When landing at a normal ground airport, the runway facing the compass point nearest to the heading of the wind is always operated, so that aircraft landing and taking off alway have to use the least distance of runway as necessary.
On an aircraft carrier the whole ship can rotate; so do they typically always face into the wind? How often do they rotate the ship if this is the case?
During flight operations, the aircraft carrier strives to maintain 30 knots of wind down the angle of the flight deck. Generally speaking, the carrier will adjust its speed and course through the ocean to maintain the desired winds. However, shifting winds and the sheer magnitude of the carrier may mean that the winds are generally down the angle, but may involve a crosswind component. Also, the structure of the carrier, because of its enormous size, actually influences the flow of the wind, and can create pockets of low pressure in the approach where high sink rates can develop.
Not answered yet is this part of the question:
How often do they rotate the ship if this is the case?
First, just a nomenclature alert: ships don't rotate, they maneuver, steer, or change course. And the answer to your question is: whenever necessary. It is a big ocean and unless there is an island or something nearby, they always face the wind for air ops. Note that with the angle decks, they want the wind coming directly down the angled deck so the ship is actually heading a little off to the right of the wind to accomplish this.
