Where did those aircraft carriers go after they retired?

Scrap iron is sold, sometimes no one buys it.

Dismantling scrap steel like "Zhuoyue" is also the most common ending after the aircraft carrier retires. The first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier "Enterprise" (ship number CVN-65) and the first super aircraft carrier "forest" both entered the shipyard for dismantling after retiring. Because the materials used by aircraft carriers are mostly of high quality, the removed steel plate fragments are either resold in the market or recycled for civilian ships, and the performance is quite good.

However, in the face of such a complex behemoth as an aircraft carrier, it is time-consuming and laborious to disassemble it. According to American media estimates, dismantling an aircraft carrier will cost at least $65 million. However, it took seven years to dismantle an aircraft carrier "Coral Sea" built at the end of World War II. Therefore, it is not easy to find a manufacturer who is willing to dismantle the aircraft carrier in today's falling steel prices in the international market.

On September 29th this year, the once flagship aircraft carrier "Prince Asturias" of the Spanish Navy was auctioned three times, and the auction price was reduced from 4.8 million euros to 2.4 million euros, before it was taken away by a joint venture company formed by a Spanish company and its Turkish partner, and it will be towed to Turkey for dismantling. The sale of the "Excellence" in Britain only cost 2 million pounds, which is a real "cabbage price".

On the other hand, there are often a lot of toxic and harmful substances on retired aircraft carriers, such as asbestos, expired fuel and even nuclear waste. Dismantling it is not only time-consuming and laborious, but also risky. In 2006, the retired French aircraft carrier "Kerry Duhamel Du Monceau" sailed for India, intending to dismantle it at a shipyard in Gujarat, India. However, the Supreme Court of India refused clemenceau to enter Indian territorial waters on the grounds that the information of toxic substances on board was unknown, which violated the Basel Convention prohibiting the transboundary movement of hazardous wastes.

"Midway Island" has now been transformed into an aircraft carrier museum.

Make full use of waste heat and transform it into a museum.

It may be a more acceptable way to convert a retired aircraft carrier into an aircraft carrier museum than to be dismantled.

As the country with the largest number of aircraft carriers in the world, the number of retired aircraft carriers in the United States is amazing. At present, there are five aircraft carrier museums in the United States, namely the Intrepid, York City, Lexington, Bumblebee and Midway.

One of the biggest and most famous is "Midway Island". This aircraft carrier, built at the end of World War II, was launched one month after the end of World War II and has been serving in the US Navy ever since. "Midway Island" withdrew from the fleet sequence in 1992 and officially retired in 1997. In 2004, it was taken over by a non-profit organization and opened as a museum.

Compared with Midway Island, the Enterprise (ship number CV-6), a meritorious aircraft carrier in World War II, was not so lucky. In the Pacific War, the Enterprise experienced almost all the important battles, so it became the most experienced and meritorious warship of the US Navy in the Pacific War.

1956, after the "enterprise" was removed from the list of naval vessels, the American veterans organization launched a fund-raising campaign to try to buy this aircraft carrier, but it failed in the end. 1958, this aircraft carrier, which ran out of ammunition and food in World War II, was dismantled, but its name was inherited by the United States and became the world's first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier.

In addition to the United States, the Indian Navy also converted the retired Viklandt into a museum.

It became a target ship and was "sunk" by its own people.

In addition to the above methods, the US Navy with deep pockets also chose to "sink" the retired aircraft carrier.

On May 20, 2005, the US Navy's Marine Systems Command announced that after 25 days of indiscriminate bombing, the aircraft carrier "America" sank into the Atlantic Ocean on May 14. Facts have proved that American aircraft carriers have never been threatened since World War II. However, the development of new weapons has made the US military nervous. Can the existing aircraft carrier resist the attack of modern weapons?

In order to provide valuable data for the development of the next generation aircraft carrier, the US Navy decided to use the retired "America" as an experiment. Since being towed away from the Philadelphia military port on April 19, the USS America has been attacked by the US Navy from the surface, underwater and air. In addition, many high explosives were installed on the aircraft carrier. Hundreds of cameras and sensors on the aircraft carrier recorded the data of the attack.

This is not the first time that the US Navy has tested its retired aircraft carrier. As early as 1946, in the "crossroads" operation to test the power of nuclear bombs, the US military targeted the two aircraft carriers "Saratoga" and "Independence".

For an aircraft carrier, being sunk is cruel. But after retirement, returnees are also a good destination.

The "Vilander" aircraft carrier purchased by the Indian Navy from the United Kingdom

Change hands in other countries and continue to ride the ocean.

Even retired old aircraft carriers, if basically well preserved, are still very attractive to some countries. So it is also a good choice for these countries to "take over".

At present, the sellers of second-hand aircraft carriers in the international market mainly include Britain, France and Russia, and the buyers include developing countries such as India and Brazil. The most positive is undoubtedly India.

As early as 1957, newly independent India took a fancy to the British Navy's "Dignity" class light aircraft carrier "Hercules". After modification, it was put into use in 196 1 and renamed as "Viklandt". Since then, India purchased the retired light aircraft carrier "Competitive God" from the British Navy in 1986 and renamed it "Vilander". In 2004, India and Russia reached an agreement to buy the retired aircraft carrier Admiral gorshkov.

In addition, the Brazilian navy first purchased a British light aircraft carrier at 1960, and then purchased the Fuxi from France in 2000 and renamed it "Sao Paulo". With this aircraft carrier, the Brazilian navy has become one of the most powerful navies in South America.