Onboard the US Navy (USN) Aircraft Carrier, USS KITTY HAWK (CV 63), Personnelman Third Class (PN3) Stuart Thomas (foreground) and Personnelman SEAMAN (PNSN) Darryl Mitchell, move cargo in the ships hangar bay, while in port at Naval Base Yokosuka, Japan

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.