USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77) is the tenth and final Nimitz-class supercarrier of the United States Navy. She is named for the 41st President of the United States and former Director of Central Intelligence George H. W. Bush, who was a naval aviator during World War II. The vessel's callsign is Avenger, after the TBM Avenger aircraft flown by then-Lieutenant George H. W. Bush in World War II. Construction began in 2003 at Northrop Grumman, in Newport News, Virginia and was completed in 2009 at a cost of $6.2 billion. Her home port is Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia.
USS George H.W. Bush in January 2011
George H. W. Bush in a Grumman TBM Avenger during World War II
Placement of the 700-ton island onto the ship's flight deck in 2006
Pentagon naming ceremony in December 2002
Nimitz-class aircraft carrier
The Nimitz class is a class of ten nuclear-powered aircraft carriers in service with the United States Navy. The lead ship of the class is named after World War II United States Pacific Fleet commander Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, who was the last living U.S. Navy officer to hold the rank. With an overall length of 1,092 ft (333 m) and a full-load displacement of over 100,000 long tons (100,000 t), the Nimitz-class ships were the largest warships built and in service until USS Gerald R. Ford entered the fleet in 2017.
USS Nimitz (CVN-68), lead ship of the class of supercarriers, at sea near Victoria, British Columbia, after the 1999–2001 refit
An artist's impression of USS Nimitz in 1968
George Washington Carrier Strike Group formation sails in the Atlantic Ocean
One of the four propellers of George Washington