Huge Aircraft Carrier Anchors Off South Coast

A giant US aircraft carrier has anchored off the Hampshire coast ahead of a five-day visit to the UK.

The 100,000-tonne USS Theodore Roosevelt is positioned off Stokes Bay, Gosport, with hundreds of people lining the coast to catch a glimpse of the vessel.

The 1,092ft-long carrier, known as the Big Stick, is making its first port of call in a round-the-world deployment. It was forced to anchor off the coast because it is too big to sail into Portsmouth Harbour.

Some 5,226 sailors will visit Portsmouth during the stay, which is part of the ongoing partnership between the Royal Navy and US defence on carrier operations.

Six Royal Navy aircraft handlers are among the crew as they train ahead of serving aboard new carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth when it enters service in 2017.

Admiral Sir George Zambellas, First Sea Lord, said: "It is excellent to see US Navy carrier steel in Portsmouth. And in barely two years we will see UK carrier steel here too.

"We warmly welcome the Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group - a reflection of the close partnership between our nations and navies, and the value of credible seapower in support of our shared national interests."

The USS Roosevelt is accompanied by its escort ship, destroyer Winston S Churchill, which traditionally has a UK navigator on board to honour the ship's British connection. That post is currently held by 27-year-old Lieutenant Lynsey Sewell.

But the two navies will go head-to-head when a team from the USS carrier plays against HMS Diamond in a football match at HMS Temeraire.

At a cost of $4.5bn (£3.23bn), the carrier was launched in 1984. At 1,092ft, it is the length of more than three football pitches and nearly as long as the Empire State Building is tall.

The vessel has a top speed of above 30 knots, and its 196,020 square foot flight deck has space for around 85 aircraft.

Among other features on board, it has four high-speed aircraft elevators that can raise planes to the flight deck from the hangar below and three wires located on the deck can bring an aircraft going 150mph to a stop in under 400ft.

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