After the fire in the on-board laundry on the USS Gerald R. Ford, the US Navy's newest aircraft carrier, critical voices were once again raised, pointing to individual design errors by the developers, inferior manufacturing by the shipyards and possibly deliberately improper operation by the carrier's crew.<\/p>\n
After all, the fire in the drying plant and its effects on the crew were only the consequences of underlying problems in one of the most complex systems ever built by man: A 10 billion euro, 100,000 tonne aircraft carrier, with 75 aircraft and 5,000 crew on board.<\/p>\n
The fact that such a ship on three football pitches handles hundreds of take-offs and landings of fighter jets and transport aircraft every day like a fully equipped airfield in the middle of the sea is an organisational feat in itself. However, everything that has to function in the background in order for the entire system to achieve this performance is the completely normal everyday life of these people with their sleeping quarters, their hygiene needs and their food.<\/p>\n
How all this is connected, how an actually small fire in a tumble dryer can ruin the accommodation for hundreds, and how the notorious plumbing failures on the USS Gerald R. Ford can bring a giant to its knees, is something you realise after watching this 20-minute documentary by the Daily Navy!<\/p>\n
ajs, thedailynavy<\/p>\n