The US aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt has arrived in the UK for a five-day visit but is so big it has had to anchor up off the coast as it cannot fit in Portsmouth Naval Base.

Affectionately known as the Big Stick, the Theodore Roosevelt weighs 104,600 tonnes and is 1,040 ft (332.8m) long. In comparison, the next generation of Royal Navy aircraft carriers are 65,000 tonnes and 920ft (280m).

Other facts and figures about the ship include:

• It cost the equivalent of $4.5bn (£3 billion) to build, it was ordered in September 1980 and entered into service six years later.

• The Nimitz-class of carrier, of which there are 10 and the Theodore Roosevelt is the fourth, are the largest warships in the world and there is 41 years between the first one, Nimitz, being laid down and the last one, George HW Bush, entering service.

• The ship is expected to be in service for 50 years and has just gone through its half-life major refurbishment.

• The ship has an unlimited range that it can travel and could be at sea for up to 25 years. It carries enough food and supplies to operate for 90 days with 18,150 meals served daily.

• Distillation plants provide 400,000 gallons of fresh water from the sea daily, enough for 2,000 homes.

• The carrier has a ship's company of 5,226 and can hold 90 fixed wing aircraft and helicopters but currently has 54 on board.

• It is powered by two nuclear reactors and four steam turbines.

• There are 17 storeys - 10 from the hanger deck and up and seven below.

• The two anchors weigh 30 tonnes and take 350lb of pressure on each link.

• There are 30,000 light fixtures, 1,600 miles (2,575km) of cable, 1,400 telephones, 14,000 pillowcases and 28,000 sheets.

• The flight deck covers four-and-a-half acres.

• The ship left its home port of Norfolk, Virginia, but will return to its new home of San Diego in the late autumn having completed a world tour deployment.

Daily Echo: