U.S. Navy ships
The names of commissioned ships of the U.S. Navy all start with USS, meaning 'United States Ship'. Non-commissioned, civilian-manned vessels of the U.S. Navy have names that begin with USNS, standing for 'United States Navy Ship'. A letter based hull classification symbol is used to designate a vessel's type. The names of ships are selected by the Secretary of the Navy. The names are that of the states, cities, towns, important persons, famous battles, fish, and ideals. Usually, different types of ships have names originated from different types of sources.
Modern aircraft carriers and submarines use nuclear reactors for power. See United States Naval reactor for information on classification schemes and the history of nuclear powered vessels.
See List of ships of the United States Navy for a more complete listing of ships past and present.
Aircraft carriers
Aircraft carriers are the major strategic arm of the Navy. They put U.S. air power within reach of most land-based military power. The US Navy has as many aircraft carriers as the rest of the world combined, and its carriers are much larger and more powerful than those of the rest of the world. Following below is a list of all carriers (and their homeports) on active duty or under construction as of January 21, 2004. For a list of all carriers see List of aircraft carriers of the United States Navy and List of escort aircraft carriers of the United States Navy.
- Kitty Hawk class (1 ship)
- USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63) — Yokosuka Naval Base, Japan
- USS Enterprise (CVN-65) — Norfolk, Virginia
- USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67) — Mayport Naval Station, Florida
- Nimitz class (9 ships, 1 under construction)
- USS Nimitz (CVN-68) — San Diego, California
- USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) — Norfolk, Virginia
- USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) — Bremerton, Washington
- USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) — Norfolk, Virginia
- USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) — Everett, Washington
- USS George Washington (CVN-73) — Norfolk, Virginia
- USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74) — Naval Air Station North Island in San Diego, California
- USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75) — Norfolk, Virginia
- USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76) — Naval Air Station North Island in San Diego, California
- George H. W. Bush (CVN-77) — Under Construction
Amphibious assault ships
Amphibious assault ships carry Marines and is the platform for Marines aircraft. They project power as aircraft carriers do.
- Wasp class (7 ships)
- Tarawa class (5 ships)
Submarines
There are two major types of submarines, ballistic and attack. Ballistic submarines have the single strategic mission of nuclear deterrence by being hidden launching platforms for nuclear ICBMs. Attack submarines have tactical missions including controlling naval and shipping activity, serving as cruise missile-launching platforms, and intelligence gathering.
- Ohio class (18 in commission) — ballistic submarines, 4 to be converted into guided missile submarines
- Virginia class (1 in commission, 3 under construction) — attack submarines
- Seawolf class (2 in commission, 1 under construction) — attack submarines
- Los Angeles Class (51 in commission) — attack submarines
Some other submarines, past and present.
- USS Argonaut — two submarines
- USS Tang — two submarines
- USS Nautilus — first nuclear submarine (1955)
- USS Greeneville
- USS Thresher — sunk in an accident in 1963
- USS Scorpion — lost in an accident in 1968
- USS Ohio — first boat in the Ohio class, launched 1979
- USS George Washington — first fleet ballistic missile submarine
- USS Memphis
- USS Glenard P. Lipscomb
- USS City of Corpus Christi
- Benjamin Franklin class
- USS Tecumseh
- USS Tullibee
- USS Triton
- USS Halibut
- Sturgeon class
Cruisers
The current guided missile cruisers are versatile with capability for air warfare, surface warfare and undersea warfare.
- Ticonderoga class (25 in commission) — first ship class with the Aegis combat system
Some other cruisers, past and present.
- USS Ticonderoga (first in the Ticonderoga class of cruisers), decommissioned in September 2004.
- USS Indianapolis — heavy cruiser, sunk by Japanese submarine
Destroyers
Greyhounds of the Sea. The destroyer evolved from the need of navies to counter a new ship which made a devastating debut in the Chilean Civil War of 1891 and in the Sino-Japanese War of 1894. This was the swift, small torpedo boat that could dash in close to the larger ships, loose their torpedoes and dash away. The world's navies recognized the need for a counter weapon and so the torpedo boat destroyer—later just "destroyer"—was born. From the first U.S. destroyer commissioned in 1902 to the famous ships of World War II to the Spruance class destroyer to the Arleigh Burke class, the U.S. Navy's destroyers have been evolving. And that evolution continues into the 21st century with the coming of the DD(X). (Credit: US Navy Introduction to Destroyers)
- Arleigh Burke class (41 in commission) — first ship class with comprehensive design for stealth technology.
- Spruance class (7 in commission) — this class is being phasing out.
Some other destroyers, past and present.
- USS Reuben James — first US ship sunk in WWII
- USS Cole — badly damaged by an attack in Aden, Yemen
- USS Somers
- USS Winston S. Churchill
- USS Stribling
- USS Arleigh Burke (first ship in the Arleigh Burke class of destroyers)
Frigates
Modern frigates are mainly perform anti-submarine warfare and escort other ships. (Frigates are slowly being retired from the U.S. Navy fleet in favor of the development of the Littoral Combat Ship.)
- Oliver Hazard Perry class (30 ships in commission)
Some other frigates, past and present.
- USS Stark — 36 died when ship was hit by Iraqi air-launched missiles in 1987
- USS Reuben James — launched February 8, 1985
- USS Samuel B. Roberts — survived hitting a mine on 14 April 1988, is still in commission as of 2004.
Battleships
Battleships are the best armored ships with the largest firepower from large-caliber guns. Until becoming obsolete in World War II because of aircraft carriers, they dominated naval battles. The US Navy had decommissioned all of its battle ships. At least two TLAM capable platforms remain in "Inactive" Reserve status.
- USS Arizona — Pennsylvania class, sunk at Pearl Harbor
- USS Wisconsin — Iowa class, anchored as a public exhibit at the Nauticus National Maritime Center in Norfolk, Virginia
- USS Missouri — Iowa class, the last US battleship built
- USS Texas — New York class, flagship of D-Day, sister ship to USS New York
Others
- The Pegasus class of hydrofoils.
- USS Liberty — intelligence vessel badly damaged during the USS Liberty incident
- USS Peleliu — amphibious assault ship
- USS Pueblo — intelligence vessel captured by North Korea.
Early vessels
- USS Constitution — "Old Ironsides," oldest commissioned warship afloat
- USS Monitor — first US ironclad warship, also first rotating turret
- USS Merrimack — a wooden warship rebuilt by the Confederates as the ironclad CSS Virginia