AIRCRAFT CARRIER
HARRY S. TRUMAN RETURNS FROM SUCCESSFUL ACCEPTANCE SEA TRIALS
NEWPORT NEWS, Va., June 25, 1998
– The nation’s newest and most advanced nuclear-powered aircraft
carrier, Harry S. Truman (CVN 75), returned to Newport News Shipbuilding
(NYSE: NNS) late yesterday following successful completion of
acceptance sea trials.
The acceptance trials are conducted
with representatives of the U. S. Navy Board of Inspection and Survey
(INSURV) for testing and evaluation of the ship systems and performance.
"Acceptance trials are not necessarily a ‘pass/fail’ evolution but more
of a ‘fit for service/not fit for service’ criteria. We are looking
for significant safety and material discrepancies requiring quick resolutions,"
said INSURV Assistant Weapons Inspector Lt. Cmdr. Al Pepper. "We are
checking systems in all mission-capable areas."
Another aspect of INSURV is to make
sure the crew understands how to operate the equipment and systems being
inspected.
Harry S. Truman is commanded
by Capt. Thomas G. Otterbein and currently has 2,385 crew members onboard.
Newport News Shipbuilding Construction
Manager Harold Paxton said, "Acceptance trials were very successful,
with the ship and its crew performing as they should. This is due to
the tremendous teamwork demonstrated by the shipbuilders, the ship’s
force and all the others from the U. S. Navy."
Named after America’s 33rd
President, the keel of Harry S. Truman was laid November
29, 1993 and the ship was christened at Newport News on September 7,
1996.
Truman will be delivered to the
U. S. Navy later this month and commissioned and put into active service
on July 25, 1998 at the Norfolk Naval Base in Norfolk, Va.
Truman is the eighth Nimitz-class
aircraft carrier built by Newport News, the only shipyard capable of
building the nuclear-powered vessels. The company is also building the
ninth Nimitz-class carrier, Ronald Reagan, which will be delivered
to the Navy in 2002.
Newport News Shipbuilding is
America’s premier shipbuilding company with annual revenues of approximately
$1.7 billion and 18,000 employees. The company is the leader in the
design and construction of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and submarines
for the U. S. Navy.
