Aircraft Carrier, ship with a long, unobstructed flight deck that permits takeoffs and landings by high-performance airplanes. A carrier is in effect a mobile air base. Planes are stored below deck and brought up and down on elevators. They take off under their own power or may be launched by catapults. Mirror landing systems and arresting cables that catch a hook on the outside of incoming aircraft facilitate safe landings. Decks are angled so that pilots missing the arresting gear will be able to go around again without hitting other aircraft. Carriers, equipped with or capable of carrying missiles, are the heart of modern striking forces, accompanied by a variety of support vessels: destroyers and cruisers for protection and supply ships bearing fuel, ammunition, and food.
History
The earliest flight from a ship was made off an improvised platform on the U.S. cruiser Birmingham in 1910. The first true carrier designed to permit takeoffs and landings was the British merchant ship HMS Argus, completed in 1918. The first U.S. carrier, the Langley, a converted collier, joined the fleet in 1922, and in 1927 the Lexington and Saratoga were converted from battle cruisers.
After World War I, major carrier fleets were built by the United States, Japan, and Britain; in the 1930s tactical exercises were held by the U.S. Navy to study and improve efficiency of its carrier operations. By World War II, however, Japan's carrier fleet was numerically and qualitatively superior to the American and British fleets in the Pacific. The use of six aircraft carriers by Japan to attack Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, opened the war in the Pacific. No American carriers were present during the attack. The major carrier battle of Midway of June 3-6, 1942, cost the Japanese four carriers; America lost one, the Yorktown.
This victory gained the U.S. mastery of the skies and of the seas and turned the tide of the war. By 1944 the Japanese navy had been destroyed primarily by carrier-based aircraft assault, in addition to submarine action. In the European theater, England used carriers in support of operations in Norway and for convoy support in the Atlantic and Mediterranean. Carriers were also part of the British Eastern Fleet.
Carrier Classes
Since World War II, carriers have been designated by size and mission and grouped by class-that is, by similarity of construction and capabilities. All the present U.S. fleet is of the attack class, with capabilities for conversion to use as submarine warfare, utility, and assault helicopter aircraft carriers. They bear the classification symbols CV or CVN, the N denoting a carrier propelled by nuclear energy.
Recent Developments
In 1989 the U.S. was the world's principal user of carriers, with a fleet of 15 and 2 under construction. Two carriers were of the old Midway class, completed shortly after World War II, and eight were built in the 1950s and '60s. Five others were nuclear powered. One of these, the Nimitz, is 332 m (1092 ft) in length, displaces 96,000 tons, and is equipped with four steam catapults; it is capable of handling 90 aircraft with their associated maintenance facilities, fuel, ammunition, and parts. The ship accommodates a crew of 3300 plus an air wing of pilots and support crew, numbering about 3000. The Nimitz is capable of indefinite sea operation when supported by periodic reprovisioning. The angled flight deck permits simultaneous launching and landing of aircraft.
By the late 1980s the Soviet navy had four Kyyiv carriers, plus two nuclear carriers under construction. The Kyyiv carriers were 274 m (899 ft) long, displacing 38,000 tons. This class appeared to be designed for antisubmarine warfare and was equipped with helicopter and possible vertical-takeoff-and-landing (VTOL) aircraft. The two nuclear-powered carriers are 75,000-ton attack vessels. (In 1991 the Soviet navy became part of the armed forces of the Commonwealth of Independent States, but control of the Black Sea Fleet was in dispute between Russia and Ukraine.)
The British fleet included three carriers, designed for
antisubmarine warfare and command control missions. France had two carriers,
built in the 1950s and a nuclear-powered 36,000-ton carrier under construction,
all with antisubmarine warfare, helicopter, and command control functions. Two
light carriers were maintained by the navies of India and Spain, and one each by
Argentina and Brazil; most of these were acquired from larger powers.
A Naval Aviation First - Blue Angel #1, piloted by Cdr. Patrick Driscoll, became a part of naval aviation history on
Nov. 11, 1998. It was the first time in the squadron's 52 year history that a Blue Angel aircraft landed and launched
from the flight deck of an aircraft carrier. USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75), operating in the Atlantic off Jacksonville,
Fla., was the history-making host for the aircraft. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate Airman Aaron J. Lebsack.
Nov. 11, 1998
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (April 10, 2008) More than 200
volunteers participate in an USO "Toast to the
Troops Stuffing Party" at Naval Air Station
Jacksonville. Volunteers assembled 10,400 USO care
packages containing prepaid international phone
cards, sunscreen, non-perishable snacks, playing
cards, and travel size toiletries for troops
serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. U.S. Navy photo
by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Toiete Jackson
PACIFIC OCEAN (April 10, 2008) Sailors aboard the
amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge (LHD 3) use
an M-256A1 paper chemical detection kit during a
general quarters drill simulating a chemical,
biological and radiological attack. The M-256 kits
test for blood, blister, nerve, and choking
agents. Kearsarge is preparing for a certification
cycle. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication
Specialist Seaman Christopher Lange
PHILIPPINE SEA (April 11, 2008) The Arleigh
Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Shoup
(DDG 86) leads other ships assigned to Carrier
Strike Group (CSG) 9 as they transit the
Philippine Straits. The Nimitz-class aircraft
carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) and (CSG) 9
are on a seven-month deployment to the U.S. 5th
fleet of responsibility. U.S. Navy photo by Airman Ashley Houp
Don't forget to visit our
Aircraft Carrier Data for
further information. See link this page upper right hand top.
Flight Simulation
Battle Group
This scenery object is an update from a previous version which had a hardened deck
and a carrier wake effect. It now has deck lights, fantail lights. more visible arrestor cables,
rotating beacon and a rotating radar antenna. The .mdl and xml files are included so it can
be relocated with Bglcomp. By default, it is presently located just off the San Diego Naval Station.
The text files for the rcbco-20 catapult and arrestor zones are also included.
From: Paul Clawson
Ship
Location
Vers.
US Naval Vessel CVN-74 USS Stennis for FS2k4
Can be placed anywhere in FS2k4 and on any heading.
Two aircraft carriers, a battleship, a guided missile cruiser, a
destroyer, a combat supply ship and a submarine, all with or without
wake. Landing decks are available on some vessels.
Note: The naval vessels (directly below) are scenery design elements (API macros) and as such cannot
be directly used as scenery, they must first be compiled, (with a program such as Airport
for Windows V.2.60) into the *.bgl file format for use as "scenery" in FS2000/FS2002.
The ships and textures were designed by Dan Geis, but have been
amended, with his permission, so that each ship can be placed anywhere
in FS2002 or FS2000 and on any heading.
From: Frank Foreman
Ship
Location
Vers.
US Naval Vessels for FS2k2 and FS2k
Can be placed anywhere in FS2k2/FS2k and on any heading.
The Carrier/Battle Groups are generously provided courtesy of
Mr. Dan Geis If you find Carrier landings as addictive as I do...
say so... by sending
Dan an E-Mail message.
The Carrier battle groups that follow are once again available
for download. We want to publicly thank the author/designer for making
them available to the flight simulation community, above all to the
carrier operations enthusiast.
ExcBuilder ßeta
