A pilot climbs into an F/A-18C Hornet attached to Marine Fighter Attack Squadron Two Five One (VMFA-251) aboard the aircraft carrier USS GEORGE WASHINGTON (CVN 73). GEORGE WASHINGTON and VMFA 251 are deployed to the Persian Gulf in support of Operation Southern Watch

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.