EXTREME CARRIER

RONALD REAGAN


The USS RONALD REAGAN is the 9th Nimitz-class aircraft carrier built for the U.S. Navy. It was named after former U.S. President Ronald Reagan. The ship has a newer design than the other carriers in its class, including a completely re-designed island, a bulbous bow, and modifications to the flight deck. With a top speed of more than 35 mph, and carrying more than 80 combat aircraft, the USS Ronald Reagan has an expected lifetime of at least 50 years.

The carrier displaces almost 100,000 metric tonnes when fully loaded, and is 100 metres long. Its flight deck covers an immense 4.5 acres; the island is 20 stories above the waterline. Power comes from two nuclear reactors that can operate for 20 years without refueling. Propulsion (over 280,000 horsepower) is taken care of by four huge bronze propellers, each of which is 6.4 metres across and weighs 30 tonnes.


I n addition to the aircraft carried on deck and in the hangars below, the carrier is equipped with several types of missiles, various guns, and electronic warfare gear. Planes are launched from the deck using steam-powered catapults; a combat aircraft is sent down the deck 100 metres during which time its speed increases from zero to 165 miles per hour ... in just two seconds. Upon their return to the ship, aircraft are stopped by arresting cables stretched across the deck.
About 6,000 crew members are aboard when the carrier sails. Over 18,000 meals are served each day (for almost three months without restocking). The ship also contains a post office, a dental office staffed by five dentists and an oral surgeon, a 63-bed hospital with five physicians, a ship's newspaper, and three chaplains who conduct daily religious services. A desalination plant turns seawater into fresh drinking water at the rate of 1,500,000 litres per day.

Get jaxtr | Login

The Terex Titan

Who and What

The Terex Titan was manufactured by General Motors of Canada, and

is to date the world's largest tandem axle truck ever built. Back in 1978, one Titan was brought to Sparwood, B.C. from California, for use in a mine. The truck was to large to be moved by road, so it arrived by train on 8 flatbed cars. It was re-assembled and driven to the mine.
What drives it?

The Terex Titan is powered a 16 cylinder locomotive engine, and delivers 3300 horsepower. It was combined with a huge generator to deliver power to 4 traction engines located on the real wheels. The generator alone has enough power to supply 250 homes with electricity.

Specifications:

Height: 6.9 m (22.5 ft) With Box Raised: 17.1 m (56 ft)
Length: 20.1 m (66 ft) Width: 7.6 m (25 ft)
Weight: 260 tons Payload: 350 tons
Max Weight: 610 tons Horse Power: 3300

The tires are 11.5 ft in diameter, and weigh 4 tons each. Two Greyhound buses and two pick-up trucks would fit inside its dumper.
Where to find?

The Titan is no longer used because of the huge expenditure needed to keep it running. This truck is a tourist attraction in Sparwood, British Columbia, Canada.

THE M1A1 ABRAMS

The MIAl Abrams is like a shark, evolved to a point of absolute perfection. It is the undisputed king of the jungle. No other tank on earth can even begin to damage it. It is wrapped in armor made out of a depleted uranium core sandwiched between rolled steel plate. The armor is dense and impregnable. Battlefield shells and rockets and kinetic devices bounce right off it. But its main trick is to stand off so far that no battlefield shell or rocket or kinetic device can even reach it. It sits there and watches enemy rounds fall short in the dirt. Then it traverses its mighty gun and fires and a second later and a mile and a half in the distance its assailant blows up and burns. It is the ultimate unfair advantage ... eleven feet wide, twenty- six feet long, nine and a half feet tall. Seventy tons."

Lee Child 'The Enemy'

Types

Three versions of the Abrams tank are in service, including the original M1 model, dating from the early 1980s. Newer versions include the M1A1, produced from 1985 through 1993, and the M1A2, which is an upgraded version that includes such high-tech devices as thermal imaging, GPS navigation and digital communications.

Specifications

The M1A1 weighs 50 metric tonnes, and is 10 metres long when the gun turret is pointed forward. The tank is 3.7 metres wide, with a ground clearance of half a metre. It's powered by a 1500 horsepower gas turbine engine, and supports a crew of four: Commander, Gunner, Loader and Driver. The M1A1 can climb over obstacles over a metre high, and traverse ditches 3 metres deep. It has a top speed of close to 70 km/h, can accelerate from 0-32 km/h in just 7 seconds, and has a cruising range of 440 kilometres. The replacement cost for and M1A1 Abrams tank is over 4 million dollars US; over 8000 have been made.

The AMMO

The main armament on the M1A1 is the 120 mm smoothbore gun, which can fire a variety of ammunition, including a depleted uranium penetrating round. (Depleted uranium has a density two and a half times greater than steel and provides high penetration). Other armament includes various machine guns and smoke grenade launchers.

The M1A1 tank is protected by steel-encased depleted uranium armour. The depleted uranium provides a higher level of protection against anti-tank weapons. The tank is protected against nuclear, biological and chemical warfare, and the crew are equipped with protective suits and face masks.

Why M1A1 Abrams

During the Gulf War, of 1,955 Abrams M1A1 tanks in battle, only 18 were taken out of service due to battle damage; no crewman was lost in the conflict, while inside the protection of the M1A1's armour, by enemy fire.
No one is perfect
Nevertheless, the M1A1 Abrams is not invulnerable. It can be disabled by land mines, and incapacitated by RPG's - rocket-propelled grenades - if struck on the treads or between the treads and the deck. However, battlefield results have shown that an M1A1 can survive without damage after sustaining direct hits by T-72 tank rounds.