The largest ships in the world: list, names, photos. The tallest ship in the world What is the name of the largest ship

The largest and most famous passenger ship in the world for tragic events is Titanic. Everyone knows the unfortunate story of this greatest achievement of the 20th century. The ship was launched in 1911. While making its first voyage, it collided with an iceberg in the Atlantic Ocean and sank. , weighing 163 thousand tons, took with him to the bottom about one and a half thousand lives. It was possible to save only 700 people, they were picked up by a steamer passing by.

After the incident with the Titanic, the level of security on all liners has increased. All engineers and designers involved in the construction of passenger ships began to give priority to the conditions for ensuring the safety of human lives. As you know, one of the reasons for the mass death of people was the lack of a sufficient number of spare boats on the ship.

The best ships of the 21st century: top 5

The title of "The largest passenger ship in the world" passes from one ship to another every year - the rating is constantly changing. Ship models are constantly being improved, new requirements are being set at the local and international level, and high technologies are being created. In this regard, it is possible that in the near future the list will be replenished with new names of sea giants.

Who said size doesn't matter? The gigantic vessels, striking in their dimensions, are built with the latest technology and carry more than 90% of the total amount of cargo by sea (and that's not counting people). The largest ships in the world are oil tankers, container ships and cruise ships.

Large ships are built for various human needs. Some, with large diesel engines, carry cargo over long distances, while naval ships usually sail on nuclear engines so that they can not depend on fuel and stay at sea for many months. But, regardless of the mode of transportation, at one glance at one of the megaships, you understand how much human effort and what engineering genius was required to build each giant.

Here list of largest ships in the world with photos and detailed descriptions.

10. Planet Solar - 31 meters

What types of energy did not try to use the shipping industry - diesel, gas, nuclear, wind energy. But the solar region remained uncovered until the advent of Planet Solar. It is the largest solar powered ship in the world. Its length is 31 meters, and the panels are able to absorb almost 103.4 kW of solar energy.

The speed of the ship is still low - only 8 knots, but, in the end, this is a unique development. It will certainly be improved.

9. Club Med 2 - 194 meters

Built in 1992 in Le Havre, France, the Club Med 2 is the largest sailing ship in the world. Its length is 194 m, and the carrying capacity is 14,983 tons. For comparison: the wing length is 117.3 meters.

In addition to the 214 crew members, 386 passengers can board the Club Med 2. The sailboat speeds up to 10-15 knots and is currently operating as a cruise ship - in the summer it sails on the waters of the Mediterranean and Adriatic seas, and in the winter it moves to the Caribbean.

Club Med 2 has five masts. In addition to seven sails (they are not controlled by people, but by the ship's computer), the ship has four diesel engines. Entertainment for passengers includes ballroom dancing, card games, music shows and, of course, stunning sea views - Club Med 2 sails, like many sailing ships before it, along the coastline and only during the day, and anchors at night.

8. SSV-33 - 265 meters

The largest ship in Russia is also known under the name "Ural". It belongs to the class of reconnaissance ships with a nuclear power plant. The Ural was built during the Cold War, when the USSR and the USA were watching each other with might and main. And it was intended for reconnaissance operations in, where the United States possessed several test sites for ballistic missiles. The length of the Ural was 265 m, the crew consisted of 950 people, the cruising speed was 21.6 knots. Thanks to the nuclear engine, the Ural was autonomous and, after refueling, could not enter the port for three months.

The Ural began its service on the Far East coast, where, due to its gigantic size, there was no berth of a suitable size for it, so the ship spent most of its time anchored in the bay. But his calmness was deceptive - in the 80s, the Ural served as the main source of information about what was being done in the military circles of the United States and Japan.

It all ended with the beginning of perestroika. First, junior conscripts were transferred to the reserve, then nuclear boilers were damaged as a result of a fire. For some time, the ship lived on diesel generators, until the painful half-starved existence ended in 2001 - the Ural was laid up. In 2008, its disposal began, and by 2016 it was finally dismantled.

7. USS Enterprise (CVN-65) - 342 meters

No, this ship has nothing to do with Star Trek, but its dimensions are truly impressive - it is the largest warship in the world in the history of the navy. Its length is 342 m, it can carry up to 4,600 troops, 2,520 tons of weapons, and the cruise speed of the namesake Enterprise is 33.6 knots.

USS Enterprise has a long and proud history.

Once it became the first among nuclear aircraft carriers (launched in 1961) and its price was so high that it was decided to abandon the planned series of ships of the same purpose and size.
Started USS Enterprise service during the Caribbean Crisis, then patrolled the Mediterranean, participated in the Vietnam War and, after almost twenty years, in Iraq, fought against sea pirates ...
Overall, her service life was 51 years in a row - longer than any other US aircraft carrier to this day.

But the world was changing, and even such a technically perfect ship, which was regularly upgraded, was hopelessly outdated. In 2012, the ship made its last voyage. And by April 2018, it was finally put out of action.

6. RMS Queen Mary 2 - 345 meters

The world's largest transatlantic liner is the RMS Queen Mary 2, built in 2004. The ship got its name in honor of the first "Queen Mary", which left the shipyard in 1936, and the abbreviation RMS (royal mail ship, royal mail ship) was awarded only to the fastest and most reliable ships. The RMS Queen Mary 2 is currently the only transatlantic vessel cruising between Southampton and New York. However, once a year, the Queen also works as a cruise ship, making a round-the-world tour.

The length of the "Queen Mary" is 345 m, it can accommodate 2620 passengers and 1253 crew members. She develops a speed of 30 knots. Although the ship is inferior in size to the titanic cruise liners (however, by only 15 m), it still does not give up its position as the largest ocean liner.

A cruise liner differs from an ocean liner in that the first of them goes on a journey and drops passengers on the spot in the same port, while the purpose of the second is to transport passengers from one point to another.
However, this is not the only difference. The transatlantic liner makes long journeys, so it often encounters adverse weather conditions. Therefore, its design should be stronger than that of cruise ships sailing in comfortable conditions, seaworthiness should be better, and engines should be more powerful.
A cruise ship, on the other hand, can afford to focus on the number of passengers carried instead of seaworthiness and endurance - that's why they have such a funny box shape for better passenger capacity.

5. Gas carriers Q-Max - 345 meters

The world's largest carriers of liquefied gas are Q-Max ships. Their length reaches 345 m, and the total capacity varies from 262,000 to 267,000 m3. At the same time, their speed is not bad for ships of this class - 19.5 knots.

There are currently 14 vessels of this type in circulation; they were built by Samsung, Hyundai and Daewoo. The very first of them, Mozah, left the shipyard in 2007 and got its name in honor of one of the wives of the Emir of Qatar. All 14 vessels are owned by a Qatari natural gas transportation company. These are the largest ships capable of docking at LNG terminals.

4. Oasis of the Seas - 360 meters

The largest passenger ships in the world are Oasis of the Seas, Allure of the Seas and Harmony of the Seas, formerly known as Project Genesis. They belong to the company Royal Caribbean and were built respectively in 2009, 2010 and 2015. The cruise ships are 360 meters long and carry up to 6,296 passengers, excluding a crew of 2,394. These are the fastest of the large passenger ships - their speed reaches 22.6 knots.

There is plenty of entertainment on them so that the tourists on board do not get bored. There is even surfing, a 25 m long zipline (descent on a cable) with a height of 9 decks, two 13 m high climbing walls, swimming pools, a basketball court, a water park and even an ice rink. No wonder there are so many attendants on the ship!

The Oasis of the Seas cost about $1.14 million to build, the highest price ever paid for a civilian ship in human history. Both Oasis and Allure currently operate week-long Caribbean cruises and are very popular with tourists.

3. TI class ships - 380 meters

The largest oil tankers in operation were designed and built for the Hellespont Group at a shipyard in South Korea by Daewoo (or rather, its shipbuilding division) in 2003. There are four vessels in total - later the customers renamed them TI Oceania, TI Europe, TI Asia and TI Africa.

Approximately 90 million dollars and 700,000 man-hours were spent on the construction of each vessel. They are shorter than Knock Nevis at 78m; their length is 380 m, carrying capacity is 440,000 tons, and they can develop speed from 16 to 18 knots. In addition to their size, the ships impress with the elegance of their outlines and the beauty of their design; when viewed from high above, they most of all look like giant snow-white icebergs.

2. CSCL Globe and Maersk Triple E class vessels - 400 meters

In the fall of 2014, the christening ceremony of the world's largest container ship, the CSCL Globe, took place. It was the very first of five 19,000 TEU (TEU stands for “twenty-foot equivalent”, a measure of the capacity of a vehicle) ordered by a Chinese shipbuilding company in 2013. However, the CSCL Globe record has since been broken by OOCL class cargo carriers, which reach an impressive 21,413 TEU in the same length.

A 400 m long megaship sails with the help of a 77,200 hp main engine. with., the efficiency of which is so high that it consumes no more fuel than a container ship with a carrying capacity of almost half. Fuel economy is up to 20%. This happens due to the fact that the “smart” engine reacts to the situation at sea and regulates fuel consumption accordingly.

The Danish company Maersk ordered Daewoo to build 20 Maersk Triple E-class ships. Each of them cost about $200 million. Their capacity is slightly less than that of the CSCL Globe (18,000 TEU), but they are almost the same in length. The cruise speed of the new container ships is high - from 23 to 26 knots, which makes them the fastest vessels of this class in the world.

Triple E, that is, “triple E” - principles encoded in a short form, which were followed by customers and shipbuilders:

saving;
energy efficiency;
environmental friendliness.

Maersk vessels are currently among the most cost-effective container ships in terms of cost/carrying capacity.

1. Knock Nevis - 458.45 meters

During its service to people, the ship has changed many names - Seawise Giant, Happy Giant, Jahre Viking and, finally, Knock Nevis. This is the longest ship in the history of shipbuilding - from bow to stern, its length is 1504 feet (or 458.45 m), which exceeds the length of the Empire State Building laid on its side. Knock Nevis belonged to the ULCC class of oil tankers and had the largest cargo capacity of any vessel. It is considered the largest artificial object capable of moving independently, of all ever built by man.

At full load, the volume of cargo carried by the ship was 657019 tons, and with a draft of 24.6 m, even the English Channel, the Suez and Panama canals were shallow for the sea giant. At the same time, the speed of the ship was surprisingly high for such a size - 16 knots. The Knock Nevis was powered by a single engine with a diameter of 9 m. The braking distance from cruise speed to a complete stop took 9 km, and the turning radius of the vessel was 3 km. He was served by a team of 35 people.

The Knock Nevis was built in 1979 by the Japanese shipbuilding company Sumimoto Heavy Industries at the Japanese shipyard in Yokosuko. The Greek owner named the ship Porthos. Since then, the ship has seen a lot:

traveled the seas for about 30 years;
was damaged in 1988 during the Iran-Iraq war;
was repaired and sold to Norway;
in 2009 he made his last trip to the shipyard in Gujarat, India, where he was dismantled.

Why are the largest ships in the world dangerous?

Huge ships are not very environmentally friendly. Cargo transportation by sea costs the planet almost 1.4 billion tons of carbon dioxide, which is 6% of the total emissions. This number is twice that of air transport.

For this reason, most marine giants are trying to switch to highly efficient and fuel-saving engines, and also use hybrid systems - there are ships that are powered by wind and solar energy.

The ships are growing in size every year. Real giants are launched into the water, in comparison with which the famous Titanic would seem to be a nondescript kid.

Ships are for various purposes. Some are designed for comfortable transportation of people, others transport containers, and others are designed for military purposes. Among each class there are the largest and most famous.

largest cruise ship

It's about "Harmony of the Seas". In 2015, the ship was launched and became the third in the line of top-class liners, overtaking its closest brother by only 2 meters in length.

The liner is 362 meters long, 70 meters high and 47 meters wide. This monster can accommodate up to 6,000 guests and over 2,000 crew members. The ship sails only in the Atlantic Ocean, in the Mediterranean Sea and in the Caribbean. It has a fitness center, golf course, bowling alley, spa, theater and more. Despite its huge size, the ship can reach an impressive speed - more than 20 knots.

The largest ship for the transport of goods

"Dockwise Vanguard" can carry cargo weighing 110,000 tons. These are monstrous numbers. The ship made its first voyage in 2013. The length of the ship is "only" 270 meters, but among its kind it is the largest. It can carry the hulls of other ships, entire oil stations and more. It will cope with those tasks that no other vessel in the world can handle, which is why it is on our list.

The loading process itself is very interesting. The ship is almost completely submerged under water, after which a load is placed on it. Then the water is pumped out, the ship rises along with the cargo and can sail.

The longest ship on earth

This is the largest, longest ship, and also the largest floating structure ever launched. We are talking about "Prelude FLNG" - a floating plant for the production of liquefied natural gas. Its length is 488 meters.

The cost of manufacturing was more than 10 billion dollars. The ship moves from one place to another, but cannot fully move forward. Its mass is 260,000 tons. It reaches a height of 105 meters - this is equivalent to a 30-story building.

largest aircraft carrier

USS Enterprise (CVN-65) is a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier that has been at sea since the distant 1961. Its length is 340 meters, which makes it the largest warship in the world.

It can carry up to 2,500 tons of weapons. One refueling with nuclear fuel is enough for 13 years of service. This is equivalent to 1 million 600 thousand kilometers of the path that this deadly colossus swims during this time. This is an amazingly fast ship, capable of sailing at a speed of 60 kilometers per hour. It can simultaneously work 5000 people. Unfortunately, the ship was decommissioned in 2017.

largest container ship

M.O.L. Triumph has a length of 400 meters. He still plows the seas and oceans, this is a full-fledged ship, which has the longest length of all. It can carry 20,000 containers at the same time.

"MSC Oscar" only a few meters behind the Triumph. It can carry 19,500 containers. These two ships are staggering in their size, but there was one tanker ship that was decommissioned and scrapped in 2010 - the Seawise Giant. Its length was 460 meters.

Ships can carry the largest amount of cargo, which is beyond the power of any other means of transportation, even a freight train. The largest ships remain in the memory of people for a long time - these masterpieces of engineering are the pride of mankind.

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Oceans and seas occupy most of the surface of our planet. To move on them, mankind has been building various ships for many millennia, and some of them are truly gigantic in size. The largest ships in the world are usually cargo ships, tankers or container ships. But among other types of ships in the world, there are those that deserve interest when it comes to the largest ship. Therefore, the top 10 largest ships below include relatively modest in size compared to tankers, but the largest ships in their class (military, passenger, sailing).

1. Prelude

Although this ship is not yet in operation, it already rightfully bears the title of the largest ship in the world. The dimensions of its hull, which has already been launched in 2013, are amazing. The vessel is 488 m long and 78 m wide. With such gigantic dimensions, the cargo ship has a displacement of 600,000 tons. This is not quite a cargo ship, but the world's first floating platform designed for the production, liquefaction and subsequent transportation of natural gas. The giant is being built by the order of Royal Dutch Shell by the South Korean corporation Samsung Heavy Industries.

Full completion of construction is scheduled for 2017. The floating leviathan, which produces and processes gas independently, cannot go by sea; tugboats will be used for this. The place of the future work of the platform is Western Australia, 295 km east of the city of Broome. The cost of building the ship is $12 billion, and the estimated period of operation is 25 years. The design of the vessel is designed to withstand the most powerful cyclones that exist in nature, for this it has three shunting engines with a capacity of 6700 hp. with. everyone. With the help of them, during storms, the ship will turn to the required position. The capacity of the floating plant is 3,600,000 tons of liquefied gas per year.

2 Seawise Giant (Knock Nevis)

If the previous largest ship in the world represents the future of shipbuilding, then this largest ship in history has already been decommissioned and cut up for scrap. A giant 458.5 m long and 69 m wide was built in 1976, its displacement was almost 565 thousand tons. Its colossal dimensions did not allow it to pass through the Panama and Suez canals and even through the English load line was 24.6 m.

The maximum speed of the tanker, due to its size, was relatively small, 13 knots or 21.1 km / h, but even so, the stopping distance of the ship was 10.2 km, and the turning circle of the vessel was 3.7 km. Initially, in 1976, the ship, built by the Japanese Sumitomo Heavy Industries (SHI), was named Oppama. Then its dimensions were more modest, length - 376.7 m, displacement - 418.6 thousand tons. Later, the new owner of the ship, the Orient Overseas Line company from Hong Kong, ordered the restructuring of the ship, a cylindrical insert was added to it, and the ship acquired its final record size. In 1981, the ship was named Seawise Giant and began to sail the ocean under the Liberian flag carrying crude oil.

In 1986, during the Iran-Iraq conflict, the tanker ran aground due to damage from an anti-ship missile. After the war, it was bought and restored by the Norwegian Norman International, the ship was renamed the Happy Giant. Even before it was put into operation in 1991, it was again resold to the Norwegian shipping company Loki Stream AS, so when the ship left the shipyard in Singapore, it received another new name Jahre Viking. The tanker received its last name Knock Nevis in 2004 after it was purchased by the Norwegian company First Olsen Tankers Pte, since this year it has been anchored and it has ceased to be a transport vessel. The giant made its last voyage in 2009 to the shores of India, where it was disposed of in 2010. One of his 36-ton anchors can be seen today at the Hong Kong Maritime Museum.

It is currently the world's longest operating ship. This is a container ship with a length of 397 m, it is one of 8 vessels of the E-Class series built by the Moller-Maersk Group. The displacement of the ship is 157 thousand tons, it was launched in 2006. Its main purpose is the transportation of goods between Southeast Asia and Northern Europe through the Suez and Gibraltar Canals.

The ship is capable of carrying up to 11,000 typical 20-foot containers (with cargo), its carrying capacity is 123,000 tons. The power of its huge diesel plant is 109,000 liters. s, and its mass is 2300 tons, thanks to it the ship can go across the ocean at a speed of 25.5 knots. On average, a large commercial vessel travels a total distance of just over 300,000 km a year.

Today, the vessels of this series are the largest operated ships in terms of displacement, which is 441.6 thousand tons. They have a double hull, which is dictated by modern environmental requirements for ships carrying environmentally hazardous bulk cargo. A total of 4 ships of this series were built, 2 of which, TI Europe and TI Oceania, sail the ocean, and 2 were turned into floating platforms to ensure the operation of the field near Qatar. The length of the vessels is 380 m.

5. Ore trucks Vale

These are the largest dry cargo ships operated in modern times. The displacement of the largest vessels of this series reaches 400 thousand tons, and the length is 362 m. All vessels of the Vale family are owned by the Brazilian mining corporation of the same name. They are mainly used to transport iron ore to the US from Brazilian deposits.

Today, the fleet of super-ore carriers consists of 31 ships with a displacement of 380 to 400 thousand tons. Four of the largest ships were recently chartered to China's largest dry-cargo fleet operator COSCO for 25 years. The advantage of Vale vessels is their low consumption of diesel fuel and low carbon dioxide emissions per ton of ore, when compared with conventional ore carriers with a displacement of up to 200,000 tons.

This is the largest passenger ship, its length is 362 m, and the displacement is 19.8 thousand tons. It has a twin ship - the Oasis in the Seas cruise ship, which is 50 mm shorter. Allure of the Seas was launched as recently as 2008. The cruise ship has a crew of 2,100 and a maximum passenger capacity of 6,400. On board the ship are:

a park with exotic trees and shrubs;
a variety of sports facilities (ice rink, golf course, basketball and volleyball courts, bowling, etc.);
swimming pools with jacuzzi;
shops, casinos and more.

7. Aircraft carrier USS Enterprise

This is the largest warship in the world. The length of the aircraft carrier is 342 m, and the width is 78.4 m. This is the first warship of this type with a nuclear power plant (8 reactors). The Enterprise entered service in 1961. It was originally planned to build 5 ships of this type, but due to the enormous cost ($451 million) and a number of other reasons, the largest warships of this modification decided not to be replicated. In 2012, the aircraft carrier made its last 8-month sea voyage. The crew of the ship was 3000 people, the number of aviation personnel - 1800 people, up to 90 aircraft and helicopters could be located on the aircraft carrier.

If we talk about huge military ships, then Russia also has its own large aircraft carrier - this is the heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Kuznetsov. It is 306 meters long and 72 meters wide. If we talk about the operating fleet, then at present it is second in size only to aircraft carriers of the Nimitz type, their length is almost 333 m.

This is the largest steamship ever built. Its length was 211 m, and the displacement was 22.5 thousand tons. The ship was launched in 1857. From the very beginning of its operation, it was firmly entrenched in notoriety, what other ship, except for the one pursued by misfortunes, could in just two years:

cause the death of several dozen workers during launching;
get damaged due to the explosion of the steam engine during the first passage;
hit the rock.

The crew of the ship was 418 people, and the passenger capacity was 4,000 people. The steamer was propelled by two paddle wheels powered by a 3650 hp steam engine. with. and a 4-bladed propeller powered by a 4000 hp steam engine. with. In addition, the ship could go by sea under sails fixed on 6 masts.

9. Project 941 Shark submarines

These are the largest submarines of our time. The length of the submarines of this series is almost 173 m, and the underwater displacement is 48 thousand tons. Their colossal dimensions, first of all, were determined by the dimensions of the main armament - intercontinental solid-propellant three-stage ballistic missiles.

The submarine is propelled by two water-cooled nuclear reactors with a capacity of 190 MW each (shaft power 2 × 50 thousand hp) and two steam turbine plants. In addition, the ship has two standby DC electric motors and a thruster consisting of two folding columns driven by electric motors. The crew of the submarine - 160 people.

This five-masted barque, launched by the French in 1912, is the largest sailing ship in history, its length was 146.2 m and a displacement of 10.7 thousand tons. The ship was used to transport goods (wool, ore, coal) across around the world. In 1922, near New Caledonia, the ship hit the reefs and was abandoned by the owners. In 1944, during the bombing, it was destroyed.

Any ship presented in our TOP 10 largest ships can be called engineering creations. Of course, gigantic dimensions are not the goal for which these ships were designed and built. The dimensions of the ships are determined, first of all, by the tasks that huge ships had to solve or solve.

Humans have long sought to create something great by raising the bar over and over again and engaging in an ongoing display of superiority and power. Each new creation, structure or mechanism had to be stronger, faster, higher, wider, larger and more durable than the previous ones. The military industry is no exception. Since ancient times, the strength of the navy largely determined the winner of the battle and clearly demonstrated the alignment of forces. Civilizations constantly fought for fertile land and influence in strategically advantageous sea basins. As a result, thousands of magnificent and amazing ships have been built over the past centuries, designed to testify to the military power of their country. In this compilation, 25 of the largest warships ever launched are waiting for you.

25. America-class amphibious assault ships

America is a huge assault ship and one of the largest ships in the US Navy. So far, only one ship of this configuration exists, and that is USS America, built in 2014. The length of the vessel is 257 meters, and its displacement is about 45,000 tons!

24. Shokaku-class warship

Photo: wikimedia.org

Both Shokaku-class aircraft carriers were built for the Imperial Japanese Navy in the late 1930s. The construction of the ships was completed shortly before the outbreak of World War II in 1941, and these ships were at one time considered in fact "undoubtedly the best aircraft carriers in the world." The Shokaku-class vessel was 257.5 meters long. Both giants were sunk by the enemy in 1944.

23. Audacious-class ships

Photo: anonymous, 09 HMS Eagle Mediterranean Jan1970

The Audacious-class aircraft carriers were designed by military engineers for the British government in the 1930s and 1940s. They failed to show in practice during the fight against Nazi Germany, since the construction of these ships was completed after the end of World War II. The Audacious warships participated in exercises and strategic operations from 1951 to 1979. The length of such a vessel was 257.6 meters.

22. Taiho-class aircraft carrier

Photo: wikimedia.org

Taiho was first launched in 1941, and it was an aircraft carrier of the Empire of Japan, built to participate in the battles of World War II. The total length of the ship was 260.6 meters, and its design assumed invulnerability even in the face of massive bombardment, torpedoing and other hull attacks. The aircraft carrier Taiho was supposed to be able to continue the battle in any conditions, but in 1944 she managed to sink everything. The ship sank after a direct hit by a torpedo fired by the American submarine USS Albacore during a fierce battle in the Philippine Sea.

21. Warship Akagi

Photo: wikimedia.org

There were many glorious ships in the Japanese navy, and Akagi is another famous aircraft carrier of this Asian empire, which served it from 1927 to 1942. The ship distinguished itself first in the Second Sino-Japanese War of the 1930s, and then during World War II in the legendary attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941. The last battle of the aircraft carrier was the Battle of Midway Atoll in June 1942. Akagi was seriously injured in the battle, and his captain decided to sink the ship himself, which was a common practice among the captains of the Japanese Navy in those years. The length of the ship was 261.2 meters.

20. Charles de Gaulle-class warship

Photo: wikimedia.org

Let's go straight to the numbers - the length of the French flagship Charles de Gaulle is 261.5 meters, and its displacement is 42,500 tons. To date, this warship is considered the largest warship in all of Western Europe, still launched to participate in exercises and strategic operations. The flagship Charles de Gaulle was commissioned for the first time in 1994, and today this nuclear-powered vessel remains the leading aircraft carrier of the French Navy.

19. Ship INS Vikrant

Photo: Indian Navy

Here is the first aircraft carrier built in India. The length of this warship is 262 meters, and it is about 40,000 tons. Vikrant is still in the process of fitting out and is scheduled for completion in 2023. The name of the aircraft carrier from the Indian language is translated as "courageous" or "daring".

18. English warship HMS Hood

Photo: wikipedia.org

And this is one of the oldest warships on our list of the largest naval ships in the world. HMS Hood was the last battlecruiser built for the British Royal Navy. Launched in August 1918, HMS Hood was 262.3 meters long and boasted a displacement of 46,680 tons. The impressive cruiser was sunk by the Germans during World War II in the Battle of Denmark Strait in 1941.

17. Graf Zeppelin-class warship

Photo: wikipedia.org

The four Graf Zeppelin-class ships were to become Kriegsmarine ships (Kriegsmarine, the German navy of the Third Reich era), and their construction was planned as early as the 1930s. However, due to political disagreements between the German Navy and the Luftwaffe (Luftwaffe, the air force in the Reichswehr, Wehrmacht and Bundeswehr), due to disagreements among the highest ranks of the Kriegsmarine itself, and because Adolf Hitler lost interest in this project, none of these impressive aircraft carriers was never launched. As planned by the engineers, the length of such a ship was to be 262.5 meters.

16. Yamato-class warships

Photo: wikimedia.org

The Yamato-class ships were Imperial Japanese Navy warships built and launched during World War II. The maximum displacement of these giants was 72,000 tons, for which they are still considered one of the heaviest warships in the history of the navy of the whole world. The total length of the Yamato-class vessel was 263 meters, and although 5 of these warships were originally planned, only 3 were eventually completed.

15. Clemenceau-class vessel

Photo: wikimedia.org

The Clemenceau-class aircraft carriers were a pair of warships that served with the French Navy from 1961 to 2000. In 2000, one of these aircraft carriers, Clemenceau, was disarmed and dismantled, and the second, Foch, was transferred to the Brazilian Navy. The aircraft carrier Foch remains in the port of Sao Paolo to this day. Its total length is 265 meters.

14 Essex Aircraft Carriers

Photo: wikimedia.org

Here is the foremost power of the US Navy during World War II, the Essex-class aircraft carrier. In the 20th century, this type of warship was the most common type of large warship. There were 24 of them in total, and 4 of these aircraft carriers are now open to the public as floating museums of the history of the American Navy. So if you happen to go to the states and want to get on board a real battle cruiser, the ships Yorktown, Intrepid, Hornet and Lexington will happily open the veil of military secrets of the mid-20th century for you.

13. Combat aircraft carrier Shinano

Photo: wikimedia.org

Shinano was a huge aircraft carrier that served in the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. The ship was 266.1 meters long and weighed 65,800 tons. However, the Japanese rushed to launch it, because at that time Shinano still needed design work. Probably for this reason, the giant aircraft carrier lasted only 10 days in the war and was sunk at the end of 1944.

12. Iowa-class warship

Photo: wikipedia.org

Fast battleships of the Iowa class were built by order of the US Navy in 1939 and 1940 in the amount of 6 combat units. As a result, only 4 out of 6 ships were launched, but all of them took part in a number of important confrontations for America, including World War II, the Korean and Vietnam Wars. The length of these artillery armored ships was 270 meters, and the displacement was 45,000 tons.

11. Lexington-class aircraft carrier

Photo: wikipedia.org

In total, 2 such aircraft carriers were built, and both ships were designed by order of the US Navy in the 1920s. This class of ships performed very well and was seen in many battles. One of these warships was the aircraft carrier Lexington, which was sunk by the enemy during the Battle of the Coral Sea in 1942. The second ship, the Saratoga, was blown up during an atomic bomb test in 1946.

10. Kiev-class warship

Photo: wikimedia.org

Also known as Project 1143 or the aircraft carrier Krechet, the Kyiv-class ship was the first Soviet aircraft carrier to transport fixed-wing aircraft. To date, of the 4 ships built, one has been dismantled, 2 are out of order, and the last, Admiral Gorshkov, was sold to the Indian Navy, where it is still in service.

9. Queen Elizabeth class warship

Photo: UK Department of Defense, flickr

She is one of two Queen Elizabeth class ships and both are still in the process of fitting out for the Royal Navy. The first ship is HMS Queen Elizabeth, and all work on its construction will be completed in 2017, the second - HMS Prince of Wales, which is scheduled to be launched in 2020. The length of the hull of HMS aircraft carriers is 284 meters each, and the maximum displacement is 70,600 tons.

8. Ship type Admiral Kuznetsov

Photo: Mil.ru

The Admiral Kuznetsov-class aircraft carriers were the last warships of their kind built for the Soviet Navy. In total, 2 ships of this class are known, and this is the Admiral Kuznetsov board (launched in 1990, still in the ranks of the Russian Navy), as well as Liaoning (sold to China, construction was completed in 2012). The hull length of aircraft carriers of this class is 302 meters.

7. Midway class aircraft carrier

Photo: wikimedia.org

The Midway-class aircraft-carrying cruiser project proved to be one of the most reliable and enduring design solutions in the history of the Navy. The first flagship of this type, launched in 1945, was the USS Midway, which served the US Army until 1992. The last task of the vessel was participation in the operation "in the desert" in 1991. Another ship of this class is the USS Franklin D. Roosevelt and was retired from service in 1977. A third aircraft carrier, USS Coral Sea, was placed on standby in 1990.

6. USS John F. Kennedy

Photo: wikipedia.org

Secondly nicknamed Big John, the aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy is one of a kind and the last non-nuclear US Navy ship. The vessel reaches 320 meters in length, and once it was even capable of conducting combat operations against submarines.

5. Forrestal-class warship

Photo: wikipedia.org

Here is one of 4 Forrestal-class aircraft carriers, designed and built specifically for the US Army in the 1950s. The ships Forrestal, Saratoga, Ranger and Independence were the first supercarriers to combine significant displacement, elevators and a corner deck. Their length is 325 meters, and the maximum weight is 60,000 tons.

4. Combat ship Kitty Hawk

Photo: wikipedia.org

The Kitty Hawk class was the next generation of US Navy supercarriers after the Forrestal class. 3 ships were built in this line (Kitty Hawk, Constellation, America), all of them were ready for launching in the 1960s, and today they have already been decommissioned. The hull length is 327 meters.

3. Nimitz-class aircraft carrier

Photo: wikimedia.org

The Nimitz ships are 10 nuclear-powered supercarriers belonging to the American Navy. With an overall length of 333 meters and a maximum displacement of over 100,000 tons, these vessels are considered the world's largest warships underway. They have taken part in many battles around the world, including Operation Eagle Claw in Iran, the Gulf War, and the recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

2. Warship Gerald R. Ford

Photo: wikimedia.org

This type of ship is planned to replace some of the still operational Nimitz-class supercarriers. The hull of the new vessels will be very similar to the Nimitz cruisers, but in terms of technical equipment, the Gerald R. Ford class will be much more modern. In particular, such innovations as an electromagnetic catapult for launching aircraft and many other technological solutions are already planned to increase the efficiency of the ship and reduce the cost of its operation. The Gerald R. Ford aircraft carriers will be slightly longer than the Nimitz class, at 337 meters.

1. Combat vessel USS Enterprise

Photo: wikimedia.org

Here is the leader of our list and the first supercarrier with a nuclear power plant. USS Enterprise is the longest (342 meters) and most famous warship in the world. It has served the US Army for 51 years and is therefore also considered one of the longest lasting US aircraft carriers. The USS Enterprise saw action in many battles including the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Vietnam War, and the Korean War. In addition, this cruiser took part in the filming of feature films. For example, some scenes from Star Trek and Top Gun (Star Trek) were filmed on the deck of the USS Enterprise, which is rightfully considered the largest American aircraft carrier and one of the 10 most dangerous warships on the planet.