The aircraft carrier, often labeled the “powerhouse of the fleet,” has been at the heart of U.S. naval strategy for close to a century. Their design has grown markedly, emblematic of technological progression and strategic needs.
The U.S. Navy started what became an odyssey with its first aircraft carrier, USS Langley (CV-1), which was commissioned on March 20, 1922. Initially converted from a collier, USS Jupiter (AC-3), Langley ushered in the age of carrier aviation. Although she was not the first ship with a flight deck, much came of Langley’s service. At 542 feet in length, she displaced 11,500 tons, and her speed could reach 15.5 knots. Langley featured two lift cranes, two flight-deck catapults, and a complement of 36 aircraft. An arresting gear of wires running fore and aft was a precursor to more advanced systems.
The next class was the Lexington class, equally important in design. These 2 carriers were the only 2 that started construction in the year of 1927. Also originally designed as battlecruisers, they were more efficient than Langley. Traveling at 33.3 knots, these carriers weighed 37,000 tons and were 888 ft. long. Being introduced in the Lexington class, the bulbous bow, the carrier experienced less water resistance and therefore less hull building material. With seventy-eight aircraft, the Lexington class carriers held a proper hangar, two elevators, and one catapult.
USS Ranger (CV-4) was the first ship commissioned in the U.S. Navy construction design specifically created from the keel out as an aircraft carrier. Weighing in at 14,500 tons, 769 feet long, it could make a maximum of 29.3 knots and carry a complement of 86 aircraft. The second, following on the slopes of Ranger, was the equally well-known Yorktown class duo, including the famous USS Enterprise (CV-6). These were very versatile and fast carriers, with 20,100 tons of displacement and a length of 809 feet, very fine, with a service speed of 32.5 knots. The number of airplanes it could carry varied, but it could be a normal load of 70 to 90 aircraft with hydraulic catapults.
It was during World War II that the strategic value of an aircraft carrier came to the fore. The maiden commission of the first Essex class in 1942 marked the backbone of the fighting qualities of the U.S. Navy. This aircraft carrier boasted a Conrad, several enhanced design characteristics such as it had the potential to launch and recover operations simultaneously. This also meant that the design had an inclined deck and this increased the operational efficiency.
The next big step forward came with the Midway class, which was commissioned in 1945 and 1946. They had an armored flight deck and a capacity for about 130 planes, but this was later reduced. Major modernizations in the 1950s and early 1960s gave the Midway class the ability to handle the heavier naval jets in service at that time, adding angled decks, steam catapults, and mirrored landing systems.
The first major innovation in carrier design was marked by the introduction of nuclear propulsion. Laid down in 1958, the USS Enterprise (CVN-65) was the first nuclear-powered aircraft in 1961. At 1,101 feet, she is the longest naval vessel in the world. The tenth and final nuclear-powered carrier in the Nimitz class, they have certain features, of course, such as being evident in the CATOBAR system, maintaining the 10:1 aspect of length to beam ratio for the speed of launching and recovery respectively, and simultaneously handling very complex air operations.
Carrying on in that evolution of the ship, the Ford-class carriers are the latest development, with the lead ship named the USS Gerald R. Ford, commissioned in 2017. These carriers have displacements of over 90,000 tons, lengths of 1,092 feet, and can achieve speeds of over 30 knots. The class includes enabling technologies of electromagnetic aircraft launch systems and advanced arresting gear that make the new carriers more operationally effective and require fewer people.
As the United States Navy continues to modernize, the aircraft carrier remains a very important platform for projecting the power and influence of Americans around the globe. From their humble beginnings to the sophisticated carriers of today, these floating airfields have become indispensable in protecting national interests and providing global stability.