1QUESTION 1 OF 3
Answer & explanation
The official answer, with Fermi’s reasoning step by step.
Answer & explanation
Official answer
5,000
people
How to estimate it
Fermi’s official “Napkin math”
Think of it as an air base stacked on a ship. Maybe 60 planes, each needing pilots and mechanics, call it 25 people a plane. How many more just to run the ship around the clock? A small town's worth, say 3,000.
- Planes aboard
- ~60
- People per plane
- × 25
- Crew to run the ship
- + 3,000
- 60 × 25 + 3,000
- ≈ 4,500
Rounded assumptions may give a slightly different estimate. The official answer above is the game’s reference value.
Source calculation & reference
- Ship's company (runs the ship)
- ≈ 3,000
- Carrier air wing
- + 1,500
- Embarked staff and others
- + 500
- ≈
- 5,000
Reference cited by Fermi: US Navy fact file, Aircraft Carriers (CVN), Nimitz class
How close was your guess?
Your comparison will appear here.
Compare by ratio: divide the larger number by the smaller one. The closer to 1×, the better.