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aircraft carrier
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{{Short description|Warship that serves as a seagoing airbase}}{{Use American English|date=January 2020}}{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2021}}File:Fleet 5 nations.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|Four modern aircraft carriers of various typesâ{{USS|John C. Stennis|CVN-74|6}}, Charles de Gaulle (French Navy)Charles de Gaulle (French Navy)An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft.{{Citation|title=Dictionary|publisher=Reference|contribution-url=http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/aircraft%20carrier|contribution=Aircraft carrier|access-date=3 October 2013|archive-date=19 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140219023059weblink|url-status=live}} Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a naval force to project air power worldwide without depending on local bases for staging aircraft operations. Carriers have evolved since their inception in the early twentieth century from wooden vessels used to deploy balloons to nuclear-powered warships that carry numerous fighters, strike aircraft, helicopters, and other types of aircraft. While heavier aircraft such as fixed-wing gunships and bombers have been launched from aircraft carriers, these aircraft have not landed on a carrier. By its diplomatic and tactical power, its mobility, its autonomy and the variety of its means, the aircraft carrier is often the centerpiece of modern combat fleets. Tactically or even strategically, it replaced the battleship in the role of flagship of a fleet. One of its great advantages is that, by sailing in international waters, it does not interfere with any territorial sovereignty and thus obviates the need for overflight authorizations from third-party countries, reduces the times and transit distances of aircraft and therefore significantly increases the time of availability on the combat zone.(File:World Navy Aircraft carries chart.svg|thumb|right|upright=1.25|Chart comparing a selection of aircraft carriers (sorted by length))There is no single definition of an "aircraft carrier",{{cn|date=November 2022}} and modern navies use several variants of the type. These variants are sometimes categorized as sub-types of aircraft carriers,{{Citation|title=Encyclopaedia|publisher=Britannica|contribution-url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/10957/aircraft-carrier|contribution=Aircraft Carrier|quote=Subsequent design modifications produced such variations as the light carrier, equipped with large amounts of electronic gear for the detection of submarines, and the helicopter carrier, intended for conducting amphibious assault. ... Carriers with combined capabilities are classified as multipurpose carriers.|access-date=3 October 2013|archive-date=5 October 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131005020914weblink|url-status=live}} and sometimes as distinct types of naval aviation-capable ships.WEB,weblink Fact File: Amphibious Assault Ships â LHA/LHD/LHA(R), Dan, Petty, U.S. Navy, 15 November 2015,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20090903155811weblink">weblink 3 September 2009, live, Aircraft carriers may be classified according to the type of aircraft they carry and their operational assignments. Admiral Sir Mark Stanhope, RN, former First Sea Lord (head) of the Royal Navy, has said, "To put it simply, countries that aspire to strategic international influence have aircraft carriers."WEB,weblink Aircraft carriers crucial, Royal Navy chief warns, BBC News, 4 July 2012, 15 November 2015,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20150925204346weblink">weblink 25 September 2015, live, Henry Kissinger, while United States Secretary of State, also said: "An aircraft carrier is 100,000 tons of diplomacy."WEB,weblink The slow death of the carrier air wing, 19 July 2017, jalopnik.com, 10 January 2018,weblink 11 January 2018, live, (File:Aircraft carrier comparison.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.25|Comparison of aircraft carriers|alt= An aircraft carrier comparison)As of {{#time:F Y}}, there are 47 active aircraft carriers in the world operated by fourteen navies. The United States Navy has 11 large nuclear-powered fleet carriersâcarrying around 80 fighters eachâthe largest carriers in the world; the total combined deck space is over twice that of all other nations combined.WEB,weblink US "carrier gap" could see naval air power dip in Gulf region, James, Drew, flightglobal.com, 8 July 2015, 15 November 2015,weblink 17 November 2015, live, As well as the aircraft carrier fleet, the US Navy has nine amphibious assault ships used primarily for helicopters, although these also each carry up to 20 vertical or short take-off and landing (V/STOL) fighter jets and are similar in size to medium-sized fleet carriers. India, the United Kingdom and China each operate two aircraft carriers. France and Russia each operate a single aircraft carrier with a capacity of 30 to 60 fighters. Italy operates two light V/STOL carriers and Spain operates one V/STOL aircraft-carrying assault ship. Helicopter carriers are operated by Japan (4, two of which are being converted to operate V/STOL fighters), France (3), Australia (2), Egypt (2), South Korea (2), China (3), Thailand (1) and Brazil (1). Future aircraft carriers are under construction or in planning by China, France, India, Russia, South Korea, Turkey, and the US.{{TOClimit|3}}- the content below is remote from Wikipedia
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Types of carriers
File:US Navy 060427-N-5961C-009 USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76),FS Charles De Gaulle (R-92),FS Cassard (D-614), guided missile cruiser USS Vicksburg (CG 69), USS McCampbell (DDG 85) conduct joint operations in the Persian Gulf.jpg|thumb|French aircraft carrier {{Ship|French aircraft carrier|Charles de Gaulle||2}} (rear), and US Navy carrier {{USS|Ronald Reagan|CVN-76|6}} conducting joint operations in the Persian Gulf; both with the CATOBARCATOBARGeneral features
- Speed is a crucial attribute for aircraft carriers, as they need to be able to be deployed quickly anywhere in the world and have to be fast enough to evade detection and targeting from enemy forces. A high speed also increases the "wind over the deck", boosting the lift available for fixed-wing aircraft to carry fuel and ammunition. In order to evade nuclear submarines, the carriers should have a speed of more than {{convert|30|kn|mph kph}}.
- Aircraft carriers are among the largest types of warships due to their need for ample deck space.
- An aircraft carrier must be able to perform increasingly diverse mission sets. Diplomacy, power projection, quick crisis response force, land attack from the sea, sea base for helicopter and amphibious assault forces, anti-surface warfare (ASUW), defensive counter air (DCA), and humanitarian aid disaster relief (HADR) are some of the missions the aircraft carrier is expected to accomplish. Traditionally an aircraft carrier is supposed to be one ship that can perform at least power projection and sea control missions.WEB,weblink Will the Aircraft Carrier Survive?, 13 December 2018, 11 September 2019, 12 November 2019,weblink live,
- An aircraft carrier must be able to efficiently operate an air combat group. This means it should{{cn|date=July 2022}} handle fixed-wing jets as well as helicopters. This includes ships designed to support operations of short-takeoff/vertical-landing (STOVL) jets.
Basic types
- Aircraft cruiser
- Amphibious assault ship and sub-types
- Anti-submarine warfare carrier
- Balloon carrier and balloon tenders
- Escort carrier
- Fleet carrier
- Flight deck cruiser
- Helicopter carrier
- Light aircraft carrier
- Seaplane tender and seaplane carriers
- Utility carrier: This type was mainly used in the US Navy, in the decade after World War 2 to ferry aircraft. USS Guadalcanal (AVG-60/ACV-60/CVE-60/CVU-60), official page at official websiteweblink
By role
File:USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) underway in the Atlantic Ocean on 30 January 2019 (190130-N-PW716-1312).JPG|thumb|{{USS|Abraham Lincoln|CVN-72}} a United States NavyUnited States NavyA fleet carrier is intended to operate with the main fleet and usually provides an offensive capability. These are the largest carriers capable of fast speeds. By comparison, escort carriers were developed to provide defense for convoys of ships. They were smaller and slower with lower numbers of aircraft carried. Most were built from mercantile hulls or, in the case of merchant aircraft carriers, were bulk cargo ships with a flight deck added on top. Light aircraft carriers were fast enough to operate with the main fleet but of smaller size with reduced aircraft capacity.The Soviet aircraft carrier Admiral Kusnetsov was termed a "heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser". This was primarily a legal construct to avoid the limitations of the Montreux Convention preventing 'aircraft carriers' transiting the Turkish Straits between the Soviet Black Sea bases and the Mediterranean Sea. These ships, while sized in the range of large fleet carriers, were designed to deploy alone or with escorts. In addition to supporting fighter aircraft and helicopters, they provide both strong defensive weaponry and heavy offensive missiles equivalent to a guided-missile cruiser.By configuration
File:HMS Queen Elizabeth in Gibraltar - 2018 (28386226189).jpg|thumb|Aircraft Carriers in the STOVLSTOVLAircraft carriers today are usually divided into the following four categories based on the way that aircraft take off and land:- Catapult-assisted take-off barrier-arrested recovery (CATOBAR): these carriers generally carry the largest, heaviest, and most heavily armed aircraft, although smaller CATOBAR carriers may have other limitations (weight capacity of aircraft elevator, etc.). All CATOBAR carriers in service today are nuclear-powered. Twelve are in service: ten Nimitz and one {{sclass|Gerald R. Ford|aircraft carrier|0}} fleet carriers in the United States; and the Charles de Gaulle in France.
- Short take-off barrier-arrested recovery (STOBAR): these carriers are generally limited to carrying lighter fixed-wing aircraft with more limited payloads. STOBAR carrier air wings, such as the Sukhoi Su-33 and future Mikoyan MiG-29K wings of {{Ship|Russian aircraft carrier|Admiral Kuznetsov||2}} are often geared primarily towards air superiority and fleet defense roles rather than strike/power projection tasks,{{citation needed|date=November 2013}} which require heavier payloads (bombs and air-to-ground missiles). Five are in service: two in China, two in India, and one in Russia.
- Short take-off vertical-landing (STOVL): limited to carrying STOVL aircraft. STOVL aircraft, such as the Harrier family and Yakovlev Yak-38 generally have limited payloads, lower performance, and high fuel consumption when compared with conventional fixed-wing aircraft; however, a new generation of STOVL aircraft, currently consisting of the Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II, has much improved performance. Fourteen are in service; nine STOVL amphibious assault ships in the US; two carriers each in Italy and the UK; and one STOVL amphibious assault ship in Spain.
- Helicopter carrier: Helicopter carriers have a similar appearance to other aircraft carriers but operate only helicopters â those that mainly operate helicopters but can also operate fixed-wing aircraft are known as STOVL carriers (see above). Seventeen are in service: four in Japan; three in France; two each in Australia, China, Egypt and South Korea; and one each in Brazil and Thailand. In the past, some conventional carriers were converted and these were called "commando carriers" by the Royal Navy. Some helicopter carriers, but not all, are classified as amphibious assault ships, tasked with landing and supporting ground forces on enemy territory.
By size
Supercarrier
{{Redirect|Supercarrier|the television series|Supercarrier (TV series){{!}}Supercarrier (TV series)}}File:HMS Ark Royal h85716.jpg|thumb|right|The Royal Navy's HMS Ark Royal in 1939, with Swordfish biplane bombers passing overhead. The British aircraft carrier was involved in the crippling of the German battleship Bismarck in May 1941]]The appellation "supercarrier" is not an official designation with any national navy, but a term used predominantly by the media and typically when reporting on larger and more advanced carrier types. It is also used when comparing carriers of various sizes and capabilities, both current and past. It was first used by The New York Times in 1938,NEWS, Reich's Cruise Ships Held Potential Plane Carriers, The New York Times, 1 May 1938, 32,weblink 17 May 2015,weblink 24 February 2018, live, {{subscription required}} in an article about the Royal Navy's {{HMS |Ark Royal |91 |6}}, that had a length of {{convert|800|ft|m|sigfig=3|sp=us}}, a displacement of 22,000 ton and was designed to carry 72 aircraft.NEWS, The Ark Royal Launched. Most Up-To-Date Carrier. Aircraft in the Fleet, The Times, 14 April 1937, 11, BOOK, Rossiter, Mike, Ark Royal: the life, death and rediscovery of the legendary Second World War aircraft carrier, 2006, 2nd, 2007, Corgi Books, London, 978-0-552-15369-0, 81453068, 48â51, Since then, aircraft carriers have consistently grown in size, both in length and displacement, as well as improved capabilities; in defense, sensors, electronic warfare, propulsion, range, launch and recovery systems, number and types of aircraft carried and number of sorties flown per day.China and the United Kingdom both have carriers in service or under construction with displacements ranging from 65,000WEB,weblink HMS Queen Elizabeth, royalnavy.mod.uk, 12 January 2018,weblink 13 January 2018, live, to 85,000 tonsWEB, 5 January 2018, China kicks off construction of new supercarrier/,weblink live,weblink 16 January 2018, 1 February 2018, thediplomat.com, and lengths from {{convert|280 to 320 |m |sp=us}}WEB, Queen Elizabeth Class,weblink dead,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20130810221625weblink">weblink 10 August 2013, 21 August 2013, Royal Navy, WEB, 19 February 2015, China has solid plans for four aircraft carriers by 2030, could eventually have 10,weblink live,weblink 30 July 2017, 1 February 2018, nextbigfuture.com, which have been described as "supercarriers".WEB,weblink British super carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth to deploy to the Pacific, ukdefencejournal.org.uk, 28 June 2017, 1 February 2018,weblink 2 February 2018, live, WEB,weblink Russian Navy may get advanced new aircraft carrier, tass.com, 28 June 2017, 1 February 2018,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20180210195246weblink">weblink 10 February 2018, live, The largest "supercarriers" in service as of 2022, however, are with the US Navy,WEB,weblink USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78), militaryfactory.com/, 22 July 2017, 1 February 2018,weblink 24 February 2018, live, with displacements exceeding 100,000 tons, lengths of over {{convert|337|m|sp=us}}, and capabilities that match or exceed that of any other class.{{refn|WEB,weblink The world's most advanced aircraft carrier is one step closer to completion, businessinsider.com, 16 February 2017, 1 February 2018,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20180224112859weblink">weblink 24 February 2018, live, NEWS,weblink Sneak peak at US Navy's $13B aircraft carrier, cnn.com, 18 July 2017, 1 February 2018,weblink 20 February 2018, live, WEB,weblink USS Gerald R. Ford: Inside the world's most advanced aircraft carrier, foxnews.com, 21 July 2017, 1 February 2018,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20180202113556weblink">weblink 2 February 2018, live, WEB,weblink USS Gerald R. Ford ushers in new age of technology and innovation, navylive.dodlive.mil, 21 July 2017, 1 February 2018,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20180210220549weblink">weblink 10 February 2018, live, WEB,weblink The US Navy's new $13 billion aircraft carrier will dominate the seas, marketwatch.com, 9 March 2016, 1 February 2018,weblink 12 February 2018, live, }}Hull type identification symbols
Several systems of identification symbol for aircraft carriers and related types of ship have been used. These include the pennant numbers used by the Royal Navy, Commonwealth countries, and Europe, along with the hull classification symbols used by the US and Canada.MAGAZINE,weblink Semaphore, AWD, Hobart, MFU or DDGH â What's in a Name?, Royal Australian Navy, 30 July 2010, 19 January 2014,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20131226085836weblink">weblink 26 December 2013, live, {| class="wikitable"| Generic aircraft carrier |
| Attack carrier (up to 1975) |
| Large aircraft carrier (retired 1952) |
| Nuclear-powered attack carrier |
| Escort carrier |
| Aircraft carrier, Helicopter Assault (retired) |
| Aircraft carrier, Helicopter, Escort (retired) |
| Aircraft Carrier (Medium) (proposed) |
| Light aircraft carrier |
| Nuclear-powered aircraft carrier |
| Anti-submarine warfare carrier |
| Training Aircraft Carrier |
| Utility carrier (retired) |
| Landing helicopter assault, a type of amphibious assault ship |
| Landing helicopter dock, a type of amphibious assault ship |
| Landing platform helicopter, a type of amphibious assault ship |
History
Origins
(File:Wakamiya.jpg|thumb|right|The {{ship|Japanese seaplane carrier|Wakamiya||2|up=yes}} conducted the world's first naval-launched air raids in 1914.)The 1903 advent of the heavier-than-air fixed-wing airplane with the Wright brothers' first flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, was closely followed on 14 November 1910, by Eugene Burton Ely's first experimental take-off of a Curtiss Pusher airplane from the deck of a United States Navy ship, the cruiser {{USS|Birmingham|CL-2|6}} anchored off Norfolk Navy Base in Virginia. Two months later, on 18 January 1911, Ely landed his Curtiss Pusher airplane on a platform on the armored cruiser {{USS|Pennsylvania|ACR-4|6}} anchored in San Francisco Bay. On 9 May 1912, the first take off of an airplane from a ship while underway was made by Commander Charles Samson flying a Short Improved S.27 biplane "S.38" of the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) from the deck of the Royal Navy's pre-dreadnought battleship {{HMS|Hibernia|1905|6}}, thus providing the first practical demonstration of the aircraft carrier for naval operations at sea.MAGAZINE,weblink The Naval Review and the Aviators, 177, IV, 442, Flight International, Flight, 18 May 1912, 15 November 2015,weblink 17 November 2015, live, NEWS, 10 May 1912, Flight From the Hibernia, The Times, 39895, 8 (3), London, Seaplane tender support ships came next, with the French {{Ship|French seaplane carrier|Foudre||2}} of 1911.Early in World War I, the Imperial Japanese Navy ship {{Ship|Japanese seaplane carrier|Wakamiya||2}} conducted the world's first successful ship-launched air raid:{{sfn|Polak|2005|p=92}} on 6 September 1914, a Farman aircraft launched by Wakamiya attacked the Austro-Hungarian cruiser {{SMS|Kaiserin Elisabeth}} and the Imperial German gunboat Jaguar in Jiaozhou Bay off Qingdao; neither was hit.BOOK, Donko, Wilhelm M., Ãsterreichs Kriegsmarine in Fernost: Alle Fahrten von Schiffen der k.(u.)k. Kriegsmarine nach Ostasien, Australien und Ozeanien von 1820 bis 1914, Berlin Epubli, 2013, 4, 156â162, 427, The first attack using an air-launched torpedo occurred on 2 August, when a torpedo was fired by Flight Commander Charles Edmonds from a Short Type 184 seaplane, launched from the seaplane carrier {{HMS|Ben-my-Chree||6}}.{{sfn|Sturtivant|1990|p=215}}269 Squadron History: 1914â1923The first carrier-launched airstrike was the Tondern raid in July 1918. Seven Sopwith Camels were launched from the battlecruiser {{HMS|Furious|47|6}} which had been completed as a carrier by replacing her planned forward turret with a flight deck and hangar prior to commissioning. The Camels attacked and damaged the German airbase at Tondern, Germany (modern day Tønder, Denmark), and destroyed two zeppelin airships.Probert, p. 46The first landing of an airplane on a moving ship was by Squadron Commander Edwin Harris Dunning, when he landed his Sopwith Pup on HMS Furious in Scapa Flow, Orkney on 2 August 1917. Landing on the forward flight deck required the pilot to approach round the ship's superstructure, a difficult and dangerous manoeuver and Dunning was later killed when his airplane was thrown overboard while attempting another landing on Furious.The First World War: A Complete History by Sir Martin Gilbert weblink {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210905151348weblink|date=5 September 2021}} HMS Furious was modified again when her rear turret was removed and another flight deck added over a second hangar for landing aircraft over the stern.Parkes, p. 622. Her funnel and superstructure remained intact however and turbulence from the funnel and superstructure was severe enough that only three landing attempts were successful before further attempts were forbidden.Parkes, p. 624. This experience prompted the development of vessels with a flush deck and produced the first large fleet ships. In 1918, {{HMS|Argus|I49|6}} became the world's first carrier capable of launching and recovering naval aircraft.{{sfn|Till|1996|p=191}}As a result of the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922, which limited the construction of new heavy surface combat ships, most early aircraft carriers were conversions of ships that were laid down (or had served) as different ship types: cargo ships, cruisers, battlecruisers, or battleships. These conversions gave rise to the US {{sclass|Lexington|aircraft carrier|2}}s (1927), Japanese {{Ship|Japanese aircraft carrier|Akagi||2}} and {{Ship|Japanese aircraft carrier|Kaga||2}}, and British {{sclass|Courageous|aircraft carrier|4}} (of which Furious was one). Specialist carrier evolution was well underway, with several navies ordering and building warships that were purposefully designed to function as aircraft carriers by the mid-1920s. This resulted in the commissioning of ships such as the Japanese {{Ship|Japanese aircraft carrier|HÅshÅ||2}} (1922),WEB,weblink Japanese inventions that changed the world, CNN, 13 June 2017, 20 February 2018,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20171103173202weblink">weblink 3 November 2017, live, {{HMS|Hermes|95|6}} (1924, although laid down in 1918 before HÅshÅ), and {{Ship|French aircraft carrier|Béarn||2}} (1927). During World War II, these ships would become known as fleet carriers.{{citation needed|date=February 2016}}World War II
{{See also|List of aircraft carriers of the Second World War}}File:USS Enterprise (CV-6) in Puget Sound, September 1945.jpg|thumb|{{USS|Enterprise|CV-6|6}}, the most decorated US warship of World War II ]]File:Japanese aircraft carrier Shinano.jpg|thumb|The Japanese carrier Shinano was built on a battleship hull to carry spare aircraft and ordnance in support of other carriers. En route to complete fitting out it was sunk by an American submarine.Enright & Ryan, p. xiv]]The aircraft carrier dramatically changed naval warfare in World War II, because air power was becoming a significant factor in warfare. The advent of aircraft as focal weapons was driven by the superior range, flexibility, and effectiveness of carrier-launched aircraft. They had greater range and precision than naval guns, making them highly effective. The versatility of the carrier was demonstrated in November 1940, when {{HMS|Illustrious|87|6}} launched a long-range strike on the Italian fleet at their base in Taranto, signalling the beginning of the effective and highly mobile aircraft strikes. This operation in the shallow water harbor incapacitated three of the six anchored battleships at a cost of two torpedo bombers.World War II in the Pacific Ocean involved clashes between aircraft carrier fleets. The Japanese surprise attack on the American Pacific fleet at Pearl Harbor naval and air bases on Sunday, 7 December 1941, was a clear illustration of the power projection capability afforded by a large force of modern carriers. Concentrating six carriers in a single unit turned naval history about, as no other nation had fielded anything comparable. In the "Doolittle Raid", on 18 April 1942, the US Navy carrier {{USS|Hornet|CV-8|6}} sailed to within {{convert|650|nmi|km}} of Japan and launched 16 B-25 Mitchell medium bombers from her deck in a demonstrative retaliatory strike on the mainland, including the capital, Tokyo. However, the vulnerability of carriers compared to traditional capital ships was illustrated by the sinking of {{HMS|Glorious}} by German battleships during the Norwegian campaign in 1940.This new-found importance of naval aviation forced nations to create a number of carriers, in efforts to provide air superiority cover for every major fleet in order to ward off enemy aircraft. This extensive usage led to the development and construction of 'light' carriers. Escort aircraft carriers, such as {{USS|Bogue|CVE-9|6}}, were sometimes purpose-built but most were converted from merchant ships as a stop-gap measure to provide anti-submarine air support for convoys and amphibious invasions. Following this concept, light aircraft carriers built by the US, such as {{USS|Independence|CVL-22|6}} (commissioned in 1943), represented a larger, more "militarized" version of the escort carrier. Although with similar complement to escort carriers, they had the advantage of speed from their converted cruiser hulls. The UK 1942 Design Light Fleet Carrier was designed for building quickly by civilian shipyards and with an expected service life of about 3 years.BOOK, Robbins, Guy, The Aircraft Carrier Story: 1908â1945, 2001, London, Cassel, 91, 978-0-30435-308-8,weblink They served the Royal Navy during the war, and the hull design was chosen for nearly all aircraft carrier equipped navies after the war, until the 1980s. Emergencies also spurred the creation or conversion of highly unconventional aircraft carriers. CAM ships were cargo-carrying merchant ships that could launch (but not retrieve) a single fighter aircraft from a catapult to defend the convoy from long range land-based German aircraft.Postwar era
File:Arromanches (R95) with Hellcat landing c1953.jpg|alt=|thumb|An F6F-5 landing on the French Arromanches in the Tonkin GulfTonkin GulfFile:USS Tripoli LPH10 a.jpg|thumb|USS Tripoli, a U.S. Navy Iwo Jima-class helicopter carrier]](File:USS Enterprise (CVN-65) underway in the Atlantic Ocean on 14 June 2004 (040614-N-0119G-020).jpg|thumb|{{USS|Enterprise|CVN-65}}, the world's first nuclear-powered carrier, commissioned in 1961)Before World War II, international naval treaties of 1922, 1930, and 1936 limited the size of capital ships including carriers. Since World War II, aircraft carrier designs have increased in size to accommodate a steady increase in aircraft size. The large, modern {{sclass|Nimitz|aircraft carrier|4}} of US Navy carriers has a displacement nearly four times that of the World War IIâera {{USS|Enterprise|CV-6|6}}, yet its complement of aircraft is roughly the sameâa consequence of the steadily increasing size and weight of individual military aircraft over the years. Today's aircraft carriers are so expensive that some nations which operate them risk significant economic and military impact if a carrier is lost.WEB,weblink Will the Aircraft Carrier Survive?; Future Air Threats to the Carrier (and How to Defend It), Cochran, Daniel, 2018, Joint Air Power Competence Centre (japcc.org), 7 June 2020, 25 July 2020,weblink live, (File:USS Forrestal explosion 29 July 1967.jpg|thumb|Fire on board Forrestal in 1967.)Some changes were made after 1945 in carriers:- The angled flight deck was invented by Royal Navy Captain (later Rear Admiral) Dennis Cambell, as naval aviation jets higher speeds required carriers be modified to "fit" their needs.WEB,weblink The Angled Deck Story, denniscambell.org.uk, 2012, 9 November 2015,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20160304070012weblink">weblink 4 March 2016, dead, WEB,weblink History of Fleet Air Arm Officers Association, FAAOA.org, 2015, 9 November 2015, 25 February 2021,weblink live, JOURNAL, Innovation in Carrier Aviation, Norman Friedman, Thomas C., Hone, Norman, Friedman, Mark D., Mandeles, Newport Paper 37, Naval War College Press, 2011, ; abridged findings published as JOURNAL, The Development of the Angled-Deck Aircraft Carrier, Naval War College Review, Spring 2011, 64, 2, 63â78, Additionally, the angled flight deck allows for simultaneous launch and recovery.
- Jet blast deflectors became necessary to protect aircraft and handlers from jet blast. The first US Navy carriers to be fitted with them were the wooden-decked {{sclass|Essex|aircraft carrier|1}}s which were adapted to operate jets in the late 1940s. Later versions had to be water-cooled because of increasing engine power.Hobbs 2009, Chapter 14
- Optical landing systems were developed to facilitate the very precise landing angles required by jet aircraft, which have a faster landing speed giving the pilot little time to correct misalignments, or mistakes. The first system was fitted to {{HMS|Illustrious|87|6}} in 1952.
- Aircraft carrier designs have increased in size to accommodate continuous increase in aircraft size. The 1950s saw US Navy's commission of "supercarriers", designed to operate naval jets, which offered better performance at the expense of bigger size and demanded more ordnance to be carried on-board (fuel, spare parts, electronics, etc.).
- The combination of increased carrier size, speed requirements above {{convert|30|kn|mph kph}}, and a requirement to operate at sea for long periods mean that modern large aircraft carriers often use nuclear reactors to create power for propulsion, electricity, catapulting airplanes from aircraft carriers, and a few more minor uses.WEB,weblink Nuclear-Powered Ships &124; Nuclear Submarines, world-nuclear.org, 11 September 2019, 25 September 2019,weblink live,
Description
Structure
Carriers are large and long ships, although there is a high degree of variation depending on their intended role and aircraft complement. The size of the carrier has varied over history and among navies, to cater to the various roles that global climates have demanded from naval aviation.Regardless of size, the ship itself must house their complement of aircraft, with space for launching, storing, and maintaining them. Space is also required for the large crew, supplies (food, munitions, fuel, engineering parts), and propulsion. US aircraft carriers are notable for having nuclear reactors powering their systems and propulsion.File:DeHavilland Vampire HMS Ocean Dec1945 NAN1 47.jpg|thumb|The first carrier landing and take-off of a jet aircraft: Ocean|R68|6}} in 1945.The top of the carrier is the flight deck, where aircraft are launched and recovered. On the starboard side of this is the island, where the funnel, air-traffic control and the bridge are located.The constraints of constructing a flight deck affect the role of a given carrier strongly, as they influence the weight, type, and configuration of the aircraft that may be launched. For example, assisted launch mechanisms are used primarily for heavy aircraft, especially those loaded with air-to-ground weapons. CATOBAR is most commonly used on US Navy fleet carriers as it allows the deployment of heavy jets with full load-outs, especially on ground-attack missions. STOVL is used by other navies because it is cheaper to operate and still provides good deployment capability for fighter aircraft.Due to the busy nature of the flight deck, only 20 or so aircraft may be on it at any one time. A hangar storage several decks below the flight deck is where most aircraft are kept, and aircraft are taken from the lower storage decks to the flight deck through the use of an elevator. The hangar is usually quite large and can take up several decks of vertical space.WEB, How Aircraft Carriers Work, How Stuff Works, Tom, Harris, 29 August 2002,weblink live,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20131006205343weblink">weblink 6 October 2013, Munitions are commonly stored on the lower decks because they are highly explosive. Usually this is below the waterline so that the area can be flooded in case of emergency.Flight deck
File:US Navy 081124-N-3659B-305 F-A-18C Hornets launch from the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76).jpg|thumb|CatapultCatapultAs "runways at sea", aircraft carriers have a flat-top flight deck, which launches and recovers aircraft. Aircraft launch forward, into the wind, and are recovered from astern. The flight deck is where the most notable differences between a carrier and a land runway are found. Creating such a surface at sea poses constraints on the carrier. For example, the size of the vessel is a fundamental limitation on runway length. This affects take-off procedure, as a shorter runway length of the deck requires that aircraft accelerate more quickly to gain lift. This either requires a thrust boost, a vertical component to its velocity, or a reduced take-off load (to lower mass). The differing types of deck configuration, as above, influence the structure of the flight deck. The form of launch assistance a carrier provides is strongly related to the types of aircraft embarked and the design of the carrier itself.There are two main philosophies in order to keep the deck short: add thrust to the aircraft, such as using a Catapult Assisted Take-Off (CATO-); and changing the direction of the airplanes' thrust, as in Vertical and/or Short Take-Off (V/STO-). Each method has advantages and disadvantages of its own:- Catapult Assisted Take-Off Barrier Arrested Recovery (CATOBAR): A steam- or electric-powered catapult is connected to the aircraft, and is used to accelerate conventional aircraft to a safe flying speed. By the end of the catapult stroke, the aircraft is airborne and further propulsion is provided by its own engines. This is the most expensive method as it requires complex machinery to be installed under the flight deck, but allows for even heavily loaded aircraft to take off.
- Short Take-Off Barrier Arrested Recovery (STOBAR) depends on increasing the net lift on the aircraft. Aircraft do not require catapult assistance for take off; instead on nearly all ships of this type an upwards vector is provided by a ski-jump at the forward end of the flight deck, often combined with thrust vectoring by the aircraft. Alternatively, by reducing the fuel and weapon load, an aircraft is able to reach faster speeds and generate more upwards lift and launch without a ski-jump or catapult.
- Short Take-Off Vertical-Landing (STOVL): On aircraft carriers, non-catapult-assisted, fixed-wing short takeoffs are accomplished with the use of thrust vectoring, which may also be used in conjunction with a runway "ski-jump". Use of STOVL tends to allow aircraft to carry a larger payload as compared to during VTOL use, while still only requiring a short runway. The most famous examples are the Hawker Siddeley Harrier and the BAe Sea Harrier. Although technically VTOL aircraft, they are operationally STOVL aircraft due to the extra weight carried at take-off for fuel and armaments. The same is true of the Lockheed F-35B Lightning II, which demonstrated VTOL capability in test flights but is operationally STOVL or in the case of UK uses "shipborne rolling vertical landing"
- Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL): Certain aircraft are specifically designed for the purpose of using very high degrees of thrust vectoring (e.g. if the thrust to weight-force ratio is greater than 1, it can take off vertically), but are usually slower than conventionally propelled aircraft due to the additional weight from associated systems.
Staff and deck operations
(File:F-18 - A 3-wire landing.ogv|thumb|left|F/A-18 Hornet aircraft landing video)Carriers steam at speed, up to {{convert|35|kn|lk=in}} into the wind during flight deck operations to increase wind speed over the deck to a safe minimum. This increase in effective wind speed provides a higher launch airspeed for aircraft at the end of the catapult stroke or ski-jump, as well as making recovery safer by reducing the difference between the relative speeds of the aircraft and ship.Since the early 1950s on conventional carriers it has been the practice to recover aircraft at an angle to port of the axial line of the ship. The primary function of this angled deck is to allow aircraft that miss the arresting wires, referred to as a bolter, to become airborne again without the risk of hitting aircraft parked forward. The angled deck allows the installation of one or two "waist" catapults in addition to the two bow cats. An angled deck also improves launch and recovery cycle flexibility with the option of simultaneous launching and recovery of aircraft.Conventional ("tailhook") aircraft rely upon a landing signal officer (LSO, radio call sign 'paddles') to monitor the aircraft's approach, visually gauge glideslope, attitude, and airspeed, and transmit that data to the pilot. Before the angled deck emerged in the 1950s, LSOs used colored paddles to signal corrections to the pilot (hence the nickname). From the late 1950s onward, visual landing aids such as the optical landing system have provided information on proper glide slope, but LSOs still transmit voice calls to approaching pilots by radio.Key personnel involved in the flight deck include the shooters, the handler, and the air boss. Shooters are naval aviators or naval flight officers and are responsible for launching aircraft. The handler works just inside the island from the flight deck and is responsible for the movement of aircraft before launching and after recovery. The "air boss" (usually a commander) occupies the top bridge (Primary Flight Control, also called primary or the tower) and has the overall responsibility for controlling launch, recovery and "those aircraft in the air near the ship, and the movement of planes on the flight deck, which itself resembles a well-choreographed ballet".WEB,weblink The US Navy Aircraft Carriers, Navy.mil, 30 January 2009, live,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20090221142917weblink">weblink 21 February 2009, The captain of the ship spends most of his time one level below primary on the Navigation Bridge. Below this is the Flag Bridge, designated for the embarked admiral and his staff.To facilitate working on the flight deck of a US aircraft carrier, the sailors wear colored shirts that designate their responsibilities. There are at least seven different colors worn by flight deck personnel for modern United States Navy carrier air operations. Carrier operations of other nations use similar color schemes.Deck structures
(File:US Navy 100512-N-8446A-004 An F-A-18F Super Hornet assigned to the Fighting Checkmates of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 211 lands aboard the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CVN 65).jpg|thumb|Island control structure of {{USS|Enterprise|CVN-65|6}})(File:FS CDG bridge3.jpg|alt=|thumb|The command bridge of the aircraft carrier {{ship|French aircraft carrier|Charles de Gaulle||2}})The superstructure of a carrier (such as the bridge, flight control tower) are concentrated in a relatively small area called an island, a feature pioneered on {{HMS|Hermes|95|6}} in 1923. While the island is usually built on the starboard side of the flight deck, the Japanese aircraft carriers {{ship|Japanese aircraft carrier|Akagi||2}} and {{ship|Japanese aircraft carrier|HiryÅ«||2}} had their islands built on the port side. Very few carriers have been designed or built without an island. The flush deck configuration proved to have significant drawbacks, primary of which was management of the exhaust from the power plant. Fumes coming across the deck were a major issue in {{USS|Langley|CV-1|6}}. In addition, lack of an island meant difficulties managing the flight deck, performing air traffic control, a lack of radar housing placements and problems with navigating and controlling the ship itself.{{sfn|Friedman|1983|pp=241â243}}Another deck structure that can be seen is a ski-jump ramp at the forward end of the flight deck. This was first developed to help launch short take off vertical landing (STOVL) aircraft take off at far higher weights than is possible with a vertical or rolling takeoff on flat decks. Originally developed by the Royal Navy, it since has been adopted by many navies for smaller carriers. A ski-jump ramp works by converting some of the forward rolling movement of the aircraft into vertical velocity and is sometimes combined with the aiming of jet thrust partly downwards. This allows heavily loaded and fueled aircraft a few more precious seconds to attain sufficient air velocity and lift to sustain normal flight. Without a ski-jump, launching fully-loaded and fueled aircraft such as the Harrier would not be possible on a smaller flat deck ship before either stalling out or crashing directly into the sea.Although STOVL aircraft are capable of taking off vertically from a spot on the deck, using the ramp and a running start is far more fuel efficient and permits a heavier launch weight. As catapults are unnecessary, carriers with this arrangement reduce weight, complexity, and space needed for complex steam or electromagnetic launching equipment. Vertical landing aircraft also remove the need for arresting cables and related hardware. Russian, Chinese, and Indian carriers include a ski-jump ramp for launching lightly loaded conventional fighter aircraft but recover using traditional carrier arresting cables and a tailhook on their aircraft.The disadvantage of the ski-jump is the penalty it exacts on aircraft size, payload, and fuel load (and thus range); heavily laden aircraft cannot launch using a ski-jump because their high loaded weight requires either a longer takeoff roll than is possible on a carrier deck, or assistance from a catapult or JATO rocket. For example, the Russian Sukhoi Su-33 is only able to launch from the carrier {{ship|Russian aircraft carrier|Admiral Kuznetsov||2}} with a minimal armament and fuel load. Another disadvantage is on mixed flight deck operations where helicopters are also present, such as on a US landing helicopter dock or landing helicopter assault amphibious assault ship. A ski jump is not included as this would eliminate one or more helicopter landing areas; this flat deck limits the loading of Harriers but is somewhat mitigated by the longer rolling start provided by a long flight deck compared to many STOVL carriers.National fleets
{{See also|List of aircraft carriers#Numbers of aircraft carriers by country{{!}}List of aircraft carriers by country|List of aircraft carriers in service}}(File:Countries who are currently, or have in the past, operated aircraft carriers.png|thumb|300px|{{legend|#0000FE|Countries currently operating fixed-wing aircraft carriers (10)}}{{legend|#B6E41F|Countries currently solely operating helicopter carriers (6)}}{{legend|#9AD9EA|Countries that have operated carriers in the past but no longer do so (3)}})The US Navy has the largest fleet of carriers in the world, with eleven supercarriers currently in service. China and India each have two STOBAR carriers in service. The UK has two STOVL carriers in service. The navies of France and Russia each operate a single medium-sized carrier.{{efn|Russian carrier has not been operational since 2018; it is expected to be launched again in 2024.}} The US also has nine similarly sized Amphibious Warfare Ships. There are five small light carriers in use capable of operating both fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters; Japan and Italy each operate two, and Spain one.Additionally there are eighteen small carriers which only operate helicopters serving the navies of Australia (2), Brazil (1), China (2), Egypt (2), France (3), Japan (4), South Korea (2), Thailand (1) and Turkey (1).Algeria
- Current
Australia
(File:HMAS Canberra (LHD 02) at berth prior to commissioning.jpg|thumb|{{HMAS|Canberra|L02|6}}, a {{sclass|Canberra|landing helicopter dock|1}})- Current
Brazil
- Current
China
File:Type 002 aircraft carrier of People's Liberation Army Navy (cropped).jpg|thumb|{{ship|Chinese aircraft carrier|Shandong||2}}, a Type 002 aircraft carrier ]]- Current
- {{ship|Chinese aircraft carrier|Liaoning||2}} (60,900 tons) was originally built as the Soviet {{sclass|Kuznetsov|aircraft carrier|0}} carrier VaryagNEWS, China aircraft carrier confirmed by general,weblink BBC News, 8 June 2011, 9 June 2011, live,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20110609071512weblink">weblink 9 June 2011, and was later purchased as a hulk in 1998 on the pretext of use as a floating casino, then towed to China for rebuild and completion.WEB,weblink China brings its first aircraft carrier into service, joining 9-nation club, Behind The Wall, NBC, 25 September 2012, 26 October 2013,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20131101072426weblink">weblink 1 November 2013, live, Liaoning was commissioned on 25 September 2012 and began service for testing and training.NEWS,weblink China's first aircraft carrier enters service, BBC News, 25 September 2012, 30 September 2013,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20130928095622weblink">weblink 28 September 2013, live, In November 2012, Liaoning launched and recovered Shenyang J-15 naval fighter aircraft for the first time.MAGAZINE, Axe, David,weblink China's aircraft carrier successfully launches its first jet fighters, Wired, 26 November 2012, 30 September 2013, dead,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20121129051257weblink">weblink 29 November 2012, WEB,weblink China lands first jet on its aircraft carrier, Fox News, 25 November 2012, 26 October 2013,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20131031033017weblink">weblink 31 October 2013, live, After a refit in January 2019, she was assigned to the North Sea Fleet, a change from her previous role as a training carrier.WEB, Military Watch Magazine,weblink 27 September 2020, Military watch, 1 December 2020,weblink live,
- {{ship|Chinese aircraft carrier|Shandong||2}} (60,000â70,000 tons) was launched on 26 April 2017. She is the first to be built domestically, to an improved Kuznetsov-class design. Shandong started sea trials on 23 April 2018,NEWS,weblink China's first home-grown Type 001A aircraft carrier begins maiden sea trial, South China Morning Post, 23 April 2018, 29 April 2018,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20180429015117weblink">weblink 29 April 2018, live, and entered service in December 2019.NEWS,weblinkweblink 2022-01-01, limited, China Commissions 2nd Aircraft Carrier, Challenging US Dominance, The New York Times, 17 December 2019, Myers, Steven Lee, {{cbignore}}
- {{ship|Chinese aircraft carrier|Fujian||2}} (80,000 tons) is a CATOBAR carrier which was under construction between 2015 and 2016 before being completed in June 2022.WEB,weblink China launches Fujian, PLA Navy's 3rd aircraft carrier, Jack Lau, South China Morning Post, 17 June 2022, She is being fitted out as of 2022 and will commence service in 2023â2024.NEWS,weblink No advanced jet launch system for China's third aircraft carrier, experts say, Chan, Minnie, 14 February 2017, South China Morning Post,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20170418215118weblink">weblink 18 April 2017, live, NEWS,weblink Satellite images show how work on China's new Type 002 aircraft carrier is coming along, 7 May 2019, South China Morning Post, 7 May 2019,weblink 7 May 2019, live, NEWS,weblink Images show construction of China's third aircraft carrier, thinktank says, The Guardian, 7 May 2019, 7 May 2019,weblink 7 May 2019, live,
- A Type 075 LHD, {{ship|Chinese landing helicopter dock|Hainan||2}} was commissioned on 23 April 2021 at the naval base in Sanya.WEB, Vavasseur, Xavier, 2021-04-24, China Commissions a Type 055 DDG, a Type 075 LHD and a Type 094 SSBN in a Single Day,weblink 2021-04-25, Naval News, en-US, 25 April 2021,weblink live, A second ship, Guangxi, was commissioned on 26 December 2021WEB, Vavasseur, Xavier, 2021-12-30, China's 2nd Type 075 LHD Guangxi 广西 Commissioned With PLAN,weblink 2022-01-01, Naval News, en-US, 26 February 2022,weblink live, and a third ship, Anhui, was commissioned in October 2022.WEB, Vavasseur, Xavier, 2022-10-01, China's 3rd Type 075 LHD Anhui å®å¾½ Commissioned With PLAN,weblink 2023-03-31, Naval News, en-US,
- Future
Egypt
- Current
France
File:French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle (R91) underway in the Red Sea on 15 April 2019 (190415-N-IL409-0017).JPG|thumb|right|The aircraft carrier {{ship|French aircraft carrier|Charles de Gaulle||2}} of the French NavyFrench Navy- Current
- Future
India
File:IAC1 Vikrant during sea trials (cropped).png|thumb|{{INS|Vikrant|2013|6}} (IAC-1) at sea during her maiden sea trialssea trials- Current
- Future
Italy
(File:Italian aircraft carrier Cavour.jpg|thumb|Italian aircraft carrier Cavour (550))- Current
- {{ship|Italian aircraft carrier|Giuseppe Garibaldi||2}}: 14,000-tonne Italian STOVL carrier, commissioned in 1985.
- {{ship|Italian aircraft carrier|Cavour|550|2}}: 30,000-tonne Italian STOVL carrier designed and built with secondary amphibious assault facilities, commissioned in 2008.WEB,weblink World Wide Aircraft Carriers, Cavour Page, Free webs, 26 October 2013,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20141012175238weblink">weblink 12 October 2014, live,
- Future
Japan
File:DDH-183 (cropped).jpg|thumb|Helicopter carrier Izumo (DDH-183) at sea]]- Current
- 2 {{sclass|Izumo|multi-purpose destroyer|1}}s â {{convert|820|ft|m|adj=mid|-long|order=flip}}, 19,500-tonne (27,000 tonnes full load) STOVL carrier Izumo was launched August 2013 and commissioned March 2015. Izumo{{'}}s sister ship, Kaga, was commissioned in 2017.
- 2 {{sclass|HyÅ«ga|helicopter destroyer|1}}s â 19,000-tonne (full load) anti-submarine warfare carriers with enhanced command-and-control capabilities allowing them to serve as fleet flagships.
Russia
(File:Russian aircraft carrier Kuznetsov.jpg|thumb|{{ship|Russian aircraft carrier|Admiral Kuznetsov}})- Current
- Future
South Korea
File:Model of HHI proposal for CVX project.jpg|thumb|Conceptual model of CVX-class aircraft carrierCVX-class aircraft carrier- Current
- Future
Spain
File:El L-61 virando a babor en su partida de Vigo (34939349652).jpg|thumb|Spanish Juan Carlos I with Harrier II ]]- Current
Thailand
File:DN-SD-03-08801-1-.JPG|thumb|right|The aircraft carrier {{ship|HTMS|Chakri Naruebet}} of the Royal Thai NavyRoyal Thai Navy- Current
Turkey
File:TCG Anadolu (L-400) on the Bosphorus (cropped).jpg|thumb|TCG Anadolu (L-400) at the Bosporus straitstrait- Current
- Future
United Kingdom
File:Merlin Mk2s arriving on HMS Queen Elizabeth ahead of CSG21.jpg|thumb|A Merlin HM2 AEW on {{HMS|Queen Elizabeth|R08|6}}'s flight deckflight deck- Current
- Future
United States
(File:USS Enterprise (CVN-80) artist depiction.jpg|thumb|{{USS|Enterprise|CVN-80}}, the third US Navy carrier to bear the name, is a Gerald R. Ford-class carrier currently under construction and expected to enter service in 2028. (artist's impression))- Current
- {{sclass|Nimitz|aircraft carrier|4}}: ten 101,000-tonne, {{convert|1092|ft|m|adj=mid|-long|sp=us|order=flip}} fleet carriers, the first of which was commissioned in 1975. A Nimitz-class carrier is powered by two nuclear reactors providing steam to four steam turbines.
- {{sclass|Gerald R. Ford|aircraft carrier|4}}, one 100,000-tonne, {{convert|1106|ft|m|adj=mid|-long|sp=us|order=flip}} fleet carrier. The lead of the class {{USS |Gerald R. Ford|CVN-78|2}} came into service in 2017, with another nine planned to replace the aging Nimitz-class ships.
- {{sclass|America|amphibious assault ship|4}}: a class of 45,000-tonne amphibious assault ships, although the first two ships in this class, (Flight 0) do not have well decks, all subsequent ships (Flight I) will have well decks. Two ships are currently in service out of a planned 11 ships. Ships of this class can have a secondary mission as a light aircraft carrier with 20 AV-8B Harrier II, and in the future the F-35B Lightning II aircraft after unloading their Marine expeditionary unit.
- {{sclass|Wasp|amphibious assault ship|4}}: a class of 41,000-tonne amphibious assault ships, members of this class have been used in wartime in their secondary mission as light carriers with 20 to 25 AV-8Bs after unloading their Marine expeditionary unit. Seven ship currently in service of an original eight, with one lost to fire.
- Future
Aircraft carriers in preservation
Current museum carriers
A few aircraft carriers have been preserved as museum ships. They are:- {{USS|Yorktown|CV-10}} in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina
- {{USS|Intrepid|CV-11}} in New York City
- {{USS|Hornet|CV-12}} in Alameda, California
- {{USS|Lexington|CV-16}} in Corpus Christi, Texas
- {{USS|Midway|CV-41}} in San Diego, California
- {{ship|Soviet aircraft carrier|Kiev}} in Tianjin, China
- {{ship|Soviet aircraft carrier|Minsk}} in Nantong, China
Former museum carriers
- {{INS|Vikrant|1961}} was moored as a museum in Mumbai from 2001 to 2012, but was never able to find an industrial partner and was closed that year. She was scrapped in 2014.WEB, 2014-11-22, INS Vikrant, hero of '71 war, reduced to heap of scrap,weblink 2022-08-16, The Indian Express, en,
- {{USS|Cabot|CVL-28}} was acquired for preservation and moored in New Orleans from 1990 to 2002, but due to an embezzlement scandal, funding for the museum never materialized and the ship was scrapped in 2002.{{citation needed|date=October 2021}}
Future museum carriers
- {{USS|Tarawa|LHA-1}} has a preservation campaign to bring her to the West Coast of the United States as the world's first amphibious assault ship museum.WEB, USS Tarawa LHA-1 Amphibious Assault Ship US Navy Marines,weblink 2022-05-23, seaforces.org,
See also
- Airborne aircraft carrier
- Aviation-capable naval vessels
- Carrier-based aircraft
- Lily and Clover
- Merchant aircraft carrier
- Mobile offshore base
- Project Habakkuk
- Seadrome
- Submarine aircraft carrier
- Unsinkable aircraft carrier
Related lists
{{Div col}}- List of aircraft carriers
- List of aircraft carriers in service
- List of aircraft carriers by configuration
- List of aircraft carriers of the Second World War
- List of sunken aircraft carriers
- List of amphibious warfare ships
- List of carrier-based aircraft
- List of Canadian Navy aircraft carriers
- List of aircraft carriers of the People's Liberation Army Navy (China)
- List of current French Navy aircraft carriers
- List of German aircraft carriers
- List of aircraft carriers of the Indian Navy
- List of Italian Navy aircraft carriers
- List of aircraft carriers of the Japanese Navy
- List of aircraft carriers of Russia and the Soviet Union
- List of active Spanish aircraft carriers
- List of aircraft carriers of the Royal Navy
- List of escort carriers of the Royal Navy
- List of seaplane carriers of the Royal Navy
- List of aircraft carriers of the United States Navy
- List of aircraft carrier classes of the United States Navy
- List of escort aircraft carriers of the United States Navy
Notes
{{notelist}}References
{{reflist|30em}}Bibliography
- BOOK, Friedman, Norman, U.S. Aircraft Carriers: An Illustrated Design History, 1983, Naval Institute Press, 9780870217395,weblink en, 23 March 2020, 25 July 2020,weblink live,
- BOOK, Hobbs, David, 2009, A Century of Carrier Aviation: The Evolution of Ships and Shipborne Aircraft,weblink Barnsley, S Yorkshire, Seaforth Publishing, 978-1783466986, 15 December 2021, 6 January 2022,weblink live,
- BOOK, Polak, Christian, 2005, Sabre et Pinceau: Par d'autres Français au Japon. 1872â1960, Hiroshi Ueki (æ¤æ¨ 浩), Philippe Pons, foreword; çã¨åã»æ¥æ¬ã®ä¸ã®ããã²ã¨ã¤ã®ãã©ã³ã¹ (1872â1960), fr, ja, éd. L'Harmattan,
- BOOK, Sturtivant, Ray, British Naval Aviation, The Fleet Air Arm, 1917â1990, Arm & Armour Press, 1990, London, 0-85368-938-5,
- BOOK, Till, Geoffrey, Adopting the Aircraft Carrier: The British, Japanese, and American Case Studies, Murray, Williamson, Millet, Allan R, Military Innovation in the Interwar Period, Cambridge University Press, 1996,
Further reading
- Ader, Clement. Military Aviation, 1909, Edited and translated by Lee Kennett, Air University Press, Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama, 2003, {{ISBN|978-1-58566-118-3}}.
- Chesneau, Roger. Aircraft Carriers of the World, 1914 to the Present: An Illustrated Encyclopedia. Naval Institute Press, 1984.
- Francillon, René J, Tonkin Gulf Yacht Club US Carrier Operations off Vietnam, 1988, {{ISBN|978-0-87021-696-1}}.
- BOOK, Friedman, Norman, British Carrier Aviation: The Evolution of the Ships and Their Aircraft, Conway Maritime Press, 1988, 9780870210549,weblink none, 23 March 2020, 25 July 2020,weblink live,
- JOURNAL,weblink Hone, Thomas C., Norman, Friedman, Mark D., Mandeles, Innovation in Carrier Aviation, Naval War College Newport Papers, 37, 2011, 1â171, 23 March 2020, 23 March 2020,weblink live,
- Melhorn, Charles M. Two-Block Fox: The Rise of the Aircraft Carrier, 1911â1929. Naval Institute Press, 1974.
- Nordeen, Lon, Air Warfare in the Missile Age, 1985, {{ISBN|978-1-58834-083-2}}.
- Polmar, Norman. Aircraft Carriers: A History of Carrier Aviation and its Influence on World Events, 1901â2006. (two vols.) Potomac Books, 2006.
- BOOK, Trimble, William F., Admiral William A. Moffett: Architect of Naval Aviation, Smithsonian Institution Press, 1994, 9781612514284,weblink none, 23 March 2020, 25 July 2020,weblink live,
- Wadle, Ryan David. United States navy fleet problems and the development of carrier aviation, 1929â1933. PhD dissertation Texas A&M University, 2005. weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20150526133111weblink">online.
External links
{{Commons category|Aircraft carriers}}- {{YouTube|tsE9oCdSEEI|"Launch & Recover (1960)"}} - technical training film from the Royal Navy
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