U.S. Navy: The Ultimate Aircraft Carrier Superpower? Hell Yes
Story by Peter Suciu • Yesterday 1:23 PM
Including amphibious assault ships (LHA), there are now 47 active aircraft carriers in the world, operated by fourteen navies. More than a third of the flattops are in service with the United States Navy, which maintains eleven nuclear-powered CATOBAR carriers, including ten Nimitz-class and one Gerald R. Ford-class.
In addition, the U.S. Navy operates two America-class LHAs of a planned 11; as well as seven Wasp-class ships – while an eighth was seriously damaged by fire and subsequently decommissioned last year. The current U.S. fleet of Nimitz-class carriers will also be followed into service and replaced on a one-for-one basis by future carriers of the Gerald R. Ford-class, which are more automated in an effort to reduce the amount of funding required to maintain and operate the vessels. In its 2018 report to Congress, the Navy stated its intention to maintain a 12 CVN force as part of its 30-year acquisition plan.
Carriers have been a crucial component of the Navy for the past 100 years. Here are some carrier facts by the numbers.
The First Aircraft Carrier
Converted from the collier USS Jupiter, USS Langley (CV-1, later AV-3) became the U.S. Navy’s first aircraft carrier when she was commissioned in March 1922. The first U.S. warship propelled by electric motors, she also became the test platform for developing carrier operating techniques and tactics while serving in the Pacific.
Reclassified as a seaplane tender (AV-3), she remained in service during the Second World War. While transporting U.S. Army P-40s to the Dutch East Indies in February 1942, she was attacked by Japanese aircraft and was scuttled by her escorting destroyers.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/u-s-navy-the-ultimate-aircraft-carrier-superpower-hell-yes/ar-AA15cesa?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=b853bcdf242741bb82fbcb600507383e
