USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74), named for Senator John C. Stennis of Mississippi, is the seventh of the Nimitz-class of nuclear-powered supercarriers in the United States Navy.
USS Nimitz (CVN-68) is an aircraft carrier of the United States Navy, and the lead ship of her class. One of the largest warships in the world, she was laid down, launched, and commissioned as CVAN-68, "aircraft carrier, attack, nuclear powered", but she was later redesignated as CVN-68, "aircraft carrier, multi-mission, nuclear-powered", on 30 June 1975, as part of a fleet-wide realignment that year.
USS Enterprise (CVN-65), formerly CVA(N)-65, is a decommissioned United States Navy aircraft carrier. In 1958 she was the first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and the eighth United States naval vessel to bear the name. Like her predecessor of World War II fame, she is nicknamed "Big E". At 1,123 feet (342 m), she is the longest naval vessel ever built and the only ship of a class that was originally planned to have five other ships. Her 93,284-long-ton (94,781 t) displacement ranks her class as the third largest carrier class, after the Nimitz class and the Gerald R. Ford class. Enterprise had a crew of some 4,600 service members.
USS Oriskany (CV/CVA-34),, was one of the few Essex-class aircraft carriers completed after World War II for the United States Navy. The ship was named for the Battle of Oriskany during the Revolutionary War.
USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) is the fifth Nimitz-class aircraft carrier in the United States Navy. She is the third Navy ship to have been named after the former President Abraham Lincoln. Her home port is NAS North Island, San Diego, California; she is a member of the United States Pacific Fleet. She is administratively responsible to Commander, Naval Air Forces Pacific, and operationally serves as the flagship of Carrier Strike Group 3 and host to Carrier Air Wing Nine. She was returned to the fleet on 12 May 2017, marking the successful completion of her Refueling and Complex Overhaul (RCOH) carried out at Newport News Shipyard. As of 10 August 2024, USS Abraham Lincoln and her strike group are being deployed to the Middle East as part of the U.S. response to the escalation of tensions between Iran and Israel.
USS Lexington (CV/CVA/CVS/CVT/AVT-16) is an Essex-class aircraft carrier built during World War II for the United States Navy. Originally intended to be named Cabot, the new aircraft carrier was renamed while under construction to commemorate the recently-lost USS Lexington (CV-2), becoming the sixth U.S. Navy ship to bear the name in honor of the Battle of Lexington.
USS Forrestal (CVA-59), was a supercarrier named after the first United States Secretary of Defense James Forrestal. Commissioned in 1955, she was the United States' first completed supercarrier, and was the lead ship of her class. The other carriers of her class were USS Saratoga, USS Ranger and USS Independence. She surpassed the World War II Japanese carrier Shinano as the largest carrier yet built, and was the first designed to support jet aircraft.
USS Randolph (CV/CVA/CVS-15) was one of 24 Essex-class aircraft carriers built during World War II for the United States Navy. The second US Navy ship to bear the name, she was named for Founding Father Peyton Randolph, president of the First Continental Congress. Randolph was commissioned in October 1944, and served in several campaigns in the Pacific Theater of Operations, earning three battle stars. Decommissioned shortly after the end of the war, she was modernized and recommissioned in the early 1950s as an attack carrier (CVA), and then eventually became an antisubmarine carrier (CVS).
USS Hancock (CV/CVA-19) was one of 24 Essex-class aircraft carriers built during World War II for the United States Navy. Hancock was the fourth US Navy ship to bear the namesake of Founding Father John Hancock, president of the Second Continental Congress and first governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Hancock was commissioned in April 1944 and served in several campaigns in the Pacific Theater of Operations, earning four battle stars. Decommissioned shortly after the end of the war, she was modernized and recommissioned in the early 1950s as an attack carrier (CVA). In her second career, she operated exclusively in the Pacific, playing a prominent role in the Vietnam War, for which she earned a Navy Unit Commendation. She was the first US Navy carrier to have steam catapults installed. She was decommissioned in early 1976 and sold for scrap later that year.
The fifth USS Independence (CV/CVA-62) was an aircraft carrier of the United States Navy. She was the fourth and final member of the Forrestal class of conventionally powered supercarriers. She entered service in 1959, with much of her early years spent in the Mediterranean Fleet.
HMS Eagle was an Audacious-class aircraft carrier of the Royal Navy, in service 1951–1972. Until the arrival of the Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers in the 21st century, she and her sister Ark Royal were the two largest Royal Navy aircraft carriers ever built.
The 1942 Design Light Fleet Carrier, commonly referred to as the British Light Fleet Carrier, was a light aircraft carrier design created by the Royal Navy during the Second World War, and used by eight naval forces between 1944 and 2001. They were designed and constructed by civilian shipyards to serve as an intermediate step between the expensive, full-size fleet aircraft carriers and the less expensive but limited-capability escort carriers.
The Aichi M6A Seiran is a submarine-launched attack floatplane designed for the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. It was intended to operate from I-400 class submarines whose original mission was to conduct aerial attacks against the United States.
Fighter Squadron 124 or VF-124Gunfighters was a fleet replacement squadron (FRS) of the United States Navy. Originally established on 16 August 1948 as VF-53, it was redesignated VF-124 at NAS Moffett Field on 11 April 1958 due to a need for an increased number of flight training squadrons, itself necessary because of introduction of swept wing fighters into Navy service. In 1961, the squadron relocated to NAS Miramar, California, which would become the U.S. Pacific Fleet's Master Jet Base for fighter aircraft.
Aviation boatswain's mate is a United States Navy occupational rating.
Modern United States Navy aircraft carrier air operations include the operation of fixed-wing and rotary aircraft on and around an aircraft carrier for performance of combat or noncombat missions. The flight operations are highly evolved, based on experiences dating back to 1922 with USS Langley.
Electronic Attack Squadron 209 (VAQ-209) is a United States Navy Reserve electromagnetic attack squadron. Known as the "Star Warriors", the squadron flies the EA-18G Growler carrier-based electronic warfare jet aircraft. It is assigned to the Tactical Support Wing and based at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Washington. Its mission is: "To safely train to attain and maintain mobilization readiness for immediate employment in event of war or national emergency." The squadron's radio callsign is "Vader".
In the armed forces, most often in military aviation and in land-based missile forces, an alert crew is a group of members of units and formations that maintains a group level of combat readiness. Although it sometimes encompasses the entire unit, today the term is more used for a set group of individuals.
Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron VQ-2, also known as "Batmen" and later "Sandeman," was an air reconnaissance squadron of the United States Navy, established on 1 September 1955 and based at NAS Whidbey Island, previously at NAVSTA Rota, Spain, flying both Douglas EA-3B Skywarrior and Lockheed EP-3E Aries aircraft until 1991 and then strictly EP-3E aircraft until 2012. The squadron was disestablished on 22 May 2012.
Travis Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base under the operational control of Air Mobility Command (AMC), located three miles east of the central business district of the city of Fairfield, in Solano County, California.
