A U.S. Navy Hold Back Operator hooks up a U.S. Navy F/A-18C Hornet strike fighter aircraft to the catapult prior to its launch from the flight deck of the Nimitz Class Aircraft Carrier USS DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER (CVN 69) on April 14, 2007, while the EISENHOWER transits through the Arabian Sea on a regularly scheduled deployment in support of Maritime Security Operations (MSO) in the area. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication SPECIALIST SEAMAN David Danals) (Released)

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.