Supercarrier

Supercarrier is an unofficial descriptive term for the largest type of aircraft carrier, usually displacing over 70,000 long tons. The U.S. Navy currently has 11 such ships. In comparison, a few countries operate what are by today's standards medium carriers (fleet carrier) of around 42,000 tons such as the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle (R91). The size and configuration of the Charles de Gaulle corresponds closely with the 45,000 ton Midway class the United States built at the end of World War II, as a successor class to the much more numerous 27,000 ton Essex-class aircraft carrier which did the heavy lifting in WWII after 1943 when they entered service. Internationally, light carriers closer to 20,000 tons (such as HMS Illustrious) are more typical. The United Kingdom has two Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers currently being built and the first is expected to arrive in 2016, they will displace 65,000 metric tons and when built they will be the third largest Supercarrier class in service. Supercarriers are the largest warships ever built, eclipsing even the largest battleship class laid down by any country.