List of aircraft carriers by country

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 operated

The table below does not include, aircraft carrying submarines
Submarine aircraft carrier
Submarine aircraft carriers are submarines equipped with fixed wing aircraft for observation or attack missions. These submarines saw their most extensive use during World War II, although their operational significance remained rather small...

, seaplane tender
Seaplane tender
A seaplane tender is a ship that provides facilities for operating seaplanes. These ships were the first aircraft carriers and appeared just before the First World War.-History:...

s, escort carriers or merchant aircraft carrier
Merchant aircraft carrier
Merchant aircraft carriers were bulk cargo ships with minimal aircraft handling facilities, used during World War II by Britain and the Netherlands as an interim measure to supplement British and United States-built escort carriers in providing an anti-submarine function for convoys...

s

Number of aircraft carriers by operating nation
Country	Total^†	In service	In reserve	Decommissioned	Under construction	Never completed
United States United States	67	11	1	55	2	12
United Kingdom United Kingdom	40	1	0	39	2	12
Japan Japan	20	0	0	20	0	4
Early Modern 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
Italy Italy	2	2	0	0	0	2
India India Ships of the Indian Navy This is a list of all Indian Navy Ships and submarines presently in service or being built. Speculative or planned procurements are NOT included here. Note: uc = Under Construction ....	2	1	0	1	3	0
Spain Spain	3	2	0	1	0	1
Brazil Brazil	2	1	0	1	0	0
Argentina Argentina	2	0	0	2	0	0
Thailand Thailand	1	1	0	0	0	0
Netherlands Netherlands	1	0	0	1	0	0
Mainland China China	1	0	0	0	1	0
Germany Germany	0	0	0	0	0	5

^{† Includes only carriers that have been commissioned into service}

Argentina

Retired:

Light carriers:
- ARA Independencia (V-1)
  HMS Warrior (R31)
  HMS Warrior was a Colossus-class light aircraft carrier which served in the Royal Canadian Navy from 1946 to 1948 , the Royal Navy from 1948 to 1958, and the Argentine Navy from 1959 to 1969 .- History :Built by Harland and Wolff in Belfast, she was originally to be called HMS Brave; the Royal...
  
  : Colossus class
  Colossus class aircraft carrier
  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 World War II, and used by eight naval forces between 1944 and 2001...
  
  light carrier in service from 1959 to 1969; scrapped 1971
- ARA Veinticinco de Mayo (V-2)
  ARA Veinticinco de Mayo (V-2)
  The ARA Veinticinco de Mayo was an aircraft carrier in the Argentine Navy from 1969 to 1997. The English translation of the name is the Twenty-fifth of May, which is the date of Argentina's May Revolution in 1810....
  
  : Colossus class
  Colossus class aircraft carrier
  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 World War II, and used by eight naval forces between 1944 and 2001...
  
  light carrier in service from 1969 to 1999; scrapped 1999

Australia

Retired:

Light Fleet carriers:
- HMAS Sydney: Majestic class carrier in service from 1948 to 1958. Later recommissioned as troop transport
- HMAS Melbourne: Majestic class carrier in service from 1955 to 1982
- HMAS Vengeance
  HMS Vengeance (R71)
  HMS Vengeance was a Colossus class light aircraft carrier built for the Royal Navy during World War II. The carrier served in three navies during her career: the Royal Navy, the Royal Australian Navy , and the Brazilian Navy .Constructed during World War II, Vengeance was...
  
  : Colossus class
  Colossus class aircraft carrier
  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 World War II, and used by eight naval forces between 1944 and 2001...
  
  light carrier on loan from Royal Navy from 1952 to 1955

Brazil

Active:

Fleet carrier:
- São Paulo (A12): Clemenceau class
  Clemenceau class aircraft carrier
  The Clemenceau class aircraft carrier are a pair of aircraft carriers which served in the French Navy from 1961 through 2000, and of which one currently remains in active service with the Brazilian Navy...
  
  carrier in service since 2000

Retired:

Light carrier:
- Minas Gerais: Colossus class
  Colossus class aircraft carrier
  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 World War II, and used by eight naval forces between 1944 and 2001...
  
  carrier in service from 1960 to 2001

Canada

Retired:

Light carriers:
- HMCS Warrior
  HMS Warrior (R31)
  HMS Warrior was a Colossus-class light aircraft carrier which served in the Royal Canadian Navy from 1946 to 1948 , the Royal Navy from 1948 to 1958, and the Argentine Navy from 1959 to 1969 .- History :Built by Harland and Wolff in Belfast, she was originally to be called HMS Brave; the Royal...
  
  : Colossus class
  Colossus class aircraft carrier
  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 World War II, and used by eight naval forces between 1944 and 2001...
  
  light carrier in service from 1946 to 1948; return to Royal Navy
  Royal Navy
  The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
  
  and sold to Argentine Navy
  Argentine Navy
  The Navy of the Argentine Republic or Armada of the Argentine Republic is the navy of Argentina. It is one of the three branches of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic, together with the Army and the Air Force....
  
  as ARA Independencia (V-1); carrier in service from 1959 to 1969; scrapped 1971
- HMCS Magnificent
  HMCS Magnificent (CVL 21)
  HMCS Magnificent was a Majestic-class light aircraft carrier that served the Royal Canadian Navy from 1946–1956.-Operational history:...
  
  : Majestic class carrier in service from 1946 to 1956; return to Royal Navy
  Royal Navy
  The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
  
  and stricken; scrapped in Scotland in 1965
- HMCS Bonaventure
  HMCS Bonaventure (CVL 22)
  HMCS Bonaventure was a Majestic class aircraft carrier. She served in the Royal Canadian Navy and Canadian Forces Maritime Command from 1957 to 1970 and was the third and the last aircraft carrier to serve Canada. The ship was laid down for the British Royal Navy as in November 1943. At the end...
  
  : Majestic class carrier in service from 1957 to 1970; ordered by Royal Navy
  Royal Navy
  The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
  
  , but sold as HMS Powerful and delivered to Royal Canadian Navy
  Royal Canadian Navy
  The history of the Royal Canadian Navy goes back to 1910, when the naval force was created as the Naval Service of Canada and renamed a year later by King George V. The Royal Canadian Navy is one of the three environmental commands of the Canadian Forces...
  
  ; retired by the Canadian Armed Forces and broken up in Taiwan
  Taiwan
  Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
  
  1971

China

Under refit:

Varyag
Soviet aircraft carrier Varyag
Varyag was to be an Admiral Kuznetsov class multirole aircraft carrier of the Soviet Union. She was known as Riga when her keel was laid down at Shipyard 444 in Nikolayev December 6, 1985. Design of the carrier was undertaken by the Nevskoye Planning and Design Bureau...

: ex-Soviet Navy
Soviet Navy
The Soviet Navy was the naval arm of the Soviet Armed Forces. Often referred to as the Red Fleet, the Soviet Navy would have played an instrumental role in a Warsaw Pact war with NATO, where it would have attempted to prevent naval convoys from bringing reinforcements across the Atlantic Ocean...

carrier sold to China by Ukraine being refitted in Dalian
Dalian
Dalian is a major city and seaport in the south of Liaoning province, Northeast China. It faces Shandong to the south, the Yellow Sea to the east and the Bohai Sea to the west and south. Holding sub-provincial administrative status, Dalian is the southernmost city of Northeast China and China's...

. Undergoing sea trials as of August 10, 2011.

Under construction:

Future Chinese aircraft carrier
Future Chinese aircraft carrier
Since the 1970s, the People's Liberation Army Navy has expressed interest in operating an aircraft carrier as part of its blue water aspirations, and press reports have frequently quoted senior Chinese military officials as expressing an intention to build aircraft carriers...

France

Active:

Charles de Gaulle
Charles de Gaulle (R 91)
Charles de Gaulle is the flagship of the French Navy and the largest Western European aircraft carrier. She is the tenth French aircraft carrier, the first French nuclear-powered surface vessel, and the first and so far only nuclear-powered carrier completed outside of the United States Navy...

: aircraft carrier in service since 2001

Retired:

La Foudre : converted into the world's first seaplane carrier
Seaplane tender
A seaplane tender is a ship that provides facilities for operating seaplanes. These ships were the first aircraft carriers and appeared just before the First World War.-History:...

in service from 1895 to 1921
Commandant Teste : seaplane carrier
Seaplane tender
A seaplane tender is a ship that provides facilities for operating seaplanes. These ships were the first aircraft carriers and appeared just before the First World War.-History:...

in service from 1932 to 1950
Béarn
French aircraft carrier Béarn
Béarn was a unique aircraft carrier which served with the Marine nationale in World War II and beyond.Béarn was commissioned in 1927 and was the only aircraft carrier produced by France until after World War II. She was to be an experimental ship and should have been replaced in the 1930s by two...

: converted Normandie class
Normandie class battleship
The Normandie-class dreadnought battleships were ordered for the French Navy before the First World War. They were named after provinces of France. These ships were never completed as battleships because the war stopped their construction...

battleship in service from 1927 to 1948
Dixmude : Avenger class
Avenger class escort carrier
There were three Avenger class escort carriers in service with the Royal Navy during the Second World War. All three were originally American merchant ships in the process of being built at the Sun Shipbuilding and Drydock Company Chester, Pennsylvania...

escort carrier, ex-HMS Biter (D97)
HMS Biter (D97)
HMS Biter was a Royal Navy escort carrier during the Second World War. She was laid down as a merchant ship at the Sun Shipbuilding & Drydock Company yard at Chester, Pennsylvania. Launched on 28 December 1939, she was converted to an escort carrier and commissioned in the Royal Navy on 6 May...

, in service from 1945 to 1951
Arromanches : Colossus class
Colossus class aircraft carrier
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 World War II, and used by eight naval forces between 1944 and 2001...

light aircraft carrier
Light aircraft carrier
A light aircraft carrier is an aircraft carrier that is smaller than the standard carriers of a navy. The precise definition of the type varies by country; light carriers typically have a complement of aircraft only ½ to ⅔ the size of a full-sized or "fleet" carrier.-History:In World War II, the...

in service from 1946 to 1974
Independence class
Independence class aircraft carrier
The Independence class aircraft carriers were a class of light carriers built for the United States Navy that served during World War II.This class were a result of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's interest in Navy shipbuilding plans...
- La Fayette : light aircraft carrier
  Light aircraft carrier
  A light aircraft carrier is an aircraft carrier that is smaller than the standard carriers of a navy. The precise definition of the type varies by country; light carriers typically have a complement of aircraft only ½ to ⅔ the size of a full-sized or "fleet" carrier.-History:In World War II, the...
  
  in service from 1951 to 1963
- Bois Belleau : light aircraft carrier
  Light aircraft carrier
  A light aircraft carrier is an aircraft carrier that is smaller than the standard carriers of a navy. The precise definition of the type varies by country; light carriers typically have a complement of aircraft only ½ to ⅔ the size of a full-sized or "fleet" carrier.-History:In World War II, the...
  
  in service from 1953 to 1960
Clemenceau class
Clemenceau class aircraft carrier
The Clemenceau class aircraft carrier are a pair of aircraft carriers which served in the French Navy from 1961 through 2000, and of which one currently remains in active service with the Brazilian Navy...
- Clemenceau
  Clemenceau (R 98)
  Clemenceau , often affectionately called "le Clem'", was the lead ship of her class, and the 6th aircraft carrier of the French Navy, serving from 1961 to 1997. She was the second French warship to be named after Georges Clemenceau, the first one being a battleship of the Richelieu class, laid...
  
  : aircraft carrier in service from 1961 to 1997
- Foch
  Foch (R 99)
  Foch was the second of the French Navy. She was the second warship named in honour of Marshal Ferdinand Foch, after a heavy cruiser commissioned in 1932, and scuttled in Toulon on 27 November 1942....
  
  : aircraft carrier in service from 1963 to 2000

Planned:

Engageante : Friponne class sloop planned for conversion but not completed
Conquerante : Valliante class sloop planned for conversion but not completed
Joffre class
Joffre class aircraft carrier
The Joffre class was a class of two aircraft carriers planned by France prior to World War II. Only one of the two vessels was begun, and neither was launched before the project was cancelled in 1940.- History :...
- Joffre
  French aircraft carrier Joffre
  Joffre was the planned lead ship of her class of aircraft carriers for the French Navy. She was named in honour of Joseph Joffre. The ship was laid down in 1938, but never launched.- Description :...
  
  : carrier construction cancelled in 1940
- Painleve
  French aircraft carrier Painlevé
  Painlevé was the planned second ship of the Joffre class of aircraft carriers for the French Navy. She was named in honour of Paul Painlevé. The ship was never laid down.- History :Painlevé was to be built at the shipyards of AC de St...
  
  : carrier plan cancelled in 1940
Verdun
French aircraft carrier Verdun
Verdun was an aircraft carrier under development in France in the 1950s which was cancelled before design was completed.-History:With the Clemenceau class carriers soon to enter service, the French Navy launched an effort to build a larger carrier specifically with the nuclear strike role in mind...

: attack carrier development cancelled in 1961
PH 75
PH 75
PH 75 was a military development program in France aimed at designing a nuclear powered amphibious assault ship during the 1970s. Design work was never completed by the time the project was cancelled.-History:...

: projected two nuclear powered helicopter carrier program during the 1970s
- Bretagne: STOVL aircraft carrier
- Provence: STOVL aircraft carrier
PA 2
Future French aircraft carrier
PA2 is a planned new aircraft carrier developed for the French Navy by Thales Naval France and DCNS from the Thales UK/BMT design for the future British Queen Elizabeth class....
- Georges Pompidou
  Future French aircraft carrier
  PA2 is a planned new aircraft carrier developed for the French Navy by Thales Naval France and DCNS from the Thales UK/BMT design for the future British Queen Elizabeth class....
  
  : (tentative name) modified version of UK CVF
  Royal Navy CVF programme
  The Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers are a two-ship class of aircraft carrier being built for the Royal Navy. HMS Queen Elizabeth is expected to enter service in 2016 and HMS Prince of Wales in 2020. HMS Queen Elizabeth will not be built to a CATOBAR configuration, but the second ship HMS...
  
  design.
- Richelieu
  Future French aircraft carrier
  PA2 is a planned new aircraft carrier developed for the French Navy by Thales Naval France and DCNS from the Thales UK/BMT design for the future British Queen Elizabeth class....
  
  : modified version of Thales UK/BMT design for the future British Queen Elizabeth class (formerly CVF).

Germany

Planned:

German aircraft carrier I
German aircraft carrier I (1915)
The aircraft carrier I"I" was the provisional name for the ship under which she was ordered; had she been completed she would have been assigned an actual name. was the first planned aircraft carrier conversion project of the German Imperial Navy during World War I...

- planned conversion of passenger ship from German shipyard to aircraft carrier. Cancelled in 1918.
Graf Zeppelin
German aircraft carrier Graf Zeppelin
German aircraft carrier Graf Zeppelin was the lead ship in a class of two carriers ordered by the Kriegsmarine. She was the only aircraft carrier launched by Germany during World War II and represented part of the Kriegsmarine's attempt to create a well-balanced oceangoing fleet, capable of...

: Graf Zeppelin class
Graf Zeppelin class aircraft carrier
The Graf Zeppelin-class aircraft carriers were two German Kriegsmarine aircraft carriers laid down in the mid-1930s as part of the Plan Z rearmament program. Four ships were initially envisioned but reduced to two by Grand Admiral Erich Raeder in 1939...

carrier. Construction work stopped in 1943.
Flugzeugträger B
Flugzeugträger B
The Flugzeugträger B was the sister ship of the Kriegsmarine's only launched aircraft carrier, the Graf Zeppelin....

: Graf Zeppelin class
Graf Zeppelin class aircraft carrier
The Graf Zeppelin-class aircraft carriers were two German Kriegsmarine aircraft carriers laid down in the mid-1930s as part of the Plan Z rearmament program. Four ships were initially envisioned but reduced to two by Grand Admiral Erich Raeder in 1939...

carrier cancelled partly constructed in 1939.
Seydlitz
German cruiser Seydlitz
Seydlitz was a heavy cruiser of the German Kriegsmarine, fourth in the , but was never completed. The ship was laid down in December 1936 and launched in January 1939, but the outbreak of World War II interrupted her completion at approximately 95 percent...

: conversion of part-built Admiral Hipper class
Admiral Hipper class cruiser
The Admiral Hipper-class was a group of five heavy cruisers built by the German Kriegsmarine in the mid 1930s. The class comprised Admiral Hipper, the lead ship, Blücher, Prinz Eugen, Seydlitz, and Lützow. Only the first three ships of the class were completed to see action during World War II...

cruiser. Work stopped in 1943 and not resumed.
Aircraft carrier I
German aircraft carrier I (1942)
The German aircraft carrier I was a planned conversion of the transport ship Europa during World War II. The loss of the battleship Bismarck and near torpedoing of her sistership Tirpitz in May 1941 and March 1942, respectively, spurred the Kriegsmarine to acquire aircraft carriers...

: conversion of the transport ship Europa cancelled at design stage due to insurmountable problems.

The two planned Italian carriers Aquila

Italian aircraft carrier Aquila

Aquila was an Italian aircraft carrier converted from the trans-Atlantic passenger liner during World War II. Work on Aquila began in late 1941 at the Ansaldo shipyard in Genoa and continued for the next two years. With the signing of the Italian armistice on 8 September 1943, however, all work...

and Sparviero
Italian aircraft carrier Sparviero
Sparviero was an Italian aircraft carrier designed and built during World War II. She was originally the ocean liner MS Augustus. The conversion was started in 1942 and was almost completed, but the ship was never delivered to the Regia Marina...

were seized by the Germans after the Italian Armistice but not completed.

India

Active:

Aircraft carriers:
- Viraat
  INS Viraat
  INS Viraat is a Centaur class aircraft carrier currently in service with the Indian Navy. INS Viraat is the flagship of the Indian Navy, the oldest carrier in service and one of two aircraft carriers in the Indian Ocean Region.The Viraat was completed and commissioned in 1959 as the Royal Navy's...
  
  : Centaur class
  Centaur class aircraft carrier
  The Centaur class of aircraft carriers of the British Royal Navy was the last of the light fleet carrier designs started during the closing years of World War II.-Ships In Class:HMS Centaur...
  
  carrier in service since 1987

Under refit:

Aircraft carriers:
- Vikramaditya
  INS Vikramaditya
  INS Vikramaditya is the new name for the former Soviet aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov, which has been procured by India, and is estimated to enter service in the Indian Navy after 2012....
  
  : Modified Kiev class
  Kiev class aircraft carrier
  The Kiev class carriers were the first class of fixed-wing aircraft carriers built in the Soviet Union....
  
  carrier planned to enter service in 2012

Under construction:

Vikrant class aircraft carrier (Indigenous Aircraft Carrier): 40,000 ton aircraft carrier. It is being built at Cochin Shipyard, southern India, and is expected to enter service in 2012.
INS Vishal: 65,000 ton aircraft carrier(Cochin Shipyard).Planned to be placed under vikrant class aircraft carrier

Retired:

Aircraft carriers:
- Vikrant: Majestic class carrier (ex-HMS Hercules) in service from 1961 to 1997 and currently a museum ship docked at Mumbai
  Mumbai
  Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...

Italy

Active:

Giuseppe Garibaldi (551) (1983) - Current fleet flagship.
Cavour (550) - Currently undergoing trials, will be new fleet flagship.

Retired before completion:

Sparviero
Italian aircraft carrier Sparviero
Sparviero was an Italian aircraft carrier designed and built during World War II. She was originally the ocean liner MS Augustus. The conversion was started in 1942 and was almost completed, but the ship was never delivered to the Regia Marina...

(1927) (converted liner Augustus, not completed as carrier) - Sunk 5 October 1944
Aquila
Italian aircraft carrier Aquila
Aquila was an Italian aircraft carrier converted from the trans-Atlantic passenger liner during World War II. Work on Aquila began in late 1941 at the Ansaldo shipyard in Genoa and continued for the next two years. With the signing of the Italian armistice on 8 September 1943, however, all work...

(1926) (converted liner Roma) - BU 1951-1952

Japan

Retired: (1921) - decommissioned 1946 (1943) - decommissioned 1945 and scrapped 1946
Sunk: (1921) - sunk, Battle of Midway, June 1942 (1925) - sunk, Battle of Midway, June 1942 (1931) - sunk, Battle of the Eastern Solomons, August 1942 (1933) - damaged at Kure by U.S. air raid March 1945 and scrapped postwar
} (1935) - sunk, Battle of Midway, June 1942
} (1937) - sunk, Battle of Midway, June 1942
} (1935) - sunk, Battle of the Coral Sea, May 1942
} (1936) - sunk, Battle of Leyte Gulf, October 1944
} (1936) - seaplane tender from 1934 to 1942, rebuilt as light carrier and sunk at Battle of Leyte Gulf in October 1944
} (1937) - sunk at Battle of Leyte Gulf, October 1944
} (1939) - sunk, Battle of Philippine Sea, June 1944
} (1939) - sunk, Battle of Leyte Gulf, October 1944
} (1939) - damaged during Battle of Philippine Sea, June 1944. Never repaired; scrapped postwar.
} (1939) - sunk, Battle of Philippine Sea, June 1944 (1943) - sunk, Battle of Philippine Sea, June 1944
} (1943) - used as anti-aircraft platform and sunk in July 1945
} (1943) - sunk by U.S. submarine Redfish, December 1944
} (1944) - used as transport to repatriate Japanese troops postwar and then scrapped (1944) - sunk by U.S. submarine Archerfish, November 1944 (1939) - sunk by U.S. submarine USS Drum (SS-228)

USS Drum (SS-228)

USS Drum is a Gato-class submarine of the United States Navy, the first Navy ship named after the drum, any of various types of fish capable of making a drumming sound. Drum is presently on display as a museum ship in Mobile, Alabama, at Battleship Memorial Park.Drum was laid down on 11 September...

, 1 May 1942.

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

Planned:

} 4th unit of Unryū class (not completed)
} 5th unit of Unryū class (not completed)
} 6th unit of Unryū class (not completed)

Ibuki Heavy cruiser conversion; scrapped postwar

Netherlands

Retired:

Hr.Ms. Karel Doorman
HNLMS Karel Doorman (R81)
HNLMS Karel Doorman was a Colossus-class aircraft carrier of the Royal Netherlands Navy. The ship was the British HMS Venerable before she was sold in 1948 to the Netherlands as a light attack carrier. In 1960 she was involved in the decolonization conflict in Western New Guinea with Indonesia...

(ex-British HMS Venerable
HMS Venerable (R63)
HMS Venerable was a Colossus-class aircraft carrier of the Royal Navy. She served for only the last few months of World War II, and in 1948 she was sold to the Netherlands and renamed HNLMS Karel Doorman and taking part in the military clash in 1962 in Western New Guinea...

, purchased 1948) - Sold to Argentina 1968 and renamed Veinticinco de Mayo, BU

Russia

See list of aircraft carriers of Russia and the Soviet Union

Active:

Admiral Kuznetsov (1985)

Retired:

Kiev class
Kiev class aircraft carrier
The Kiev class carriers were the first class of fixed-wing aircraft carriers built in the Soviet Union....
- Kiev
  Soviet aircraft carrier Kiev
  Kiev was a heavy aircraft carrying cruiser that served the Soviet and Russian navies from 1975 to 1993. It was built from 1970 till 1975 at Chernomorski factory in Nikolayev and was the first ship of its class -Service life:The Kiev was laid down on 21 July 1970 and launched on 26 December 1972...
  
  (1972–1993)
- Minsk
  Soviet aircraft carrier Minsk
  Minsk is an aircraft carrier that served the Soviet Navy, and later the Russian Navy, from 1978 to 1994. She was the second Kiev-class vessel to be built.- History :...
  
  (1975–1993)
- Novorossiysk
  Soviet aircraft carrier Novorossiysk
  Novorossiysk was a conventionally powered heavy aircraft carrying cruiser or aircraft carrier that served the Soviet Navy, and later the Russian Navy, from 1982 to 1993. She was the third Kiev class vessel to be built...
  
  (1978–1993)
- Admiral Gorshkov
  Soviet aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov
  Admiral Gorshkov was a modified Kiev class aircraft carrier of the Russian Navy, originally named Baku. Sometimes Gorshkov is considered a separate class due to its improvements including a phased array radar, extensive electronic warfare installations, and an enlarged command and control suite...
  
  (1982–1995)

Planned:

Admiral Kuznetsov class
- Varyag
  Soviet aircraft carrier Varyag
  Varyag was to be an Admiral Kuznetsov class multirole aircraft carrier of the Soviet Union. She was known as Riga when her keel was laid down at Shipyard 444 in Nikolayev December 6, 1985. Design of the carrier was undertaken by the Nevskoye Planning and Design Bureau...
  
  (Not commissioned)
Ulyanovsk class
- Ulyanovsk
  Soviet aircraft carrier Ulyanovsk
  Ulyanovsk was the first of a class of Soviet nuclear-powered supercarriers which for the first time would have offered true blue water aviation capability for the Soviet Navy...
  
  (Not commissioned)

Spain

Active:

Principe de Asturias
Spanish aircraft carrier Principe de Asturias
The Príncipe de Asturias , originally named Almirante Carrero Blanco, is an aircraft carrier, the flagship of the Spanish Navy...

: 17,000 ton STOVL
STOVL
STOVL is an acronym for short take off and vertical landing.This is the ability of some aircraft to take off from a short runway or take off vertically if it does not have a very heavy payload and land vertically...

carrier in active service, commissioned 30 May 1982.
Juan Carlos I:27,079 tonnes STOVL
STOVL
STOVL is an acronym for short take off and vertical landing.This is the ability of some aircraft to take off from a short runway or take off vertically if it does not have a very heavy payload and land vertically...

carrier in active service, commissioned 30 September 2010.

Retired:

Dédalo
Spanish aircraft carrier Dédalo
Dédalo was the first Spanish aircraft carrier and the second aviation ship in the Spanish Navy . She remained the fleet's flagship until the Principe de Asturias replaced her...

- 11,700 ton Independence class light carrier
Independence class aircraft carrier
The Independence class aircraft carriers were a class of light carriers built for the United States Navy that served during World War II.This class were a result of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's interest in Navy shipbuilding plans...

, ex-USS Cabot
USS Cabot (CVL-28)
USS Cabot was an in the United States Navy, the second ship to carry the name. Cabot was commissioned in 1943 and served until 1947. She was recommissioned as a training carrier from 1948 to 1955. From 1967 to 1989, she served in Spain as '...

, helicopters only from 1967–1976, struck 1989 and scrapped.

Planned:

Spanish conversion for refloated italian heavy cruiser cruiser Trieste, cancelled in 1951.

United Kingdom

Under construction:

Queen Elizabeth class - supercarrier
Supercarrier
Supercarrier is an unofficial descriptive term for the largest type of aircraft carrier, usually displacing over 70,000 long tons.Supercarrier is an unofficial descriptive term for the largest type of aircraft carrier, usually displacing over 70,000 long tons.Supercarrier is an unofficial...

, CATOBAR
CATOBAR
CATOBAR is a system used for the launch and recovery of aircraft from the deck of an aircraft carrier...

ships of 65,000-75,000 tonnes
- HMS Queen Elizabeth (2019)
- HMS Prince of Wales (2023)

Retired:

Hermes (1898) seaplane carrier from 1914
Argus
HMS Argus (I49)
HMS Argus was a British aircraft carrier that served in the Royal Navy from 1918–1944. She was converted from an ocean liner under construction when the First World War began, and became the world's first example of what is now the standard pattern of aircraft carrier, with a full-length flight...

(1916)
Furious
HMS Furious (47)
HMS Furious was a modified cruiser built for the Royal Navy during the First World War. Designed to support the Baltic Project championed by the First Sea Lord of the Admiralty, Lord John Fisher, they were very lightly armoured and armed with only a few heavy guns. Furious was modified while...

(1916)
Glorious class
Glorious class aircraft carrier
The Courageous class, sometimes called the Glorious class, was the first multi-ship class of aircraft carriers to serve with the Royal Navy. The three ships were originally laid down as "large light cruisers" to be used in the Baltic Project during the First World War...
- Glorious (1916)
- Courageous
  HMS Courageous (50)
  HMS Courageous was the lead ship of the cruisers built for the Royal Navy during the First World War. Designed to support the Baltic Project championed by the First Sea Lord, John Fisher, the ship was very lightly armoured and armed with only a few heavy guns. Courageous was completed in late...
  
  (1916)
Vindictive
HMS Vindictive (1918)
HMS Vindictive was a Royal Navy warship built between 1916 and 1918. Originally designed as a Hawkins-class heavy cruiser and laid down under the name Cavendish, she served in several different roles and underwent several conversions in a remarkably varied career that lasted until she was scrapped...

(1918) - converted to aircraft carrying cruiser 1925
Eagle
HMS Eagle (1918)
HMS Eagle was an early aircraft carrier of the Royal Navy. Ordered by Chile as the Almirante Cochrane, she was laid down before World War I. In early 1918 she was purchased by Britain for conversion to an aircraft carrier; this work was finished in 1924...

(1918)
Hermes
HMS Hermes (95)
HMS Hermes was an aircraft carrier built for the Royal Navy. The ship was begun during World War I and finished after the war ended. She was the world's first ship to be designed and built as an aircraft carrier, although the Imperial Japanese Navy's was the first to be commissioned...

(1923) - first purpose-designed aircraft carrier
Ark Royal
HMS Ark Royal (91)
HMS Ark Royal was an aircraft carrier of the Royal Navy that served during the Second World War.Designed in 1934 to fit the restrictions of the Washington Naval Treaty, Ark Royal was built by Cammell Laird and Company, Ltd. at Birkenhead, England, and completed in November 1938. Her design...

(1938)
Unicorn
HMS Unicorn (I72)
HMS Unicorn was a aircraft repair ship and light aircraft carrier built for the Royal Navy in the late 1930s. She was completed during World War II and provided air cover over the amphibious landing at Salerno, Italy in September 1943. The ship was transferred to the Eastern Fleet in the Indian...

fleet maintenance carrier (1943)
Illustrious class
Illustrious class aircraft carrier
The Illustrious class was a class of aircraft carrier of the Royal Navy that were some of the most important British warships in World War II...
- Illustrious
  HMS Illustrious (R87)
  HMS Illustrious , the fourth Illustrious of the British Royal Navy, was an aircraft carrier which saw service in World War II, the lead ship of the Illustrious-class of carriers which also included Victorious, Formidable, and Indomitable.-Construction:Illustrious was built by Vickers-Armstrongs at...
  
  (1939)
- Formidable
  HMS Formidable (R67)
  HMS Formidable was an Illustrious class aircraft carrier of the Royal Navy during World War II. She was constructed by Harland & Wolff, Belfast, and launched on 17 August 1939...
  
  (1939)
- Victorious
  HMS Victorious (R38)
  HMS Victorious was the second Illustrious-class aircraft carrier ordered under the 1936 Naval Programme. She was laid down at the Vickers-Armstrong shipyard at Newcastle-Upon-Tyne in 1937 and launched two years later in 1939...
  
  (1939)
Indomitable
HMS Indomitable (R92)
HMS Indomitable was a modified Illustrious class aircraft carrier of the British Royal Navy. The Illustrious class came about due to the 1937 Naval Programme...

(1940)
Implacable class
Implacable class aircraft carrier
The Implacable class was a class of aircraft carrier employed by the Royal Navy in the second half of Second World War. The class design was derived from the .- Design :...
- Implacable
  HMS Implacable (R86)
  HMS Implacable was an Implacable-class aircraft carrier of the Royal Navy.- History :She was laid down at Fairfields Shipyard on Clydeside three months after her sister-ship Indefatigable and was clearly destined for the British Pacific Fleet once worked up...
  
  (1942)
- Indefatigable
  HMS Indefatigable (R10)
  HMS Indefatigable was an Implacable-class aircraft carrier of the British Royal Navy. Indefatigable was present at the formal surrender of the Japanese on 2 September in Tokyo Bay. She later helped to repatriate Allied POWs held in Japan and was used as a spotting ship for later US nuclear tests in...
  
  (1942)
Audacious class
Audacious class aircraft carrier
The Audacious class aircraft carriers were a class of ship proposed by the British government in the 1930s - 1940s.- History :The Audacious class was originally designed as an expansion of the Implacable class with double storied hangars...
- Eagle
  HMS Eagle (R05)
  HMS Eagle was an aircraft carrier of the Royal Navy, in service 1951-1972. With her sister ship , she is one of the two largest British aircraft carriers yet built....
  
  (ex-Audacious) (1946)
- Ark Royal
  HMS Ark Royal (R09)
  HMS Ark Royal was an Audacious-class aircraft carrier of the Royal Navy and, when she was decommissioned in 1978, was the Royal Navy's last remaining conventional catapult and arrested-landing aircraft carrier...
  
  (ex-Irresistible) (1950)
Colossus class
Colossus class aircraft carrier
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 World War II, and used by eight naval forces between 1944 and 2001...
- Colossus (1943), to France 1946 as Arromanches
- Glory
  HMS Glory (R62)
  HMS Glory was a Colossus-class aircraft carrier of the Royal Navy laid down on 8 November 1942 by Stephens at Govan. She was launched on 27 November 1943 by Lady Cynthia Brookes, wife of the Prime Minister of Northern Ireland...
  
  (1943)
- Ocean
  HMS Ocean (R68)
  HMS Ocean was a Royal Navy Colossus-class light fleet aircraft carrier of 13,190 tons built in Glasgow by Alexander Stephen and Sons. Her keel was laid in November 1942, and she was commissioned on 30 June 1945....
  
  (1944)
- Theseus
  HMS Theseus (R64)
  HMS Theseus was a Colossus-class light fleet aircraft carrier of the Royal Navy. She was laid down in 1943 by Fairfield at Govan, and launched on 6 July 1944.-Workup and initial service:...
  
  (1944)
- Triumph
  HMS Triumph (R16)
  HMS Triumph was a Royal Navy Colossus-class light fleet aircraft carrier. She served in the Korean War and later, after reconstruction, as a support ship.-Construction and commission:...
  
  (1944)
- Venerable
  HMS Venerable (R63)
  HMS Venerable was a Colossus-class aircraft carrier of the Royal Navy. She served for only the last few months of World War II, and in 1948 she was sold to the Netherlands and renamed HNLMS Karel Doorman and taking part in the military clash in 1962 in Western New Guinea...
  
  (1944) - to Netherlands
  Royal Netherlands Navy
  The Koninklijke Marine is the navy of the Netherlands. In the mid-17th century the Dutch Navy was the most powerful navy in the world and it played an active role in the wars of the Dutch Republic and later those of the Batavian Republic and the Kingdom of the Netherlands...
  
  1948 as Karel Doorman
  HNLMS Karel Doorman (R81)
  HNLMS Karel Doorman was a Colossus-class aircraft carrier of the Royal Netherlands Navy. The ship was the British HMS Venerable before she was sold in 1948 to the Netherlands as a light attack carrier. In 1960 she was involved in the decolonization conflict in Western New Guinea with Indonesia...
  
  , to Argentina
  Argentine Navy
  The Navy of the Argentine Republic or Armada of the Argentine Republic is the navy of Argentina. It is one of the three branches of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic, together with the Army and the Air Force....
  
  1968 as Veinticinco de Mayo
  ARA Veinticinco de Mayo
  ARA Veinticinco de Mayo may refer to the following specific vessels of the Argentine Navy* Cruiser ARA Veinticinco de Mayo, 1891-1916* Cruiser ARA Veinticinco de Mayo , 1931-1960* Aircraft carrier ARA Veinticinco de Mayo , 1969-1997...
- Vengeance
  HMS Vengeance (R71)
  HMS Vengeance was a Colossus class light aircraft carrier built for the Royal Navy during World War II. The carrier served in three navies during her career: the Royal Navy, the Royal Australian Navy , and the Brazilian Navy .Constructed during World War II, Vengeance was...
  
  (1944) - to Brazil 1956 as renamed Minas Gerais
  NAeL Minas Gerais
  NAeL Minas Gerais was a operated by the Marinha do Brasil from 1960 until 2001. The ship was laid down for the Royal Navy during World War II as , but was completed only shortly before the war's end, and did not see service...
- Warrior
  HMS Warrior (R31)
  HMS Warrior was a Colossus-class light aircraft carrier which served in the Royal Canadian Navy from 1946 to 1948 , the Royal Navy from 1948 to 1958, and the Argentine Navy from 1959 to 1969 .- History :Built by Harland and Wolff in Belfast, she was originally to be called HMS Brave; the Royal...
  
  (1944) - to Canada 1946-1948, to Argentina 1958 as Independencia
- Perseus
  HMS Perseus (R51)
  HMS Perseus was a light fleet aircraft carrier built for the Royal Navy during World War II. The ship was initially named Edgar, but she was renamed in 1944 when the Admiralty decided to convert her into an aircraft maintenance carrier. She was completed in 1945, after the end of World War II, and...
  
  (1944)
- Pioneer
  HMS Pioneer (R76)
  HMS Pioneer was a Colossus-class aircraft carrier built for the Royal Navy during World War II. She was modified whilst under construction into an aircraft maintenance carrier. The ship arrived in Australia in mid-1945 to support operations by the British Pacific Fleet against Japanese forces...
  
  (1944)
Majestic class
- Majestic (1945) - to Australia
  Royal Australian Navy
  The Royal Australian Navy is the naval branch of the Australian Defence Force. Following the Federation of Australia in 1901, the ships and resources of the separate colonial navies were integrated into a national force: the Commonwealth Naval Forces...
  
  1955 as Melbourne
- Hercules (1945) - to India
  Indian Navy
  The Indian Navy is the naval branch of the armed forces of India. The President of India serves as the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy. The Chief of Naval Staff , usually a four-star officer in the rank of Admiral, commands the Navy...
  
  1957 as Vikrant
  INS Vikrant
  INS Vikrant was a Majestic-class light aircraft carrier of the Indian Navy.Her keel was laid down on 12 November 1943 by Vickers-Armstrong on the Tyne and she was launched on 22 September 1945....
- Magnificent (1944) - sold to Canada as HMCS Magnificent
- Powerful (1945) - to Canada
  Royal Canadian Navy
  The history of the Royal Canadian Navy goes back to 1910, when the naval force was created as the Naval Service of Canada and renamed a year later by King George V. The Royal Canadian Navy is one of the three environmental commands of the Canadian Forces...
  
  1952 as Bonaventure
- Terrible (1944) - to Australia in 1948 as Sydney
Centaur class
Centaur class aircraft carrier
The Centaur class of aircraft carriers of the British Royal Navy was the last of the light fleet carrier designs started during the closing years of World War II.-Ships In Class:HMS Centaur...
- Centaur
  HMS Centaur (R06)
  HMS Centaur was the first of the four Centaur-class light fleet carriers of the Royal Navy. She was the only ship of her class to retain the original configuration with a straight axial flight deck rather than the angled flight decks of her three sister ships...
  
  (1947)
- Albion
  HMS Albion (R07)
  HMS Albion was a 22,000 ton Centaur-class light fleet carrier of the Royal Navy.-Construction and modifications:She was built by Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson Ltd. Her keel was laid down in March 1944 and she was launched in May 1947...
  
  (1947)
- Bulwark
  HMS Bulwark (R08)
  The sixth HMS Bulwark of the Royal Navy was a 22,000 tonne Centaur-class light fleet aircraft carrier.-Construction:Bulwark was laid down by the Harland & Wolff shipyard in Belfast on 10 May 1945...
  
  (1948)
- Hermes
  HMS Hermes (R12)
  HMS Hermes was a Centaur-class British aircraft carrier, the last of the postwar conventional aircraft carriers commissioned into the Royal Navy.-Construction and modifications:...
  
  (ex-Elephant) (1953), to India 1986 as Viraat
  INS Viraat
  INS Viraat is a Centaur class aircraft carrier currently in service with the Indian Navy. INS Viraat is the flagship of the Indian Navy, the oldest carrier in service and one of two aircraft carriers in the Indian Ocean Region.The Viraat was completed and commissioned in 1959 as the Royal Navy's...
Invincible classInvincible class aircraft carrier
The Invincible class is a class of light aircraft carrier operated by the British Royal Navy. Three ships were constructed, , and . The vessels were built as aviation-capable anti-submarine warfare platforms to counter the Cold War North Atlantic Soviet submarine threat, and initially embarked...
- HMS Invincible
  HMS Invincible (R05)
  HMS Invincible was a British light aircraft carrier, the lead ship of three in her class in the Royal Navy. She was launched on 3 May 1977 and is the seventh ship to carry the name. She saw action in the Falklands War when she was deployed with , she took over as flagship of the British fleet when...
  
  (1977)
- HMS Ark Royal
  HMS Ark Royal (R07)
  HMS Ark Royal is a decommissioned light aircraft carrier and former flagship of the Royal Navy. She was the third and final vessel of Invincible-class...
  
  (1985)

Modified:

Invincible class
Invincible class aircraft carrier
The Invincible class is a class of light aircraft carrier operated by the British Royal Navy. Three ships were constructed, , and . The vessels were built as aviation-capable anti-submarine warfare platforms to counter the Cold War North Atlantic Soviet submarine threat, and initially embarked...
- Illustrious
  HMS Illustrious (R06)
  HMS Illustrious is the second of three Invincible-class light aircraft carriers built for the Royal Navy in the late 1970s and early 1980s. She is the fifth warship and second aircraft carrier to bear the name Illustrious, and is affectionately known as "Lusty" to her crew...
  
  (1982) (No fixed wing capability, as it has been converted to helicopter-only operation. To be decommissioned in 2014.)

Planned:

Audacious class
Audacious class aircraft carrier
The Audacious class aircraft carriers were a class of ship proposed by the British government in the 1930s - 1940s.- History :The Audacious class was originally designed as an expansion of the Implacable class with double storied hangars...
- Eagle - cancelled
- Africa - to Malta class then cancelled

Majestic class
- Leviathan (1945) - was never completed

Centaur class
Centaur class aircraft carrier
The Centaur class of aircraft carriers of the British Royal Navy was the last of the light fleet carrier designs started during the closing years of World War II.-Ships In Class:HMS Centaur...
- Hermes - cancelled
- Arrogant - cancelled
- Monmouth - cancelled
- Polyphemus - cancelled
Malta class
Malta class aircraft carrier
The Malta class aircraft carrier was a British large fleet aircraft carrier design of World War II. Inspired by the strike capability of United States Navy aircraft carriers, the Malta design took onboard several American innovations in hangar design and aircraft operations. Three ships were...

- cancelled 1946
- Malta
- New Zealand
- Gibraltar
- Africa
CVA-01
CVA-01
The CVA-01 aircraft carrier was to be a class of at least two fleet carriers that would have replaced the Royal Navy's existing aircraft carriers, most of which had been designed prior to or during World War II....

- cancelled 1966
- Queen Elizabeth
- Duke of Edinburgh

United States

See list of aircraft carriers of the United States Navy
See list of aircraft carrier classes of the United States Navy
See list of escort aircraft carriers of the United States Navy

Numbers of aircraft carriers operated

Argentina

Australia

Brazil

Canada

China

France

Germany

India

Italy

Japan

Netherlands

Russia

Spain

United Kingdom

United States

See also