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Aircraft carrier: the story on HearLore | HearLore
Aircraft carrier
The largest weapon system ever created is not a missile or a tank, but a floating city that can sail anywhere on Earth without asking for permission. An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and hangar facilities for supporting, arming, deploying and recovering shipborne aircraft. Since their inception in the early 20th century, these vessels have evolved from wooden platforms used to deploy individual tethered reconnaissance balloons to nuclear-powered supercarriers that carry dozens of fighters, strike aircraft, military helicopters, and unmanned aerial vehicles. The sheer scale of these ships means they are often the centerpiece of modern naval warfare, possessing significant diplomatic influence in deterrence, command of the sea, and air supremacy. Henry Kissinger, while United States Secretary of State, famously described an aircraft carrier as 100,000 tons of diplomacy, highlighting how these vessels allow a nation to project power far from home without depending on local airfields or risking diplomatic complications by trespassing on sovereign territory. As of 2024, there are 50 active aircraft carriers in the world operated by fifteen navies, with the United States maintaining 11 large nuclear-powered fleet carriers, each carrying around 80 fighters, a deck space that exceeds the combined total of all other nations.
The First Flight
The first experimental take-off of a heavier-than-air fixed-wing airplane from a ship occurred on the 14th of November 1910, when Eugene Burton Ely flew a Curtiss Pusher airplane from the deck of the cruiser USS Birmingham anchored off Norfolk Navy Base in Virginia. Just two months later, on the 18th of January 1911, Ely landed his aircraft on a platform on the armored cruiser USS Pennsylvania in San Francisco Bay, proving that landing was possible as well. The first takeoff of an airplane from a ship while underway was made by Commander Charles Samson flying a Short Improved S.27 biplane from the deck of the Royal Navy's pre-dreadnought battleship HMS Africa on the 9th of May 1912. Early in World War I, the Imperial Japanese Navy ship Wakamiya conducted the world's first carrier-launched air raid on the 6th of September 1914, using its crane to lower Farman seaplanes into the water to attack Austro-Hungarian and German vessels in Jiaozhou Bay. The first carrier-launched airstrike was the Tondern raid in July 1918, where seven Sopwith Camels launched from the battlecruiser HMS Furious damaged a German airbase and destroyed two zeppelin airships. The first landing of an airplane on a moving ship was achieved by Squadron Commander Edwin Harris Dunning on the 2nd of August 1917, when he landed his Sopwith Pup on HMS Furious in Scapa Flow, though he was later killed when his aircraft was thrown overboard during another attempt. In 1918, HMS Furious became the world's first carrier capable of launching and recovering naval aircraft, setting the stage for the development of purpose-built fleet ships by the mid-1920s.
What is an aircraft carrier and how does it function?
An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase equipped with a full-length flight deck and hangar facilities for supporting, arming, deploying and recovering shipborne aircraft. These vessels allow nations to project power far from home without depending on local airfields or risking diplomatic complications by trespassing on sovereign territory.
When did the first takeoff of a heavier-than-air fixed-wing airplane from a ship occur?
The first experimental take-off of a heavier-than-air fixed-wing airplane from a ship occurred on the 14th of November 1910, when Eugene Burton Ely flew a Curtiss Pusher airplane from the deck of the cruiser USS Birmingham anchored off Norfolk Navy Base in Virginia.
Which nation operates the largest fleet of aircraft carriers as of 2024?
The United States maintains 11 large nuclear-powered fleet carriers as of 2024, with each carrier carrying around 80 fighters and a deck space that exceeds the combined total of all other nations.
Who invented the angled flight deck used on modern aircraft carriers?
The angled flight deck was invented by Royal Navy Captain Dennis Cambell to allow for simultaneous launch and recovery of naval jets that require higher speeds and modified carrier designs.
When was the Chinese Type 003 carrier Fujian commissioned?
China's Type 003 carrier, the Fujian, was commissioned on the 5th of November 2025 at the Sanya Naval Base after being under construction between 2015 and 2016 and completed in June 2022.
What is the primary function of the angled deck on an aircraft carrier?
The primary function of the angled deck is to allow aircraft that miss the arresting wires, referred to as a bolter, to become airborne again without the risk of hitting aircraft parked forward.
The aircraft carrier dramatically changed naval warfare in World War II, because air power was becoming a significant factor in warfare, driven by the superior range, flexibility, and effectiveness of carrier-launched aircraft. The Japanese surprise attack on the American Pacific fleet at Pearl Harbor on the 7th of December 1941 was a clear illustration of the power projection capability afforded by a large force of modern carriers, concentrating six carriers in a single unit to turn naval history about. In the Doolittle Raid on the 18th of April 1942, the US Navy carrier USS Hornet sailed to within 660 miles of Japan and launched 16 B-25 Mitchell medium bombers from her deck in a demonstrative retaliatory strike on the mainland, including the capital, Tokyo. The vulnerability of carriers compared to traditional capital ships was illustrated by the sinking of HMS Glorious by German battleships during the Norwegian campaign in 1940, which forced nations to create a number of carriers to provide air superiority cover for every major fleet. This extensive usage led to the development and construction of light carriers, such as escort aircraft carriers, which were sometimes purpose-built but most were converted from merchant ships as a stop-gap measure to provide anti-submarine air support for convoys and amphibious invasions. The Japanese carrier Shinano was built on a battleship hull to carry spare aircraft and ordnance in support of other carriers, but it was sunk by an American submarine while en route to complete fitting out, demonstrating the high stakes of carrier warfare.
The Nuclear Revolution
Following World War II, carrier operations continued to increase in size and importance, and along with technological advancements, carrier designs also increased in size and ability. The angled flight deck was invented by Royal Navy Captain Dennis Cambell, as naval aviation jets' higher speeds required carriers be modified to fit their needs, allowing for simultaneous launch and recovery. The first US Navy carriers to be fitted with jet blast deflectors were the wooden-decked Essex-class carriers which were adapted to operate jets in the late 1940s. The 1950s saw the US Navy's commission of supercarriers, designed to operate naval jets, which offered better performance at the expense of bigger size and demanded more ordnance to be carried on-board. The combination of increased carrier size, speed requirements above 30 knots, and a requirement to operate at sea for long periods mean that modern large aircraft carriers often use nuclear reactors to create power for propulsion, electricity, catapulting airplanes from aircraft carriers, and a few more minor uses. The USS Enterprise, launched in 1960, was the first carrier over 90,000 tonnes full load displacement, and the USS Nimitz, launched in 1972, was the first over 100,000 tonnes displacement. Today's aircraft carriers are so expensive that some nations which operate them risk significant economic and military impact if a carrier is lost, yet they remain the pinnacle of carrier development, displacing 75,000 tons or greater and forming the core of a fleet designed to operate far from home.
The Ballet of Steel
To facilitate working on the flight deck of a US aircraft carrier, the sailors wear colored shirts that designate their responsibilities, with at least seven different colors worn by flight deck personnel for modern United States Navy carrier air operations. The primary function of the angled deck is to allow aircraft that miss the arresting wires, referred to as a bolter, to become airborne again without the risk of hitting aircraft parked forward. Key personnel involved in the flight deck include the shooters, the handler, and the air boss, who occupies the top bridge and has the overall responsibility for controlling launch, recovery, and those aircraft in the air near the ship. The captain of the ship spends most of his time one level below primary on the Navigation Bridge, while below this is the Flag Bridge, designated for the embarked admiral and his staff. The flight deck itself is a complex environment where aircraft launch forward, into the wind, and are recovered from astern, with the size of the vessel being a fundamental limitation on runway length. This affects take-off procedure, as a shorter runway length of the deck requires that aircraft accelerate more quickly to gain lift, either requiring a thrust boost, a vertical component to its velocity, or a reduced take-off load. The hangar storage several decks below the flight deck is where most aircraft are kept, and aircraft are taken from the lower storage decks to the flight deck through the use of an elevator, while munitions are commonly stored on the lower decks because they are highly explosive.
Global Fleets
The US Navy has the largest fleet of carriers in the world, with eleven supercarriers in service as of 2024, while China has one CATOBAR carrier and two STOBAR carriers in service, and India has two STOBAR carriers in service. The UK has two STOVL carriers in service, and the navies of France and Russia each operate a single medium-sized carrier. The US also has nine similarly sized Amphibious Warfare Ships, and there are five small light carriers in use capable of operating both fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters, with Japan and Italy each operating two, and Spain one. China's Type 003 carrier, the Fujian, was commissioned on the 5th of November 2025 at the Sanya Naval Base, and is a conventionally-powered CATOBAR carrier that was under construction between 2015 and 2016 before being completed in June 2022. The Russian Admiral Kuznetsov, launched in 1985 as Tbilisi, is unique in carrying a heavy cruiser's complement of defensive weapons and large P-700 Granit offensive missiles, though it has been out of service and in repairs since 2018. The Japanese Izumo-class ships were commissioned in 2015 and 2017, and in December 2018, the Japanese Cabinet gave approval to convert both into aircraft carriers for F-35B STOVL operations, with the first vertical landings and horizontal take-offs from JS Izumo performed on the 3rd of October 2021.
The Future of War
Future aircraft carriers are under construction or in planning by China, France, India, Italy, Russia, South Korea, Turkey, and the United States, with China planning a class of eight LHD vessels, the Type 075, and a modified class of the same concept, the Type 076, that will be equipped with an electromagnetic catapult system. France is developing a new aircraft carrier, the PANG, which is to have a full load displacement of 80,000 tonnes and will be considered a supercarrier, with construction of the next generation carrier beginning in around 2025. India has plans for a third carrier, the Indigenous Aircraft Carrier 2, with a displacement of over 65,000 tonnes and is planned with a CATOBAR system to launch and recover heavier aircraft. The Turkish government approved the plan for the design and construction of a larger aircraft carrier, named the MUGEM-class, on the 3rd of January 2024, with construction of the first MUGEM-class aircraft carrier beginning on the 2nd of January 2025. The US fleet of Nimitz-class carriers will be followed into service by the Gerald R. Ford-class, which is expected to be more automated and implement Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System, replacing the old steam catapults. The debate has deepened over budgeting for the 100,000-tonne Gerald R. Ford-class carrier compared to the smaller 45,000-tonne amphibious assault ships, with Congress discussing the possibility of accelerating the phasing-out of one or more Nimitz-class carriers, postponing or canceling the procurement of CVN-81 and CVN-82, or modifying the purchase contract.