Warship size comparison: carriers, destroyers and submarines to scale
Overlay two silhouettes scaled to length and weigh their displacement on a balance. Covers aircraft carriers, amphibious ships, historical battleships, destroyers, frigates, corvettes, coast guard cutters and submarines, in feet and metres.
USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) is 1.2 times longer than HMS Queen Elizabeth
and USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) displaces about 1.5 times as much as HMS Queen Elizabeth.
Length to scale
Displacement balance
USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78)
337 m · 1,106 ft · 100,000 t
US nuclear carrier; the US Navy gives a displacement of about 100,000 tons.
HMS Queen Elizabeth
284 m · 932 ft · 65,000 t
Royal Navy: about 65,000 tonnes, the largest British warship.
* Open-source estimate. Full-load displacement in approximate metric tonnes (submerged for submarines).
Popular comparisons
Method and limitations
Length is the overall length of the hull; displacement is the weight of water the ship pushes aside, which equals its mass. We use full-load displacement and, for submarines, submerged displacement. Figures are reference values: they vary between ships of the same class, after refits, and with how each navy publishes them.
What is the difference between a frigate, a destroyer and a corvette?
There is no fixed international definition. Broadly, corvettes are the smallest and coastal, frigates are mid-sized escorts and destroyers are larger and more heavily armed. Some modern frigates now outsize older destroyers, so the label depends on each navy.
What is the largest warship in the world?
The Gerald R. Ford-class carriers, at about 337 metres (1,106 ft) and close to 100,000 tons, are the largest warships in service.
Are the silhouettes exact?
No. They are generic profiles by ship type, scaled to real length, designed to compare dimensions rather than identify ships.
More context: Weapons · Modern warfare · More tools
Sources / References
- U.S. Navy official Fact Files for carriers, destroyers and submarines (navy.mil).
- U.S. Coast Guard fact sheets for the Legend and Sentinel class cutters.
- Royal Navy, French Navy and Spanish Navy public ship pages.
- International Institute for Strategic Studies, The Military Balance (annual editions).
- Jane's Fighting Ships and Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships (historical ships).
- U.S. Department of Defense, China Military Power Report (Type 055 estimates).