US Navy Aviation Ordnanceman 3rd Class Scott Nelson transports an AGM-65 "Maverick" missile to an F/A-18 "Hornet" (Not shown) aboard the Nimitz Class Aircraft Carrier, USS JOHN C. STENNIS (CVN 74). An E-2C Hawkeye aircraft from VAW-121 is seen in the background. The STENNIS is deployed to the Persian Gulf in support of 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.