# Aircraft Carrier in Honolulu **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 18, 2010, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aircraft-carrier-in-honolulu/564609 "2010-12-18T07:43:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Disheavel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@Disheavel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Disheavel)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2010, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aircraft-carrier-in-honolulu/564609/1 "2010-12-18T07:43:52Z")
I am in Honolulu on vacation and I believe we saw an aircraft carrier in the harbor as we drove by on H1. It would be great to get a closer view. So does anyone know where it would most likely dock? Or any place to confirm which ship it is? ---
**Author:** ![Jimpy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c68b51/32.png) [@Jimpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jimpy)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2010, 9:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aircraft-carrier-in-honolulu/564609/2 "2010-12-18T09:09:51Z")
The only place an aircraft carrier is gonna dock in Honolulu is Pearl Harbor, maybe you’ve heard of it. ---
**Author:** ![srzss05](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/898d66/32.png) [@srzss05](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/srzss05)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2010, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aircraft-carrier-in-honolulu/564609/3 "2010-12-18T14:00:26Z")
In addition to the only place it would dock, I can also say that it may not have been an aircraft carrier either. LHAs look like carriers, and they do dock at Pearl. Back in the 80s, I was on an LHA that took our unit from Iwo Jima to the Philippines , and it left from Hawaii. ---
**Author:** ![MikeS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MikeS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeS)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2010, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aircraft-carrier-in-honolulu/564609/4 "2010-12-18T16:49:30Z")
If [this site](http://www.gonavy.jp/CVLocation.html) is to be believed, there aren’t any U.S. aircraft carriers are near Hawaii at this time. It _might_ have been the U.S.S. Carl Vinson, which is on a “three-week composite training unit exercise and Western Pacific deployment”, but I don’t think that Hawaii qualifies as the Western Pacific. ---
**Author:** ![MikeS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MikeS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeS)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2010, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aircraft-carrier-in-honolulu/564609/5 "2010-12-18T16:51:20Z")
For non-gearheads, BTW, an LHA is a [Landing Helicopter Assault](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_Helicopter_Assault) vessel. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2010, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aircraft-carrier-in-honolulu/564609/6 "2010-12-18T17:07:36Z")
Can you see a big number on the bow? ---
**Author:** ![srzss05](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/898d66/32.png) [@srzss05](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/srzss05)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2010, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aircraft-carrier-in-honolulu/564609/7 "2010-12-18T17:28:00Z")
> [@MikeS](#): > > If [this site](http://www.gonavy.jp/CVLocation.html) is to be believed, there aren’t any U.S. aircraft carriers are near Hawaii at this time. It _might_ have been the U.S.S. Carl Vinson, which is on a “three-week composite training unit exercise and Western Pacific deployment”, but I don’t think that Hawaii qualifies as the Western Pacific. It’s possible it stopped at Hawaii on the way. That site says it was on Ops until the 13th. ---
**Author:** ![audit1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@audit1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/audit1)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2010, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aircraft-carrier-in-honolulu/564609/8 "2010-12-19T12:56:15Z")
This could be the USS Tarawa LHA-1. She is listed as being at the inactive ships facilty in Pearl Harbor. ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2010, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aircraft-carrier-in-honolulu/564609/9 "2010-12-19T14:08:23Z")
> [@audit1](#): > > This could be the USS Tarawa LHA-1. She is listed as being at the inactive ships facilty in Pearl Harbor. Sometimes if you are looking for ships, [Google Maps is your friend](http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=21.37581,-157.984391&spn=0.004631,0.005718&t=h&z=18). ---
**Author:** ![yoyodyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a9a28c/32.png) [@yoyodyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yoyodyne)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2010, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aircraft-carrier-in-honolulu/564609/10 "2010-12-19T19:25:19Z")
> [@UncleRojelio](#): > > Sometimes if you are looking for ships, [Google Maps is your friend](http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=21.37581,-157.984391&spn=0.004631,0.005718&t=h&z=18). Only if they don’t move. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2010, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aircraft-carrier-in-honolulu/564609/11 "2010-12-19T19:31:55Z")
> [@Sailboat](#): > > Can you see a big number on the bow? They are on the island. And illuminated at night. Don’t plan on getting too close to it without their permission. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2010, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aircraft-carrier-in-honolulu/564609/12 "2010-12-19T21:16:48Z")
> [@UncleRojelio](#): > > Sometimes if you are looking for ships, [Google Maps is your friend](http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=21.37581,-157.984391&spn=0.004631,0.005718&t=h&z=18). Cool. Just to the SE in that image are the moored battleship USS _Missouri_, and just ahead of her the USS _Arizona_ memorial. You can faintly see the _Arizona_ under the water. ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2010, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aircraft-carrier-in-honolulu/564609/13 "2010-12-20T12:48:49Z")
> [@yoyodyne](#): > > Only if they don’t move. Yeah, but you’d be surprised what you can see when you Google Map Charleston or Mayport or Groton, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2010, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aircraft-carrier-in-honolulu/564609/14 "2010-12-23T17:06:54Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Cool. Just to the SE in that image are the moored battleship USS _Missouri_, and just ahead of her the USS _Arizona_ memorial. You can faintly see the _Arizona_ under the water. It’s striking how much larger and beefier _Missouri_ looks. ---
**Author:** ![IAmNotSpartacus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@IAmNotSpartacus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IAmNotSpartacus)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2010, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aircraft-carrier-in-honolulu/564609/15 "2010-12-25T11:55:04Z")
> [@Sailboat](#): > > It’s striking how much larger and beefier _Missouri_ looks. That’s because it is bigger and beefier than the the Arizona. By more than 200 feet length and almost 14000 tons