An E-2C Hawkeye assigned to the Golden Hawks of Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron (VAW) 112 prepares to launch from flight deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74).

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.