Chinese sailors man the rails of the Chinese Navy guided missle destoyer PRC HARBIN (DDG-112) as it pulls in for a historic visit to San Diego on March 21. This marks the first time Chinese warships have crossed the Pacific and visited the Continental United States. The destroyers HARBIN and ZHUHAI, and their supply ship NANCANG will moor next to the aircraft carrier USS CONSTELLATION (CV 64). The ships are expected to visit for five days

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.