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List of aircraft carriers

This is a list of aircraft carriers in the world's navies. It includes present (as of 2004) vessels as well as former vessels and those planned or under construction. Dates given are launching dates.

BU means broken up, that is, that the ship was dismantled.

Contents

Argentina

Retired:

Australia

Australia's last aircraft carrier was decommissioned in 1982. The current Sydney and Melbourne are guided missile frigates, and the current Albatross is a naval base on land near Nowra. Small carriers are occassionally proposed.

Retired:

Brazil

  • São Paulo formerly FS Foch, purchased 2001

Retired:

Canada

Canada's last aircraft carrier was decommissioned in 1970. Also, Canada's first two carriers were technically ships of the Royal Navy, and were thus "HMS" (His Majesty's Ships) instead of "HMCS". The UK technically owned the ships, and the RN's Fleet Air Arm provided the aircraft and aircrew, however the ship's crew were mostly from the Royal Canadian Navy.

Retired:

France

Planned:

Retired:

  • Foch class
    • FS Foch (1959) sold to Brazil in 2001 and renamed São Paulo
    • Clemenceau (1957) sold to breakers in 2003, currently in Sicily awaiting scrapping
  • Arromaches (September 30, 1943) formerly HMS Colossus, BU 1978
  • Dixmude (18 December 1940)
  • Joffre class
    • Joffre (-) (not completed)
    • Painleve (-) (not completed)
  • Commandante Teste (April 12 1929) (aviation transport) scuttled Toulon November 27 1942, BU 1950s?
  • Bearn (1920) (begun as battleship) decommissioned 1945, scrapped 1967?
  • Rouen (1912) (merchantman converted to seaplane carrier) captured by Germany 1940s
  • Nord (1898) (merchantman converted to seaplane carrier) fate unknown
  • Pas-de-Calais (1898) (merchantman converted to seaplane carrier) fate unknown
  • Compinas (1896) (merchantman converted to seaplane carrier) fate unknown
  • Foudre (1895) (seaplane carrier) stricken December 1 1921

Germany

Retired (World War II):

  • Graf Zeppelin class
    • Graf Zeppelin (December 8, 1938) (not completed) captured by USSR August, 1947 but not used as carrier
    • Peter Strasser (-) (not completed)

India

There are plans for a total of three carriers.

Under construction:

  • New carrier, unnamed, to be based on Italian MM Cavour , building at Kochi SY, for commissioning in 2011

Retired:

Italy

Under construction:

Retired:

Japan

(none; four Osumi class amphibious helicopter-capable ships are being built)

Retired (World War II era):

(Only Hosho, Junyo, Kumano Maru, and Ryuho survived the war and these were scrapped by 1948.)

Netherlands

(none; three amphibious helicopter-capable ships are being built)

Retired:

Russia

Retired (USSR):

Spain

Retired:

Thailand

United Kingdom

Planned:

Retired:

United States

Under construction:

  • USS George H. W. Bush (Nimitz class)
  • CVN-21 (CVN-21 is the program name, actual hull numbers of the first two units will likely be CVN-78 and CVN-79)

Retired: See list of aircraft carriers of the United States Navy for all US carriers past and present.

References



Last updated: 10-24-2004 05:10:45