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How big is an aircraft carrier?

Updated: 8/22/2023
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βˆ™ 6y ago

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Approx 22 feet

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Connie Ferry

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βˆ™ 2y ago
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βˆ™ 12y ago

Modern supercarriers of the US Navy are the Nimitz class (1092 feet overall, 333 m). The upcoming Gerald Ford class will be approximately the same length. The now-decommissioned Kitty Hawk class was 1069 feet, or 326 meters.

Aircraft carriers in World War 2

There were several types of aircraft carriers, intended for different uses. The "Fleet" carrier was the largest, intended for large-scale operations against other naval units and for shore attack. Light carriers were about two-thirds the size of Fleet carriers, and while they were intended to assist the Fleet carriers, they were much less capable (slower, carried fewer planes, and were less protected). "Jeep" or escort carriers were small slower ships, intended primarily for convoy protection, and thus, were mostly outfitted for anti-submarine work.

While the United States built a single class of large Fleet carriers during the War, pre-war designs of all nations were highly varied, as naval architects and strategists were still figuring out what sizes and compromises were best for making the optimal large carrier. Additionally, the US, Japan, and UK all built a wide variety of designs of Light and Escort carriers during the war, so it's hard to say "typical".

With these caveats, here are some rough sizes:

The several of the pre-war carriers from various nations were built on converted battlecruiser or battleship hulls (US' Lexington class, Japan's Akagi class, and the UK's Courageous class). They displaced in the 35-45,000 ton range, and were 820-850 ft long as measured on the flight deck.

The major large carrier class of any nation built during the war was the US' Essex class large Fleet carriers, which were about 35,000 tons displacement at 870-890 ft long.

The variety of Light carriers were usually built on a converted light cruiser hull. Typical of these varieties was Japan's Ryuho (17,000 tons and 690 ft long) and the US' Independence class (15,000 tons and 625 ft long).

Escort carriers were typically built on a converted fleet oiler hull, or modified cargo ship design. The US/UK Bogue class is a good example (9,000 tons and 700 ft long).

Check out the link below for a comparison of various carrier sizes.

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βˆ™ 16y ago

The Nimitz class carriers are over 1,100 feet long.

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βˆ™ 14y ago

The Yorktown class carriers (Yorktown, Enterprise, Hornet) were about 820 feet long. Only the USS Enterprise survived WWII.

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βˆ™ 12y ago

Length: 1,092 ft (333 m)

Full-load displacement: 100,000 long tons

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βˆ™ 15y ago

1000feet (330 m)

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