It’s common practice for military vessels to bear the name of prominent historical figures, especially somebody who had such an impact on a country’s history. Sometimes, aircraft carriers like the USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) get their name from U.S. representatives, while other times, they’re named after presidents. It wasn’t his proudest moment, but Harry S. Truman was the first — and hopefully only — president to authorize the use of nuclear weapons, putting an end to the Second World War. However, he accomplished more than that during his two terms as president. He navigated America through the early years of the Cold War and opposed the USSR from expanding farther into Europe.
Advertisement
Now one of the aircraft carriers in one of the biggest carrier classes in the world proudly wears the name of the 33rd President of the United States of America. The USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) is the eighth Nimitz-class nuclear aircraft carrier and the ninth nuclear-powered carrier since the USS Enterprise (CVN 65). As with all Nimitz-class carriers, this is a floating city that stands 24 stories tall, 1,092 feet long, with a 257-foot wide flight deck and had a displacement of about 100,000 tons when fully loaded.
The carrier houses approximately 5,680 men and women, along with roughly 85 aircraft. The two A4W nuclear reactors aboard drive the carrier’s four propellers, producing a max speed of over 30 knots and around 260,000 shaft horsepower.
Advertisement
The USS Harry S. Truman calls Norfolk, Virginia home
When the USS Harry S. Truman, often referred to as HST or Lone Warrior, isn’t on a tour of duty, she makes her home at the Naval Station Norfolk (NSN) in Norfolk, Virginia. Naval Station Norfolk is a historically relevant location as it served as the homeport for the Atlantic Fleet after World War II. It now currently houses the largest concentration of US naval forces. A large number of naval vessels, such as the USS Harry Truman, are built by the Newport News Shipbuilding Company, which is a hop and a skip northwest from Norfolk.
Advertisement
As firsts go, the USS Harry S. Truman is the first military vessel to bear the name of the 33rd president. The ship also hosted the Blue Angels flight demonstration team out at sea, making it the first time the Blue Angels landed on a carrier. On normal occasions, when the Blue Angels aren’t aboard, the Lone Warrior houses either eight or nine squadrons of aircraft, including F/A-18 Hornets, EA-18G Growlers, MH-60Ss, and E-2C Hawkeyes.
In January 2024, Newport News Shipbuilding was awarded the contract to perform a mid-life overhaul of CVN 75, including a refueling of its four nuclear power plants aboard. It has been in operation for 26 years. American nuclear carriers are expected to last for roughly 50 years before retirement, so USS Harry S. Truman has a ways to go before it’s brought back to Norfolk for good.
Advertisement
USS Harry S. Truman’s notable accolades and missions
President Bill Clinton commissioned the ship in July 1998 and worked Truman’s popular line “the buck stops here” into his speech during the ceremony. Entering its service for the US Navy in ’98, the aircraft carrier has seen some action. USS Harry S. Truman’s maiden deployment saw it playing a role in Operation Southern Watch in 2000 in Southern Iraq, an operation that had been ongoing since 1992. During this time, Carrier Air Wing Three (CVW-3) flew a total of 2,700 hours after 869 sorties. In 2002, USS Harry S. Truman had 335 arrested landings in one day, a record. In December of the same year, the carrier returned to the Mediterranean Sea as part of Operation Enduring Freedom and also took part in Operation Iraqi Freedom the following year.
Advertisement
The carrier spent 89 consecutive days on deployment without pulling into a port. This required receiving a replenishment-at-sea without halting combat-loaded aircraft operations, a task that hadn’t been accomplished since the Vietnam War. When the ship finally pulled into port in England, the crew made the news by “drinking the pubs of Portsmouth dry in a spectacular binge…”
USS Harry S. Truman received the award for the best all-around ship in the Atlantic Fleet and earned its first Battle “E” award in the summer of 2003. In 2005, Truman took part in humanitarian efforts during Hurricane Katrina, anchoring in the Gulf of Mexico as Joint Task Force Gulf Coast’s flagship and delivering desalinated water to those in need via helicopters. This earned the ship its third Battle “E” award.
Advertisement
