Onboard the bridge of the US Navy (USN) Nimitz Class Aircraft Carrier, USS THEODORE ROOSEVELT (CVN 71), Quarter MASTER SEAMAN (QMSN) Shirell Dickens (foreground), and QMSN Dampier Austin, show the position of the ship and give recommendations to the Officer of the Deck (OOD), USN Lieutenant Junior Grade (LTJG) Pete Pallas, while the ship is underway in the Atlantic Ocean conducting qualifications as part of the fleet response plan

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.