A US Navy Sailor sweeps down part of the hangar bay during the daily Executive Officer Hour of Performance aboard the Nimitz Class Aircraft Carrier USS THEODORE ROOSEVELT (CVN 71) during operations in the Atlantic Ocean.(U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication SPECIALIST First Class Michael Worner) (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.