An F/A-18C Hornet from Fighter Attack Squadron 86 (VFA-86) prepares for launch from the deck of the aircraft carrier USS GEORGE WASHINGTON (CVN 73). George Washington and her embarked Air Wing One (CVW-1) is operating in the Persian Gulf to enforce UN sanctions against Iraq, under 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.