List of aircraft carriers of the United States Navy

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

Hull Name Image Class Commissioned Decommissioned Service life Status CV-1 20 March 1922 27 February 1942 Converted to a seaplane tender in 1936, Sunk near Cilacap, Java in 1942 CV-2 14 December 1927 8 May 1942 Sunk in the Battle of the Coral Sea in 1942 CV-3 Lexington 16 November 1927 25 July 1946 Sunk as target ship near Bikini Atoll during Operation Crossroads in 1946 CV-4 4 June 1934 18 October 1946 Scrapped in 1947 CV-5 30 September 1937 7 June 1942 Sunk in the Battle of Midway in 1942 CV-6 Yorktown 12 May 1938 17 February 1947 Scrapped in 1960 CV-7 25 April 1940 15 September 1942 Sunk during the Guadalcanal campaign in 1942 CV-8 Yorktown 20 October 1941 27 October 1942 Sunk in the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands in 1942 CV-9 31 December 1942 30 June 1969 Scrapped in 1975 CV-10 Essex 15 April 1943 27 June 1970 Preserved at the Patriot's Point Naval & Maritime Museum—Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, US CV-11 Essex 16 August 1943 15 March 1974 Preserved at the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum—New York City, US CV-12 Essex 29 November 1943 26 June 1970 Preserved at USS Hornet Museum—Alameda, California, US CV-13 Essex 31 January 1944 17 February 1947 Scrapped in 1966 CV-14 Essex (extended bow) 8 May 1944 1 September 1973 Scrapped in 1975 CV-15 Essex (extended bow) 9 October 1944 13 February 1969 Scrapped in 1975 CV-16 Essex 17 February 1943 8 November 1991 Preserved at USS Lexington Museum on the Bay— Corpus Christi, Texas, US CV-17 Essex 25 May 1943 9 January 1947 Scrapped in 1973 CV-18 Essex 24 November 1943 1 July 1972 Scrapped in 1973 CV-19 Essex (extended bow) 15 April 1944 30 January 1976 Scrapped in 1976 CV-20 Essex 6 August 1944 15 January 1970 Scrapped in 1994 CV-21 Essex (extended bow) 16 April 1945 1 December 1969 Scrapped in 1971 CVL-22 14 January 1943 28 August 1946 Sunk as target ship near the Farallon Islands in 1951 CVL-23 Independence 25 February 1943 24 October 1944 Sunk in the Battle of Leyte Gulf in 1944 CVL-24 Independence 31 March 1943 13 January 1947 Scrapped in 1960 CVL-25 Independence 28 May 1943 13 January 1947 Scrapped in 1960 CVL-26 Independence 17 June 1943 16 January 1956 Scrapped in 1971 CVL-27 Independence 31 August 1943 11 February 1947 Scrapped in 1964 CVL-28 Independence 24 July 1943 21 January 1955 Scrapped in 2002 CVL-29 Independence 17 November 1943 9 April 1954 Scrapped in 1961 CVL-30 Independence 15 November 1943 1 March 1947 Scrapped in 1972 CV-31 Essex 26 November 1944 2 July 1971 Scrapped in 1992 CV-32 Essex (extended bow) 11 April 1946 15 May 1959 Scrapped in 1970 CV-33 Essex (extended bow) 2 March 1946 13 February 1970 Scrapped in 1974 CV-34 Essex (extended bow) 25 September 1950 20 September 1976 Scuttled as artificial reef in the Gulf of Mexico in 2006 CV-35 Essex (extended bow) Cancelled during construction. Scrapped in 1949 CV-36 Essex (extended bow) 28 January 1945 8 May 1963 Scrapped in 1974 CV-37 Essex (extended bow) 18 November 1945 30 January 1970 Scrapped in 1971 CV-38 Essex (extended bow) 15 September 1944 30 July 1971 Scrapped in 1988 CV-39 Essex (extended bow) 3 June 1945 2 May 1966 Scrapped in 1972 CV-40 Essex (extended bow) 8 December 1945 13 May 1960 Scrapped in 1968 CVB-41 10 September 1945 11 April 1992 Preserved at the USS Midway Museum—San Diego, California, US CVB-42 Midway 27 October 1945 1 October 1977 Scrapped in 1978 CVB-43 Midway 1 October 1947 26 April 1990 Scrapped in 2000 CV-44— Midway Cancelled before construction began. CV-45 Essex (extended bow) 3 November 1946 15 January 1970 Scrapped in 1971 CV-46 Essex (extended bow) Cancelled during construction. Scrapped in 1949 CV-47 Essex (extended bow) 11 May 1946 28 December 1958 Scrapped in 1971 CVL-48 14 July 1946 14 January 1970 Scrapped in 1976 CVL-49 Saipan 9 February 1947 27 May 1970 Scrapped in 1980 – CV-55— Essex These hulls were all cancelled before construction began. , CVB-57 Midway CVA-58 Cancelled during construction. Scrapped on slip in 1949 CV-59 1 October 1955 11 September 1993 Scrapped in 2015 CV-60 Forrestal 14 April 1956 20 August 1994 Scrapped in 2019 CV-61 Forrestal 10 August 1957 10 July 1993 Scrapped in 2017 CV-62 Forrestal 10 January 1959 30 September 1998 Scrapped in 2019 CV-63 29 April 1961 12 May 2009 Scrapped in 2024 CV-64 Kitty Hawk 27 October 1961 7 August 2003 Scrapped in 2017 CVN-65 25 November 1961 3 February 2017 Struck, to be scrapped CV-66 Kitty Hawk 23 January 1965 9 August 1996 Sunk as target ship in the Atlantic Ocean in 2005 CV-67 7 September 1968 23 March 2007 Undergoing scrapping CVN-68 3 May 1975 — Stationed at Naval Base Kitsap, Bremerton, Washington CVN-69 Nimitz 18 October 1977 — Stationed at Naval Station Norfolk, Norfolk, Virginia CVN-70 Nimitz 13 March 1982 — Stationed at Naval Air Station North Island, San Diego, California CVN-71 Nimitz 25 October 1986 — Stationed at Naval Air Station North Island, San Diego, California CVN-72 Nimitz 11 November 1989 — Stationed at Naval Air Station North Island, San Diego, California CVN-73 Nimitz 4 July 1992 — Stationed at Fleet Activities Yokosuka, Yokosuka, Japan CVN-74 Nimitz 9 December 1995 — Stationed at Naval Station Norfolk, Norfolk, Virginia (Undergoing Maintenance) CVN-75 Nimitz 25 July 1998 — Stationed at Naval Station Norfolk, Norfolk, Virginia CVN-76 Nimitz 12 July 2003 — Stationed at Naval Base Kitsap, Bremerton, Washington CVN-77 Nimitz 10 January 2009 — Stationed at Naval Station Norfolk, Norfolk, Virginia CVN-78 22 July 2017 — Stationed at Naval Station Norfolk, Norfolk, Virginia CVN-79 Gerald R. Ford — — Sea trials CVN-80 Gerald R. Ford — — Under construction CVN-81 Gerald R. Ford — — Ordered CVN-82 Gerald R. Ford — — Ordered CVN-83 Gerald R. Ford — — Ordered

Training ships During World War II, the United States Navy purchased 2 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 in a safe area where the carriers would not be at risk of attack by hostile forces. 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.

#Name ImageClassCommissionedDecommissionedService lifeStatusIX-64 n/a(converted side-wheel steamer) 12 August 1942 7 November 1945 Scrapped in 1947 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United StatesIX-81 n/a(converted side-wheel steamer) 8 May 1943 7 November 1945 Scrapped in 1948 in Hamilton, Ontario, CanadaIX-514 Baylander n/a(converted harbor utility craft YFU-79) 31 March 1986 15 December 2011 , the Baylander serves as a restaurant and bar in New York City.

Aircraft carrier museums National Museum of the United States Navy – Aircraft carrier museums

List of aircraft carriers of the United States Navy

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