A chief master-at-arms leans on a railing near the Mark 16 Phalanx close-in weapon system (CIWS) in Mount 23 on the stern of the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN (CVN-72). The LINCOLN is making a four-day visit to the island of Saint Thomas

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.