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Supercarrier
A supercarrier is a word
sometimes used to describe a form of aircraft carrier,
with no official meaning. It is generally considered to
be 75,000 tons or greater in displacement — most
countries operate carriers with a displacement of less
than 40,000 tons (such as Charles de Gaulle), and more
often closer to 15,000 (such as HMS Illustrious.)
The 81,000 ton USS Forrestal was the first operational
supercarrier, though United States would have been in
service earlier, had it been completed; its cancellation
triggered the "Revolt of the Admirals." United
States would have had a nuclear strategic bombing role,
rather than the multipurpose role that all subsequent
supercarriers have had, carrying tactical aircraft only
for defense. The 72,000 ton armored Japanese carrier
Shinano of the World War II era was almost heavy enough
to be considered a supercarrier, but lacked several
defining features, such as catapults, arrestor cables,
and angled flight decks, and also did not possess the
sheer size of modern supercarriers. Because of the angled
deck and large deck area, supercarriers can have a far
larger island than conventional carriers, greatly
improving both their aviation capabilities and their
capability as flagships.
The U.S. Navy is currently the only
major sea power, and all completed supercarriers are
American, of which the 100,000 ton Nimitz class is the
most prolific. However the governments of the United
Kingdom and France have both approved plans to build
several new large carriers for their navies. The Thales
Group has been commissioned to build both country's
ships, which will be 50-60,000 tons, still significantly
smaller than the American Nimitz class, but large enough
to be considered supercarriers. They are scheduled to
become operational between 2012 and 2015. For more
information, see Royal Navy CVF programme and Future
French aircraft carriers. Adionionally, in the 1980s the
Soviet Union began construction of Ulyanovsk, an 85,000
ton nuclear carrier comparable in size to earlier
American supercarriers. Ulyanovsk was 40% complete when
cancelled (along with a follow-on vessel) due to lack of
funding after the end of the Cold War in 1991.
Supercarrier classes
United States (USA, 1950s) - Single-unit laid down,
cancelled along with four others
Forrestal class (USA, 1955) - Four unit class, all
decommissioned
Kitty Hawk class (USA, 1961) - Three unit class, two
decommissioned, one active
Enterprise (USA, 1961) - Single-unit class, still active
John F. Kennedy (USA, 1968) - Single-unit class, a
modified Kitty Hawk design, still active
Nimitz class (USA, 1975) - Final unit (of ten) scheduled
for completion in 2009, all units still active
Ulyanovsk (USSR, 1990s) - Two units cancelled after
partial completion
CVN-21 (USA, 2013) - Two units pending
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the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License
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