How many jets are on a aircraft carrier?

Answer 1

escorts 500-1000, fleet carriers 1500-3500, modern nimitz class 5000+

Answer 2

On WWII US fleet carriers usually around 80, on Japanese carriers a few less, 70 or so, and on British carriers still less.

The US operated more carriers than any other nation, and actually had about three types of carriers. The largest, front line type were the fleet carriers (CVs). There were also smaller "light" carriers (CVLs), and there were "Jeep" carriers, or "baby flattops", formally called "escort carriers" (CVEs). Escort carriers were made by converting the design for a WWII type of cargo ship, the Liberty ship, by giving it a flat carrier deck. These could carry only about 20 aircraft, and were designed and used to escort convoys of merchant ships, to help provide protection against enemy submarines which might attack the vital supply convoys. The escort carriers were developed because in the middle of the Atlantic there was an area where land-based planes, even of the longest range, could not reach flying either from America or England. Fleet carriers were needed to fight the enemy navies, mostly in the Pacific, and could not be spared for escorting supply convoys, so the escort carrier was created.

WWII US and Japanese carriers had three types of airplanes: fighters, dive bombers, and torpedo bombers. In the US Navy these planes, their pilots, and mechanics, armorers etc were not a part of the ships crew. Instead the US Navy had Carrier Air Groups, made up of all the aviation personnel and their planes. If a carrier got into a big battle and lost heavily from its airplanes, the US Navy could just put a fresh Carrier Air Group aboard and send the ship back out with no loss of fighting power. The Japanese airmen were a part of the ships crew, which made it harder for them to replace losses, and caused their carriers to lose fighting power after big battles.

A US Carrier Air Group had four squadrons, each with 18 planes, plus a few spare aircraft, making the total of about 80 when a ship set out for the war with a fresh air group aboard. There was one squadron of fighter planes, one of torpedo planes, and two equipped with dive bombers, one called a dive bombing squadron and the second called a "scout bomber" squadron, whose planes were used to hunt for enemy ships, and usually to join in the attack just like the other dive bombers once the enemy was located.

Answer 3

The last one I was on (1982) was the USS America, CV-66 and it carried a complement of 87 planes. They were a mix of F-14's, EA6-B's, A-4s and 2 AWACS.

Answer 4

All aircraft carriers are different.

There is no "norm".

Answer 5

The first aircraft carrier was used in World War 1, which carries about 5 or 4 planes.

Answer 6

12 Squadrons or about 75 planes

Answer 7

On average about 50.

Answer 8

5000