List of aircraft carriers of the United States Navy

List of aircraft carriers of the United States Navy
Aircraft carriers are warships that act as airbases for carrier-based aircraft. In the United States Navy, these consist of ships commissioned with hull classification symbols CV (aircraft carrier), CVA (attack aircraft carrier), CVB (large aircraft carrier), CVL (light aircraft carrier), CVN (aircraft carrier (nuclear propulsion)). Beginning with the , (CV-59 to present) all carriers commissioned into service are classified as supercarriers.
The United States Navy has also used escort aircraft carriers (CVE, previously AVG and ACV) and airship aircraft carriers (ZRS). In addition, various amphibious warfare ships (LHA, LHD, LPH, and to a lesser degree LPD and LSD classes) can operate as carriers; two of these were converted to mine countermeasures support ships (MCS), one of which carried minesweeping helicopters. All of these classes of ships have their own lists and so are not included here.
Historical overview
The first aircraft carrier commissioned into the United States Navy was USS Langley (CV-1) on 20 March 1922. The Langley was a converted Proteus-class collier (originally commissioned as USS Jupiter (AC-3), Langley was soon followed by the , (the first purpose-built carrier in the American fleet), the , and . These classes made up the entirety of the United States carrier fleet active prior to the Second World War.
With World War II looming, two more classes of carriers were commissioned under President Franklin Roosevelt: the , which are informally divided into regular bow and extended bow sub-classes, and the , which are classified as light aircraft carriers. Between these two classes, 35 ships were completed. During this time, the Navy also purchased two training vessels, USS Wolverine and USS Sable, which were given the unclassified miscellaneous (IX) hull designation.
Late in World War II the and the were constructed, but entered service too late to serve in the war. The Midway-class would go on to serve during the entire Cold War.
At the start of the Cold War, the first supercarriers, the United States-class, were canceled due to the Truman administration's policy of shrinking the United States Navy and in particular, the Navy's air assets. The policy was eventually revised after a public outcry and Congressional hearings sparked by the Revolt of the Admirals.
Later in the Cold War era, the first of the supercarriers to be launched were constructed, starting with the , followed by the ; , the first nuclear powered carrier; and , the last conventionally powered carrier. These were then followed by the and the modern day post-cold war nuclear supercarriers, the only two classes of supercarriers that are currently in active-duty service. With the ten-ship Nimitz-class complete by 2009, October 2013 saw the launch of , lead ship of the planned ten-ship Gerald R. Ford-class. This was followed by the launch of in October 2019, while construction is underway on and .
List
Keys
Training ships
During World War II, the United States Navy purchased two Great Lakes side-wheel paddle steamers and converted them into freshwater aircraft carrier training ships. Both vessels were designated with the hull classification symbol IX and lacked hangar decks, elevators or armaments. The role of these ships was for the training of pilots for carrier take-offs and landings. Together the Sable and Wolverine trained 17,820 pilots in 116,000 carrier landings. Of these, 51,000 landings were on Sable.
Aircraft carrier museums
National Museum of the United States Navy – Aircraft carrier museums
See also
Escort carrier
List of amphibious warfare ships
List of aircraft carriers
List of aircraft carriers by configuration
List of aircraft carriers in service
List of aircraft carriers of World War II
List of current ships of the United States Navy
List of escort carriers of the United States Navy
List of ships of World War II
List of sunken aircraft carriers
List of United States Navy ships
- abbreviated list
- detailed list
Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility
Seaplane tender/seaplane carrier
Timeline for aircraft carrier service
Timeline of aircraft carriers of the United States Navy
References
External links
MaritimeQuest US Aircraft Carrier Index
The Lost American Aircraftcarriers
Museum ships
USS Hornet (CV-12) - USS Hornet Museum, Alameda, CA
USS Intrepid (CV-11) - Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum, New York, NY
USS Lexington (CV-16) - USS Lexington Museum On the Bay, Corpus Christi, TX
USS Midway (CV-41) - USS Midway Museum, San Diego, CA
USS Yorktown (CV-10) - Patriots Point, Mount Pleasant, SC
United States
Aircraft carriers