Haynes U.S. Super Carrier Operations Manual

Nimitz-class carriers are impressive, but the enormity of this largest of U.S. Navy vessels really comes home when you look across acres of dark gray deck. The other thing that was obvious aboard that these behemoths function like small towns of more than 6,000 crew.

The 188-page hardcover looks at the history, design, operations, and daily life of carriers. Areas detailed include the ships' structure, propulsion, flight deck, catapults, arresting gear, hangar deck, flight operations, radar and communications, logistics, and more.

Hundreds of photos show everything from shots of carriers underway to crew spaces to small details like deck tie downs. In addition, there are plenty of illustrations and diagrams.

Author Chris McNab spent time aboard USS Dwight D. Eisenhower to give readers an intimate view of life and operations aboard a working warship. This book can be used as a reference to build a model of the Nimitz-class carrier but, more than that, it supplies inspiration to make that model as good as it can be.