Airman Apprentice Chad Lewis, left, of Keyser, W.Va., directs a fire hose during a drill on the ship�s flight deck aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76).
Summary
Pacific Ocean (Nov. 07, 2004) Airman Apprentice Chad Lewis, left, of Keyser, W.Va., directs a fire hose during a drill on the ships flight deck aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76). Reagan is conducting sea trials for the first time since arriving in its new homeport of San Diego, Calif. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate Airman Aaron Burden File# 041107-N-7130B-010
Aircraft carriers are warships that act as airbases for carrier-based aircraft. In the United States Navy, these consist of ships commissioned with hull classification symbols CV (aircraft carrier), CVA (attack aircraft carrier), CVB (large aircraft carrier), CVL (light aircraft carrier), CVN (aircraft carrier (nuclear propulsion) and CVAN (attack aircraft carrier (nuclear propulsion). The first aircraft carrier commissioned into the United States Navy was USS Langley (CV-1) on 20 March 1922.