On the deck of the US Navy (USN) Nimitz Class Aircraft Carrier USS NIMITZ (CVN 68), a USN F-14A Tomcat, stands by while a USN F/A-18 Hornet has its nose gear checked in the box prior to launching. The box is the area where the catapult grip and the aircraft nose gear come together in preparation for launch

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.