Collection

Ships

Ships, builders, home ports, specifications, and histories.

Words shorter than three characters are ignored. Every remaining word must match somewhere in the record.
Showing 6,901–6,950
NameTypeHull NumClassStatusComm Is DateDecom Sunk Or ReclassReclass NumBuilderBuilt CityBuilt StateHome PortSpecificationsHistorynotes
GermHwStrGosport Navy YardPortsmouthVA
Built in 1841 to experiment with LT William W. Hunter's idea…
Built in 1841 to experiment with LT William W. Hunter's idea of propelling a ship with submerged horizontal paddle wheels. Also see Union, Water Witch, and Alleghany
GermantownSlpWSold1847-03-09 00:00:00.0001864-02-08 00:00:00.000Philadelphia Navy YardPhiladelphiaPA
1st Germantown Built 1846 Mexican War Decommissioned Sep …
1st Germantown Built 1846 Mexican War Decommissioned Sep 21 1850 Recommissioned Dec 23 1850 African Squadron Decommissioned Apr 9 1853 Recommissioned Nov 23 1853 Brazil Squadron Decommissioned Feb 12 1857 Recommissioned Jul 15 1857 Decommissioned Apr 18 1860 Civil War Scuttled by US Navy at Norfolk Apr 20 1861 while evacuating Raised by Confederate Navy, but not used, and later filled with sand and sunk in the Elizabeth River for the protection of Norfolk. Later raised again by Federal forces Apr 22 1863 Hulk sold Feb 8 1864
GermantownLSD42Whidbey IslandActive1986-02-08 00:00:00.000Lockheed Shipbuilding & Construction Co.SeattleWASan Diego2nd Germantown
GeronimoCargo1943-06-09 00:00:00.000Permanente Metals Corp., Richmond #2RichmondCA
Maritime Commission Hull 1122 Merchant ship Original opera…
Maritime Commission Hull 1122 Merchant ship Original operator, Pacific-Atlantic Steamship WW II
GeronimoYT119Reclas1933-03-07 00:00:00.0001944-05-15 00:00:00.000*Boston Navy YardBostonMA
1st Geronimo WW II 14th Naval District Reclassified YTM-1…
1st Geronimo WW II 14th Naval District Reclassified YTM-119, qv, May 15 1944
GeronimoYTM119oos1944-05-15 00:00:00.0001946-08-30 00:00:00.000Boston Navy YardBostonMA
1st Geronimo Ex YT-119 Reclassified YTM-119 May 15 1944 W…
1st Geronimo Ex YT-119 Reclassified YTM-119 May 15 1944 WW II 14th Naval District Out of service Aug 30 1946 Struck Dec 30 1946 Sold Jul 13 1948
GeronimoATA207LoanedGulfport Boiler & Welding WorksPort ArthurTX
2nd Geronimo Ex ATA-207, no name, qv Named Geronimo (ATA-2…
2nd Geronimo Ex ATA-207, no name, qv Named Geronimo (ATA-207) Jul 16 1948, after decommissioning Fitted out as marine biological research ship starting 1962 Loaned to Department of Interior
GertrudeFishing vesselSunk1942-07-16 00:00:00.000WW II Sunk by time-bomb in Gulf of Mexico
GertrudeScStrDecom1863-07-22 00:00:00.0001865-08-11 00:00:00.000GreenockST
Civil War British Blockade Runner Captured Apr 16 1863 by …
Civil War British Blockade Runner Captured Apr 16 1863 by Vanderbilt, qv Purchased by Navy Jun 4 1863 West Gulf Blockading Squadron Aug 16 1863, captured Confederate blockade runner Warrior, qv, off Mobile Decommissioned Aug 11 1865Sold Nov 30 1865 Renamed Gussie Telfair in 1866 Sailed as merchantman until 1878
Gertrude KelloggFreighterWW II Damgaed by bomb Dec 8 1941 in Philippines
GervaisTanker1943-11-17 00:00:00.000Kaiser Co., Inc., Swan IslandPortlandOR
Maritime Commission Hull 828 Merchant ship Original operat…
Maritime Commission Hull 828 Merchant ship Original operator, Pacific Tankers WW II
Get Theremotor yachtDecom1917-08-10 00:00:00.0001919-03-06 00:00:00.000Wood & McClureCity IslandNY
Built 1916 Acquired by Navy Jun 28 1917 SP-579 WW I - 3r…
Built 1916 Acquired by Navy Jun 28 1917 SP-579 WW I - 3rd Naval District Decommissioned Mar 6 1919 Returned to owner Oct 1 1919
GettysburgSwStrDecom1864-05-02 00:00:00.0001879-05-06 00:00:00.000GlasgowST
1st Gettysburg Built 1858 Ex Douglass Ex Margaret and Jes…
1st Gettysburg Built 1858 Ex Douglass Ex Margaret and Jessie, qv Civil War Captured as ablockade runner Nov 5 1863 off Wilmington NC Renamed Gettysburg and commissioned May 2 1864 North Atlantic Blockading Squadron Decommissioned Jun 23 1865 Recommissioned Dec 3 1866 Decommissioned Mar 1 1867 Recommissioned Mar 3 1868 Decommissioned Oct 8 1869 Recommissioned Nov 6 1873 Decommissioned Apr 9 1875 Recommissioned Sep 21 1875 Decommissioned Jun 26 1875 Recommissioned Sep 20 1876 Decommissioned May 6 1879 Sold May 8 1879
GettysburgLT1972Army vessel In service 1952 1996, Fort Eustis
GettysburgCG64TiconderogaActive1991-06-22 00:00:00.000Bath Iron WorksBathMEMayport
3rd Gettysburg Nov, 1994, with USS Halyburton, first U.S. N…
3rd Gettysburg Nov, 1994, with USS Halyburton, first U.S. Navy ships to visit South Africa since Feb 1967 visit by USS Franklin Delano Roosevelt (CVA 42)
GettysburgPCE904Sold1960-06-23 00:00:00.000Willamette iron & Steel Corp.PortlandOR
2nd Gettysburg Formerly PCE-904. no name, qv Named Gettysb…
2nd Gettysburg Formerly PCE-904. no name, qv Named Gettysburg Feb 15 1956, after decommissioning Sold for scrapping Jun 23 1960
GhentSchSold1826-03-20 00:00:00.000Thomas B. EyrePresque IslePA
Built 1815 Purchased by Navy 1815 Lake Erie Sold Mar 20 1…
Built 1815 Purchased by Navy 1815 Lake Erie Sold Mar 20 1826
GherardiDD637GleavesDecom1942-09-15 00:00:00.0001955-12-17 00:00:00.000Philadelphia Navy YardPhiladelphiaPA
WW II Jul 1942, Operation Husky, invasion of Sicily, LCDR J…
WW II Jul 1942, Operation Husky, invasion of Sicily, LCDR John W. Schmidt (Combat Narrative says CDR) Jun 1944, Operation Overlord, Invasion of Normandy, CDR N. R. Curtin Jun 25 1944, Cherbourg Bombardment, CDR N. R. Curtin Decommissioned Dec 17 1955 5 Battle Stars WW II
GiansarAK111CraterDecom1943-10-29 00:00:00.0001945-11-28 00:00:00.000Oregon Shipbuilding Corp.PortlandOR
WW II Decommissioned Nov 28 1945 and returned to Maritime C…
WW II Decommissioned Nov 28 1945 and returned to Maritime Commission the same day Struck Dec 19 1945
GibraltarScStrUnclearPhiladelphiaPA
Ex Sumter, qv Sold at auction Dec 19 1862 to British Intere…
Ex Sumter, qv Sold at auction Dec 19 1862 to British Interests Civil War Renamed Gibraltar and continued as blockade runner for Confederacy At least one round trip between Liverpool and Wilmington NC
Gibson CountyLST794LST-511Sunk1959-05-23 00:00:00.000Dravo Corp.PittsburghPA
Ex LST-794, no name Named Gibson County (LST-794), Jul 1 19…
Ex LST-794, no name Named Gibson County (LST-794), Jul 1 1955, after decommissioning Sunk as target May 23 1959 Struck Nov 1 1958
Gideon Welles1942-09-07 00:00:00.000Oregon Shipbuilding Corp.PortlandOR
Maritime Commission E Hull 563 Merchant ship Original oper…
Maritime Commission E Hull 563 Merchant ship Original operator, Pope & Talbot WW II
Gila RiverLSMR504Struck1960-02-01 00:00:00.000Brown Shipbuilding Co.HoustonTX
Ex LSMR-504, no name, qv Named Gila River (LSMR-504) Oct 1 …
Ex LSMR-504, no name, qv Named Gila River (LSMR-504) Oct 1 1955, after decommissioning Struck Feb 1 1960 Sold Jul 7 1960
Gilbert IslandsCVE107Commencement BayReclas1945-02-05 00:00:00.0001959-05-07 00:00:00.000*Todd-Pacific Shipyards, Inc.TacomaWA
Planned as St. Andrews Bay Renamed Gilbert Islands before b…
Planned as St. Andrews Bay Renamed Gilbert Islands before building WW II May-Jun 1945, Operation Iceberg, Okinawa operations Jul 1 1945, invasion of Balikpapan, Borneo Decommissioned May 21 1946 Recommissioned Sep 7 1951 Decommissioned Jan 15 1955 Reclassified AKV-39, qv, May 7 1959 3 Battle Stars WW II
Gilbert IslandsAKV39Reclas1963-06-01 00:00:00.000*Todd-Pacific Shipyards, Inc.TacomaWA
Ex CVE-107, qv Reclassified AKV-39 May 7 1959, while decomm…
Ex CVE-107, qv Reclassified AKV-39 May 7 1959, while decommissioned Reclassified AGMR-1 Jun 1 1963 and renamed Annapolis, qv, Jun 22 1963
Gilbert M. Hitchcock1944-04-30 00:00:00.000Permanente Metals Corp., Yard 2RichmondCA
Maritime Commission E Hull 2273 Merchant ship Original ope…
Maritime Commission E Hull 2273 Merchant ship Original operator, Alaska Transp. WW II
Gilbert Stuart1943-04-27 00:00:00.000Oregon Shipbuilding Corp.PortlandOR
Maritime Commission E Hull 1628 Merchant ship Original ope…
Maritime Commission E Hull 1628 Merchant ship Original operator, American Mail Line WW II
GillespieDD609BensonDecom1942-09-18 00:00:00.0001946-04-17 00:00:00.000Bethlehem Steel Shipbuilding Div.San FranciscoCA
Named for MAJ Archibald H. gillespie, qv WW II Jan-Feb 194…
Named for MAJ Archibald H. gillespie, qv WW II Jan-Feb 1943, Aleutian Islands Apr-May 1944, Hollandia Invasion, plus Wakde, Biak, Noemfoor, and Sansapor, CDR J. S. Fahy Sep-Oct 1944, invasion of Palaus Mar-May 1945, Operation Iceberg, Okinawa Campaign Decommissioned Apr 17 1946 9 Battle Stars WW II
GilletteDE270EvartsLeased1943-09-08 00:00:00.0001943-09-16 00:00:00.000Boston Navy YardBostonMA
1st Gillette Named for LTJG Douglas W. Gillette, qv Leased…
1st Gillette Named for LTJG Douglas W. Gillette, qv Leased to United Kingdom 8 days after commissioning Renamed HMS foley Returned to United States after World War Ii Scrapped Jun 19 1946 Also see DE-681
GilletteDE681BuckleyDecom1943-10-27 00:00:00.0001947-02-03 00:00:00.000Bethlehem Steel Co.QuincyMA
2nd Gillette Named for LTJG Douglas W. gillette, qv WW II …
2nd Gillette Named for LTJG Douglas W. gillette, qv WW II Decommissioned Feb 3 1947 Also see DE-270
GilliamAPA57GilliamSunk1944-08-01 00:00:00.0001946-07-01 00:00:00.000Consolidated Steel Corp.WilmingtonCA
Maritime Commission Hull 1850 WW II Jan 1945, invasion at …
Maritime Commission Hull 1850 WW II Jan 1945, invasion at Lingayen Gulf, CDR H. B. Olsen Apr 1945, Operation Iceberg, Okinawa Campaign, TG 53.1 1946, Operation Crossroads Sunk as target ship Jul 1 1946 in Bikini Lagoon 2 Battle Stars WW II
GilliganDE508John C. ButlerDecom1944-05-12 00:00:00.0001959-03-31 00:00:00.000Federal Shipbuilding & Drydock Co.NewarkNJ
Named for PVT John J. Gilligan, qv WW II Jan 1945, Invasio…
Named for PVT John J. Gilligan, qv WW II Jan 1945, Invasion at Lingayen Gulf Apr-Jun 1945, Operation Iceberg, Okinawa operations Decommissioned Jul 2 1946 Recommissioned Jul 15 1950 Decommissioned Mar 31 1959 1 Battle Star WW II
GillilandT-AKR298Active1997-05-24 00:00:00.000Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Co.Newport NewsVA
Ex-Selandia In service May 24 1997 Named for (Army) Corpor…
Ex-Selandia In service May 24 1997 Named for (Army) Corporal Charles L. Gilliland, posthumous recipient of Medal of Honor for actions in Korean War
GillisAVD12Decom1940-08-02 00:00:00.0001945-10-15 00:00:00.000Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corp.QuincyMA
Named for Commodore John P. Gillis, qv, and RADM James H. Gi…
Named for Commodore John P. Gillis, qv, and RADM James H. Gillis, qv Originally commissioned DD-260, qv Decommissioned 5/26/22 Reclassified AVD-12 8/02/40 Recommissioned 3/25/41 WW II Apr and Jun 1945, Operation Iceberg, Okinawa operations Decommissioned 10/15/45 Struck 11/01/45 Sold 1/29/45 for scrapping 2 Battle Stars WW II
GillisDD260ClemsonDecom1919-09-03 00:00:00.0001922-05-26 00:00:00.000*Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corp.QuincyMA
Named for Commodore John P. Gillis, qv, and RADM James H. Gi…
Named for Commodore John P. Gillis, qv, and RADM James H. Gillis, qv Originally commissioned DD-260 Decommissioned 5/26/22 Reclassified AVD-12, qv, 8/02/40
GilmerAPD11Decom1942-10-31 00:00:00.0001946-02-05 00:00:00.000New York Shipbuilding Corp.CamdenNJ
1st Gilmer Originally commissioned as DD-233, qv Named for…
1st Gilmer Originally commissioned as DD-233, qv Named for Navy Secretary Thomas W. Gilmer, qv Reclassified APD11 10/31/42 WW II Dec 1943-Jan 1944, Cape Gloucester Operation Apr-May 1944, Hollandia Invasion, LCDR J. S. Horner Feb 1945, Invasion of Iwo Jima Mar-Apr 1945, Operation Iceberg, Okinawa Campaign Decommissioned Feb 5 1946 Struck Feb 25 1946 Sold Dec 3 1946 7 Battle Stars WW II
GilmerDD233ClemsonReclas1920-04-30 00:00:00.0001943-01-22 00:00:00.000*New York Shipbuilding Corp.CamdenNJ
1st Gilmer Named for Navy Secretary Thomas W. Gilmer, qv O…
1st Gilmer Named for Navy Secretary Thomas W. Gilmer, qv Originally commissioned as DD-233. WW II Reclassified APD-11, qv, Jan 22 1943
GilmerPC565PC-461DecomBrown Shipbuilding Cop.HoustonTX
2nd Gilmer Originally commissioned PC-565, no name, qv Nam…
2nd Gilmer Originally commissioned PC-565, no name, qv Named Gilmer (PC-565), Feb 15 1956, after decommissioning Struck Jul 1 1960 Sold to Venezuela
GilmoreDE18EvartsDecom1943-04-17 00:00:00.0001945-12-29 00:00:00.000Mare Island Navy YardVallejoCA
Ex Br. Halder (BDE-18) Reallocated to U.S. Navy and commiss…
Ex Br. Halder (BDE-18) Reallocated to U.S. Navy and commissioned Gilmore in honor of CDR Walter W. Gilmore, qv WW II Apr 26 1944, sank Japanese submarine I-180 in Aleutians area Decommissioned Dec 29 1945 Sold Feb 1 1947 1 Battle Star WW II
GinkoYN65*Renamed Mastic (YN-65), qv, before launching
GipseySch
Civil War Mention is made of a schooner by the name of Gips…
Civil War Mention is made of a schooner by the name of Gipsey in reports of the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron
GiraffeIX118Decom1943-12-12 00:00:00.0001946-06-17 00:00:00.000California Shipbuilding Corp.Los AngelesCA
Ex Sanford B. Dole, qv Maritime Commission E Hull 1907 WW …
Ex Sanford B. Dole, qv Maritime Commission E Hull 1907 WW II Decommissioned Jun 17 1946 and returned to War Department on that date Struck Jul 3 1946 Sold 2 Battle Stars WW II
GirasolPY27Decom1942-03-19 00:00:00.0001946-01-26 00:00:00.000Krupp Iron WorksKielGE
Ex Firenze WW II Hawaiian Sea Frontier Decommissioned Jan…
Ex Firenze WW II Hawaiian Sea Frontier Decommissioned Jan 26 1946 Struck Feb 26 1946 Transferred to Maritime Commission Jul 14 1947
GiselaJ889Army vessel WW II
GlacierAK183Decom1945-04-14 00:00:00.0001946-02-19 00:00:00.000Walter Butler Shipbuilders, Inc.SuperiorWI
3rd Glacier Maritime Commission Hull 2114 WW II Decommiss…
3rd Glacier Maritime Commission Hull 2114 WW II Decommissioned Feb 19 1946 Returned to Maritime Commission Feb 22 1946 Struck Mar 12 1948
GlacierACV33Reclas1943-07-12 00:00:00.0001943-07-15 00:00:00.000*Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Co.TacomaWA
2nd Glacier Originally designated AVG-33. Reclassified ACV…
2nd Glacier Originally designated AVG-33. Reclassified ACV-33 before commissioning WW II Reclassified CVE-33, qv, Jul 15 1943
GlacierCVE33Prince WilliamTransferred1943-07-15 00:00:00.0001943-07-31 00:00:00.000Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Co.TacomaWA
2nd Glacier Ex ACV-33, qv Reclassified CVE-33 Jul 15 1943 …
2nd Glacier Ex ACV-33, qv Reclassified CVE-33 Jul 15 1943 Transferred to Great Britain Jul 31 1943 Renamed Atheling Returned to U.S. (Norfolk) Dec 6 1946 Struck Feb 7 1947 Sold Nov 26 1947
GlacierAF4Decom1898-07-06 00:00:00.0001922-03-06 00:00:00.000J. L. Thompson & SonSunderlandEN
1st Glacier Built 1891 Ex SS Port Chalmers Ex Delmonico …
1st Glacier Built 1891 Ex SS Port Chalmers Ex Delmonico Ex Glacier Commissioned Jul 5 1898 as Port Chalmers. Name changed Jul 6 1898 to Delmonico, and to Glacier Jul 12 1898 Spanish-American War Decommissioned Mar 6 1899 Recommissioned Mar 31 1899 Decommissioned Aug 1 1903 Recommissioned Dec 15 1903 Decommissioned Jul 30 1904 Recommissioned Sep 15 1904 WW I - Naval Overseas Transport Service Decommissioned Mar 6 1922 Sold Aug 17 1922
GlacierAGB4GlacierStruck1955-05-27 00:00:00.0001966-07-01 00:00:00.000Ingalls Shipbuilding Corp.PascagoulaMS
4th Glacier Support of Antarctic programs Navy Unit Commen…
4th Glacier Support of Antarctic programs Navy Unit Commendation Transferred to Coast Guard Jun 30 1966 Struck Jul 1 1966
Glacier Park1944-04-15 00:00:00.000Kaiser Co., Inc., Swan IslandPortlandOR
Maritime Commission Hull 1914 Merchant ship Original opera…
Maritime Commission Hull 1914 Merchant ship Original operator, Pacific Tankers WW II
Background and Sources Collection notes, historical context, and related resources

Ships

Purpose

The Ships table is the most comprehensive and nearly complete of the tables in this site. It includes tens of thousands of different vessels. It is primarily, but not exclusively, Navy ships, that have helped make American history.

Fewer than half of the vessels in the table are named. Most of the others are identified only by a number but one that is unique to that vessel (called hull numbers by the Navy). The most famous of the latter is PT-109, John Kennedy’s PT boat that was sunk in World War II. Another famous group is the “LSTs”, the Landing Ships-Tank of World War II fame. (Some crew members who served on these big, ungainly vessels said that LST stood for Large Slow Target.) Following World War II, the Navy started giving the LSTs names, but those in the war were identified only by their hull numbers.

DANFS

The most authoritative and most common source of information about the Navy’s commissioned and named ships, plus the LSTs, is the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS). This series of eight books was published by the Navy and was not available through commercial book stores. The books are now out of print, but are available through the used book market. Much if not all of their content is now also available online at the Naval History and Heritage Command’s DANFS site.

Many thousands of watercraft had non-unique numbers, or semi-unique numbers, the latter including landing craft that carried the number of the transport that carried them plus a number of their own (such as PA-91-15). I have not tried to include these latter craft in this project.

The World War II Commercial Fleet

The Navy in World War II utilized many commercial vessels, even in the dangerous landing operations, the most famous being the Liberty Ships, which were mostly freighters, and their larger replacements, the Victory Ships. These and other commercial vessels from that war are included in the table. The U.S. built thousands of these ships and other commercial type ships during and shortly after World War II. Lists of the various types of commercial design ships built for the war, and separate lists of what ships were built by each shipyard, are at the Maritime Commission site.

Some of these were turned over to the Navy to operate, but most were operated by commercial shipping companies, even in battle and particularly in dangerous convoys crossing the Atlantic.

The liberty ships were named for people, and a book has been published that identifies who these people were. It is Liberty Ships, the People Behind the Names, compiled by Capt. Robert Deschamps and published in 1999. It is probably available online.

The Army’s Ships

The Army has also used thousands of ships and other watercraft over the years, especially in the Civil War and World War II. Major sources of information about these vessels are:

The Army’s Navy Series Volume I, Marine Transportation in War. The U.S. Army Experience 1775-1860, by Charles Dana Gibson and E. Kay Gibson.

The Army’s Navy Series Volume II, Assault and Logistics Union Army Coastal and River Operations 1861-1866, by Charles Dana Gibson and E. Kay Gibson.

U.S. Army Ships and Watercraft of World War II, by David H. Grover.

Smaller Vessels

Many books and web sites have been published about the tens of thousands of smaller vessels that the Navy used during World War II. I have found several of them and am sure there are many more that I’m not aware of.

Two fine examples are:

Ten Thousand Men and One Hundred Thirty “Mighty Midget” Ships–The U.S.S. LCS(L)s in World War II, by Raymond A. Baumler. This is about the Landing Ship Support (Large) vessels. This book was privately published and printed in 1991 by PIP Printing, Rockville MD.

At Close Quarters, PT Boats in the United States Navy, by Robert J. Bulkley, Jr. This book has extensive information about the history of each PT-Boat, many of the men who served on them, and their organizations. This book was first printed in 1962 for the Navy by the Government Printing Office, and has been reprinted by the Naval Institute Press.