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List of aircraft carriers by country

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AircraftCarrierOperators

Countries currently operating carriers in blue; historic operators of carriers in light blue

The list of aircraft carriers by country includes all aircraft carriers organized by country of origin and service. Where appropriate, a single ship may be listed under multiple countries. For the list of seaplane carriers and tenders see List of seaplane carriers by country.

Numbers of aircraft carriers by country[]

The table below does not include, aircraft carrying submarines, seaplane tenders, escort carriers or merchant aircraft carriers
Number of aircraft carriers by operating nation
Country Total† In service In reserve Decommissioned Under construction Never completed
United States United States 68 10 2 56 3 12
United Kingdom United Kingdom 41 2 0 40 2 12
Japan Japan 20 0 0 20 0 4
France France 8 1 0 7 0 7
Russia Russia 7 1 0 6 0 2
Australia Australia 3 0 0 3 0 0
Canada Canada 3 0 0 3 0 0
SpainShips of the Indian NavySpain 3 1 1 1 0 1
India India 3 2 0 1 2 2
Italy Italy 2 2 0 0 0 2
Brazil Brazil 2 1 0 1 0 0
China China 1 1 0 0 1 0
Thailand Thailand 1 1 0 0 0 0
Argentina Argentina 2 0 0 2 0 0
Netherlands Netherlands 1 0 0 1 0 0
Germany Germany 0 0 0 0 0 8
† Includes only carriers that have been commissioned into service

Argentina[]

Retired:

Australia[]

Retired:

Brazil[]

Active:

Retired:

Canada[]

Retired:

China[]

Active:

  • Liaoning: never completed ex-Soviet Navy carrier sold to China by Ukraine being refitted in Dalian. Handed on to PLAN on 23 September 2012 and entered active service on 25 September 2012.[1]

Planned:

France[]

Active:

Retired:

Never completed:

  • Engageante : Friponne class sloop planned for conversion but not completed[citation needed]
  • Conquerante : Valliante class sloop planned for conversion but not completed[citation needed]
  • 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 : cancelled 2013
    • Georges Pompidou : (tentative name) modified version of UK CVF design.
    • Richelieu : modified version of Thales UK/BMT design for the future British Queen Elizabeth class (formerly CVF).

Germany[]

Main article: List of aircraft carriers of Germany

Never completed:

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

India[]

Active:

Under trial:

Under construction:

  • INS Vikrant: 40,000 ton Vikrant class carrier. It is being built at Cochin Shipyard and is expected to enter service in 2017.

Planned

  • INS Vishal: 65,000 ton Vikrant-class carrier. Expected to enter service in 2025.[3]

Retired:

  • INS Vikrant : Majestic-class carrier, (ex-HMS Hercules), in service from 1961 to 1997 and currently a museum ship docked at Mumbai.

Italy[]

Active:

Never completed:

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

Japan[]

Retired:

  • Hōshō (1921) – decommissioned 1946
  • Kaiyo (1943) – decommissioned 1945 and scrapped 1946

Sunk:

  • Kaga (1921) – sunk, Battle of Midway, June 1942
  • Akagi (1925) – sunk, Battle of Midway, June 1942
  • Ryūjō (1931) – sunk, Battle of the Eastern Solomons, August 1942
  • Ryūhō (1933) – damaged at Kure by U.S. air raid March 1945 and scrapped postwar
  • Sōryū class
    • 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, Battle of Philippine Sea, June 1944
    • Zuikaku (1939) – sunk, Battle of Leyte Gulf, October 1944
  • Hiyō class
    • Junyō (1939) – damaged during Battle of Philippine Sea, June 1944. Never repaired; scrapped postwar.
    • Hiyō (1939) – sunk, Battle of Philippine Sea, June 1944
  • Taihō (1943) – sunk, Battle of Philippine Sea, June 1944
  • Unryū class
    • Amagi (1943) – used as anti-aircraft platform and sunk in July 1945
    • Unryū (1943) – sunk by U.S. submarine Redfish, December 1944
    • Katsuragi (1944) – used as transport to repatriate Japanese troops postwar and then scrapped
  • Shinano (1944) – sunk by U.S. submarine Archerfish, November 1944
  • Mizuho (1939) – sunk by U.S. submarine USS Drum, 1 May 1942.

Only Hōshō, Junyō, Katsuragi and Ryuho survived the war and these were scrapped by 1948.

Never completed:

  • Unryū class
    • Aso 4th unit of Unryū class (not completed)
    • Ikoma 5th unit of Unryū class (not completed)
    • Kasagi 6th unit of Unryū class (not completed)
  • Ibuki - heavy cruiser conversion; scrapped post-war

Netherlands[]

Retired:

Russia[]

See also: list of aircraft carriers of Russia and the Soviet Union

The Russian Navy was established in December 1991, after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, most Soviet aircraft carriers were transferred over to Russia.

Active:

Retired:

Soviet Union[]

See also: list of aircraft carriers of Russia and the Soviet Union

The Soviet Union was dissolved in December 1991, most Soviet aircraft carriers were transferred to Russia, with the exception of Varyag which was transferred to Ukraine. Ulyanovsk was scrapped before the Soviet Union was dissolved.

In service at the end of Soviet state:

Never completed:

Spain[]

Active:

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

Retired:

Never completed:

Thailand[]

Active:

  • 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.[5]

Ukraine[]

Never completed:

United Kingdom[]

Main article: List of aircraft carriers of the Royal Navy

Under construction:

Active:

Sunk:

  • HMS Hermes (1898) seaplane carrier from 1914, sunk by U-27 31 October 1914
  • Glorious class
  • 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

Retired:

Never completed:

  • Centaur class
    • Hermes – cancelled
    • Arrogant – cancelled
    • Monmouth – cancelled
    • Polyphemus – cancelled
  • Malta class – cancelled 1946
    • Malta
    • New Zealand
    • Gibraltar
    • Africa
  • CVA-01 – cancelled 1966
    • Queen Elizabeth
    • Duke of Edinburgh

United States of America[]

Main article: list of aircraft carriers of the United States Navy

See also[]

Notes[]

  1. ↑ http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/09/25/china-unveils-first-aircraft-carrier-to-enter-service/
  2. ↑ http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/aug/1/china-begins-to-build-its-own-aircraft-carrier/?page=all
  3. ↑ http://newindianexpress.com/nation/article583809.ece
  4. ↑ Busquets, C.; Campanera, A. & Coello, J.L. (1994) (in Spanish). Los portaaviones españoles. Agualarga Editores. ISBN 84-88959-02-8. 
  5. ↑ Carpenter & Wiencek, Asian Security Handbook 2000, p. 302.

References[]

Further reading[]

  • Warrilow, Betty. Nabob, the first Canadian-manned aircraft carrier Owen Sound, Ont. : Escort Carriers Association, 1989.
  • Chesneau, Roger. Aircraft Carriers of the World, 1914 to the Present. An Illustrated Encyclopedia Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-902-2


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The original article can be found at List of aircraft carriers by country and the edit history here.
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