A member of Helicopter Combat Support Squadron 2 (HC-2) looks out the open door of an SH-3 Sea King helicopter as it flies out to the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS THEODORE ROOSEVELT (CVN-71) in the aftermath of Operation Desert Storm

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.