aircraft carrier turned into a yacht

The incredible aircraft carrier yacht with its own golf course

We’ve all seen impressive yachts and mega-yachts, but Mitsi Studio has gone to the next level – designing the very first aircraft yacht in the world which happens to have its own golf course.

Onboard the ‘Noahs Twin Carrier’ is a landing strip for jets, which when flipped, transforms into a spectacular three-hole golf course which includes trees and bunkers.

The concept for the mega-yacht, outlined by Thomas Loopstra, co-founder of Mitsi Studio, also includes an infinity pool, tiki village, helipad, and a dock for a speedboat – and that’s just what’s above deck.

Though it’s just a concept right now, if brought to life, it would undoubtedly be the daddy of yachts out in the ocean.

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Gianni is the Managing Editor at GolfWRX. He can be contacted at [email protected] .

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Vincenzi’s 2024 valspar championship betting preview: elite ballstrikers to thrive at copperhead.

The PGA TOUR will stay in Florida this week for the 2024 Valspar Championship.

The Copperhead Course at Innisbrook Resort is a par 71 measuring 7,340 yards and features Bermudagrass greens overseeded with POA. Infamous for its difficulty, the track will be a tough test for golfers as trouble lurks all over the place. Holes 16, 17 and 18 — also known as the “Snake Pit” — make up one of the toughest three-hole stretches in golf and should lead to a captivating finish on Sunday.

The field is comprised of 156 golfers teeing it up. The field this week is solid and is a major improvement over last year’s field that felt the impact of players skipping due to a handful of “signature events” in a short span of time. 

Past Winners at Valspar Championship

• 2023: Taylor Moore (-10)
• 2022: Sam Burns (-17)
• 2021: Sam Burns (-17)
• 2019: Paul Casey (-8)
• 2018: Paul Casey (-10)
• 2017: Adam Hadwin (-14)
• 2016: Charl Schwartzel (-7)
• 2015: Jordan Spieth (-10)

In this article and going forward, I’ll be using the  Rabbit Hole  by  Betsperts Golf  data engine to develop my custom model. If you want to build your own model or check out all of the detailed stats, you can sign up using promo code: MATTVIN for 25% off any subscription package (yearly is best value). 

Key Stats For Copperhead

1. strokes gained: approach.

Strokes Gained: Approach grades out as the most important statistic once again this week. Copperhead really can’t be overpowered and is a second-shot golf course.

Total SG: Approach Over Past 24 Rounds (per round)

• Tony Finau  (+.90)
• Nick Taylor  (+.81)
• Justin Thomas  (+.77)
• Greyson Sigg  (+.69)
• Christiaan Bezuidenhout (+.67)

2. Good Drive %

The long hitters can be a bit limited here due to the tree-lined fairways and penal rough. Playing from the fairways will be important, but laying back too far will cause some difficult approaches with firm greens that may not hold shots from long irons.

Golfers who have a good balance of distance and accuracy have the best chance this week.

Good Drive % Over Past 24 Rounds

• Brice Garnett  (+91.3%) 
• Zach Johnson  (+91.1%)
• Sam Ryder  (+90.5%)
• Ryan Moore  (+90.4%)
• Aaron Rai (+89.7%)

3. Strokes Gained: Ball Striking

Adding ball-striking puts even more of a premium on tee-to-green prowess in the statistical model this week. Golfers who rank highly in ball-striking are in total control of the golf ball which is exceedingly important at Copperhead.

SG: Ball Striking Over Past 24 Rounds:

• Xander Schauffele  (+1.32)
• Keith Mitchell  (+1.29)
• Tony Finau  (+1.24)
• Cameron Young (+1.17) 
• Doug Ghim  (+.95)

4. Bogey Avoidance

With the conditions likely to be difficult, avoiding bogeys will be crucial this week. In a challenging event like the Valspar, oftentimes the golfer who is best at avoiding mistakes ends up on top.

Gritty golfers who can grind out difficult pars have a much better chance in an event like this than a low-scoring birdie-fest.

Bogey Avoidance Over Past 24 Rounds

• Brice Garnett  (+9.0)
• Xander Schauffele  (+9.3)
• Austin Cook  (+9.7) 
• Chesson Hadley  (+10.0)
• Greyson Sigg  (+10.2)

5. Strokes Gained: Total in Difficult Conditions

Conditions will be tough this week at Copperhead. I am looking for golfers who can rise to the occasion if the course plays as difficult as it has in the past.

Strokes Gained: Total in Difficult Conditions Over Past 24 rounds

• Xander Schauffele  (+1,71) 
• Min Woo Lee  (+1.39)
• Cameron Young  (+1.27)
• Jordan Spieth  (+1.08)
• Justin Suh  (+.94)

6. Course History

That statistic will tell us which players have played well at Copperhead in the past.

Course History Over Past 24 rounds

• Patrick Cantlay  (+3.75) 
• Sam Burns  (+2.49)
• Davis Riley  (+2.33)
• Matt NeSmith  (+2.22)
• Jordan Spieth  (+2.04)

The Valspar Championship Model Rankings

Below, I’ve compiled overall model rankings using a combination of the five key statistical categories previously discussed — SG: Approach (27%), Good Drive % (15%), SG: BS (20%), Bogeys Avoided (13%), Course History (13%) Strokes Gained: Total in Difficult Conditions (12%).

• Xander Schauffele
• Victor Perez
• Greyson Sigg
• Justin Thomas
• Lucas Glover

2024 Valspar Championship Picks

Justin thomas +1400 ( draftkings ).

Justin Thomas will be disappointed with his finish at last week’s PLAYERS Championship, as the past champion missed the cut despite being in some decent form heading into the event. Despite the missed cut, JT hit the ball really well. In his two rounds, the two-time major champion led the field in Strokes Gained: Approach per round.

Thomas has been up and down this season. He’s missed the cut in two “signature events” but also has finishes of T12 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, T12 at the Waste Management Phoenix Open, T6 at the Pebble Beach AT&T Pro-Am and T3 at the American Express. In his past 24 rounds, he ranks 3rd in the field in Strokes Gained: Approach and 6th in Strokes Gained: Ball Striking in the field.

Thomas loves Copperhead. In his last three tries at the course, he’s finished T13, T3 and T10. Thomas would have loved to get a win at a big event early in the season, but avoidable mistakes and a balky putter have cost him dearly. I believe a trip to a course he loves in a field he should be able to capitalize on is the right recipe for JT to right the ship.

Christiaan Bezuidenhout +6000 ( FanDuel )

Christiaan Bezuidenhout is playing spectacular golf in the 2024 season. He finished 2nd at the American Express, T20 at Pebble Beach and T24 at the Genesis Invitational before finishing T13 at last week’s PLAYERS Championship.

In his past 24 rounds, the South African ranks 3rd in the field in Strokes Gained: Approach and 26th in Strokes Gained: Ball Striking. Bezuidenhout managed to work his way around TPC Sawgrass last week with minimal damage. He only made five bogeys in the entire week, which is a great sign heading into a difficult Copperhead this week.

Bezuidenhout is winless in his PGA Tour career, but certainly has the talent to win on Tour. His recent iron play tells me that this week could be a breakthrough for the 35-year-old who has eyes on the President’s Cup.

Doug Ghim +8000 ( FanDuel )

Doug Ghim has finished in the top-16 of his past five starts. Most recently, Ghim finished T16 at The PLAYERS Championship in a loaded field.

In his past 24 rounds, Ghim ranks 8th in Strokes Gained: Approach and 5th in Strokes Gained: Ball Striking. In terms of his fit for Copperhead, the 27-year-old ranks 12th in Bogey Avoidance and 7th in Strokes Gained: Total in Difficult Conditions, making him a great fit for the course.

Ghim has yet to win on Tour, but at one point he was the top ranked Amateur golfer in the world and played in the 2017 Arnold Palmer Cup and 2017 Walker Cup. He then won the Ben Hogan award for the best male college golfer in 2018. He certainly has the talent, and there are signals aplenty that his talent in ready to take him to the winner’s circle on the PGA Tour.

Sepp Straka +8000 ( BetRivers )

Sepp Straka is a player who’s shown he has the type of game that can translate to a difficult Florida golf course. The former Presidents Cup participant won the 2022 Honda Classic in tough conditions and should thrive with a similar test at Copperhead.

It’s been a slow 2024 for Straka, but his performance last week at the PLAYERS Championship surely provides some optimism. He gained 5.4 strokes on approach as well as 1.88 strokes off the tee. The tee-to-green game Straka showed on a course with plenty of danger demonstrates that he can stay in control of his golf ball this week.

It’s possible that the strong performance last week was an outlier, but I’m willing to bet on a proven winner in a weaker field at a great number.

Victor Perez +12000 ( FanDuel )

Victor Perez is no stranger to success in professional golf. The Frenchman has three DP World Tour wins including a Rolex Series event. He won the 2019 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, as well as the 2023 Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, which are some big events.

Perez earned his PGA Tour card this season and enters the week playing some fantastic golf. He finished in a tie for 16th in Florida at the Cognizant Classic and then tied for third in his most recent start at the Puerto Rico Open.

In his past 24 rounds in the field, Perez ranks 11th in Strokes Gained: Approach, 1oth in Strokes Gained: Ball Striking, 6th in Good Drive % and 15th in Bogey Avoidance.

Perez comes in as a perfect fit for Copperhead and offers serious value at triple-digit odds.

‘I really think it’s possible’ – 4-time major champ says Scottie Scheffler could win the Grand Slam in 2024

During the Sky Sports commentary after the PLAYERS Championship, analyst and golf legend Laura Davies said she believes Scottie Scheffler could win the grand slam this year.

“He’s on a different level,” said the four-time major champion.

“As soon as he started holing those putts at Bay Hill the rest of the field must have thought ‘oh we’re in a bit of trouble here’ because they know statistically, he’s No.1 in every category apart from the putting. But he now looks so relaxed over his putts.”

In his last two events, Scheffler has gained an average of .87 Strokes Gained: Putting on the field, which is more than enough for him to be absolutely dominant.

“The fact he won this week with an injury in the third round, and it was uncomfortable for him, but it was really nice to see on Sunday because he did feel more comfortable that he turned it into an 8-under 64, and the others have got their hands full now,” Davies added.

“Going forward, I don’t think it’s a long shot to say he’s going to win at least two of the four majors this season, maybe even three, maybe even the Grand Slam.

“I really think it’s possible.”

It would be an amazing feat, but if anyone can do it this season, it’s Scottie Scheffler.

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Rory McIlroy takes shot at Greg Norman while discussing Monday’s Saudi PIF meeting

Rory McIlroy has recently changed his tune on both LIV and the Saudi Arabian PIF, but according to recent comments, he still isn’t a big fan of LIV Golf CEO, Greg Norman.

While speaking to the media after his final round of the PLAYERS Championship, McIlroy expressed optimism for PIF Governor Yasir al-Rumayyan’s intentions in the game of golf.

“They’re a sovereign wealth fund. They want to park money for decades and not worry about it,” McIlroy said of the PIF.

“They want to invest in smart and secure businesses, and the PGA Tour is definitely one of those, especially if they’re looking to invest in sport in some way.I have spent time with Yasir. I think the people who have represented him in LIV have done him a disservice, so Norman and those guys. ”

Reportedly, a meeting will be taking place in Ponte Vedra today with the PGA Tour Board of Directors and the PIF. According to Bob Harig of Sports Illustrated, that meeting will include Tiger Woods.

“I think it should have happened months ago, so I am glad it’s happening,” Rory said.

“Hopefully that progresses conversations and gets us closer to a solution.”

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PHOTOS: The old ship-carrying ship transformed into a billionaire’s yacht

Some ships carry men, some ships carry cargos, some ships even carry other ships, and then there is a ship which carried out to become a billionaire’s plaything.

The eyes of a luxury ship designer, Timor Bozca fell over a ship-carrying ship. He observed it as an opportunity to transform this old Japanese transport vessel into a billionaire’s yacht. It took him almost three years to completely re-engineer the ship into a yacht. This transfigured model has recently come out of the Turkish Karmarine Shipyard.

Super Servant 3, the aging Japanese transportation ship was built in 1982 by a commercial shipbuilder company, Oshima Shipbuilding .

When it no longer served as a transportation ship, it became a remodeling project for the designer. It underwent a three-year-long renovation which included the installation of a swimming pool, a jacuzzi, a tennis court, an outdoor cinema, four aquariums, and many other things according to the billionaire’s choice. It also has a 40-ton crane and a vertical wind turbine attached to it.

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Its spacious deck is transformed into a garage to harbor ‘different gadgets, crafts and toys’. Bozca says “it can fit everything from a 150 ft sailing yacht to small tenders, buggies, amphibious vehicles, and even a seaplane.”

This remodeled yacht is named OK and still retains some original structures of the old transport ship. It means that the yacht can still be submerged into the sea so that the ships or some other crafts can sail over.

OK is a motor yacht of length 146 meters, which can accommodate around 20 people, and has a special owner’s cabin with a panoramic 360-degree view of the ocean to provide a much more majestic experience.

OK is currently not for sale, so its cost is still a secret for the world just like the name of its owner.  

  View this post on Instagram   A post shared by Maritime Weekly (@maritimeweekly)

What do you think about this restoration and transformation of an old ship into a luxury yacht?

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What an amazing transformation! Truly amazing the things money can buy. Thanks for sharing!

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Plan To Make French Aircraft Carrier Into Luxury Yacht

A team of enthusiasts have unveiled a project to convert a French aircraft carrier into a luxury yacht complete with golf course.

The ‘Foch’ was the second Clemenceau-class aircraft carrier that served with the French Navy from 1963 to 2000, after which it was sold to Brazil and renamed Sao Paulo.

The historically important vessel, that displaced 30,000 tons and could carry around forty modern aircraft, was decommissioned in 2018 and has ever since been used for scraping of recyclable materials after a Turkish company bought it for EUR 1.58 million (GBP 1.36 million).

However, several medium-sized German companies from the city of Dusseldorf have now joined forces for a project called the ‘Dusseldorf Initiative’ to buy out and convert the ship’s 265-meter-long (869 ft) flight deck into a luxurious leisure space.

The companies based the concept on the Dutch Studio Mitsi’s Super Yacht model, called the Noah Twins Carrier, which is a design for the very first aircraft yacht in the world.

Entrepreneur and spokesperson for the ‘Dusseldorf initiative’ Udo Stern, 58, said he was looking for an international investor who will buy the ship, pay the transfer costs and finance its renovation, which the group of medium-sized companies would then be involved in.

Stern said: “It’s not about the money for us. I’m thinking of a European ship of cultures, a globally unique project to transform a military into a civilian object.”

He explained that the 13,800 square meter hangar under the flight deck alone holds a sufficient amount of space for congresses, exhibitions, sporting events, cinemas and concerts.

The team is currently waiting for France’s resale approval which is currently pending, which Stern hoped would give him and his colleagues enough time to find an investor.

Stern reported that a visionary from the tourism industry could easily convert the ship’s 55 military rooms into hotel rooms, casinos and restaurants, and make huge profit out of it.

Additionally, the Clemenceau-class aircraft carriers Clemenceau and Foch formed the backbone of the world’s second-largest carrier force for the latter half of the Cold War.

Both vessels were of CATOBAR (Catapult Assisted Take-Off Barrier Arrested Recovery) design, which was a system used for the launch and recovery of aircraft from the deck of aircraft carriers.

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AirYacht reveals radical 52m airship-yacht crossover concept

Flying yachts, once the stuff of our wildest, most outlandish dreams, are slowly inching closer to a reality. As the industry prepares for the 2022 Superyacht Design Festival , BOAT catches up with  Guillaume Hoddé, co-founder of AirYacht, and Franck Darnet, the yacht's designer, to learn more about an exciting concept that's set to take to the skies in 2026...

Swiss company AirYacht has unveiled a radical new concept that marries the flying power of an airship with the luxury amenities of a superyacht.

Capable of flying between 100 to 3,000 metres above the ground with an autonomous cruising time of around one week, the AirYacht's groundbreaking design is composed of two separate modules: a 200-metre helium-filled airship attached to an ultra-lightweight all-carbon 52-metre superyacht residence.  

The three-storey residence can be landed in its entirety or it can deploy a 12-person elevator to allow guests to disembark for a quick stopover.

Each module has its own complement of crew - the airship will have a crew of three and the residence will have a crew of 12. 

The AirYacht is the brainchild of Guillaume Hoddé and Matthieu Ozanne, who founded the company in 2017 and enlisted the design expertise of Franck Darnet , who most recently worked on the exteriors of 63.8 metre Atomic . Born in Nantes and immersed in the world of Vendée Globe racing boats, Darnet has a masterful knowledge of "weight performance" technology that makes him uniquely suited to the challenges of airborne yachts. 

The residence will have the same layout as a superyacht, with three decks, 750 square metres of indoor space and amenities including a gym, sauna, swimming pool and touch and go helipad.

Accommodation is provided for between ten and 12 guests in a five or six-cabin layout. Terraces, which can be used while the AirYacht is both underway and stationary, flank the starboard and port sides and there is an additional 120 square metre terrace-style lounge on the aft. 

Aerodynamic shape and low weight are crucial to the design of the AirYacht. In order to keep the vessel as lightweight as possible, the residence component won’t be fitted with engines. 

This creates additional space and increased flexibility to tailor the interior layout, while also allowing the residence to be built at AirYachts’ own facility without the need for a shoreside shipyard. When the residence is detached and on water, it will be towed by its tenders. 

The AirYacht aims to give passengers the freedom to roam anywhere in the world, from lakes and seas to deserts and mountains. “On a normal superyacht you have to stay at sea. You can’t cross a hill or a mountain,” said Franck Darnet. “Most of the beautiful things that you see on our planet - some of them are next to the shore [...] but a lot of them are inland.”

In order to conceptualise the residence, Darnet had to rethink various different aspects of design. To this end, the crew quarters are in the forward upper part of the residence - in the section that ‘plugs’ into the airship - in order to give the crew to access the airship module.

The AirYacht also features large sections of glazing in the hull that allows passengers to look down, “because the most spectacular things that exist when you are flying are on the floor,” said Darnet. 

While the AirYacht will be able to fly at dizzying heights of around 3,000 metres, the vessel is designed to cruise at heights of between 100 and 200 metres to allow for crystal-clear views of the world unfolding below. 

The AirYacht will require ‘early adopters’ for it to take off - both literally and figuratively. “This isn’t a new ship, or a new yacht or new plane. This is a completely new thing,” said Guillaume Hoddé, co-founder of AirYacht. ‘New concept, new design. It’s like a dream.”

Currently, the AirYacht is powered by hybrid technology. “In ten years, we hope to have a full hydrogen version,” added Hoddé.

The first AirYacht will be able to achieve top speeds of 50 knots and the first unit is due for completion in 2026.

Guillaume Hoddé will be attending the 2022 Superyacht Design Festival to shed more light on the AirYacht and discuss the future of flying-focused yacht designs. The event will be held in Milan from 22-24 June. Tickets are still available to purchase .

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See aboard the ex-supercarrier John F. Kennedy, the scene of one of the greatest military pranks of all time

• The ex-USS John F. Kennedy was the last conventionally-powered carrier built for the Navy.
• The aircraft carrier was also the site of one of the greatest military pranks.
• After nearly 40 years of service, the flattop was retired and sold to scrap dealers for a cent.

The ex-USS John F. Kennedy, the retired first-in-class aircraft supercarrier , is headed to the scrapyard following a nearly 40-year service.

Its legacy will live on in a new supercarrier and stories of the insane prank that once happened on its decks.

First-in-class

The Kennedy was a variant of the Kitty Hawk-class carrier and designated CVA-67 for attack aircraft carrier.

After undergoing a series of modifications, the Kennedy's classification was changed to CV-67, the only ship of its class , denoting that the carrier was capable of supporting anti-submarine warfare aircraft like the S-3 Viking.

The last conventionally powered carrier built for the US Navy

It was the last conventional aircraft carrier built for the Navy, which the Navy has replaced with the nuclear-powered Nimitz- and Ford-class carriers.

The Kennedy was propelled by eight conventional boilers and four steam turbines, allowing it to reach speeds of 34 knots.

As tall as a 25-story building from keel to mast

The massive carrier measured nearly 200 feet in height and more than 1,000 feet in length — if stood on end, it would reach the 84th floor of the Empire State Building.

As wide as a World War I destroyer was long

The flight deck was as wide as a World War I destroyer was long: more than 250 feet at its widest point.

Its armament included two launchers for Sea Sparrow missiles, an automated close-in weapon system, and two Rolling Airframe Missile launchers.

After its maiden voyage to the Mediterranean, the Kennedy participated in 18 official deployments in its 38 years of service.

Notably, the warship participated in Operation Desert Storm after Carrier Air Wing 3, then aboard the Kennedy, carried out airstrikes against Iraqi forces in 1991.

During a six-month deployment supporting Operation Enduring Freedom, aircraft aboard the Kennedy directed more than 64,000 pounds of firepower at Taliban and al Qaeda targets in October 2001 following 9/11.

The greatest military prank of all time

Apart from its history-making service and features, the Kennedy also was the setting of one of the greatest military pranks of all time .

In 1986, the Kennedy was set to relieve the Kitty Hawk-class supercarrier USS America after a six-month deployment in the Mediterranean.

What was meant to be a common change of command quickly turned into a hilarious practical joke, as aviators aboard the America dropped off an unusual payload on the new arrivals: three greased pigs dyed with red, white, and blue food coloring.

Brian Christoff, an aircrewman with the HS-11 helo squadron aboard USS America, shared a video of the event in a since-deleted post on Facebook in 2023.

"We were at the end of a 6-month deployment to the Indian Ocean/Mediterranean Sea," Christoff wrote. "We were being relieved by the USS Kennedy. The fighter jet jocks got with us and came up with this slant, on an age-old tradition, of releasing a greased pig, onto the deck of the relieving ship."

"Three pigs painted with Red, White, and Blue food coloring and lathered in grease," he continued. "The Kennedy never seen it coming!"

It's #NationalPigDay ! Dating back to the early 60s, a prank played by carriers in the Mediterranean was to surprise their relieving carrier by releasing greased pigs on the flight deck. This 1986 video is of a helicopter from USS America dropping off pigs on USS John F. Kennedy. pic.twitter.com/LL6UHnfk0V — U.S. Naval Institute (@NavalInstitute) March 1, 2022

Plagued by budget cuts

In 2005, the Kennedy was proposed to retire due to upkeep costs, freeing up more than $1 billion in the Defense Department's budget at the time.

Two years later, the ship was formally decommissioned "with dignity and honor" and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register in October 2009.

Sold for a cent

In 2021, years after it had been decommissioned, the iconic warship was sold to a Texas-based ship-breaking firm for just a cent due to how costly it is to tow and recycle the vessel.

USS Kitty Hawk, which was also sold to International Shipbreaking Limited for a cent, arrived at the scrapyard in Brownsville, Texas , in 2022.

The Kennedy was set to follow in mid-December 2023, but Robert Berry, vice president of International Shipbreaking Limited, said the ship has yet to make an appearance — and he has no idea why.

"I wish I did. I really do. I have a few thousand people poking at me about it, and I just don't have a date," Berry told local Texas newspaper, The Monitor, in late December. "Until the Navy puts out something and tells us something, I don't have anything."

"Anything I say is probably going to be wrong," he added. "By contract, I can't say that much anyway. I really thought we were going to see it in December, but it didn't happen."

'Crying over a rusted piece of metal'

A group of veterans who sailed on the Kennedy during the Vietnam War mourned the ship's impending scrapping. Don Russo, one of the group's founding members, recalled his time serving aboard the supercarrier.

"We were on the same ship at the same time, same division. We worked together, drank together," Russo told local newspaper Grant County News. "I can't tell you all the other stuff — our wives are here."

The group, dubbed "Our Division," toured the decommissioned carrier in an emotional final visit last year.

"Five of us, crying over a rusted piece of metal," they said.

The next JFK

Though CV-67 is destined for the scrap yard, another ship of its name is already at sea. USS Kennedy (CV-79) is the second in the Gerald R. Ford class of nuclear power aircraft carriers.

Officially launched in 2019, the Navy's newest warship touts a hefty $11 billion price tag — albeit $2 billion shy of $13 billion USS Gerald R. Ford.

The carrier recently tested its new electromagnetic aircraft launch system last month, launching heavy cars into the James River to make sure it can handle catapulting actual fixed-wing aircraft.

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Everyone in the ocean.

Swim Call on a U.S. Navy Aircraft Carrier

On a balmy day this past June, more than 2,000 sailors of the carrier USS John C. Stennis leaped from its aircraft elevator into the warm waters of the western Pacific Ocean during a U.S. Navy tradition known as swim call. Navy personnel specialist William Harbin called it one of the best experiences of his life. “Who else can say they swam next to an aircraft carrier with armed shark guards [as] your own private security?” said Harbin. During a swim call, sharpshooters stand on the ship’s deck or nearby in a rigid-hull inflatable boat, watching for sharks.

Depending on its aircraft load, a carrier’s flight deck may sit as high as 60 feet above the waterline. Its hangar bay elevators lower swimmers to 30 feet from the waves—the equivalent of an Olympic diving platform—so leaping sailors risk a broken bone if not using good form. The USS Eisenhower issued instructions to prevent injuries  by asking that the crew “practice to prevent injury from wrongful water entry.”

The tradition dates back at least to the 19th-century British Royal Navy and was once known as All Hands to Bathe, when it was more an order than an option and was meant to keep sailors clean. Since at least World War II the U.S. Navy has conducted swim call on vessels ranging from submarines to amphibious command ships, but the most dramatic may be floating alongside a 100,000-ton carrier holding 90 aircraft and 6,000 fellow crew.

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Roger Mola is the Air & Space researcher.

Yacht-Top: Shipbuilders Want To Turn Retired Navy Aircraft Carrier Into A Luxury Yacht

A team of Germans has unveiled the first effort to convert a 58-year-old French aircraft carrier into a luxury yacht, complete with golf course.

The Foch was the second Clemenceau-class aircraft carrier to serve with the French Navy from 1963 to 2000, after which it was sold to Brazil and renamed São Paulo.

The historically important vessel, which carried 40 modern aircraft, was decommissioned in 2018. Since then, it has been used for scraping recyclable materials. A Turkish company bought it in March 2021 for $1.86 million in order to dismantle the ship.

Several medium-sized German companies from Düsseldorf have now joined forces for a project called the Düsseldorf Initiative to buy out and convert the 869-foot ship flight deck into a luxurious leisure space.

The new concept is based on the Dutch Studio Mitsi’s Super Yacht model, called the Noah Twins Carrier , which is a design for the first aircraft yacht in the world.

Udo Stern, entrepreneur and spokesperson for the Düsseldorf Initiative, said he was looking for an international investor who will buy the ship, pay the transfer costs and finance its renovation. The group companies would then be involved in the yacht deal.

“It’s not about the money for us. I’m thinking of a European ship of cultures, a globally unique project to transform a military into a civilian object,” Stern said.

He also said the 148,000-square-foot hangar under the flight deck holds a sufficient amount of space for exhibitions, sporting events, cinemas and concerts.

The team is waiting for France’s resale approval, which is pending.

Stern said a visionary from the tourism industry could easily — and profitably — convert the ship’s 55 military rooms into hotel rooms, casinos and restaurants.

The Clemenceau-class aircraft carriers Clemenceau and Foch formed the backbone of the world’s second-largest carrier force for the latter half of the Cold War. Both vessels were of CATOBAR (Catapult Assisted Take-Off Barrier Arrested Recovery) design, which was a system used for the launch and recovery of aircraft from the deck of carriers.

The ship can sail at a maximum speed of 30kt (34 mph), and accommodate 1,920 personnel, including ship company, air group and troops.

The disposal of the São Paulo aircraft carrier carries controversy

The dismantling of the French-origin ship has sparked discussion over the pollution risk associated with the scrap-cutting process.

“The French Courts stopped the scrapping of the asbestos-laden aircraft carrier Clemenceau on the beach of Alang, India, in 2006. Fifteen years later, France is faced with a second toxic headache, said the NGO Shipbreaking Platform in a press release.

“It is estimated that onboard the vessel there are approximately 900 tons of asbestos and asbestos-containing materials, hundreds of tons of PCB-containing materials and large quantities of heavy metals.“

“The large amounts of asbestos still onboard the São Paulo need to be handled and disposed of without exposing workers and surrounding communities to the risk of cancer,” said Annie Thebaud-Mony, director of research at the National Institute of Health and Medical Research in Paris.

“The contractual clause in the sale of the Foch to Brazil gives France the last say in where the aircraft carrier can be dismantled. French authorities must direct the Clemeceau’s sister ship to an EU-approved facility — anything else would be a scandal,” she said.

The São Paulo-Foch Institute in Brazil — a group of Brazilian and French ex-military personnel — hopes to prevent the aircraft carrier, São Paulo, from being dismantled. They want to turn it into a museum.

“It would be much more profitable and beneficial than dismantling the ship. Approximately 600 tons of asbestos — hazardous for human health and nature — are encapsulated in the ship. Such an agreement would decrease the ship’s dismantling expenses, and transporting the ship to the Mediterranean will be very expensive.”

The NGO Shipbreaking Platform sent a letter to the Turkish Ministry of Environment and Urbanization in June 2021.

“The aircraft carrier should not be allowed to leave Brazil until and unless the IHM [an Inventory Hazardous Materials certificate] is completed.  [The sale of the ship] must therefore be annulled and subject to rebidding, based on legal constraints and a proper and accurate IHM,“ said the NGO.

The dismantling process is to take place at the Aliaga district’s ship recycling facilities.

Edited by Angie Ivan and Fern Siegel

The post Yacht-Top: Shipbuilders Want To Turn Retired Navy Aircraft Carrier Into A Luxury Yacht appeared first on Zenger News .

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How the Bolsheviks used aircraft carriers on rivers

Aircraft carriers today are rightfully viewed as a symbol of power and domination in the sea. Although their finest hour came in World War II, they had a significant role to play in World War I, too.

Most of the early models of aircraft carriers did not have capability for aircraft to perform take-off and landing on their decks. But they could deliver to a designated point, launch and pick up a whole squadron of seaplanes.

Otlitsa seaplane carrier.

In the early 20th century, the Russian Empire was one of the global leaders in the use of this type of ship. It had seven seaplane carriers fighting against the Turks and Germans in the Black and Baltic Seas. Unfortunately, after Russia withdrew from World War I in 1918, it lost all of them , one way or another.

The Bolsheviks, who came to power in Russia, kept up the traditions of building aircraft-carrying ships that they had inherited from their predecessors. Except that they intended to use these ships not at sea, but on rivers and lakes.

Kommuna river aircraft carrier.

During the Russian Civil War, naval operations did not have a significant role to play, as most battles between the Bolsheviks and the “enemies of the revolution” were fought on land. That is why the Soviet leadership decided to build aircraft carriers capable of operating on the wide rivers of Siberia, the Urals and Volga regions.

It was for the Volga that the world’s first river aircraft carrier was created in August 1918. The Kommuna (“commune”), as it was called, was built on the basis of a 140-meter-long and 19-meter-wide oil barge called ‘France’.

The seaplane carrier had a squadron of six M-9 seaplanes and three wheeled-undercarriage Nieuport fighters deployed on it. The main striking force were the seaplanes, which the ship’s crew launched into the water and pulled back using specially equipped wooden platforms.

The “carrier group” consisted of the Kommuna, a tug boat that pulled it, a passenger steamer, which accommodated the flight crew and carried ammunition, as well as fuel and several escort boats. For the group’s defense, machine guns and two 37-mm anti-aircraft guns were mounted onto the seaplane carrier.

The extremely slow-moving Kommuna (which could reach a max speed of just 11 km/h) nevertheless, at times, played an important role in hostilities. Its planes bombed the enemy’s infrastructure and its troops and carried out reconnaissance missions.

Pilot Sergei Kozlov recalled how in 1918, during a battle for Tsaritsyn (now Volgograd), seaplanes were trying to locate a well-camouflaged artillery battery of the Whites, which had in its sights the water approaches to the city that the Reds were defending. Since regular aerial reconnaissance turned out to be of not much use in this case, it was decided to use the seaplanes onboard the Kommuna.

Pilots of the 68th Air Squadron.

“On August 25, one of the battalion’s pilots took off in an M-9 seaplane on a reconnaissance mission to locate the battery from a low altitude,” Kozlov wrote . “The plane passed back and forth over the ravine several times, but to no avail. So, the pilot decided to descend lower still. It was nerve racking. And the Whites lost it. The enemy opened heavy fire on the plane and thus blew their cover. The wings and the boat were hit in several places. A shard hit the steering wheel. Two fingers on the pilot’s right hand were wounded and Maksimenko, the navigator sitting next to him, was pressing them with a handkerchief while the plane continued to circle. It was only after they established the coordinates of the battery that the crew returned to the flotilla and reported their findings.” The enemy’s positions were then destroyed by targeted artillery fire.  

A short era of river seaplane carriers

Following the Kommuna, more functional seaplane carriers, the Poseidon and Svoboda (“freedom”), also converted from oil barges, appeared on the Volga. The warehouses and cabins for pilots were no longer located on a separate ship, but on the carriers themselves, where the seaplanes were stationed.

Svoboda functional seaplane carrier.

In addition to their low speed, another common downside of the first Soviet aircraft carriers was the fact that the aircraft onboard them were always in the open air, which could not but affect their condition. The problem was solved on the seaplane carrier fittingly named Smert (“death”), which had two hangars built on its deck.

An interesting fate befell the seaplane carrier Pripyat, which was built in March 1919 on the basis of the passenger steamer Tatiana. During the Soviet-Polish war, it was captured by Polish troops and used by them as a military transport, until it was sunk during the troops’ retreat on July 25, 1920. The Bolsheviks raised it from the riverbed and brought it back into service as a staff ship. However, soon, during a hasty retreat, they, too, had to sink it. In April 1921, this time the Poles raised it to the surface and, under the name Admiral Sierpinek, included it in their navy. On September 17, 1939, when the Red Army entered eastern Poland, the ship was sunk again and then raised yet again. In September 1941, it went to the bottom once more - it was sunk in the Dnieper by Soviet troops retreating from Kiev. Three years later, the long-suffering ship was raised a final time; but, by then, it was beyond repair, so it was finally sent for scrap.

Admiral Sierpinek in 1930.

The Whites tried to create an aircraft carrier fleet of their own. In the early summer of 1919, on the Chusovaya River in the Urals near Perm, they converted an 84-meter barge into a seaplane carrier called Danilikha, which was capable of carrying four aircraft. However, it did not get a chance to prove itself in action: already in July of the same year, it was captured and burned by the Reds.

After the end of the Civil War, Soviet river aircraft carriers had only one exciting episode in their history. In the fall of 1929, during the Soviet-Chinese armed conflict on the Songhua River, the Amur seaplane carrier served as a base for the 68th Air Squadron. It successfully conducted reconnaissance missions, while attacking enemy positions, particularly distinguishing itself during the landing operations in the Fujin area. “The squadron pilots destroyed a gunboat [...] an armed steamer, a barge [...] Enemy artillery and machine-gun points were suppressed. The White Chinese cavalry was scattered, which helped the landing forces,” commander of the detachment Eduard Lukht recalled .  

Amur seaplane carrier.

With the rapid development of aviation and shipbuilding in the 1930s, the USSR gave up its bulky river giants. But, their use was taken up in the United States. During World War II, several training “freshwater” aircraft carriers operated in the Great Lakes to train naval pilots.

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Three Runways? How Japan’s Ambitious Aircraft Carrier Turned into a Mockery

Aircraft carrier with three runways intended initially as a cruiser symbol of japanese naval victory.

T he Design of a Weapon is Directly Linked to Its Purpose and Performance . Therefore, the same type of weapon can take on entirely different forms depending on what the maker expects.

You might think that if the purpose of an aircraft carrier is to transport and land aircraft, most would look similar. However, one aircraft carrier boasts a design unlike any other in the world. The show’s star is the Akagi, an aircraft carrier operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy during the Pacific War.

Three Runways and 8-Inch Extension Guns It Wasn’t Originally an Aircraft Carrier

The Akagi is a three-story structure with one runway on each floor, comprising three runways. The bottom two runways were designed for aircraft take-off, while the top one was prepared for landing. However, in reality, take-offs and landings took place only on the top deck. The bottom deck was equipped with 8-inch extension guns and was not used as a flight deck or bridge.

This design flaw was because the ship was not originally built as an aircraft carrier. It was initially planned to be made as an Amagi-class cruiser. However, due to the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922, which imposed a limit on the number of cruisers, the Akagi, which was already being built as a cruiser, was converted into an aircraft carrier, enabling it to perform both the roles of an aircraft carrier and a cruiser.

Design Contradictory to Initial Purpose Ultimately Led to Its Sinking

With three runways and additional extension guns, the ship’s weight exceeded its limit, and it was common for the ship to tilt to the point of capsizing when trying to change direction. Nevertheless, it participated in all major naval battles, from Pearl Harbor to the Coral Sea and Midway.

However, during the Battle of Midway, a bomb from the U.S. hit the top deck of the Akagi. The bomb penetrated the third deck and caused a subsequent explosion on the floor below, which happened to be the hangar for Japan’s B5N bombers. This massive explosion rendered the Akagi combat ineffective, and it eventually sank due to continued attacks. The Akagi, which was designed to perform two roles, was unable to perform either adequately. With anti-aircraft guns mounted in odd locations and a small number of aircraft, it could not put up a proper resistance.

Aircraft Carriers Are Important Strategic Assets They Must Be Built Carefully

Experts say that aircraft carriers are essential for victory in large-scale modern warfare. They require more construction and maintenance costs than any other weapon, but there is no other weapon that guarantees such a sure victory. However, at the same time, they can also cause catastrophic damage that is irreparable when destroyed.

Recently, there have been reports of South Korea’s aircraft carrier introduction project being in limbo. It is necessary to consider the feasibility and strategic nature of this project objectively, and a serious review is needed to determine whether this is a weapon that we need .

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China Confirms It’s Building a 4th Aircraft Carrier—and the Tables Are Turning

The balance of naval forces braces for a recalibration with the Dragon's latest ascent.

• A Chinese admiral has confirmed that China is constructing its fourth aircraft carrier.
• China commissioned its first carrier in 2012, and now has a fleet of three ships.
• Although China’s carrier fleet is growing rapidly, it is still only half the size of the US Pacific Fleet’s carrier force.

A Wink and a Nod

A reporter for the state-owned Hong Kong Commercial Daily questioned Chinese Navy Vice Admiral and political commissar Yuan Huazhi about whether or not China’s next carrier would be nuclear powered and what it would be named. Huazhi reportedly smiled when asked if the carrier would use nuclear propulsion and said there would be “an announcement soon.” He also said there were no technical bottlenecks in the construction of new carriers, and that there are no delays.

While the exchange does not sound like a definitive “yes,” multiple Chinese media outlets—including the South China Morning Post and the nationalist tabloid Global Times —have also reported the exchange as confirmation of a fourth ship .

“Political commissar” is an occupation specifically tasked with ensuring both that armed forces are properly indoctrinated in the “correct” political thought, and that sentiment running contrary to what the government wants—in this case, the Chinese Communist Party—is stamped out. There is no equivalent in U.S., NATO , Japanese, or other Western-oriented armies. Given that Yuan’s entire job is to make sure that people are given the right information and rumors are quashed, it seems unlikely he would hint that a fourth ship is forthcoming if there wasn’t one.

Number Four

China has three aircraft carriers: Liaoning , Shandong , and Fujian . Liaoning began life as a Soviet navy carrier, but the USSR collapsed before it could be finished. The unfinished hull was sold in 1998 to a Hong Kong businessman with the stated intention of turning it into a floating casino, but it was transferred to the People’s Liberation Army Navy, which commissioned it in 2012 as an aircraft carrier. Liaoning uses a less efficient ski ramp instead of aircraft catapults .

Shandong ( commissioned in 2019) also uses ski ramps, and was built from the ground up as a test of China’s ability to build carriers. Fujian ( which only recently completed construction) was built without a ski ramp, and instead reportedly uses an electromagnetic aircraft launch system similar to the American EMALS system on Ford -class carriers.

Each of China’s preceding carriers reached new milestones, but even the latest fell short of the ultimate aircraft carrier technology: nuclear propulsion. Nuclear power gives aircraft carriers virtually unlimited range, allowing them to sail for thousands of miles and requiring only food and munitions be carried to conduct combat operations. As of 2024, only the United States and France have built nuclear-powered carriers. If China intends to match the U.S. Navy on a technological basis, nuclear carriers are a necessary eventuality.

Get Used to It

China will likely build several more carriers. Three or four carriers also does not mean that many are available at any given time. Aircraft carriers, like other warships , suffer from the tyranny of the three: for every one ship at sea, another has just returned from sea, and a third is either in drydock or preparing to sail. This effectively means that for every three carriers a country has, it can only guarantee one at sea at all times, with the occasional ability to surge two in case of emergencies.

If China is resolute on matching the U.S. Navy , it must build as many nuclear-powered carriers as the U.S. Pacific Fleet operates. That means seven carriers to match the USS Nimitz , Vinson , Roosevelt , Lincoln , Washington , Stennis , and Reagan . Considering China has yet to build a single nuclear-powered surface ship, Chinese shipyards will likely remain humming for the next twenty years.

Kyle Mizokami is a writer on defense and security issues and has been at Popular Mechanics since 2015. If it involves explosions or projectiles, he's generally in favor of it. Kyle’s articles have appeared at The Daily Beast, U.S. Naval Institute News, The Diplomat, Foreign Policy, Combat Aircraft Monthly, VICE News , and others. He lives in San Francisco.

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