An air-to-air front view of three Air Anti-submarine Squadron 31 (VS-31) S-3A Viking aircraft in formation over the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER (CVN-69). Carrier Air Wing 7 (CVW-7) is assigned to the EISENHOWER, which is in t

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.