What is the beam of a US Navy Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carrier (CVN-78)?

• A. 210 ft (64 m)
• B. 256 ft (78 m)
• C. 300 ft (91 m)
• D. 180 ft (55 m)

Answer: (B)

Beam is the ship’s maximum width from one side to the other at its widest point. For the Gerald R. Ford-class carrier, that widest point is the flight deck, which makes the overall beam about 256 feet (78 meters). This width reflects the carrier’s large deck and supporting structures, and it’s the dimension used for docking and harbor planning as well as stability considerations. The other numbers don’t match the carrier’s known breadth—210 feet would be too narrow for this class, 180 feet far too narrow, and 300 feet would be unusually wide for a carrier of this size. So the beam is 256 feet (78 meters).