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An aircraft catapult is a device used to help fixed-wing aircraft gain enough airspeed and lift for takeoff from a limited distance, typically from the deck of a ship. They are usually used on aircraft carrier flight decks as a form of assisted takeoff, but can also be installed on land-based runways, although this is rare.
The Nimitz-class aircraft carriers have a length of 1,092 ft (333 m) overall and 1,040 ft (317 m) at the waterline, with a beam of 252 ft (77 m) overall and 134 ft (41 m) at the waterline; the individual ships have slight variations in their dimensions.
The first aircraft carrier commissioned into the U.S. Navy was USS Langley (CV-1) on 20 March 1922. The Langley was a converted Proteus-class collier, originally commissioned as USS Jupiter (AC-3). [1]
The disadvantage of the ski-jump is the penalty it exacts on aircraft size, payload, and fuel load (and thus range); heavily laden aircraft cannot launch using a ski-jump because their high loaded weight requires either a longer takeoff roll than is possible on a carrier deck, or assistance from a catapult or JATO rocket.
HMS Argus showing the full-length flight deck from bow to stern ROKS Dokdo's full length flight deck The first aircraft carrier that began to show the configuration of the modern vessel was the converted liner HMS Argus, which had a large flat wooden deck added over the entire length of the hull, giving a combined landing and take-off deck unobstructed by superstructure turbulence.
HMS Victorious during World War II Four US Navy carriers right after the war, showing size and length differences: Saratoga (bottom), an early battlecruiser conversion; Enterprise (2nd from bottom), an early fleet carrier; Hornet (3rd from bottom), a war-time built Essex-class carrier; and San Jacinto (top), a light carrier based on a cruiser hull.
The list of aircraft carriers by configuration contains active aircraft carriers organized by the specific configuration of aircraft carrier designs. This list excludes seaplane carriers or helicopter carriers .
An aircraft carrier is a warship with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft, that serves as a seagoing airbase. Included in this list are ships which meet the above definition and had an official name ( italicized ) or designation (non-italicized), regardless of whether they were or ...