Summary and key points: There are currently 47 active aircraft carriers in the world, more than a third of which are operated by the U.S. Navy, including 11 nuclear-powered carriers. The U.S. also has a fleet of amphibious assault ships and plans to maintain and replace these carriers in the coming years.
-Notably, the first U.S. aircraft carrier was the USS Langley, commissioned in 1922, while the USS Enterprise was the first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier in 1961.
– Despite previous efforts to preserve them, only five U.S. aircraft carriers remain as museum ships today. Due to the high costs, there are no plans to save more.
The US Navy dominates with over a third of all aircraft carriers in the world
Including amphibious assault ships (LHAs), there are currently 47 active aircraft carriers operated by fourteen navies worldwide. More than a third of the aircraft carriers are in service with the United States Navy, which maintains eleven nuclear-powered CATOBAR carriers, including ten of the Nimitz class and one of the Gerald R. Ford class.
In addition, the US Navy operates two of a planned eleven America-class LHAs and seven Wasp-class ships – an eighth was severely damaged by fire and subsequently decommissioned last year.
The current US fleet of Nimitz-class aircraft carriers is also to be put into service and replaced one-to-one by future Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carriers. These are more automated in order to reduce the costs of maintaining and operating the ships.
In its 2018 report to Congress, the Navy stated its intention to maintain a force of 12 CVNs as part of its 30-year acquisition plan.
Aircraft carriers have been an important part of the Navy for the past 100 years. Here are some facts about aircraft carriers in numbers.
The first aircraft carrier
The USS Langley (CV-1, later AV-3), a conversion of the coal ship USS Jupiter, became the US Navy’s first aircraft carrier when it was commissioned in March 1922. As the first US warship with electric motors, it also served as a test platform for the development of carrier operating techniques and tactics during its deployment in the Pacific.
She was reclassified as a seaplane tender (AV-3) and remained in service during World War II. In February 1942, while transporting U.S. Army P-40s to the Netherlands East Indies, she was attacked by Japanese aircraft and sunk by her accompanying destroyers.
Huge number built during World War II
Although the U.S. Navy operates more aircraft carriers than any other nation, its carrier population was once even greater. During World War II, 155 aircraft carriers were built, including 122 escort carriers.
First nuclear carrier
The USS Enterprise (CVN-65) was commissioned on November 25, 1961 in Newport News, Virginia and was the first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. Together with the USS Bainbridge (DLGN-25) and the USS Long Beach (CGN-9), she was part of the nuclear task force Operation Sea Orbit from May to October 1964, during which she circumnavigated the world without refueling. The “Big-E” first took part in combat operations in Vietnam and was later used in the Iraq War. At the time of her decommissioning, the Enterprise was the third oldest commissioned ship of the US Navy after the wooden-hulled USS Constitution and the USS Pueblo (AGER-2).
Five carriers remain as museum ships
There are currently five U.S. Navy aircraft carriers preserved as museum ships, including four Essex-class carriers: USS Yorktown (CV-10), USS Intrepid (CV-11), USS Hornet (CV-12), and USS Lexington (CV-16), as well as USS Midway (CV-41), the lead ship of the late World War II carrier class.
No one else will be saved
Given the decommissioning and planned scrapping of USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63) and USS John F. Kennedy (CVN-67) – the last two conventionally powered aircraft carriers in the US Navy – it is unlikely that another US aircraft carrier ship will be preserved as a museum. Although there have been efforts to preserve these ships, they have instead been sold for as little as one cent apiece.
There were also calls to save CVN-65, but ultimately the undertaking was deemed too expensive and too complicated.
About the author: Peter Suciu
Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer who has written over 3,000 pieces for more than four dozen magazines, newspapers and websites in his twenty-year journalism career. He writes regularly about military equipment, weapons history, cybersecurity and international affairs. Peter is also a guest writer for Forbes. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu.
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