what does the cv in us navy carrier squadrons(airplanes)mean?

Answer 1

As others has pointed out CV refers to the Carrier. not the Squadrons. CV is a Naval Hull Type Designation. The basic Hull Types for combatant Naval ships are as follows:

FF Frigate
DD Destroyer
CA Cruiser
BB Battleship
CV Carrier
there are modifiers to these to further denote their capabilities. Adding a "G" after the hull type denotes that the vessel has a major missile system as part of its primary armament hence:
FFG Guided Missile Frigate
DDG Guided Missile Destroyer
CG (the "A" is no longer used) Guided Missile Cruiser
Adding a "N" shows that the vessel is nuclear powered
CGN
CVN

To Jeff P, the first answerer, You say in your profile you love facts and cannot stand those who wont do a little research. PLEASE do so yourself before answering. N does NOT have anything to do with Night. but I would not expect a self styled liberal to know anything about the military.

As to Carrier Squadrons, they also have designators that determine the type of planes they fly.
VF= Fighter Squadron (F-14 Tomcats)
VMF= Marine Fighter Squadron
VFA= Multirole Fighter Attack ( F/A-18 Hornets)
VMFA= Marine multirole Fighter Attack
VA= Attack Squadron (A-6 Intruders)
etc...
VF-84 was a famous squadron, the Jolly Rogers
VF-111 was the Sundowners

VAQ Electronic Warfare Squadron (EA-6B Prowlers)
VAW Airborne Early Warning (E-2 Hawkeyes)

Here is a link to a complete list of Naval Hull Designations
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hull_classification

UPDATE: Jeff P Emailed me defending his claim of N meaning Night, then like a child, blocked my being able to respond to him. so here is my response... After writing me explaining that USS Enterprise was originally CV-6 and later changed to CVN but was never nuclear powered. and that he gets his info from a cousin that was in the Navy....

Jeff P,
And I myself. not some cousin served aboard USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63)
and USS Halsey (CG-23)

The WW II enterprise is CV-6 or CVA-6 The "A" is optional. It was NEVER referred to as CVN.
There is an Enterprise Aircraft Carrier that has the CVN designation but it is not the same Enterprise from World War Two. it is CVN-65 and it IS Nuclear Powered. In Fact it was the FIRST Nuclear Powered Aircraft Carrier.
You are confusing two different Navy Ships with the same name. The Original WW II CV-6 Enterprise, and the Cold War Era CVN-65 Enterprise that Was Nuclear Powered.

Answer 2

C is obviously for carrier, that's the easy one. The navy uses the letter V as an abbreviation for fixed-wing aircraft. Squadron names begin with a V unless it's helicopters, then they begin with H. The N stands for Nuclear. You see a carrier with just a CV designation, it runs on oil. The USS Kitty Hawk was the last CV out there, it was recently retired.

Answer 3

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RE:
what does the cv in us navy carrier squadrons(airplanes)mean?

Answer 4

Carrier, aViation.

As others have pointed out, CV is a oil-powered carrier (conventional), and CVN is for nuclear powered carriers.

Squadrons were VF (Aviation, Fighter), VFA (Aviation Fighter/Attack), VS (Aviation, Anti-Submarine), HS (Helicopter, Anti-Submarine), and VAW (Aviation, Airborn Warning). Along with detachments from VAQ (Aviation Electronic Warfare) and VRC (Aviation, Reserve Cargo?).

The USS Kitty Hawk is the last of the conventional powered carriers (CV-63), and is the oldest active-duty vessel in the US Navy.

I did a WestPac Cruise on the Kitty in 1996-1997. Loved flying off and on that old boat.

Answer 5

In actuality the 'V' in CV is for 'fixed wing' (some would say also it is for heavier than air). The 'A' (Attack) was part of the designation until the late '70s, but was removed because it was thought to be too aggressive by those in the 5-sided wind tunnel and Capitol Hill (ahhh, PC). I still have my CVA-43 and CVAN-68 ballcaps for when I served in squadrons on both platforms

Answer 6

CV is an old term, used on Air Craft Carriers, i.e. USS KITTY Hawk, CV-63. However the newer models, are branded, CVN for the use of nucular fuel used to provide power, i.e. USS RONALD REGAN, CVN-76.
CV-63 is the oldest aircraft carrier in the US NAVY, and the ONLY FOWARD Deployed ship in the US NAVY, and stationed in YOKOSUKA, Japan.

Answer 7

5/2/2015, recently the History Channel described the USS Enterprise, CV-6, and told of its getting into improved night time capability and referred to it then as CV-8(N) and claimed that N was for night. Nuclear powered CVN s don t have the parentheses. However, I have seen a couple of other things where the History Channel had it wrong.

Answer 8

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The aircraft carrier emerged as a new type of naval ship following World War I. In selecting an abbreviation to represent this new ship, the US Navy chose the letters "CV" as an abbreviation for "carrier aviation." Although it might seem more logical to use the letters "AC" for "aircraft carrier," a ship designation beginning with the letter A was usually reserved for auxiliary vessels like cargo ships, tenders, hospital ships, oilers, repair ships, and other transports. The code AC itself had already been applied to the collier, a type of ship designed to carry coal and refuel other vessels at sea. In addition, the aircraft carrier was often seen as a vessel similar to a cruiser since many early carriers around the world were converted from cruisers. Since cruiser designations began with C, it was logical to use the same letter for an aircraft carrier. However, a direct abbreviation of "carrier aviation" was not possible since the designation "CA" was already used for heavy cruisers. The Navy instead chose to use the second letter in aviation to create the designation "CV" that we know today.

Answer 9

the squadrons aren't CVs. the carriers are .. the only two CVs left are KITTY HAWK and JFK. JFK is going away very soon, most likely within the next year, and HAWK is going away in 2008.

all the rest are CVNs: Nuke carriers

Answer 10

Us Navy Ship Designations