List of Aircraft Carriers

Aircraft Carrier Game Class overview:
USS Dwight D. Eisenhower Aircraft Carrier
USS Carl Vinson Aircraft Carrier
USS Theodore Roosevelt Aircraft Carrier
USS Abraham Lincoln Aircraft Carrier
USS George Washington Aircraft Carrier
USS John C. Stennis Aircraft Carrier
USS Harry S. Truman Aircraft Carrier
USS Ronald Reagan Aircraft Carrier
USS George H. W. Bush Aircraft Carrier
List of German Navy Ships WW2
Battleship Bismarck,
Graf Zeppelin
Battleships Tirpitz, ScharnhorstAdmiral Graf SpeeU-Boats Types 1, 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D
Kriegsmarine Submarines Types U-Flak, 7A, 7B, 7C, 7C/41, 7C/42, 7D, 7F Kriegsmarine Submarines: U-Boats Type 9A, 9B, 9C, 9C/40, 9D, 14
Submarines: Type XXI , Type XXIII
Grand Admiral Karl Donitz, Erich Raeder

This is a list of aircraft carriers in the world's navies. It includes present (as of 2004) vessels as well as former vessels and those planned or under construction. Dates given are launching dates.

Contents
1 Argentina
2 Australia
3 Brazil
4 Canada
5 France
6 Germany
7 India
8 Italy
9 Japan
10 Netherlands
11 Russia
12 Spain
13 Thailand
14 United Kingdom
15 United States

Australia Aircraft Carriers
Australia's last aircraft carrier was decommissioned in 1982. The current Sydney and Melbourne are guided missile frigates, and the current Albatross is a naval base on land near Nowra. Small carriers are occasionally proposed.
Retired:
HMAS Melbourne (1945) (ex-British Majestic) retired 1982; sold to China 1985.
HMAS Sydney (1944) (ex-British Terrible) sold 30 October 1975, BU
HMAS Vengeance (1944) Formerly HMS Vengeance. Returned to Britain 13 August 1955; sold to Brazil 13 December 1956 as Minas Gerais
HMAS Albatross (1928) (seaplane carrier) Transferred to Britain 1938, BU 1950s

Brazil Aircraft Carriers
NAeL Sao Paulo formerly FS Foch, purchased 2001
Retired:
NAeL Minas Gerais formerly HMS Vengeance, purchased December 13, 1956, decommissioned 2001

Canada Aircraft Carriers
Canada's last aircraft carrier was decommissioned in 1970. Also, Canada's first two carriers were technically ships of the Royal Navy, and were thus "HMS" (His Majesty's Ships) instead of "HMCS". The UK technically owned the ships, and the RN's Fleet Air Arm provided the aircraft and aircrew, however the ship's crew were mostly from the Royal Canadian Navy.

Retired:
HMCS Bonaventure (1945) formerly HMS Powerful retired 1970 and BU
HMCS Magnificent (1944) returned to Britain June 14, 1957, BU 1960s
HMCS Warrior (1944) returned to Britain 1948, sold to Argentia 1958 and renamed Independencia, BU in 1971
HMS Puncher (1943) BU in Taiwan 1970s
HMS Nabob (1943) BU in Taiwan around 1977

France Aircraft Carriers
FS Charles de Gaulle (1994) (nuclear powered)
Planned:
Georges Pompidou (tentative name) modified version of UK CVF design
Retired:
Foch class Aircraft Carriers:
FS Foch (1959) sold to Brazil in 2001 and renamed São Paulo
FS Clemenceau (1957) sold to breakers in 2003, currently in Sicily awaiting scrapping
Arromanches (1943, formerly HMS Colossus, acquired 1946 - BU 1978
Dixmude (1940)
Joffre class Aircraft Carriers:
Joffre (-) (not completed)
Painleve (-) (not completed)
Commandante Teste (1929) (aviation transport) - Scuttled Toulon 1942, refloated 1946, BU 1950s?
Bearn (1920) (begun as battleship, converted 1923-27) - Decommissioned 1945, BU 1967?
Rouen (1912) (merchantman converted to seaplane carrier) captured by Germany 1940s
Nord (1898) (merchantman converted to seaplane carrier) fate unknown
Pas-de-Calais (1898) (merchantman converted to seaplane carrier) fate unknown
Compinas (1896) (merchantman converted to seaplane carrier) fate unknown
Foudre (1895) (seaplane carrier) stricken December 1, 1921

Germany Aircraft Carriers
Retired (World War II):
Graf Zeppelin class Aircraft Carriers:
Graf Zeppelin (1938) (not completed) captured by the USSR August, 1947 but not used as carrier, sank 1947
Peter Strasser (planned launch in 1940, not completed) - BU 1940

India Aircraft Carriers
There are plans for a total of three carriers.

INS Viraat (1953) formerly HMS Hermes (R12), purchased April 19, 1986. To retire around 2008
INS VIKRAMADITYA-- NOT YET READY formerly Admiral Gorshkov
Under construction:
New carrier, unnamed, to be based on Italian MM Cavour, building at Kochi SY, for commissioning in 2011
Retired:

INS Vikrant (1945) formerly HMS Hercules, purchased January, 1957, decommissioned 31 January 1997. To be preserved at a museum at Mumbai

Italy Aircraft Carriers
Giuseppe Garibaldi (1983) fleet flagship
Under construction:
Cavour (20 July 2004) formerly named Andrea Doria
Retired:
Vittorio Veneto (1967)
Andrea Doria class Aircraft Carriers:
Andrea Doria (1963)
Caio Duilio (1962)
Sparviero (1927) (converted liner Augustus, not completed as carrier) Sunk 5 October 1944
Aquila (1926) (converted liner Roma) BU 1951-1952
Giuseppe Miraglia (1923) (seaplane carrier) fate unknown after 1943
Europa (1895) (merchantman converted to seaplane carrier) stricken 1920

Japan Aircraft Carriers
(none; four Osumi class amphibious helicopter-capable ships are being built)
Retired (WW2 World War II era):
Akagi
Akitsu Maru
Amagi
Chitose
Chiyoda
Chuyo
Hiyo
Hiryu
Hosho
Junyo
Kaga
Kaiyo
Katsuragi
Kumano Maru
Nigitsu Maru
Ryuho
Ryujo
Shimane Maru
Shinano
Shinyo
Shoho
Shokaku
Soryu
Taiho
Taiyo
Unryu
Unyo
Yamashiro Maru
Zuiho
Zuikaku
(Only Hosho, Junyo, Kumano Maru, and Ryuho survived the war and these were scrapped by 1948.)

Netherlands Aircraft Carriers
(none; three amphibious helicopter-capable ships are being built)
Retired:
HNLMS Karel Doorman formerly HMS Venerable, purchased in 1948; sold to Argentina 1968 and renamed Veinticinco de Mayo

Russia Aircraft Carriers
Admiral Kuznetsov class Aircraft Carriers:
Admiral Flota Svetskogo Soyuza Kuznetsov (1985) (formerly Tbilisi)
Retired (USSR):
Ulyanovsk (-) (not completed) BU 1992. A sister ship was probably planned
Admiral Kuznetsov class Aircraft Carriers:
Varyag (1988) (Formerly named Riga) later owned by Ukraine and sold to the People's Republic of China for use as entertainment complex and transferred there in 2002.
Kiev class Aircraft Carriers:
Kiev (1972) BU 2000 India
Minsk (1975) Towed to People's Republic of China 1998 for use as casino
Novorossysk (1978) BU 1997 South Korea
Admiral Gorshkov (1982) formerly Baku, renamed October 4, 1990. Sold to India.
Moskva class Aircraft Carriers:
Moskva
Leningrad
Graf Zeppelin (1938) (ex-German) Captured by Russia August, 1947 but not used as a carrier

Spain Aircraft Carriers
SNS Principe de Asturias (1982)
Retired:

SNS Dedalo (1943) formerly USS Cabot
Dedalo (1901) (ex-British merchantman Neuenfels converted to seaplane carrier) Sold to Spain October 22,

Thailand Aircraft Carriers
HTMS Chakri Nareubet (January 20, 1996)

United Kingdom Aircraft Carriers
Active ships
Invincible class Aircraft Carrier:
Invincible (1977)
Illustrious (1981)
Ark Royal (1981)
Planned ships
CVF (full-sized, CTOL aircraft carriers) of 55,000+ tonnes
HMS Queen Elizabeth (2012)
HMS Prince of Wales (2015)
Decommissioned ships
Argus (1916)
Furious (1916)
Glorious class Aircraft Carriers:
Glorious (1916)
Courageous (1916)
Vindictive (1918)
Eagle (1918)
Hermes (1923)
Ark Royal (1938)
Unicorn
Illustrious class Aircraft Carriers:
Illustrious (1939)
Formidable (1939)
Victorious (1939)
Indomitable (1940)
Implacable class Aircraft Carriers:
Implacable (1942)
Indefatigable (1942)
Colossus class Aircraft Carriers:
Colossus (1943), sold to France in 1946 and renamed Arromanches
Glory (1943)
Ocean
Theseus (1944)
Triumph (1944)
Venerable, sold to the Netherlands in 1948 and renamed Karel Doorman, then to Argentina and renamed Veinticinco de Mayo
Vengeance (1944), sold to Brazil in 1956 and renamed Minas Gerais
Warrior (1944), loaned to Canada, sold to Argentina in 1958 and renamed Independencia
Perseus (1944)
Pioneer (1944)
Majestic class Aircraft Carriers:
Majestic (1945), sold to Australia in 1955 and renamed Melbourne
Hercules (1945), sold to India in 1957 and renamed Vikrant
Leviathan (1945), was never completed
HMCS Magnificent
Powerful (1945), sold to Canada in 1952 and renamed Bonaventure
Terrible (1944), sold to Australia in 1948 and renamed Sydney
Centaur class Aircraft Carriers:
Centaur (1947)
Albion (1947)
Bulwark (1948)
Hermes (1953), sold to India and renamed Viraat
Audacious class Aircraft Carriers:
Eagle (1946)
Ark Royal (1950)

United States Aircraft Carriers
USS Kitty Hawk
USS Constellation (decommissioned August 7, 2003)
USS Enterprise first nuclear-powered carrier
USS John F. Kennedy
Nimitz class Aircraft Carriers:
USS Nimitz
USS Dwight D. Eisenhower
USS Carl Vinson
USS Theodore Roosevelt
USS Abraham Lincoln
USS George Washington
USS John C. Stennis
USS Harry S. Truman
USS Ronald Reagan
Under construction:
USS George H. W. Bush (Nimitz class Aircraft Carrier)
CVN-21 (CVN-21 is the program name, actual hull numbers of the first two units will likely be CVN-78 and CVN-79)

USS Ronald Reagan belongs to the Nimitz-class supercarriers, a line of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers in service with the United States Navy, are the largest capital ships in the world, and are considered to be a hallmark in the superpower status of the United States of America. These aircraft carriers are numbered with consecutive hull numbers starting with the CVN-68. The letters CVN denote the type of ship: "CV" is the hull classification symbol for aircraft carriers, and "N" indicates nuclear-powered propulsion. The number after the CVN means that this is the 68th "CV", or large aircraft carrier.

Nimitz (CVN-68), the lead ship of the class, was commissioned on September 18, 1976. George H. W. Bush (CVN-77), the tenth and last of the class, was built by the Newport News Shipbuilding Company, and she entered naval service on January 10, 2009. The USS George H.W. Bush will be the first transition ship to the new Gerald R. Ford-class, the first ship of which began construction in 2007 and will incorporate new technologies including a new multi-function radar system, volume search radars, an open architecture information network, and a significantly reduced crew requirement. To lower costs, some new technologies were also incorporated into the Ronald Reagan, the previous carrier to the George H.W. Bush, though not nearly as many as will be involved with George H.W. Bush.

Because of construction differences between the first three ships (USS Nimitz, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and Carl Vinson) and the latter seven (from Theodore Roosevelt on), the latter ships are sometimes and erroneously called Theodore Roosevelt-class aircraft carriers, though the U.S. Navy considers them to all be in one class.[1] As the older aircraft carriers come in for their Refueling and Complex Overhaul, they are upgraded to the standards of the latest ships.[2]

By tonnage, the Nimitz-class aircraft carriers are the largest aircraft carriers built so far, holding the world record for displacement of any naval war vessel. After the George H.W. Bush, was completed, the ten ships of this class will total just under a million tons in combined displacement. Although the Nimitz-class ships are the heaviest ships in the US Navy fleet they are not the longest ships in the fleet, with that distinction belonging to the aircraft carrier Enterprise. Turn-based WW2 naval game, extension to the classic Submarine game (Battleship game) where ships/planes/subs can move. Contains plenty of game missions, game campaigns and 40 ship, submarine, airplane ana port artillery types, with combat maps up to 96X96 large.

The USS Nimitz was the first warship of this class to undergo her initial refueling during a 33-month RCOH at the Newport News Shipbuilding Company in Newport News, Virginia, in 1998. The Dwight D. Eisenhower was next, completing its RCOH in 2005. The Carl Vinson began its RCOH in late 2005. The USS Abraham Lincoln entered the large drydock at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard on September 8, 2006, but she left ahead of schedule on December 18.

The Kitty Hawk-class super aircraft carriers of the United States Navy were an incremental improvement on the Forrestal-class vessels. Four were built, all in the 1960s,
Kitty Hawk Aircraft Carrier(CV-63) (1961–2009),
Constellation Aircraft Carrier (CV-64) (1961–2003),
America Aircraft Carrier (CV-66) (1965–1996)
John F. Kennedy Aircraft Carrier (CV-67) (1967–2007).

All are now decommissionned.

Aircraft Carriers in 21st century

USA

The biggest differences from the Forrestals are greater length, and a different placement of elevators; two are forward of the island, one is aft of the island and another on the portside stern. The movement of the #4 elevator from the forward to the after end of the angle made it useful for aircraft movement, since the forward-end elevator was useless as it was in both the landing path and in the launch path of the #3 and #4 catapults.

Three different shipyards were used to construct the ships. Kitty Hawk was built at New York Shipbuilding Corporation, Constellation at New York Naval Shipyard, America and John F. Kennedy at Newport News Shipbuilding. John F. Kennedy is similar to the earlier units in flightdeck arrangement and propulsion, but has enough differences that she is often placed in her own class. Propulsion consisted of four Westinghouse geared turbines, 280,000 shp, four shafts with eight 1,200 psi Foster Wheeler boilers.

The current US fleet of Nimitz-class carriers are to be followed into service (and in some cases replaced) by the Gerald R. Ford-class. It is expected that the ships will be more automated in an effort to reduce the amount of funding required to maintain and operate its supercarriers. The main new features are implementation of Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) (which replace the old steam catapults) and unmanned aerial vehicles.

With the decommissioning of the USS Kitty Hawk in May 2009, the U.S. fleet comprises 11 supercarriers. The House Armed Services Seapower subcommittee on 24 July 2007, recommended seven or maybe eight new carriers (one every four years). However, the debate has deepened over budgeting for the $12–14.5 billion (plus $12 billion for development and research) for the 100,000 ton Gerald Ford-class carrier (estimated service 2015) compared to the smaller $2 billion 45,000 ton America-class amphibious assault ships able to deploy squadrons of F-35B.

United Kingdom
Artist depiction of the Queen Elizabeth-class, two of which are under construction for the Royal Navy.

The Royal Navy has signed a deal to build two new larger STOVL/CATOBAR aircraft carriers, the Queen Elizabeth-class, to replace the three Invincible-class carriers. The ships are to be named HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales. They will be able to operate up to 40 aircraft, and will have a displacement of around 65,000 tonnes. The two ships are due to enter service in 2016 and 2018 respectively, two years later than originally planned. Their primary aircraft complement will be made up of F-35C Lightning IIs, and their ship's company will number around 1450. The two ships will be the largest warships ever built for the Royal Navy. Although initially designed to be configured for STOVL operations, at least one of the carriers will be built to CATOBAR configurations to allow the F-35C to be operated, as announced in the 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review

France

French Navy has set in motion possible plans for a second CTOL aircraft carrier, to supplement Charles de Gaulle. The design would be much larger, at 65,000-75,000 tonnes, and would not be nuclear-powered like Charles de Gaulle. There are plans to base the carrier on the current Royal Navy design for CATOBAR operations (the Thales/BAE Systems design for the Royal Navy is for a STOVL carrier which is reconfigurable to CATOBAR operations.)

On 21 June 2008, French President Nicolas Sarkozy decided to place France's participation in the project on hold. He stated that a final decision on the future of the French carrier would be taken in 2011 or 2012. British plans for two aircraft carriers will go ahead as planned and were in no way conditional on French participation.

List of Aircraft Carriers