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 Forrestal-class, (CV-59 to present) all carriers commissioned into service are classified as supercarriers. The United States Navy has also used escort aircraft carriers and airship aircraft carriers. This list does not include various amphibious warfare ships which can operate as carriers.

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 Lexington-class, USS Ranger (the first purpose-built carrier in the American fleet), the Yorktown-class, and USS Wasp. 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 Essex-class, which are informally divided into regular bow and extended bow sub-classes, and the Independence-class, 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.

The Cold War led to multiple developments in the United States’ carrier fleet, starting with the addition of the Midway-class and the Saipan-class. One more class in the start of the Cold War, the United States-class, was 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 classes dubbed “supercarriers” was born, starting with the Forrestal-class, followed by the Kitty Hawk-class; Enterprise (CVN-65), the first nuclear powered carrier; and John F. Kennedy (CV-67), the last conventionally powered carrier. These were then followed by the Nimitz-class and the modern day post-cold war Gerald R. Ford-class nuclear supercarriers, the only two classes of supercarriers that are currently in active-duty service. The ten-ship Nimitz-class is complete. The USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) was launched in October 2013 and is the lead ship of her planned ten-ship Ford-class supercarriers. The John F. Kennedy (CVN-79) was launched in October 2019 and construction is underway on Enterprise (CVN-80).

List

#	Name	Image	Class	Commissioned	Decommissioned	Service life	Status	Refs.
CV-1	Langley		Langley (lead ship)	20 March 1922	27 February 1942	19 years, 344 days	Scuttled and sunk near Cilacap, Java in 1942
CV-2	Lexington		Lexington (lead ship)	14 December 1927	8 May 1942	14 years, 145 days	Sunk in the Battle of the Coral Sea
CV-3	Saratoga		Lexington	16 November 1927	26 July 1946	18 years, 254 days	Sunk as target ship near Bikini Atoll during Operation Crossroads
CV-4	Ranger		Ranger (lead ship)	4 June 1934	18 October 1946	12 years, 136 days	Scrapped in 1947
CV-5	Yorktown		Yorktown (lead ship)	30 September 1937	7 June 1942	4 years, 250 days	Sunk in the Battle of Midway
CV-6	Enterprise		Yorktown	12 May 1938	17 February 1947	8 years, 281 days	Scrapped in 1960
CV-7	Wasp		Wasp (lead ship)	25 April 1940	15 September 1942	2 years, 143 days	Sunk during the Guadalcanal campaign
CV-8	Hornet		Yorktown	20 October 1941	26 October 1942	1 year, 6 days	Sunk in the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands
CV-9	Essex		Essex (lead ship)	31 December 1942	20 June 1969	26 years, 171 days	Scrapped in 1975
CV-10	Yorktown		Essex	15 April 1943	27 June 1970	27 years, 73 days	Preserved at the Patriot’s Point Naval & Maritime Museum—Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, USA
CV-11	Intrepid		Essex	16 August 1943	15 March 1974	30 years, 211 days	Preserved at the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum—New York City, New York, USA
CV-12	Hornet		Essex	20 November 1943	26 May 1970	26 years, 187 days	Preserved at USS Hornet Museum—Alameda, California, USA
CV-13	Franklin		Essex	31 January 1944	17 February 1947	2 years, 351 days	Scrapped in 1966
CV-14	Ticonderoga		Essex (extended bow)	8 May 1944	1 September 1973	29 years, 116 days	Scrapped in 1975
CV-15	Randolph		Essex (extended bow)	9 October 1944	13 February 1969	24 years, 127 days	Scrapped in 1975
CV-16	Lexington		Essex	17 February 1943	8 November 1991	48 years, 264 days	Preserved at USS Lexington Museum on the Bay— Corpus Christi, Texas, USA
CV-17	Bunker Hill		Essex	25 May 1943	9 July 1947	4 years, 45 days	Scrapped in 1973
CV-18	Wasp		Essex	24 November 1943	1 July 1972	28 years, 220 days	Scrapped in 1973
CV-19	Hancock		Essex (extended bow)	15 April 1944	30 January 1976	31 years, 290 days	Scrapped in 1976
CV-20	Bennington		Essex	6 August 1944	15 January 1970	25 years, 162 days	Scrapped in 1994
CV-21	Boxer		Essex (extended bow)	16 April 1945	1 December 1969	24 years, 229 days	Scrapped in 1971
CVL-22	Independence		Independence (lead ship)	14 January 1943	28 August 1946	3 years, 226 days	Sunk as target ship near the Farallon Islands in 1951
CVL-23	Princeton		Independence	25 February 1943	24 October 1944	1 year, 242 days	Sunk in the Battle of Leyte Gulf
CVL-24	Belleau Wood		Independence	31 March 1943	13 January 1947	3 years, 288 days	Scrapped in 1960
CVL-25	Cowpens		Independence	28 May 1943	13 January 1947	3 years, 230 days	Scrapped in 1960
CVL-26	Monterey		Independence	17 June 1943	16 January 1956	12 years, 213 days	Scrapped in 1971
CVL-27	Langley		Independence	31 August 1943	11 February 1947	3 years, 164 days	Scrapped in 1964
CVL-28	Cabot		Independence	24 July 1943	21 January 1955	11 years, 181 days	Scrapped in 2002
CVL-29	Bataan		Independence	17 November 1943	9 April 1954	10 years, 143 days	Scrapped in 1961
CVL-30	San Jacinto		Independence	15 December 1943	1 March 1947	3 years, 76 days	Scrapped in 1972
CV-31	Bon Homme Richard		Essex	26 November 1944	2 July 1971	26 years, 218 days	Scrapped in 1992
CV-32	Leyte		Essex (extended bow)	11 April 1946	15 May 1959	13 years, 34 days	Scrapped in 1970
CV-33	Kearsarge		Essex (extended bow)	2 May 1946	15 January 1970	23 years, 258 days	Scrapped in 1974
CV-34	Oriskany		Essex (extended bow)	25 September 1950	20 September 1979	28 years, 360 days	Scuttled as artificial reef in the Gulf of Mexico in 2006
CV-35	Reprisal		Essex (extended bow)	n/a	n/a	n/a	Cancelled during construction. Scrapped in 1949
CV-36	Antietam		Essex (extended bow)	28 January 1945	8 May 1963	18 years, 100 days	Scrapped in 1974
CV-37	Princeton		Essex (extended bow)	18 November 1945	30 January 1970	24 years, 73 days	Scrapped in 1971
CV-38	Shangri-La		Essex (extended bow)	15 September 1944	30 July 1971	26 years, 318 days	Scrapped in 1988
CV-39	Lake Champlain		Essex (extended bow)	3 July 1945	2 May 1966	20 years, 303 days	Scrapped in 1972
CV-40	Tarawa		Essex (extended bow)	8 December 1945	13 May 1960	14 years, 157 days	Scrapped in 1968
#	Name	Image	Class	Commissioned	Decommissioned	Service life	Status	Refs.
CVB-41	Midway		Midway (lead ship)	10 September 1945	11 April 1992	46 years, 214 days	Preserved at the USS Midway Museum—San Diego, California, USA
CVB-42	Franklin D. Roosevelt		Midway	27 October 1945	1 October 1977	31 years, 339 days	Scrapped in 1978
CVB-43	Coral Sea		Midway	1 October 1947	26 April 1990	42 years, 207 days	Scrapped in 1993
CV-44	No name assigned	(no image available)	Midway	n/a	n/a	n/a	Cancelled before construction began.
CV-45	Valley Forge		Essex (extended bow)	3 November 1946	15 January 1970	23 years, 73 days	Scrapped in 1971
CV-46	Iwo Jima		Essex (extended bow)	n/a	n/a	n/a	Cancelled during construction. Scrapped in 1946
CV-47	Philippine Sea		Essex (extended bow)	11 May 1946	28 December 1958	12 years, 231 days	Scrapped in 1971
CVL-48	Saipan		Saipan (lead ship)	14 July 1946	14 January 1970	23 years, 184 days	Scrapped in 1976
CVL-49	Wright		Saipan	9 February 1947	15 March 1956	9 years, 35 days	Scrapped in 1980
CV-50 to CV-55	No names assigned	(no images available)	Essex	These hulls were all cancelled before construction began.
CVB-56 & CVB-57	No names assigned	(no images available)	Midway	These hulls were both cancelled before construction began.
CVA-58	United States		United States (lead ship)	n/a	n/a	n/a	Cancelled during construction. Scrapped on slip
CV-59	Forrestal		Forrestal (lead ship)	1 October 1955	30 September 1993	37 years, 364 days	Scrapped in 2014
CV-60	Saratoga		Forrestal	14 April 1956	20 August 1994	38 years, 128 days	Scrapped in 2015
CV-61	Ranger		Forrestal	10 August 1957	10 July 1993	35 years, 334 days	Scrapped in 2017
CV-62	Independence		Forrestal	10 January 1959	30 September 1998	39 years, 263 days	Scrapped in 2019
#	Name	Image	Class	Commissioned	Decommissioned	Service life	Status	Refs.
CV-63	Kitty Hawk		Kitty Hawk (lead ship)	29 April 1961	12 May 2009	48 years, 13 days	Struck, to be scrapped
CV-64	Constellation		Kitty Hawk	27 October 1961	7 August 2003	41 years, 284 days	Scrapped in 2015
CVN-65	Enterprise		Enterprise (lead ship)	25 November 1961	3 February 2017	55 years, 70 days	Struck, to be scrapped
CV-66	America		Kitty Hawk	23 January 1965	9 August 1996	31 years, 199 days	Sunk as target ship in the Atlantic Ocean in 2005
CV-67	John F. Kennedy		John F. Kennedy(lead ship)	7 September 1968	23 March 2007	38 years, 197 days	Struck, available for donation
CVN-68	Nimitz		Nimitz (lead ship)	3 May 1975	—	45 years, 346 days	Stationed at Naval Base Kitsap, Bremerton, Washington
CVN-69	Dwight D. Eisenhower		Nimitz	18 October 1977	—	43 years, 178 days	Stationed at Naval Station Norfolk, Norfolk, Virginia
CVN-70	Carl Vinson		Nimitz	13 March 1982	—	39 years, 32 days	Stationed at Naval Air Station North Island, San Diego, California
CVN-71	Theodore Roosevelt		Nimitz	25 October 1986	—	34 years, 171 days	Stationed at Naval Air Station North Island, San Diego, California
CVN-72	Abraham Lincoln		Nimitz	11 November 1989	—	31 years, 154 days	Stationed at Naval Air Station North Island, San Diego, California
CVN-73	George Washington		Nimitz	4 July 1992	—	28 years, 284 days	Stationed at Newport News Shipbuilding, Newport News, Virginia
CVN-74	John C. Stennis		Nimitz	9 December 1995	—	25 years, 126 days	Stationed at Naval Station Norfolk, Norfolk, Virginia
CVN-75	Harry S. Truman		Nimitz	25 July 1998	—	22 years, 263 days	Stationed at Naval Station Norfolk, Norfolk, Virginia
CVN-76	Ronald Reagan		Nimitz	12 July 2003	—	17 years, 276 days	Stationed at Yokosuka Naval Base, Yokosuka, Japan
CVN-77	George H.W. Bush		Nimitz	10 January 2009	—	12 years, 94 days	Stationed at Naval Station Norfolk, Norfolk, Virginia
CVN-78	Gerald R. Ford		Gerald R. Ford (lead ship)	22 July 2017	—	3 years, 266 days	Stationed at Naval Station Norfolk, Norfolk, Virginia
CVN-79	John F. Kennedy		Gerald R. Ford	~2022	—	—	Under construction; Newport News Shipbuilding, Newport News, Virginia
CVN-80	Enterprise		Gerald R. Ford	~2027	—	—	Steel cutting and fabrication; Newport News Shipbuilding, Newport News, Virginia
CVN-81	Doris Miller		Gerald R. Ford	~2030	—	—	Ordered
CVN-82	tba		Gerald R. Ford	~2034	—	—	Ordered
#	Name	Image	Class	Commissioned	Decommissioned	Service life	Status	Refs.

Keys

ships currently out of service
ships cancelled prior to completion
ships currently in active service
ships currently under construction
ships currently on order

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 (Unclassified Miscellaneous) 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.

#	Name	Image	Class	Commissioned	Decommissioned	Service life	Status	Refs.
IX-64	Wolverine		n/a (converted side-wheel steamer)	12 August 1942	7 November 1945	3 years, 2 months and 26 days	Scrapped in 1947 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States
IX-81	Sable		n/a (converted side-wheel steamer)	8 May 1943	7 November 1945	2 years, 5 months and 30 days	Scrapped in 1948 in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

Aircraft carrier museums

National Museum of the United States Navy – Aircraft carrier museums