German frigate FGS Hessen (F221) breaks formation.
Summary
U.S. 5TH FLEET AREA OF RESPONSIBILITY (Jun. 19, 2010) The German navy air defense frigate FGS Hessen (F221), right, breaks formation to cruise past the guided-missile destroyer USS Ross (DDG 71), left, the guided-missile cruiser USS Normandy (CG 60), center, the guided-missile destroyer USS Oscar Austin (DDG 79) and the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75). Hessen detached from the Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group following operations in the U.S. 6th Fleet area of responsibility. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Kilho Park) File# 100619-N-6003P-565
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.