Aircraft carriers are the world's largest ships the most important ships of a country's navy. The United States has the largest fleet of aircraft carriers, a total of 11. The United Kingdom and Italy have two- France, Russia, Spain, India Brazil and Thailand have one carrier.

Aircraft carriers have played an important role in many battles since World War II.  The Japanese, for example, launched their attack on Pearl Harbor, from aircraft carriers. Today, they serve as a floating military base and are still the fastest way to transport soldiers and warplanes to the crisis areas around the world. Aircraft carriers can travel at a speed of 35 knots (about 64 km/h) and reach any place in the world within a few weeks.

Modern aircraft carriers are very expensive, costing about $5 billion each. The American Nimitz class carriers are the world’s most modern. They are powered by two heavily protected nuclear reactors and can travel for years without refueling.

A modern aircraft carrier weighs about 100,000 tons and is as high as a 20-storey building. They are built in modules called suplerlifts. Each of these can weigh up to 900 tons.  When the modules are finished the ship is assembled in a dry dock. The docks are flooded and the finished ship can float out to sea.

 

 

USS Nimitz

 

Flight deck and bridge of an aircraft carrier