Admiral Kuznetsov (CV Project 1143-5/6)
Do to historical and political considerations carrier development got off to a slow start in the Soviet Union. The debate over large decked carriers has been ongoing for decades starting the 1930’s with Stalin; however two c...

Aquila
The Aquila (meaning "Eagle") was a proposed aircraft carrier whose construction began in 1941 but was never completed due to the Italian armistice in 1943. She was a conversion of the Italian passenger liner Roma and offered ...

Bearn
The French aircraft carrier Bearn was based on the hull of the Normandie-class of French battleships and was designed as an experimental aircraft carrier from the outset. Appearing in the relatively peaceful interwar years, t...

Charles de Gaulle (R 91)
The Charles de Gaulle (R 91) is a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier currently in service with the French Navy. She stands as the first French-produced nuclear-powered surface craft ever and features a variety of modern high-t...

Dixmude (A-609)
The French escort carrier Dixmude A-609 was built in the United States in 1939 first named as the Rio Parana - a river in South America - as a C3 type passenger cargo ship by the Sun Shipbuilding and Drydock Company, Chester,...

Giuseppe Garibaldi (551)
The Giuseppe Garibaldi is a conventionally-powered aircraft carrier in active service with the Italian Navy. She is designed to field the Harrier II series of VTOL aircraft and serves as the flagship of the Italian naval bran...

Graf Zeppelin (Flugzeugtrager A)
Nazi Germanys first and only carriers were proposed as part of the Z plan for the buildup of the fleet. The Kriegsmarine never named a vessel before it was launched, so it was given the designation "A" before she got underway...

HMS Ark Royal (R07)
The Ark Royal (originally to be called the HMS Indomitable) represented a fitting addition to British naval power at the end of the century, considering the name had been in use for decades in other forms including an aircraf...

HMS Audacity (D10)
The British navy has always produced ships that were on the leading edge of naval technology - the HMS Victory and HMS Dreadnought being such two. Another became HMS Audacity, the first escort aircraft carrier. The escort su...

HMS Ben-my-Chree
The HMS Ben-my-Chree served the Royal Navy through the middle years of World War 1, operating as a seaplane carrier. Originally, the vessel was a 2,500 liner used to ferry passengers to the Isle of Man until being taken over ...

IJN Akagi
The IJN Akagi was born from a battlecruiser class design consisting of the Akagi and the Amagi. These cruisers were under construction by the time of the end of the First World War and the Washington Naval Treaty signed enact...

IJN Shokaku
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IJN Zuikaku
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Jeanne d'Arc (R 97)
The Jeanne d'Arc (R 97) can be classified as an "aircraft" carrier in the general sense through her design is such that she primarily serves rotary-wing aircraft (helicopters) and is therefore officially classified as a helic...

Kiev (Project 1143 Krechyet)
The Kiev Class was a larger version of the Moskva Class and her design was a bold step in achieving a through-deck carrier. Lacking catapults and arrester gear she was only able to operate V/STOL fixed-wing aircraft along wit...

Moskva (Project 1123 Kondor)
In the 1960’s the range of Polaris Submarine missiles were known to the Soviets and it was apparent that western SSBN’s would have to launch in the eastern Mediterranean to hit the Russian heart land. To counter a proposed we...

NAe Sao Paulo
The NAe Sao Paulo is a conventionally-powered aircraft carrier and the flagship of the Brazilian Navy. She was the property of the French Navy when launched back in 1959 but sold to Brazil in 2000, saving her from the scrap h...

Principe de Asturias (R 11)
The Principe de Asturias is a conventionally-powered aircraft carrier in service with the Spanish Navy and is of all Spanish construction. Though fielding a relatively limited air arm (when compared to her contemporaries), sh...

RTN Chakri Naruebet (CVS-911)
The RTN (Royal Thai Navy) HMTS (His Majesty's Thai Ship) Chakri Naruebet (911) is Thailand's first and only aircraft carrier and is the smallest serving carrier in the world. The name "Chakri Naruebet" was given by King Bhumi...

USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72)
The USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) became the fifth Nimitz-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier in operation with the United States Navy on November 11th, 1989. Throughout her time abroad, she has primarily operated in the Pe...

USS America (CV-66)
The USS America (CV-66 though initially designated as CVA-66) was a conventionally-powered aircraft carrier that served the United States Navy through the Cold War and beyond, officially being decommissioned in 1996. She was ...

USS Attu (CVE-102)
The USS Attu was an escort aircraft carrier serving with the United States Navy in World War 2. She operated primarily in the Pacific Theater and served to resupply and replenish task force groups with fresh aircraft and pilo...

USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70)
The USS Carl Vinson is one of ten Nimitz-class nuclear-powered aircraft carriers operated by the United States Navy with the latest in the series becoming the USS Ronald Reagan and the USS George W. Bush. The Nimitz-class is ...

USS Enterprise (CV-6)
The original "Big E", the USS Enterprise of World War 2 fame, became one of the most storied vessels of the war. By far a superior product of pre-war design, the vessel found itself through the toughness and determination of ...

USS Enterprise (CVN-65)
This modernized version of the World War 2-era aircraft carrier became the first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier in the world when it was commission in 1961 with its eight A2W reactors. Born to lead a class of six like-carri...

USS George Washington (CVN-73)
The USS George Washington (CVN 73) is a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier in service with the United States Navy. She represents the sixth such vessel of her type in the Nimitz –class of supercarriers and is named after the fi...

USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75)
The USS Harry S. Truman is another in the long line of Nimitz-class nuclear-powered aircraft carriers in service with the United States Navy. With her mighty air wing and the ability to be called upon anywhere in the world, t...

USS Intrepid (CV-11)
The USS Intrepid served the United States Navy throughout World War 2 and beyond. The vessel was designed from the new Essex-class of aircraft carriers and was officially added to the navy inventory in 1943. The Intrepid woul...

USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74)
The USS John C. Stennis is the fifth in the line of 10 Nimitz-class nuclear-powered aircraft carriers in service with the United States Navy. The Stennis provides a powerful air arm and limitless range making it a prime opera...

USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67)
The USS John F. Kennedy was part of the Kitty Hawk-class of conventionally-powered vessels in service with the United States Navy in the Atlantic Ocean and during a bulk of the Cold War years and beyond. Initially ordered as ...

USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63)
The USS Kittyhawk was first ordered in October of 1955 and laid down in December of 1956 by New York Shipbuilding Corporation. She was launched in May of 1960 and officially commissioned in April of the following year. The Ki...

USS Langley (CV-1) (AV-3)
The USS Langley (CV-1) was the United States Navy's first aircraft carrier. The hull of the Langley had seen prior years of service under the name of USS Jupiter (Collier # 3), a collier or coal vessel that also served as ...

USS Lexington (CV-2)
The USS Lexington (CV-2) and the USS Saratoga (CV-3) both served the United States Navy well in the inter-war years, supplying the nation with the priceless experience that would pay off by the time of World War 2. The USS Le...

USS Nimitz (CVN-68)
One of the most recognizable American Navy names of World War 2 became the name of one of the most identifiable aircraft carriers in the Cold War. The USS Nimitz - named after US Navy Pacific Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz -...

USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76)
The USS Ronald Reagan is the ninth vessel in the ten-strong Nimitz-class nuclear-powered submarines beginning with the initial USS Nimitz (CVN 69). The vessels are a powerful family of warship, providing a myriad of combat op...

USS Saratoga (CV-3)
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USS Saratoga (CV-60)
The crew called her Sara and she was ordered as a "Large Aircraft Carrier" the fifth ship in the United states Navy to have that battle name. USS Saratoga (CV-60) being the second of the four Forrestal-class carriers was re...

USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71)
The USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) is a Nimitz class carrier and was the 4th ship of 10 built. As a class they currently are the largest nuclear powered capital ships in service not only in the USN but in the world. The a...

USS Yorktown (CV-10)
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