A flight deck crewman waits behind the wheel of an MD-3 tow tractor while his crewmates prepare to move an F/A-18C Hornet aircraft on the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER (CVN-69) during Teamwork '92. Exact Date Shot Unknown

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.