Why the Navy Is Going Back to 1950s Steam Catapults

The Navy's newest electromagnetic catapult was supposed to go 4,166 launches between serious failures. Aboard the USS Gerald R. Ford, it managed between 460 and 614. Now the fourth Ford-class carrier, the USS Doris Miller, may get steam catapults instead, a technology from the 1950s. In this video we break down what the Pentagon's own testers measured on EMALS and how the C-13-1 steam catapult on the Nimitz-class carriers works: two 310-foot tubes, the pistons, the shuttle that hooks the nose gear. We also look at why steam was dropped in the first place. It runs at about 5 percent efficiency and burns through roughly 1,350 pounds of steam per launch. Then we get to the real obstacle, which is everything that has to fit under the flight deck. Should the Navy stick with EMALS and fix it, or go back to steam on the Doris Miller? Tell us in the comments. ⏱ CHAPTERS 0:00 Intro 0:26 The number behind the reversal 1:44 How a steam catapult works 2:58 Why the navy wanted out of steam 4:11 How emals actually works 5:29 The design flaw 6:47 What the fleet data says 7:51 What changes in the uss doris miller 9:37 What the navy is actually doing 10:49 Final thoughts 11:57 Subscribe Footage courtesy of the U.S. Department of War (DVIDS). The appearance of U.S. Department of War visual information does not imply or constitute endorsement. Material bajo licencia Creative Commons: Aircraft carrier under construction at Rosyth - geograph.org.uk - 5168481.jpg — M J Richardson (CC BY-SA 2.0) · Wikimedia Commons USS Ronald Reagan — DVIDSHUB (CC BY 2.0) · Openverse/flickr 161111-N-GP548-070 PHILIPPINE SEA (Nov. 11, 2016) The U.S. Navy Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force helicopter destroyer JS Izumo (DDH 183), lead ships breaking formation during Keen Sword 17 — Commander, U.S. 7th Fleet (CC BY-SA 2.0) · Openverse/flickr General views of USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78).jpg — Thomas Dahlstrøm Nielsen (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Wikimedia Commons CVN-81 USS DORIS MILLER.jpg — TMKNIGHT (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Wikimedia Commons 050222-N-4308O-075 — cryogenic666 (CC BY-SA 2.0) · Openverse/flickr