Military giant of the seas calls into port 31.05.11
7One of the largest ships in the world -- the American aircraft carrier USS George H W Bush - has called into Portsmouth. To say the vessel is big is something of an understatement. Even from three miles away the Nimitz-class carrier dominates the landscape. It has four-and-a-half acres of space on its flight deck, making it capable of housing 90 jets and helicopters. It is home to 5,500 crew, displaces about 100,000 tonnes and can travel at 30 knotts. Power for everything comes from two nuclear reactors, which will run for 20 years before needing to be refueled. After sailing the Atlantic, Carrier Strike Group 2, of which she is a part, took part in Saxon Warrior -- a Royal Navy run, multi-national exercise, off the coast of Cornwall. She made Portsmouth her first port of call.