Italian aircraft carrier Cavour

Cavour
History
Italy
Name: Cavour
Namesake: Camillo Benso, conte di Cavour
Builder: Fincantieri
Laid down: 17 July 2001
Launched: 20 July 2004
Commissioned: 27 March 2008
In service: 10 June 2009
Homeport: La Spezia
Identification: Pennant number: 550
Motto: In arduis servare mentem
Status: Active
General characteristics
Type: Aircraft carrier
Displacement: 27,100 tonnes (full-load)[1]
Length: 244 m (800 ft 6 in)
Beam: 39 m (127 ft 11 in)
Draught: 8.7 m (28 ft 7 in)
Propulsion:
Speed: 28 knots (52 km/h; 32 mph)
Range: 7,000 nmi (13,000 km; 8,100 mi) at 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph)
Complement:
  • 451 crew
  • 203 embarked air wing
  • 140 C4 staff
  • 325 marines (standard)
Sensors and
processing systems:
Armament:
Aircraft carried:

Cavour (Italian: portaerei Cavour) is an Italian aircraft carrier[3] that is the newest flagship and the largest unit of the Italian Navy (Marina Militare) which was launched in 2004. She is named after the Italian statesman and politician Camillo Benso, conte di Cavour.

Design

Cavour maneuvering in the Gulf of Naples
Cavour (foreground) operating with Harry S. Truman (middle) and Charles de Gaulle (background).

The ship is designed to combine fixed wing V/STOL and helicopter air operations, command and control operations and the transport of military or civil personnel and heavy vehicles. The 134 m (440 ft), 2,800 m2 (30,000 sq ft) hangar space can double as a vehicle hold capable of holding up to 24 main battle tanks (typically Ariete) or many more lighter vehicles (50 Dardo IFV, 100+ Iveco LMV), and is fitted aft with access ramps rated to 70 tons, as well as two elevators rated up to 30 tons for aircraft. Cavour can also operate as landing platform helicopter, accommodating heavy transport helicopters (AgustaWestland UH-101A ASH) and 325 marines.

Cavour has a displacement of 27,900 tons but can reach more than 30,000 tons at full military capacity, after improvements done in 2008.

Initially she was to be named after Luigi Einaudi, then Admiral Andrea Doria, before receiving her current title. Now that Cavour has become operational, it is the nuova unità maggiore (NUM, or "new main unit") of the Marina Militare, complementing Giuseppe Garibaldi, the other aircraft carrier in service. The ship was originally constructed in two sections (bow and stern) then later joined together.

The Italian Navy will replace its 16 Harriers with 15 (originally 22) Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II within the next few years.[4] The F-35B schedule is uncertain at the moment, but it is planned to modify Cavour to support the F-35B by 2016.[5] Cavour will have room for ten F-35Bs in the hangar, and six more parked on deck.[4]

Construction

Cavour was laid down by Fincantieri in June 2001, and she was launched from the Riva Trigoso shipyard in Sestri Levante, on 20 July 2004.[6] Sea trials began in December 2006, and she was officially commissioned 27 March 2008. Full operational capability (FOC) was reached 10 June 2009.

Service history

On 19 January 2010, Cavour was dispatched to Haiti as part of Operation White Crane, Italy's operation for 2010 Haiti earthquake relief.[7] This was the first mission of the aircraft carrier, where it supplemented international efforts to provide relief for the victims of the January 2010 earthquake.[8]

Notes

  1. 1 2 "Cavour Aircraft Carrier, Italy". Naval-technology.com. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 "Finmeccanica on board of Cavour - DETAIL - Finmeccanica Naval Capabilities". finmeccanica.com. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
  3. ↑ http://www.marina.difesa.it/EN/thefleet/ships/Pagine/cavour.aspx
  4. 1 2 Nativi, Andy; Menon, Jay; Sweetman, Bill (5 April 2012). "Navies Worldwide Invest In Sea-Based Airpower". Aviation Week.
  5. ↑ ARG. "F-35B on Italian "Cavour" aircraft carrier". Military-today.com. Retrieved 4 December 2011.
  6. ↑ "Italian Navy Launches Conte di Cavour-Class Carrier". Sea Power. 1 September 2004. Retrieved 23 June 2015 – via HighBeam Research. (subscription required (help)).
  7. ↑ "Photostory: Portaerei Cavour, gli aiuti per Haiti" (in Italian). ANSA. 4 February 2010. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
  8. ↑ "La portaerei Cavour pronta a partire per Haiti" (in Italian). la Repubblica.it. Retrieved 1 January 2015.

Bibliography

External links

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