Searching for USS Harry S. Truman – Nimitz-Class at Naval Station Norfolk

Using Google Earth to explore Naval Station Norfolk begins at the mouth of the Elizabeth River, where long piers stretch into Hampton Roads and warships line the waterfront.

Moving upriver, shipyards and dry docks come into view, including the Nimitz-class carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75) towering above the harbor.

Norfolk is the world’s largest naval base, spanning four miles of waterfront and eleven miles of piers. About 75 ships and submarines operate here, supported by 134 aircraft at Chambers Field.

Truman, commissioned in 1998, displaces over 100,000 tons, carries up to 90 aircraft, and is armed with Sea Sparrow missiles, RAM launchers, and Phalanx CIWS.

It has deployed across the Mediterranean, Persian Gulf, and Arabian Sea, launching thousands of sorties in Kosovo, Iraq, Afghanistan, and against ISIS.

Strategically, Norfolk anchors the Atlantic Fleet.

Its shipyards provide repairs and refueling, while rail lines, highways, and nearby airfields tie the port into U.S. supply networks.

Hampton Roads gives direct access to the Atlantic, a geographic advantage since World War II.

Seen from above, Norfolk is a dense grid of carriers, destroyers, piers, and warehouses pressed between the city and the water.

To locals it is a familiar skyline. To the Navy it is the centerpiece of American sea power on the East Coast.

Address: Naval Station Norfolk, Norfolk, VA, USA