Prior USMC enlisted Vietnam Era and USAF JAG later, I am almost completely devoid of aviation knowledge. After seeing a documentary about the carrier USS George Washington's flight deck, am interested to know: What is the current most common kind of fighter aircraft on carriers i.e. the workhorse of the carrier fleet? I know this is a VERY basic question but I cannot find the answer. Thanks.

Well I am a machinest mate onboard the George washington.I have been fasinated with airplanes my who life. I go up on Vultures row and most aircraft I see are F/A-18 superhornets. E-2C Hawkeye are used often. If I had to say which one was the workhorse I would say the the superhornet or the "COD"(C-2A Greyhound). Reson being If I need a part to fix a pump or a motor on the ship and we do not have it. Guess who brings it in ? Mail? New sailors ? Without the COD the carrier is helpless.

Thank you. Just by coincidence, after I posted that message I saw a special on the F/A 18 and the ship it was on was number 73 and I thought to myself that that sounds like the USS George Washington because I saw a program on the history channel recently which featured life on board your carrier.

Is 73 the GW?

dcb188@uid.onemain.com is my email at home here....would like to talk more about carrier life etc. I spent two and a half years out of my four years in the Marine Corps on Navy bases....

The F/A-18 Hornet is the primary tactical aircraft in the Navy fleet.  It has taken on the roles of the A-6, F-4, F-14, KA-3, RF-8, and RA-5.  It will soon replace the EA-6

The F/A-18 C and D (C version is single seater, D version is two seater) is being replaced by the F/A-18 E and F and is called the "Super Hornet".  Besides being about 25% bigger than the earlier non-Super Hornet, it has tremendously improved avionics systems and in a head-on aspect, is much more stealthy.  The E&F will replace all C&D Hornets in the USN.

The USMC flies the Hornet also, but they will NOT get E&F Super Hornets.  They've decided to hang onto their C&D models until the F-35 becomes available.  I'm reasonably sure that all USMC F-35s will be the vertical take off version, and will replace both the AV-8 Harriers and the F/A-18 Hornets in the USMC fleet.  USMC also operates some EA-6 Prowlers, but they will be replaced in USN with F/A-18G Growlers, basically a Super Hornet with new advanced versions of the jamming pods already on the EA-6.  I don't know what USMC's plan is for replacing their EA-6s.

(Regarding the F-35, which does not yet have a name, there is also a "small wing" USAF version, and a "big wing" USN version.  The USN version will also have different avionics than the USAF version.)

Hope this answered your question.

Thank you, Ken, very much. To an "aviation-challenged" person like myself, your info is greatly appreciated.  And a couple of presentations of carrier aviation on the Military Channel lately have helped, too. I knew you would know the answers to my question so I posted a private message to you as well, prior to your answer here. Thanks again. Thanks also for your service as a pilot.