Supercarriers

Supercarrier is an unofficial descriptive term for the largest type of aircraft carrier, typically those displacing over 70,000 short tons (64,000 metric tons). Supercarriers are the largest warships ever built, larger than the largest battleships laid down by any country. The United States Navy has ten active supercarriers as of 2017^[update]. The United Kingdom's first Queen Elizabeth-class carrier is undergoing sea trials and is expected to enter service in late 2017. The Soviet Union began constructing a supercarrier before cancelling it in 1991.

Outside the US, there are more light carriers closer to 30,000 tons, such as Italy's Cavour. A few countries operate medium-sized fleet carriers of around 40,000 tons, such as the French Navy's Charles de Gaulle and the Indian Navy's INS Vikramaditya.

The first ship to be described by The New York Times as a supercarrier was HMS Ark Royal in 1938, with a length of 685 feet (209 m) and a displacement of 22,000 tons, designed to carry 72 aircraft. In 1943 the superlative was transferred to the 45,000-ton Midway-class carriers as a step-up from the 27,000-ton Essex class. The Japanese aircraft carrier Shinano, launched in 1944, was the first aircraft carrier with a standard displacement of over 65,000 metric tons.

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