, it's difficult if not impossible to stop it in an emergency.
The $12.9 billion aircraft carrier is the first ship in the first new class of aircraft carriers in 40 years, and will be followed by the USS John F. Kennedy and USS Enterprise. Ford is expected to conduct her first overseas cruise in 2022.
Kyle Mizokami is a writer on defense and security issues and has been at Popular Mechanics since 2015. If it involves explosions or projectiles, he's generally in favor of it. Kyle’s articles have appeared at The Daily Beast, U.S. Naval Institute News, The Diplomat, Foreign Policy, Combat Aircraft Monthly, VICE News, and others. He lives in San Francisco.
