Dependents of U.S. military personnel prepare to board the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN (CVN 72) during evacuation of Clark Air Base and Naval Station, Subic Bay. Evacuees are being transported from the area in the aftermath of the eruption of Mount Pinatubo, a volcano that came alive on June 10th for the first time in over 600 years

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.