OT: Question about US Navy aircraft carriers
 

Not game related per se, but it is about large USN supercarriers:

What is the thing hanging off the stern, down below the stern gallery? It looks like a big rake, and seems to extend down into the water. It stretches across most of the stern, looks pretty weighty, and I haven't a clue what it could be for.

A few taps with the clue stick would be appreciated!:up:

Have any pictures ?

Here is a picture of the USS Ronald Reagan, best one I could find. The gadget in question is visible at the waterline of the fantail, and extends to port of the yellow runway centerline painted on the fantail. The gadget appears to be 8 identical segments. Is this the Nixie torpedo decoy(s) equipment?

http://www.blackfive.net/main/images...ald_reagan.jpg
http://www.blackfive.net/main/images...ald_reagan.jpg

Those strange pipes .. I thought so .. I too have no idea. But I saw a pictures of probably empty carrier and these did not reach into water. They just end where it can be seen, they don't go much further.

Hey .. idea ! You see the boat above it ? It could be rails to get the boat far enough from the hull when it's lowered on the water.

My guess is that it is a visual aid to help prevent rampstrikes.
EDIT: Nevermind, looking back at post 3, I misinterpreted the question in the OP. Ignore me!!!!

Hm .. maybe there is no boat but something like crane seems to be there. Anyway it looks like some kind of protection. Maybe for tugs ? But then tugs don't usually push from behind, do they ?

Sould be re inforcements so if a plane strickes down that low it doesnt damage the hull to much

Or could be to stop the small boats from being sucked under

my guesses if it helps.

I'm curious too. Some alternate pics

http://www.navsource.org/archives/02/027151.jpg
http://www.navsource.org/archives/02/027151.jpg


http://www.navsource.org/archives/02/027022.jpg
http://www.navsource.org/archives/02/027022.jpg

Hmm, maybe it is just a big ol' bumper

http://www.navsource.org/archives/02/027041.jpg
http://www.navsource.org/archives/02/027041.jpg

This is the Nimitz, who before 1990 does not appear to have had the structure:

http://www.navsource.org/archives/02/026879.jpg (Nimitz in 1977)

http://www.navsource.org/archives/02/026879.jpg

http://www.navsource.org/archives/02/026834.jpg (nimitz mid-1990's)

http://www.navsource.org/archives/02/026834.jpg

It looks like there are some vents below those "pipes" so I hazard a guess that its simply a protection for those vents that whatever may bump into the stern doesnt demolish those screens.

I don't know what it is, but it is definitely not the Nixie. The Nixie itself isn't really visible in that picture. It's kept on a long cable and the spool is inside the hull.

I have here in my house a visting carrier boy (Stationed onboard the USS Truman no less) so I decided to pick his brain.

I just waved him over and did a 'WTF are these' and pointed at the picture.

He says they are bumpers for the barge that gets tied up at the stern. They got tired of loosing the portable bumpers so they welded them in place instead.

So there you go.

:o

Wouldn't have guessed that! There I was thinking it was something hi-tech, some ultra-sophisticated towed sonar system, or torpedo decoys, or anti-sonar prop-noise masker or something mysterious and top-secret!

Bumpers! Maybe they could add a little chrome, and some pin-striping. Maybe some good bumper stickers, like "My other boat is a canoe", or, "If you can read this, you landed short".:rotfl:

Oh well, what's a few tons of weight welded on to the back of a super carrier? I doubt the captain even noticed she went down by the stern, say, a quarter of an inch.