List of aircraft carriers

Argentina

Retired:

• Light carriers:
  • ARA Independencia (V-1): Colossus class light carrier, ex-HMS Warrior, in service from 1959 to 1969; scrapped 1971
  • ARA Veinticinco de Mayo (V-2): Colossus class light carrier, ex-HMS Venerable, in service from 1969 to 1999; scrapped 1999

Australia

Retired:

• Light fleet carriers:
  • HMAS Sydney: Majestic class carrier in service from 1948 to 1958. Later recommissioned as troop transport
  • HMAS Melbourne: Majestic class carrier in service from 1955 to 1982
  • HMAS Vengeance: Colossus class light carrier on loan from Royal Navy from 1952 to 1955

Brazil

Retired:

• Fleet carrier:
  • São Paulo: Clemenceau-class carrier in service between 2000 and 2017. Former name as carrier of the French Navy: Foch. Scuttled in 2023
• Light carrier:
  • Minas Gerais: Colossus-class carrier, ex-HMS Vengeance, in service from 1960 to 2001. Scrapped in 2004

Canada

Retired:

• Light carriers:
  • HMCS Warrior: Colossus-class light carrier in service from 1946 to 1948; returned to Royal Navy and sold to Argentine Navy as ARA Independencia (V-1); carrier in service from 1959 to 1969; scrapped 1971
  • HMCS Magnificent: Majestic-class carrier in service from 1946 to 1956; returned to Royal Navy and stricken; scrapped in Scotland in 1965
  • HMCS Bonaventure  : Majestic-class carrier in service from 1957 to 1970; ordered by Royal Navy, but sold as HMS Powerful and delivered to Royal Canadian Navy; retired by the Canadian Armed Forces and broken up in Taiwan 1971

China

Active:

• Liaoning: partially completed ex-Soviet Navy carrier sold to China by Ukraine and refitted in Dalian as Type 001. Handed over to PLAN on 23 September 2012 and entered active service on 25 September 2012. ^[1]
• Shandong: construction started in 2013, launched in 2017, and entered active service on 17 December 2019. ^[2]

Fitting-out & Seatrials

• Fujian : Type 003 carrier. Launched 17 June 2022. In January 2024, the Fujian was carrying out mooring tests in preparation for its maiden voyage. ^[3]

Under construction & Planned:

• Type 004: a planned nuclear-powered aircraft carrier.^{[ citation needed ]}

France

Active:

• Charles de Gaulle: nuclear-powered aircraft carrier in service since 2001

Planned:

• PANG: a planned nuclear-powered aircraft carrier

Retired:

• Béarn: converted Normandie-class battleship in service from 1927 to 1948
• Dixmude: Avenger-class escort carrier, ex-HMS Biter, in service from 1945 to 1951
• Arromanches: Colossus-class light aircraft carrier, ex-HMS Colossus (R15), in service from 1946 to 1974
• Independence class
  • La Fayette: light aircraft carrier in service from 1951 to 1963
  • Bois Belleau: light aircraft carrier in service from 1953 to 1960
• Clemenceau class
  • Clemenceau: aircraft carrier in service from 1961 to 1997
  • Foch: aircraft carrier in service from 1963 to 2000. Refitted, sold to Brazil and renamed São Paulo. Scuttled in 2023

Never completed:

• Engageante: Friponne-class sloop planned for conversion but not completed ^[4]
• Conquerante: Valliante-class sloop planned for conversion but not completed ^[4]
• Joffre class
  • Joffre: carrier construction cancelled in 1940
  • Painlevé: carrier plan cancelled in 1940
• Verdun: attack carrier development cancelled in 1961
• PH 75 : projected two nuclear powered helicopter carrier program during the 1970s
  • Bretagne: STOVL aircraft carrier
  • Provence: STOVL aircraft carrier
• PA 2 : modified version of Thales UK/BMT design of the British Queen Elizabeth class (formerly CVF).

Germany

Never completed:

• German aircraft carrier I  – planned conversion of passenger ship from German shipyard to aircraft carrier. Cancelled in 1918.
• Graf Zeppelin: Graf Zeppelin-class carrier. Launched but not completed. Construction work stopped in 1943.
• Flugzeugträger B: Graf Zeppelin class carrier cancelled partly constructed in 1939.
• Flugzeugträger C: Planned Graf Zeppelin class carrier cancelled in 1938. ^[5]
• Flugzeugträger D: Planned Graf Zeppelin class carrier cancelled in 1938. ^[5]
• Seydlitz: conversion of part-built Admiral Hipper-class cruiser. Work stopped in 1943 and not resumed.
• German aircraft carrier I: conversion of the transport ship Europa cancelled at the design stage in November 1942 due to insurmountable problems.
• Jade: Lead ship of the Jade-class. Converted from the passenger liner SS Potsdam. Laid down in 1934 but never completed. Sunk on 2 May 1943. ^[6]
• Elbe: Converted from the passenger liner SS Gneisenau (1935). Laid down in 1934 but never completed. Survived the war but was seized by Great Britain on the 20 of June 1946. ^[6]
• German aircraft carrier II: was a proposed conversion project for the incomplete French cruiser De Grasse. The ship was laid down in November 1938 and lay incomplete in the Arsenal de Lorient shipyard when Germany invaded France in May 1940. In 1942, Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine decided to convert the cruiser into an auxiliary aircraft carrier with a capacity for twenty-three fighters and dive bombers. Work ceased in February 1943, however, due to concerns with the ship's design, a severe shortage of material and labor, and the threat of Allied bombing raids. In 1945, the ship was returned to France and was eventually completed as an anti-aircraft cruiser in 1956 by the French Navy ^[7]

The two planned Italian carriers Aquila and Sparviero were seized by the Germans after the Italian Armistice but not completed.

India

Active:

• INS Vikramaditya: 45,400 tons, Modified Kiev class carrier (ex-Admiral Gorshkov), in service with India since 2013. ^[8]
• INS Vikrant: 45,000 ton carrier. It was built at Cochin Shipyard and commissioned on September 2, 2022. ^[9]

Planned:

• INS Vishal: 65,000 ton carrier. Yet to start, planned to enter service in 2030. It will be conventionally powered. ^[10]

Retired:

• INS Vikrant: 19,500 tons, Majestic-class carrier, (ex-HMS Hercules), in service from 1961 to 1997, used as a museum until 2012, scrapped 2014–2015.
• INS Viraat: 28,700 tons, Centaur class carrier (ex-HMS Hermes) in service from 1987 to 2016. Decommissioned on 6 March 2017.

Italy

Active:

• Cavour (2008) – current fleet flagship.

Under construction:

• Trieste  : 32,300 tons carrier. Construction began in 2017 at Fincantieri Shipyard and is expected to enter service in 2024. ^[11]

Retired:

• Giuseppe Garibaldi - Commissioned in 1985 as Italy's first through-deck aviation ship. She was decommissioned on the 1st of October 2024.

Never completed:

• Sparviero (1927) (converted liner Augustus, not completed as carrier) – Sunk 5 October 1944
• Aquila (1926) (converted liner Roma) – BU 1951–1952

Japan

Active: ^{[12] [13] [14]}

• Izumo class
  • Izumo – Commissioned in 2015. Announced in December 2018 to be redesignated and converted into a multi-purpose destroyer to carry F-35 aircraft
  • Kaga – Commissioned in 2017. Announced in December 2018 to be redesignated and converted into a multi-purpose destroyer to carry F-35 aircraft

Retired:

• Hōshō (1921) – used as transport to repatriate Japanese troops postwar and dismantled 1946
• Ryūhō (1933) – damaged at Kure by U.S. air raid March 1945 and dismantled 1946
• Kaiyō (1943) – damaged at Kure by U.S. air raid March 1945, grounded in Beppu Bay and dismantled in place in 1946
• Hiyō class
  • Jun'yō (1939) – damaged during Battle of Philippine Sea, June 1944. Never repaired; dismantled 1946
• Unryū class
  • Katsuragi (1944) – used as transport to repatriate Japanese troops postwar and dismantled 1946

Sunk:

• Kaga (1921) – sunk, Battle of Midway, June 1942
• Amagi class
  • Akagi (1925) – sunk, Battle of Midway, June 1942
• Ryūjō (1931) – sunk, Battle of the Eastern Solomons, August 1942
• Sōryū (1935) – sunk, Battle of Midway, June 1942
• Hiryū (1937) – sunk, Battle of Midway, June 1942
• Zuihō class
  • Shōhō (1935) – sunk, Battle of the Coral Sea, May 1942
  • Zuihō (1936) – sunk, Battle of Leyte Gulf, October 1944
• Chitose class
  • Chitose (1936) – seaplane tender from 1934 to 1942, rebuilt as light carrier and sunk at Battle of Leyte Gulf in October 1944
  • Chiyoda (1937) – sunk at Battle of Leyte Gulf, October 1944
• Shōkaku class
  • Shōkaku (1939) – sunk by U.S. submarine USS Cavalla (SS-244), Battle of Philippine Sea, June 1944
  • Zuikaku (1939) – sunk, Battle of Leyte Gulf, October 1944
• Hiyō class
  • Hiyō (1939) – sunk, Battle of Philippine Sea, June 1944
• Taihō (1943) – sunk by U.S. submarine USS Albacore (SS-218), Battle of Philippine Sea, June 1944
• Taiyō class
  • Taiyō (1941) – sunk by U.S. submarine USS Rasher, August 1944
  • Un'yō (1942) – sunk by U.S. submarine USS Barb, September 1944
  • Chūyō (1942) – sunk by U.S. submarine USS Sailfish, December 1943
• Unryū class
  • Amagi (1943) – used as anti-aircraft platform and sunk in July 1945
  • Unryū (1943) – sunk by U.S. submarine USS Redfish, December 1944
• Shinano (1944) – sunk by U.S. submarine USS Archerfish, November 1944
• Shin'yō (1944) – sunk by U.S. submarine USS Spadefish, November 1944

Hōshō, Jun'yō, Katsuragi, and Ryūhō survived the war. These were scrapped by 1948.

Never completed:

• Amagi class
  • Amagi (not completed); damaged beyond economical repair in the Great Kantō earthquake of September 1923, scrapped 1924
• Taihō class
  • 5x Improved Taihō, project G-15 (cancelled 1944)
• Unryū class
  • Hull 5002, 3rd unit of Unryū class (cancelled 1943); materials used for Shinano conversion
  • Kasagi, 5th unit of Unryū class (not completed); dismantled post-war
  • Hull 5005, 6th unit of Unryū class (cancelled 1943); materials used for Shinano conversion
  • Aso, 7th unit of Unryū class (not completed); sunk as weapon test target and scrapped postwar
  • Ikoma, 8th unit of Unryū class (not completed); dismantled post-war
  • Kurama, 9th unit of Unryū class (cancelled 1944)
• Ibuki – heavy cruiser conversion (not completed); dismantled post-war

Netherlands

Retired:

• Hr.Ms. Karel Doorman (ex-British HMS Venerable, purchased 1948) – Sold to Argentina 1968 and renamed ARA Veinticinco de Mayo, broken up.

Russia (and USSR)

The Russian Navy was established in December 1991, after the dissolution of the Soviet Union (USSR), most Soviet aircraft carriers were transferred over to Russia (with the exception of Varyag which was transferred to Ukraine. Ulyanovsk was scrapped before the Soviet Union was dissolved).

Inactive:

• Kuznetsov class
  • Admiral Kuznetsov (Russia: 1991–present / USSR: 1985–1991); Undergoing overhaul and repairs since 2017. ^[15]

Planned:

• Project 23000 aircraft carrier ^[16]

Retired:

• Kiev class
  • Kiev (Russia: 1991–1993, USSR: 1972–1991); converted to a theme park (later hotel) in China
  • Minsk (Russia: 1991–1993, USSR: 1975–1991); converted to a theme park in China
  • Novorossiysk (Russia: 1991–1993, USSR: 1978–1991); scrapped
  • Admiral Gorshkov (Russia: 1991–1995, USSR: 1982–1991); sold to India, modified, rebuilt by India and renamed INS Vikramaditya

Never completed:

• Project 1153 Orel
• Kuznetsov class
  • Varyag (not commissioned) — to Ukraine (1991); rebuilt, tested and commissioned by the Chinese PLAN as Liaoning
• Ulyanovsk class
  • Ulyanovsk (not commissioned) — scrapped (1991)

Spain

Active:

• Juan Carlos I  : 27,079 tonne STOVL carrier in active service, commissioned 30 September 2010.

Retired:

• Dédalo: 11,700 ton Independence-class light carrier, ex-USS Cabot, helicopters only from 1967 to 1976, struck 1989 and returned to United States, eventually scrapped in 2002.
• Príncipe de Asturias: 17,000 ton STOVL commissioned 30 May 1982, decommissioned on 6 February 2013 due to defence spending cuts.

Never completed:

• Spanish conversion for refloated Italian heavy cruiser Trieste, cancelled in 1951. ^[17]

Thailand

Role changed:

• HTMS Chakri Naruebet (1996)* Commissioned in 1997, but by 1999, only one used AV-8S Matador/Harrier was still operable due to lack of spare parts and age. ^[18] Since 2006 is solely operated as a helicopter carrier.

Turkey

Active:

• TCG Anadolu (2021): Based on Juan Carlos I. Construction works began on 30 April 2016 at the shipyard of Sedef Shipbuilding Inc. in Istanbul. It was delivered to the Turkish Navy in January 2023. ^{[19] [20] [21]}

United Kingdom

Active:

• Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carrier, STOVL ship of 80,600 tonnes
  • HMS Queen Elizabeth
  • HMS Prince of Wales

Retired:

• HMS Argus (1916) - scrapped 1946
• HMS Furious (1916) - decommissioned 1945
• HMS Vindictive (1918) – converted to aircraft carrying cruiser 1925, sold for scrap 1946
• HMS Unicorn fleet maintenance carrier (1943) - sold for scrap 1959
• Illustrious class
  • HMS Illustrious (1939)
  • HMS Formidable (1939)
  • HMS Victorious (1939)
• HMS Indomitable (1940)
• Implacable class
  • HMS Implacable (1942)
  • HMS Indefatigable (1942)
• Audacious class
  • HMS Eagle (ex-Audacious) (1946) - decommissioned 1972
  • HMS Ark Royal (ex-Irresistible) (1950) - decommissioned 1979
• Colossus class
  • HMS Colossus (1943), to France 1946 as Arromanches
  • HMS Glory (1943)
  • HMS Ocean (1944)
  • HMS Theseus (1944)
  • HMS Triumph (1944)
  • HMS Venerable (1944) – to Netherlands 1948 as HNLMS Karel Doorman, to Argentina 1968 as ARA Veinticinco de Mayo
  • HMS Vengeance (1944) – to Brazil 1956 as Minas Gerais
  • HMS Warrior (1944) – to Canada 1946–1948, to Argentina 1958 as ARA Independencia
  • HMS Perseus (1944)
  • HMS Pioneer (1944)
• Majestic class
  • HMS Majestic (1945) – to Australia 1955 as HMAS Melbourne
  • HMS Hercules (1945) – to India 1957 as INS Vikrant
  • HMS Magnificent (1944) – sold to Canada as HMCS Magnificent
  • HMS Powerful (1945) – to Canada 1952 as HMCS Bonaventure
  • HMS Terrible (1944) – to Australia in 1948 as HMAS Sydney
• Centaur class
  • HMS Centaur (1947)
  • HMS Albion (1947)
  • HMS Bulwark (1948)
  • HMS Hermes (ex-Elephant) (1953), to India 1986 as INS Viraat
• Invincible class
  • HMS Invincible (1977)
  • HMS Illustrious (1982)
  • HMS Ark Royal (1985)

Sunk:

• Glorious class
  • HMS Glorious (1916), sunk by Scharnhorst and Gneisenau 8 June 1940
  • HMS Courageous (1916), sunk by U-29 17 September 1939
• HMS Eagle (1918), sunk by U-73 11 August 1942
• HMS Hermes (1923) – first purpose-designed aircraft carrier, sunk by Japanese aircraft 9 April 1942
• HMS Ark Royal (1938), sunk 14 November 1941 after being torpedoed by U-81 on 13 November 1941

Never completed:

• Audacious class
  • Eagle – cancelled 1946
  • Africa – to Malta class then cancelled
• Majestic class
  • HMS Leviathan (1945) – was never completed
• Centaur class - second batch of four cancelled
  • Hermes – cancelled
  • Arrogant – cancelled
  • Monmouth – cancelled
  • Polyphemus – cancelled
• Malta class  – ordered 1943, not laid down, cancelled 1945 ^[22]
  • Malta
  • New Zealand
  • Gibraltar
  • Africa
• CVA-01  – cancelled 1966
  • Initial four ships planned, reduced to two (likely to have been named Queen Elizabeth and Duke of Edinburgh), reduced to one ship in 1963. No building started.

United States

The United States Navy is a blue-water navy that is the world's largest navy by tonnage and has the world's largest fleet of nuclear powered aircraft carriers. The carrier fleet currently comprises the (CATOBAR) Nimitz-class and (CATOBAR/ EMALS) Gerald R. Ford-class supercarriers. These carriers serve as the centerpieces and flagships for the Navy's Carrier Strike Groups, with their embarked carrier air wings and accompanying ships and submarines, which strongly contribute to the US ability to project force around the globe. The following is a complete list of all the US Navy's carriers and classes to date, and their status:

Active

• Nimitz class
  • USS Nimitz
  • USS Dwight D. Eisenhower
  • USS Carl Vinson
  • USS Theodore Roosevelt
  • USS Abraham Lincoln
  • USS George Washington
  • USS John C. Stennis
  • USS Harry S. Truman
  • USS Ronald Reagan
  • USS George H.W. Bush
• Gerald R. Ford class
  • USS Gerald R. Ford

Under construction

• Gerald R. Ford class
  • USS John F. Kennedy
  • USS Enterprise
  • USS Doris Miller

Planned

• Gerald R. Ford class
  • CVN-82 (ordered)
  • CVN-83 (planned)
  • CVN-84 (planned)
  • CVN-85 (planned)
  • CVN-86 (planned)
  • CVN-87 (planned)

Reserve

• (none currently in reserve)

Retired (preserved as museum ships)

• Essex class
  • USS Yorktown – (Charleston, South Carolina)
  • USS Intrepid – (New York City, New York)
  • USS Hornet – (Alameda, California)
  • USS Lexington – (Corpus Christi, Texas)
• Midway class
  • USS Midway – (San Diego, California)

Retired (other)

• Kitty Hawk class
  • USS John F. Kennedy - (awaiting dismantling)
  • USS Kitty Hawk - (awaiting dismantling)

Retired (scrapped)

• Ranger class
  • USS Ranger
• Yorktown class
  • USS Enterprise
• Essex class (‡ extended bow)
  • USS Essex
  • USS Franklin
  • USS Ticonderoga ‡
  • USS Randolph ‡
  • USS Bunker Hill
  • USS Wasp
  • USS Hancock ‡
  • USS Bennington
  • USS Boxer ‡
  • USS Bon Homme Richard
  • USS Leyte ‡
  • USS Kearsarge ‡
  • USS Antietam ‡
  • USS Princeton ‡
  • USS Shangri-La ‡
  • USS Lake Champlain ‡
  • USS Tarawa ‡
  • USS Valley Forge ‡
  • USS Philippine Sea ‡
• Independence class
  • USS Belleau Wood
  • USS Cowpens
  • USS Monterey
  • USS Langley
  • USS Cabot
  • USS Bataan
  • USS San Jacinto
• Midway class
  • USS Franklin D. Roosevelt
  • USS Coral Sea
• Saipan class
  • USS Saipan
  • USS Wright
• Forrestal class
  • USS Forrestal
  • USS Saratoga
  • USS Ranger
  • USS Independence
• Kitty Hawk-class
  • USS Constellation
• Enterprise-class
  • USS Enterprise

Sunk († scuttled)

• Langley class
  • USS Langley †
• Lexington class
  • USS Lexington
  • USS Saratoga
• Yorktown class
  • USS Yorktown
  • USS Hornet
• Wasp class
  • USS Wasp †
• Essex class (‡ extended bow)
  • USS Oriskany ‡ †
• Independence class
  • USS Independence †
  • USS Princeton
• Kitty Hawk class
  • USS America †

Cancelled before completion

• Essex class (‡ extended bow)
  • USS Reprisal ‡
  • USS Iwo Jima ‡
  • No name assigned (CV-50)
  • No name assigned (CV-51)
  • No name assigned (CV-52)
  • No name assigned (CV-53)
  • No name assigned (CV-54)
  • No name assigned (CV-55)
• Midway class
  • No name assigned (CV-44)
  • No name assigned (CVB-56)
  • No name assigned (CVB-57)
• United States class
  • USS United States

Escort aircraft carrier

The United States Navy also had a sizable fleet of escort aircraft carriers during World War II and the era that followed. These ships were both quicker and cheaper to build than larger fleet carriers and were built in great numbers to serve as a stop-gap measure when fleet carriers were too few. However, they were usually too slow to keep up with naval task forces and would typically be assigned to amphibious operations, often seen in the Pacific War's island hopping campaign, or to convoy protection in the war in the Atlantic. To that end, many of these ships were transferred to the Royal Navy as part of the US-UK lend-lease program. While some of these ships were kept for a time in reserve after the war, none survive today, as they have all since been sunk or retired and scrapped. The following are the classes and stand-alone ships of the US Navy's escort carriers;

• Bogue class (45 ships, 33 went to the RN)
• Sangamon class (4 ships)
• Casablanca class (50 ships)
• Commencement Bay class (19 ships went into service, 4 were cancelled)
• Stand-alone ships;
  • No USN name given (AVG-1/BAVG-1) – went to the RN as HMS Archer (D78)
  • No USN name given (AVG-2/BAVG-2) – went to the RN as HMS Avenger (D14)
  • No USN name given (AVG-3/BAVG-3) – went to the RN as HMS Biter (D97), then later to the French Navy as Dixmude
  • No USN name given (AVG-4/BAVG-4) – went to the RN as HMS Charger (D27), later returned to USN as USS Charger (CVE-30)
  • No USN name given (AVG-5/BAVG-5) – went to the RN as HMS Dasher (D37)
  • No USN name given (BAVG-6) – went to the RN as HMS Tracker (D24)
  • USS Long Island

Amphibious assault ship

The United States Navy also has several full-deck, amphibious assault ships, which are larger than many of the aircraft carriers of other navies today. ^[23] These ships are STOVL-capable and can carry full squadrons of fixed-wing aircraft, such as the V/STOL AV-8B Harrier II and the STOVL F-35 Lightning II, along with numerous rotary-wing aircraft. Their primary purpose though, is usually to serve as the centerpiece and flagship for an Expeditionary Strike Group or Amphibious Ready Group, carrying US Marine Corps Expeditionary Units and their equipment close to shore for amphibious landings and departures. The following are ships and classes of US Navy amphibious assault ships;

Active

• Wasp-class amphibious assault ship (LHD) (843 ft, 40,500 tons)
  • USS Wasp
  • USS Essex
  • USS Kearsarge
  • USS Boxer
  • USS Bataan
  • USS Iwo Jima
  • USS Makin Island
• America-class amphibious assault ship (LHA) (844 ft, 45,000 tons)
  • USS America
  • USS Tripoli

Under construction

• America-class amphibious assault ship
  • USS Bougainville
  • USS Fallujah

Planned

• America-class amphibious assault ship (11 total)
  • LHA-10 (ordered)
  • LHA-11 (planned)
  • LHA-12 (planned)
  • LHA-13 (planned)
  • LHA-14 (planned)
  • LHA-15 (planned)
  • LHA-16 (planned)

Retired

• Wasp-class amphibious assault ship
  • USS Bonhomme Richard
• Tarawa-class amphibious assault ship (LHA)
  • USS Tarawa – (On donation hold)
  • USS Saipan
  • USS Belleau Wood
  • USS Nassau – (On donation hold)
  • USS Peleliu – (In Reserve)
• Iwo Jima-class amphibious assault ship (LPH)
  • USS Iwo Jima
  • USS Okinawa
  • USS Guadalcanal
  • USS Guam
  • USS Tripoli – (Converted to missile trial platform with the National Defense Reserve Fleet in 2006, scrapped in 2018)
  • USS New Orleans
  • USS Inchon
• Stand-alone amphibious assault ships (all LPH, numbered in with the Iwo Jima class);
  • USS Block Island – (converted Commencement Bay-class escort carrier)
  • USS Boxer – (converted Essex-class aircraft carrier)
  • USS Princeton – (converted Essex-class aircraft carrier)
  • USS Thetis Bay – (converted Casablanca-class escort carrier)
  • USS Valley Forge – (converted Essex-class aircraft carrier)