USS Langley Commissioned 3/20/1922 - 90 Years of Carrier Aviation

On March 20, 1922 the United States Navy commissioned its first aircraft carrier, the USS Langley (CV-1). The ship had been converted from a collier, the USS Jupiter and bore the name of aviation pioneer Samuel Pierpont Langley. While the first takeoff wouldn't occur from the Langley until October 17, 1922 - and the first landing aboard on October 26th - the course of naval warfare was changed forever.

From Langley to the gigantic warships serving today, under construction, or planned, here in sequence are the valiant fighting platforms (WW2 escort carriers not listed) who have carried our Navy and Marine aviators into battle, and have guarded the skies above the seas for the last nine decades.

• USS Langley (CV-1); 1922-1937
• USS Lexington (CV-2); 1927-1942 - Sunk 5/8/1942
• USS Saratoga (CV-3); 1927-1946
• USS Ranger (CV-4); 1934-1946
• USS Yorktown (CV-5); 1937-1942 - Sunk 6/7/1942
• USS Enterprise (CV-6); 1938-1947
• USS Wasp (CV-7); 1940-1942 - Sunk 9/15/1942
• USS Hornet (CV-8); 1941-1942 - Sunk 10/27/1942
• USS Essex (CV-9); 1942-1947, 1951-1969
• USS Yorktown (CV-10); 1943-1947, 1953-1970 (museum ship)
• USS Intrepid (CV-11); 1943-1974 (museum ship)
• USS Hornet (CV-12); 1943-1947, 1951, 1953-1970 (museum ship)
• USS Franklin (CV-13); 1944-1947
• USS Ticonderoga (CV-14); 1944-1947, 1954-1973
• USS Randolph (CV-15); 1944-1948, 1953-1969
• USS Lexington (CV-16); 1943-1947, 1955-1991 (museum ship)
• USS Bunker Hill (CV-17); 1943-1947
• USS Wasp (CV-18); 1943-1947, 1951-1972
• USS Hancock (CV-19); 1944-1947, 1954-1976
• USS Bennington (CV-20); 1944-1946, 1952-1970
• USS Boxer (CV-21); 1945-1959 (served through 1969 as an LPH)
• USS Independence (CVL-22); 1943-1946
• USS Princeton (CVL-23); 1943-1944 - Sunk 10/24/1944
• USS Belleau Wood (CVL-24); 1943-1947
• USS Cowpens (CVL-25); 1943-1947
• USS Monterey (CVL-26); 1943-1947, 1950-1956
• USS Langley (CVL-27); 1943-1947
• USS Cabot (CVL-28); 1943-1947, 1948-1955
• USS Bataan (CVL-29); 1943-1947, 1950-1954
• USS San Jacinto (CVL-30); 1943-1947
• USS Bon Homme Richard (CV-31); 1944-1947, 1950-1953, 1955-1971
• USS Leyte (CV-32); 1946-1959
• USS Kearsarge (CV-33); 1946-1950, 1952-1970
• USS Oriskany (CV-34); 1950-1957, 1959-1976
• PCU Reprisal (CV-35); construction cancelled 8/12/1945
• USS Antietam (CV-36); 1945-1949, 1951-1963
• USS Princeton (CV-37); 1945-1948, 1950-1959 (through 1970 as an LPH)
• USS Shangri-la (CV-38); 1944-1947, 1951-1952, 1955-1971
• USS Lake Champlain (CV-39); 1945-1947, 1952-1966
• USS Tarawa (CV-40); 1945-1949, 1951-1960
• USS Midway (CV-41); 1945-1955, 1957-1966, 1970-1991 (museum ship)
• USS Franklin D. Roosevelt (CV-42); 1945-1954, 1956-1977
• USS Coral Sea (CV-43); 1947-1957, 1960-1990
• CV-44 Cancelled before being named
• USS Valley Forge (CV-45); 1946-1961 (LPH through 1970)
• PCU Iwo Jima (CV-46); construction cancelled 8/12/1945
• USS Philippine Sea (CV-47); 1946-1958
• USS Saipan (CVL-48); 1946-1959 (served as AGMR-2 1966-1970)
• USS Wright (CVL-49); 1947-1956 (served as CC-2 1963-1970)
• CV-50 through CV-57 cancelled before being named
• PCU United States (CVA-58); cancelled 4/23/1949
• USS Forrestal (CV-59); 1955-1993
• USS Saratoga (CV-60); 1956-1994
• USS Ranger (CV-61); 1957-1993
• USS Independence (CV-62); 1959-1998
• USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63); 1961-2009
• USS Constellation (CV-64); 1961-2003
• USS Enterprise (CVN-65); 1961-present, on active service
• USS America (CV-66); 1965-1996
• USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67); 1968-2007
• USS Nimitz (CVN-68); 1975-present, on active service
• USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69); 1977-present, on active service
• USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70); 1982-present, on active service
• USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71); 1986-present, on active service
• USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72); 1989-present, on active service
• USS George Washington (CVN-73); 1992-present, on active service
• USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74); 1995-present, on active service
• USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75); 1998-present, on active service
• USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76); 2003-present, on active service
• USS George H. W. Bush (CVN-77); 2009-present, on active service
• USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78); under construction, planned service entry 2015
• USS John F. Kennedy (CVN-79); under construction, planned service entry 2018
• CVN-80; planned, as yet unnamed, service entry 2023