A view from behind US Navy Photographer's Mate 3rd class (PH3) Mark Hamilton taking aerial photos of the US Navy KITTY HAWK CLASS Aircraft carrier USS KITTY HAWK (CV 63). The KITTY HAWK is departing Naval Station San Diego, on its way to a six-month deployment in the Western Pacific

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.