Modern Aircraft Carriers Trivia Quiz

Answer: Baku

The Soviet aircraft carrier Baku was the fourth ship of the Kiev-class, but was significantly modified from her three sisters, owing to her additional role as a testbed for new systems intended for subsequent aircraft carriers in the Soviet Navy. Originally named for the capital of Azerbaijan, on the collapse of the Soviet Union, Baku was renamed Admiral Gorshkov. Following a boiler room explosion in 1994, the ship was repaired, and subsequently offered for sale in 1996.

India agreed a deal to purchase the ship in 2004, paying for it to be reconstructed. Renamed as INS Vikramaditya, the ship entered service with the Indian Navy in 2013.

Answer: Kaga

The Izumo-class entered service with the Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force in 2015. Although classified as a "multi-purpose destroyer", the two ships, Izumo and Kaga, were designed as helicopter carriers, primarily operating anti-submarine helicopters.

However as built, they were also envisaged to eventually operate fixed-wing aircraft. In 2018, the government approved the adaptation of the two ships to allow them to operate the STOVL version of the F-35 Lighting aircraft. The two ships carry names of warships from the Second World War, with Kaga carrying the name of one of the aircraft carriers that attacked Pearl Harbor and was sunk at the Battle of Midway.

Answer: United Kingdom

HMS Ocean was originally commissioned into the Royal Navy in 1998 as a "Landing Platform, Helicopter", which is a ship designed to land assault troops by helicopter. Ocean remained in service for twenty years before the decision was taken to withdraw the ship and offer it for sale.

At the time, the Brazilian Navy had decommissioned its aircraft carrier São Paulo and was seeking a replacement. Negotiations to procure HMS Ocean had begun the previous year, and were completed to allow the ship to be commissioned into the Brazilian Navy as PHM Atlântico in June 2018.

Originally designated as a multipurpose helicopter carrier, in 2020 Atlântico was redesignated as a multipurpose aircraft carrier in recognition of its capability to operate VTOL aircraft and drones.

Answer: USS America

USS America was originally planned as a second nuclear-powered aircraft carrier of the Enterprise-class. However, the cost of building the world's first nuclear-powered carrier, USS Enterprise, was such that it was decided that subsequent ships would use oil-fired steam turbines.

As a result, America was re-ordered as a Kitty Hawk-class ship and was commissioned in January 1965. After America was commissioned, the US Navy constructed thirteen aircraft carriers, all of which were named after people.

It was in 2012, at the decommissioning of the original nuclear-powered carrier Enterprise, that it was announced that the third ship of the new Gerald R. Ford-class would be named as Enterprise.

Answer: HMS Eagle

HMS Eagle was originally commissioned in 1952, having spent ten years in construction and fitting out. Originally commissioned with an axial flight deck, in 1955 the ship was modified with all of the latest advances in aircraft carrier technology, including an angled flight deck. Eagle, and her slightly smaller sister HMS Ark Royal, were the largest carriers then built for the Royal Navy, and, in the late 1960s, both were planned to undergo modification to allow them to operate the latest available aircraft.

However, owing to changes in government policy, aircraft carriers were intended to be withdrawn from the early 1970s, leading Eagle to be decommissioned in 1972. She remained the largest warship ever to serve in the Royal Navy until the commissioning of HMS Queen Elizabeth in 2017.

Answer: Thailand

At the end of the 1980s, the Thai government announced plans to acquire an 8,000 ton vessel intended to serve as its Navy's new flagship. However, in 1991, this plan was amended, and an order was placed with a shipyard in Spain for a reduced size version of the Spanish aircraft carrier Principe de Asturias. HTMS Chakri Naruebet was commissioned in 1997, and, at the time, was the smallest carrier in the world operating fixed-wing aircraft, with its air group made up of ex-Spanish Navy Matador (Harrier) aircraft. Funding issues saw the Matadors removed from service in 2006, after which Chakri Naruebet was operated primarily as a helicopter carrier.

However, funding issues have often meant it is difficult for the Royal Thai Navy to operate the ship to a significant extent.

Answer: Trieste

Trieste was constructed to operate as a "Landing Helicopter Dock", a type of assault ship with both aviation and landing craft capabilities, intended to operate primarily in the delivery of troops. However, its aviation facilities mean it is also capable of operating as a pure aircraft carrier, and it has been built to replace Italy's first genuine aircraft carrier, Giuseppe Garibaldi. Trieste is the second ship of the Italian Navy to carry the name of the city of Trieste, the capital of the Friuli Venezia Giulia region and one of the country's major seaports.

Answer: United Kingdom

Charles de Gaulle was built as the new flagship of the French Navy, and was commissioned in 2001. The complexity of building a wholly domestically developed nuclear-powered aircraft carrier caused significant difficulty during the ship's construction, with work being suspended on four separate occasions from its being laid down in 1989. During the period of its construction, a story was published in a British newspaper that engineers inspecting the ship were actually officers from the UK's Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) attempting to discover the methods of shielding the ship's nuclear reactors.

The story was subsequently denied by both France and the UK. Charles de Gaulle began sea trials in 1999, and was eventually commissioned in May 2001.

Answer: Tblisi

Admiral Kuznetsov was originally laid down in 1982, undergoing a number of changes of name during its construction - initially named as Riga, the capital of Latvia, it was then named Leonid Brezhnev, before finally being launched as Tblisi, the capital of Georgia, under which name she was launched and embarked on sea trials.

However, when the ship was commissioned into the Soviet Navy in January 1991, it had been renamed for a third time, entering service as Admiral Kuznetsov. It was under this name that the ship was transferred to the Russian Navy following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Since then, the ship has suffered from poor maintenance, while in 2017 an ill-fated refit was begun which saw the ship suffer significant damage in two separate incidents.

Answer: Spain

In 2007, the Australian government announced that it had signed a deal with the Spanish company Navantia for the construction of two new "Landing Helicopter Docks" to upgrade Australia's assault ship facilities. The new ships, which were to be named HMAS Adelaide and HMAS Canberra, were to be based on the design of Spain's new aircraft carrier, Juan Carlos I, then under construction.

The Australian ships were intended to include all of the features that were included in the design, including the "ski jump" ramp used by Spain's fixed-wing aircraft, even though Australia had no intention of procuring its own fixed-wing aircraft. Canberra was commissioned in November 2014, while Adelaide entered service thirteen months later.