List of aircraft carriers of the United States Navy

thumb| (foreground) alongside in 2020

thumb| (foreground), (middle) and (background) in 1930

thumb|Four US carriers form Battle Force Zulu in 1991 – (top left), (bottom left), (bottom right) and (top right)

thumb| (foreground) and in 2011

thumb| (upper center), with (lower center), in 1990

Aircraft carriers are warships that act as airbases for shipborne aircraft. United States Navy carriers are designated with hull classification symbols such as CV (Aircraft Carrier), CVA (Attack Aircraft Carrier), CVB (Large Aircraft Carrier), CVL (Light Aircraft Carrier), CVE (Escort Aircraft Carrier), CVS (Antisubmarine Aircraft Carrier) and CVN (Aircraft Carrier (Nuclear Propulsion)). Beginning with the (CV-59 to present), all carriers commissioned into service are classified as supercarriers.

The U.S. 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 U.S. Navy was on 20 March 1922. The Langley was a converted Proteus-class collier, originally commissioned as USS Jupiter (AC-3). It was soon followed by the other pre-World War II classes: the ; , the first U.S. purpose-built carrier; the, and .

As World War II loomed, two more classes of carriers were commissioned under President Franklin Roosevelt: the , which is informally divided into regular bow and extended bow sub-classes, and the ships, which are classified as light aircraft carriers. Between these two classes, 35 ships were completed. The Navy also purchased two training vessels, and , which were given the unclassified miscellaneous (IX) hull designation.

The and the were built later in World War II, but entered service too late to serve in the war. The Midway class would 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 revised after a public outcry and Congressional hearings sparked by the Revolt of the Admirals.

Later in the Cold War, supercarrier construction began with the , followed by the ; , the first nuclear-powered carrier; and , the last conventionally powered carrier. These were 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

{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"

|+ List of aircraft carriers of the United States Navy

! scope="col" | Hull

! scope="col" | Name

! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Image

! scope="col" | Class

! scope="col" data-sort-type="usLongDate" | Commissioned

! scope="col" data-sort-type="usLongDate" | Decommissioned

! scope="col" | Service life

! scope="col" data-sort-time=date | Status

! scope="col" class="unsortable" |

! scope="row" style="background:#3b3b3b;" data-sort-value="1" | CV-1

! scope="row" |

| frameless

| data-sort-value="Langley" |

| 20 March 1922

| 27 February 1942

| data-sort-value="1942" |Sunk near Cilacap, Java in 1942

! scope="row" style="background:#3b3b3b;" data-sort-value="2" | CV-2

! scope="row" |

| frameless

| data-sort-value="Lexington" |

| 14 December 1927

| 8 May 1942

| data-sort-value="1942" | Sunk in the Battle of the Coral Sea in 1942

! scope="row" style="background:#3b3b3b;" data-sort-value="3" | CV-3

! scope="row" |

| frameless

| Lexington

| 16 November 1927

| 25 July 1946

| data-sort-value="1946" | Sunk as target ship near Bikini Atoll during Operation Crossroads in 1946

! scope="row" style="background:#3b3b3b;" data-sort-value="4" | CV-4

! scope="row" |

| frameless

| data-sort-value="Ranger" |

| 4 June 1934

| 18 October 1946

| data-sort-value="1947" | Scrapped in 1947

! scope="row" style="background:#3b3b3b;" data-sort-value="5" | CV-5

! scope="row" |

| frameless

| data-sort-value="Yorktown" |

| 30 September 1937

| 7 June 1942

| data-sort-value="1942" | Sunk in the Battle of Midway in 1942

! scope="row" style="background:#3b3b3b;" data-sort-value="6" | CV-6

! scope="row" |

| frameless

| Yorktown

| 12 May 1938

| 17 February 1947

| data-sort-value="1960" | Scrapped in 1960

! scope="row" style="background:#3b3b3b;" data-sort-value="7" | CV-7

! scope="row" |

| frameless

| data-sort-value="Wasp" |

| 25 April 1940

| 15 September 1942

| data-sort-value="1942" | Sunk during the Guadalcanal campaign in 1942

! scope="row" style="background:#3b3b3b;" data-sort-value="8" | CV-8

! scope="row" |

| frameless

| Yorktown

| 20 October 1941

| 27 October 1942

| data-sort-value="1942" | Sunk in the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands in 1942

! scope="row" style="background:#3b3b3b;" data-sort-value="9" | CV-9

! scope="row" |

| frameless

| data-sort-value="Essex" |

| 31 December 1942

| 30 June 1969

| data-sort-value="1975" | Scrapped in 1975

! scope="row" style="background:#3b3b3b;" data-sort-value="10" | CV-10

! scope="row" |

| frameless

| Essex

| 15 April 1943

| 27 June 1970

| Preserved at the Patriot's Point Naval & Maritime Museum—Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, US

! scope="row" style="background:#3b3b3b;" data-sort-value="11" | CV-11

! scope="row" |

| frameless

| Essex

| 16 August 1943

| 15 March 1974

| Preserved at the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum—New York City, US

! scope="row" style="background:#3b3b3b;" data-sort-value="12" | CV-12

! scope="row" |

| frameless

| Essex

| 29 November 1943

| 26 June 1970

| Preserved at USS Hornet Museum—Alameda, California, US

! scope="row" style="background:#3b3b3b;" data-sort-value="13" | CV-13

! scope="row" |

| frameless

| Essex

| 31 January 1944

| 17 February 1947

| data-sort-value="1966" | Scrapped in 1966

! scope="row" style="background:#3b3b3b;" data-sort-value="14" | CV-14

! scope="row" |

| frameless

| Essex (extended bow)

| 8 May 1944

| 1 September 1973

| data-sort-value="1975" | Scrapped in 1975

! scope="row" style="background:#3b3b3b;" data-sort-value="15" | CV-15

! scope="row" |

| frameless

| Essex (extended bow)

| 9 October 1944

| 13 February 1969

| data-sort-value="1975" | Scrapped in 1975

! scope="row" style="background:#3b3b3b;" data-sort-value="16" | CV-16

! scope="row" |

| frameless

| Essex

| 17 February 1943

| 8 November 1991

| Preserved at USS Lexington Museum on the Bay— Corpus Christi, Texas, US

! scope="row" style="background:#3b3b3b;" data-sort-value="17" | CV-17

! scope="row" |

| frameless

| Essex

| 25 May 1943

| 9 January 1947

| data-sort-value="1973" | Scrapped in 1973

! scope="row" style="background:#3b3b3b;" data-sort-value="18" | CV-18

! scope="row" |

| frameless

| Essex

| 24 November 1943

| 1 July 1972

| data-sort-value="1973" | Scrapped in 1973

! scope="row" style="background:#3b3b3b;" data-sort-value="19" | CV-19

! scope="row" |

| frameless

| Essex (extended bow)

| 15 April 1944

| 30 January 1976

| data-sort-value="1976" | Scrapped in 1976

! scope="row" style="background:#3b3b3b;" data-sort-value="20" | CV-20

! scope="row" |

| frameless

| Essex

| 6 August 1944

| 15 January 1970

| data-sort-value="1994" | Scrapped in 1994

! scope="row" style="background:#3b3b3b;" data-sort-value="21" | CV-21

! scope="row" |

| frameless

| Essex (extended bow)

| 16 April 1945

| 1 December 1969

| data-sort-value="1971" | Scrapped in 1971

! scope="row" style="background:#3b3b3b;" data-sort-value="22" | CVL-22

! scope="row" |

| frameless

| data-sort-value="Independence" |

| 14 January 1943

| 28 August 1946

| data-sort-value="1951" | Sunk as target ship near the Farallon Islands in 1951

! scope="row" style="background:#3b3b3b;" data-sort-value="23" | CVL-23

! scope="row" |

| frameless

| Independence

| 25 February 1943

| 24 October 1944

| data-sort-value="1944" | Sunk in the Battle of Leyte Gulf in 1944

! scope="row" style="background:#3b3b3b;" data-sort-value="30" | CVL-30

! scope="row" |

| frameless

| Independence

| 15 November 1943

| 1 March 1947

| data-sort-value="1972" | Scrapped in 1972

! scope="row" style="background:#3b3b3b;" data-sort-value="32" | CV-32

! scope="row" |

| frameless

| Essex (extended bow)

| 11 April 1946

| 15 May 1959

| data-sort-value="1970" | Scrapped in 1970

! scope="row" style="background:#3b3b3b;" data-sort-value="34" | CV-34

! scope="row" |

| frameless

| Essex (extended bow)

| 25 September 1950

| 20 September 1976

| data-sort-value="2006" | Scuttled as artificial reef in the Gulf of Mexico in 2006

! scope="row" style="background:#3b3b3b;" data-sort-value="36" | CV-36

! scope="row" |

| frameless

| Essex (extended bow)

| 28 January 1945

| 8 May 1963

| data-sort-value="1974" | Scrapped in 1974

! scope="row" style="background:#3b3b3b;" data-sort-value="37" | CV-37

! scope="row" |

| frameless

| Essex (extended bow)

| 18 November 1945

| 30 January 1970

| data-sort-value="1971" | Scrapped in 1971

! scope="row" style="background:#3b3b3b;" data-sort-value="38" | CV-38

! scope="row" |

| frameless

| Essex (extended bow)

| 15 September 1944

| 30 July 1971

| data-sort-value="1988" | Scrapped in 1988

! scope="row" style="background:#3b3b3b;" data-sort-value="39" | CV-39

! scope="row" |

| frameless

| Essex (extended bow)

| 3 June 1945

| 2 May 1966

| data-sort-value="1972" | Scrapped in 1972

! scope="row" style="background:#3b3b3b;" data-sort-value="40" | CV-40

! scope="row" |

| frameless

| Essex (extended bow)

| 8 December 1945

| 13 May 1960

| data-sort-value="1968" | Scrapped in 1968

! scope="row" style="background:#3b3b3b;" data-sort-value="41" | CVB-41

! scope="row" |

| frameless

| data-sort-value="Midway" |

| 10 September 1945

| 11 April 1992

| Preserved at the USS Midway Museum—San Diego, California, US

! scope="row" style="background:#3b3b3b;" data-sort-value="42" | CVB-42

! scope="row" |

| frameless

| Midway

| 27 October 1945

| 1 October 1977

| data-sort-value="1978" | Scrapped in 1978

! scope="row" style="background:#3b3b3b;" data-sort-value="43" | CVB-43

! scope="row" |

| frameless

| Midway

| 1 October 1947

| 26 April 1990

| data-sort-value="2000" | Scrapped in 2000

! scope="row" style="background:#FAD3F9" data-sort-value="44" | CV-44

! scope="row" | No name assigned

| (no image available)

| Midway

| Cancelled before construction began.

! scope="row" style="background:#3b3b3b;" data-sort-value="45" | CV-45

! scope="row" |

| frameless

| Essex (extended bow)

| 3 November 1946

| 15 January 1970

| data-sort-value="1971" | Scrapped in 1971

! scope="row" style="background:#FAD3F9" data-sort-value="46" | CV-46

! scope="row" |

| frameless

| Essex (extended bow)

| data-sort-value="1946" | Cancelled during construction. Scrapped in 1949

! scope="row" style="background:#3b3b3b;" data-sort-value="47" | CV-47

! scope="row" |

| frameless

| Essex (extended bow)

| 11 May 1946

| 28 December 1958

| data-sort-value="1971" | Scrapped in 1971

! scope="row" style="background:#3b3b3b;" data-sort-value="48" | CVL-48

! scope="row" |

| frameless

| data-sort-value="Saipan" |

| 14 July 1946

| 14 January 1970

| data-sort-value="1976" | Scrapped in 1976

! scope="row" style="background:#3b3b3b;" data-sort-value="49" | CVL-49

! scope="row" |

| frameless

| Saipan

| 9 February 1947

| 27 May 1970

| data-sort-value="1980" | Scrapped in 1980

! scope="row" style="background:#3b3b3b;" data-sort-value="59" | CV-59

! scope="row" |

| frameless

| data-sort-value="Forrestal" |

| 1 October 1955

| 11 September 1993

| data-sort-value="2015" | Scrapped in 2015

! scope="row" style="background:#3b3b3b;" data-sort-value="60" | CV-60

! scope="row" |

| frameless

| Forrestal

| 14 April 1956

| 20 August 1994

| data-sort-value="2019" | Scrapped in 2019

! scope="row" style="background:#3b3b3b;" data-sort-value="61" | CV-61

! scope="row" |

| frameless

| Forrestal

| 10 August 1957

| 10 July 1993

| data-sort-value="2017" | Scrapped in 2017

! scope="row" style="background:#3b3b3b;" data-sort-value="62" | CV-62

! scope="row" |

| frameless

| Forrestal

| 10 January 1959

| 30 September 1998

| data-sort-value="2019" | Scrapped in 2019

! scope="row" style="background:#3b3b3b;" data-sort-value="63" | CV-63

! scope="row" |

| frameless

| data-sort-value="Kitty Hawk" |

| 29 April 1961

| 12 May 2009

| data-sort-value="2021" | Scrapped in 2024

! scope="row" style="background:#3b3b3b;" data-sort-value="64" | CV-64

! scope="row" |

| frameless

| Kitty Hawk

| 27 October 1961

| 7 August 2003

| data-sort-value="2017" | Scrapped in 2017

! scope="row" style="background:#3b3b3b;" data-sort-value="65" | CVN-65

! scope="row" |

| frameless

| data-sort-value="Enterprise" |

| 25 November 1961

| 3 February 2017

| Struck, to be scrapped

! scope="row" style="background:#3b3b3b;" data-sort-value="66" | CV-66

! scope="row" |

| frameless

| Kitty Hawk

| 23 January 1965

| 9 August 1996

| data-sort-value="2005" | Sunk as target ship in the Atlantic Ocean in 2005

! scope="row" style="background:#3b3b3b;" data-sort-value="67" | CV-67

! scope="row" |

| frameless

| data-sort-value="John F. Kennedy" |

| 7 September 1968

| 23 March 2007

| data-sort-value="2021" | Undergoing scrapping

! scope="row" style="background:#b6fcb6;" data-sort-value="69" | CVN-69

! scope="row" |

| frameless

| Nimitz

| 18 October 1977

| —

| Stationed at Naval Station Norfolk, Norfolk, Virginia

! scope="row" style="background:#b6fcb6;" data-sort-value="70" | CVN-70

! scope="row" |

| frameless

| Nimitz

| 13 March 1982

| —

| Stationed at Naval Air Station North Island, San Diego, California

! scope="row" style="background:#b6fcb6;" data-sort-value="71" | CVN-71

! scope="row" |

| frameless

| Nimitz

| 25 October 1986

| —

| Stationed at Naval Air Station North Island, San Diego, California

! scope="row" style="background:#b6fcb6;" data-sort-value="72" | CVN-72

! scope="row" |

| frameless

| Nimitz

| 11 November 1989

| —

| Stationed at Naval Air Station North Island, San Diego, California

! scope="row" style="background:#b6fcb6;" data-sort-value="73" | CVN-73

! scope="row" |

| frameless

| Nimitz

| 4 July 1992

| —

| Stationed at Fleet Activities Yokosuka, Yokosuka, Japan

! scope="row" style="background:#b6fcb6;" data-sort-value="74" | CVN-74

! scope="row" |

| frameless

| Nimitz

| 9 December 1995

| —

| Stationed at Naval Station Norfolk, Norfolk, Virginia

(Undergoing Maintenance)

! scope="row" style="background:#b6fcb6;" data-sort-value="75" | CVN-75

! scope="row" |

| frameless

| Nimitz

| 25 July 1998

| —

| Stationed at Naval Station Norfolk, Norfolk, Virginia

! scope="row" style="background:#b6fcb6;" data-sort-value="76" | CVN-76

! scope="row" |

| frameless

| Nimitz

| 12 July 2003

| —

| Stationed at Naval Base Kitsap, Bremerton, Washington

! scope="row" style="background:#b6fcb6;" data-sort-value="77" | CVN-77

! scope="row" |

| frameless

| Nimitz

| 10 January 2009

| —

| Stationed at Naval Station Norfolk, Norfolk, Virginia

! scope="row" style="background:#b6fcb6;" data-sort-value="78" | CVN-78

! scope="row" |

| frameless

| data-sort-value="Gerald R. Ford" |

| 22 July 2017

| —

| Stationed at Naval Station Norfolk, Norfolk, Virginia

! scope="row" style="background:#FFCC99;" data-sort-value="79" | CVN-79

! scope="row" |

| frameless

| Gerald R. Ford

| data-sort-value="2027" |

| —

| —

| Fitting out

! scope="row" style="background:#FFCC99;" data-sort-value="80" | CVN-80

! scope="row" |

| frameless

| Gerald R. Ford

| data-sort-value="2030" |

| —

| —

| Under construction

| —

| —

| Under construction

|

! scope="row" style="background:#87CEEB;" data-sort-value="82" | CVN-82

! scope="row" |

| frameless

| Gerald R. Ford

| data-sort-value="2034" |

| —

| —

| Ordered

|

! scope="row" style="background:#87CEEB;" data-sort-value="82" | CVN-83

! scope="row" |

| frameless

| Gerald R. Ford

| data-sort-value="2036" |

| —

| —

| Ordered

| Together the Sable and Wolverine trained 17,820 pilots in 116,000 carrier landings. Of these, 51,000 landings were on Sable.

Billed as the "world's smallest aircraft carrier" from 1986 to 2011, the Baylander (IX-514) had conducted 120,000 helicopter training landings.

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"

!Name

!class="unsortable" |Image

!Class

!data-sort-type="usLongDate" |Commissioned

!data-sort-type="usLongDate" |Decommissioned

!Service life

!class="unsortable" |Status

!class="unsortable" |

| data-sort-value="1" |IX-64

| frameless

| n/a (converted side-wheel steamer)

| 12 August 1942

| 7 November 1945

| Scrapped in 1947 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States

Aircraft carrier museums

National Museum of the United States Navy – Aircraft carrier museums

References

External links

MaritimeQuest US Aircraft Carrier Index
The Lost American Aircraft Carriers

; 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

Historical overview

List

Aircraft carrier museums

See also

References

External links