Fire Controlman 3rd Class Steven Goad from Virginia Beach, Va., (right) and Fire Controlman 3rd Class Joshua from Saugerties, N.Y., load a Phalanx Mk-15 Close In Weapons System (CIWS) aboard USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71).
Summary
The Mediterranean Sea (Mar. 07, 2003) Fire Controlman 3rd Class Steven Goad from Virginia Beach, Va., (right) and Fire Controlman 3rd Class Joshua from Saugerties, N.Y., load a Phalanx Mk-15 Close In Weapons System (CIWS) aboard USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71). The Roosevelt Battle Group is deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. U.S. Navy photo by Chief Journalist Alan J. Baribeau. File# 030307-N-6141B-002
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.