Supercarrier

:"This is about the warships. For the television program, see Supercarrier (TV series)."

A supercarrier is a warship belonging to the largest (unofficial) class of aircraft carrier, and generally has a displacement greater than 75,000 tons deep load.Fact|date=July 2008 Few countries operate carriers with displacements larger than 40,000 tons (such as "Charles de Gaulle"), and those (such as HMS "Illustrious") closer to 20,000 are more typical. Supercarriers are the largest warships ever built (although some oil tankers are longer and heavier).

History

The first ship to be described by the "New York Times" as a supercarrier was HMS "Ark Royal" in 1938; with a length of 685ft and a displacement of 22,000 tons, she was designed to carry 72 aircraft. [ 'The Ark Royal Launched. Most Up-To-Date Carrier. Aircraft In The Fleet.', "The Times" (14 April 1937), pg. 11] In 1943 the superlative was transferred to the 45,000-ton carriers of the "Midway" class, as a step-up from the 27,000-ton "Essex" class. [John G. Norris, 'World's Largest Warships: Three 45,000-Ton Carriers For Bombers Ordered by Navy', "Washington Post" (23 October 23, 1943), pg. 1] The post-war standard for supercarriers was set by the proposed USS "United States" and USS "Forrestal". ['Va. Firm Gets Giant Carrier Building Job. 65,000-Ton Warship Will Be Largest in Postwar Program', "Washington Post" (8 August 1948), pg. 3]

"Forrestal" displaced 60,000 tons standard, and 78,000 tons in deep load, when launched, [cite book |last= Donald |first= David |coauthors = Daniel J. March |title= Carrier Aviation Air Power Directory |year= 2001 |publisher= AIRtime Publishing |location= Norwalk, CT |isbn= 1-880588-43-9 |pages= ] and is considered the first operational supercarrier in the present-day sense, as dubbed by the American press. [cite book |last = MacDonald |first = Scot |title = Evolution of Aircraft Carriers |publisher = U.S. Government Printing Office |date = 1964-02-01 |location = Washington, D. C., 20402 |url = |doi = |isbn = |id= |pages= 69 |chapter= 14 |chapterurl= http://www.history.navy.mil/download/car-14.pdf |quote= The versatility of the current U.S. carrier fleet is largely due to the operation of what the press has labeled "super-carriers," heavy duty aircraft carriers of the size, power, and potency of the Forrestals and the nuclear-powered Enterprise. ] The similarly-sized "United States" would have been in service earlier, had it been completed; its cancellation triggered the "Revolt of the Admirals". "United States" would have had a nuclear strategic bombing role, rather than the multi-purpose role that all subsequent supercarriers have had, carrying tactical fighters only for defense. The 72,000-ton armored Japanese carrier "Shinano" of the World War II era was almost heavy enough to be considered a supercarrier, but lacked several defining features,Fact|date=July 2008 such as catapults, arrestor wires, and angled flight decks, and also did not possess the sheer size of modern supercarriers.

The Soviet Union built the 67,000-tonne "Admiral Kuznetsov" (considerably larger than the earlier "Kiev" class). The Soviet Union's 85,000-ton nuclear carrier "Ulyanovsk", closely comparable in size to earlier American supercarriers, was 40% complete when it and a follow-on vessel were cancelled in 1991, due to post-Cold-War funding cuts.

The U.S. Navy is no longer alone in building large aircraft carriers, with Britain building two 64,000-ton carriers and France considering building one vessel based on the same design. These ships are routinely referred to by legislators as supercarriers. [ [http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200203/cmordbk1/30908w01.htm House of Commons Written Questions for Answer, 8 September 2003] ] [ [http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200607/ldhansrd/text/70315-0009.htm House of Lords, 15 March 2007] ] [ [http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200708/cmhansrd/cm080617/text/80617w0014.htm House of Commons Written Answers for 17 June 2008] ] [ [http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200607/cmselect/cmscotaf/943/7071703.htm Select Committee on Scottish Affairs Minutes of Evidence, Examination of Witnesses (Questions 1-19), 17 July 2007] ] The two "Queen Elizabeth" class vessels will provide the United Kingdom with capabilities much closer to United States Navy carriers than their current "Invincible" class vessels. Indeed, they will be the second largest carriers in service, reaching a displacement of about 75,000 tons (due to refits and extra equipment fits) toward the end of their service around 2050.Fact|date=July 2008 Giving evidence to the House of Commons Defence Committee, the First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Alan West explained that interoperability with the United States Navy was as much a deciding factor of the size of the carriers as the firepower of the carrier's airwing:

Classes

* "United States" (USA, 1950s): Single-unit laid down, cancelled along with four others
* "Forrestal" class (USA, 1955): Four-unit class, all decommissioned
* "Kitty Hawk" class (USA, 1961): Four-unit class, one active
* "Enterprise" (USA, 1961): Single-unit class, still active
* Project 1153 Orel (USSR, 1970s): Cancelled
* "Nimitz" class (USA, 1975): Final unit (of ten) estimated to be completed in early 2009, all units still active
* "Admiral Kuznetsov" (USSR, 1985): Constructed and still active with the Russian fleet
* "Ulyanovsk" (USSR, 1990s): Two units cancelled after partial completion
* "Gerald R. Ford" class (USA, 2013): One unit in construction, two pending
* "Queen Elizabeth" class (UK, 2014): Two ships being built for the Royal Navy

ee also

* Aircraft carrier
* U.S. aircraft carrier classes

References

External links

* [http://www.hazegray.org/navhist/carriers/ Haze Gray & Underway, World Aircraft Carrier Lists] comprehensive and detailed listings of all the world's aircraft carriers and seaplane tenders from 1913-2001, with photo gallery.
* [http://www.navy.mil/navydata/fact_display.asp?cid=4200&tid=200&ct=4 Aircraft carriers of the USN]