Scale Explorer

Vehicles

How big is an aircraft carrier?

Aircraft carrier · US Navy Gerald R. Ford-class supercarrier

Length
337.1 m 1,106 ft
Flight deck width
78 m 256 ft
Beam
40.8 m 134 ft
Displacement
≈ 100,000 t 100,000 long tons approx.
Show
Human, Boeing 747, Saturn V, Aircraft carrier drawn to the same scaleHuman: height 1.61–1.75 m. Boeing 747: length 70.67–76.25 m. Saturn V: height 111 m. Aircraft carrier: length 337.1 m.Human: 1.61–1.75 mBoeing 747: 70.67–76.25 mSaturn V: 111 mAircraft carrier: 337.1 mSaturn V111 mAircraft carrier337.1 mBoeing 74770.67–76.25 mHuman1.61–1.75 m
Everything is drawn to the same scale, standing on the same ground line. Silhouettes are simplified outlines scaled to the measured dimension. A faded outline shows the top of a size range.

Compare Aircraft carrier with something else →

Zoom out from an average adult to an aircraft carrier

An aircraft carrier is too big to show next to an average adult in one picture, so here it is in 3 steps. Each step is drawn to its own scale and zooms out from the step before.

  1. Step 1 of 3 Human → Megalodon

    A megalodon is about 8.6–15 times as long as an average adult is tall.

    Human, Megalodon drawn to the same scaleHuman: height 1.61–1.75 m. Megalodon: maximum length (estimates) 15–24.3 m.Human: 1.61–1.75 mMegalodon: 15–24.3 mMegalodon15–24.3 mHuman1.61–1.75 m
    Step 1: Human and Megalodon at the same scale.

  2. Step 2 of 3 Megalodon → Gateway Arch

    The Gateway Arch is about 7.9–13 times as tall as a megalodon is long.

    Megalodon, Gateway Arch drawn to the same scaleMegalodon: maximum length (estimates) 15–24.3 m. Gateway Arch: maximum height 192 m.Megalodon: 15–24.3 mGateway Arch: 192 mGateway Arch192 mMegalodon15–24.3 m
    Step 2: Megalodon and Gateway Arch at the same scale.

  3. Step 3 of 3 Gateway Arch → Aircraft carrier

    An aircraft carrier is about 1.8 times as long as the Gateway Arch is tall.

    Gateway Arch, Aircraft carrier drawn to the same scaleGateway Arch: maximum height 192 m. Aircraft carrier: length 337.1 m.Gateway Arch: 192 mAircraft carrier: 337.1 mGateway Arch192 mAircraft carrier337.1 m
    Step 3: Gateway Arch and Aircraft carrier at the same scale.

Dimensions

MeasurementMetricImperialNotesSource
Length 337.1 m 1,106 ft USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) [1]
Flight deck width 78 m 256 ft Widest point of the flight deck [1]
Beam 40.8 m 134 ft Hull width [3]
Displacement ≈ 100,000 t ≈ 100,000 long tons Full load: the mass of water the ship displaces. Approximate [1]

About the aircraft carrier

The Gerald R. Ford class is the newest class of US Navy nuclear-powered aircraft carriers. The Navy lists the lead ship, USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), as 1,106 ft (337 m) long with a 256 ft wide flight deck and a full-load displacement of 100,000 long tons. It was delivered in 2017, and the older Nimitz-class carriers are almost the same size.

  • The Navy fact file says the Nimitz and Gerald R. Ford-class carriers are the largest warships in the world, each designed for about 50 years of service with one mid-life refuelling. [2]

How many fit?

  • ≈ 200 × Human · height lined up end to end match the Aircraft carrier · length
  • ≈ 1.2 million × Human · body mass on the scales weigh as much as Aircraft carrier · displacement
  • ≈ 2.7 × Starship · full-stack height lined up end to end match the Aircraft carrier · length

Counts divide one sourced figure by another. "End to end" uses each object's main measurement; weight and volume rows appear only when both figures are sourced.

How it compares

  • 200× An aircraft carrier is about 200 times as long as an average adult is tall. See side by side
  • 2.7× An aircraft carrier is about 2.7 times as long as SpaceX's Starship is tall. See side by side
  • 2.5× An aircraft carrier is about 2.5 times as long as the Great Pyramid of Giza is tall. See side by side
  • 1× An aircraft carrier is about as long as the Eiffel Tower is tall. See side by side
  • 1/1.3 The Empire State Building is about 1.3 times as tall as an aircraft carrier is long. See side by side
  • 1/2.5 The Burj Khalifa is about 2.5 times as tall as an aircraft carrier is long. See side by side

Factors compare the length of an aircraft carrier with each object’s own main measurement (height for a human). Where a size varies, the factor is given as a range.

Notes on these figures

  • The Navy page also lists a "height" of 134 feet, which matches the hull beam given by other sources, so it is not used here.
  • Naval Technology gives 333 m for the class; the Navy figure of 1,106 ft (337 m) for the lead ship is used.
  • The drawing is a simplified side view scaled to the 1,106 ft length; its height is illustrative.

Sources

  1. US Navy, Naval Air Force Atlantic, USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78): Command History. Accessed 25 September 2026.
  2. US Navy, Aircraft Carriers - CVN (fact file). Accessed 25 September 2026.
  3. Naval Technology, Gerald R. Ford-class Nuclear-Powered Aircraft Carriers, US. Accessed 24 September 2026.

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