The US Navy Commissioned 17 Essex-Class Aircraft Carriers in World War II. One Ford-Class Now Takes More Than a Decade

The U.S. Navy commissioned 17 Essex-class aircraft carriers between December 1942 and the end of World War II, and later completed seven additional ships using the same design after fighting stopped. The timeline highlights how quickly wartime production worked: USS Essex moved from keel laying to commissioning in 20 months, while USS Yorktown did so in about 16 months. A new Congressional Budget Office report compares that pace with modern programs, saying Nimitz-class carriers took about seven to eight years to build, while Ford-class ships now require 10 to 11 years under current schedules, with some Fords even longer when early work is included.