Witness the creation of an iconic vessel as we reveal the
secrets of the construction of the USS George H.W. Bush, and the stories of the
men who built this incredible aircraft carrier.
CVN-77 is the 10th and final Nimitz class carrier
of the United States Navy, named after the 41st US President, and
one of the largest warships in the world. Her $6.2 billion construction was an
epic undertaking, one faced with numerous trials and challenges, and always
under the pressure of a tight delivery schedule.
In this programme we share the setbacks and successes of the
construction as work gets under way in Virginia at the Northrop Grumman Newport
News shipyard’s Dry Dock 12, the largest in the western hemisphere, in 2003.
We follow the progress as massive sections of the
superstructure of carefully manoeuvred into place, revealing the delicate and
intricate operations involved in giving life to 100,000 ton, 1,000ft-long
supercarrier.
The programme records the shipyard visits by former
President Bush, hears from the shipyard workers and shares the tension as the
multi-year project is hit by setbacks, including a massive storm. Finally, we
see the USS George H.W. Bush slip into the James River,
the first phase of construction complete and ready to be fitted out ahead of
commissioning in 2009.
The Construction of the USS George H.W. Bush is not only a
fascinating look at the creation of an iconic vessel, but also a compelling
examination of how such an immense project was tackled.