Collection

Ships

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

Showing 9,101–9,150

Name	Type	Hull Num	Class	Status	Comm Is Date	Decom Sunk Or Reclass	Reclass Num	Builder	Built City	Built State	Home Port	Historynotes
John Isaacson					1944-04-25 00:00:00.000			Permanente Metals Corp., Yard 1	Richmond	CA		Maritime Commission E Hull 2270 Merchant ship Original ope… Maritime Commission E Hull 2270 Merchant ship Original operator, Sudden & Chris. WW II
John J. Able					1943-04-03 00:00:00.000			Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Inc.	Baltimore	MD		Maritime Commission E Hull 960 Merchant ship Original oper… Maritime Commission E Hull 960 Merchant ship Original operator, Calmar Steamship WW II Arrived at Murmansk
John J. Crittenden					1943-06-24 00:00:00.000			St. Johns River Shipbuilding Co., Inc.	Jacksonville	FL		Maritime Commission E Hull 1196 Named for Ky Gov. John J. C… Maritime Commission E Hull 1196 Named for Ky Gov. John J. Crittenden Merchant ship Original operator, A. H. Bull & Co. WW II
John J. Meany								North Carolina Shipbuilding Co.	Wilmington	NC		Built 1942 Hospital ship rmy vessel WW II
John J. Powers	DE	528	Evarts	Decom	1944-02-29 00:00:00.000	1945-10-16 00:00:00.000		Boston Navy Yard	Boston	MA		Named for LT John J. Powers, qv WW II Atlantic Decommissi… Named for LT John J. Powers, qv WW II Atlantic Decommissioned Oct 16 1945 Scrapped Feb 1946
John J. Roe	Steamboat											Civil War Used by Army March 1862, used to transport Union… Civil War Used by Army March 1862, used to transport Union troops for the Battle of Shiloh. (Hurst List). Shown in Hurst list as John D Roe December 1862, lower Mississippi
John J. Roebling					1943-12-05 00:00:00.000			California Shipbuilding Corp.	Los Angeles	CA		Maritime Commission E Hull 1911 Merchant ship Original ope… Maritime Commission E Hull 1911 Merchant ship Original operator, Mississippi Shipping WW II
John Jacob Astor					1943-08-12 00:00:00.000			Oregon Shipbuilding Corp.	Portland	OR		Maritime Commission E Hull 2059 Merchant ship Original ope… Maritime Commission E Hull 2059 Merchant ship Original operator, United States Lines WW II
John James Audubon	Cargo			Renamed	1942-10-19 00:00:00.000		*	Permanente Metals Corp., Richmond #2	Richmond	CA		Maritime Commission E Hull 420 Renamed Crater (AK-70), qv, … Maritime Commission E Hull 420 Renamed Crater (AK-70), qv, by Navy, probably before commissioning
John Jay								Oregon Shipbuilding Corp.	Portland	OR		Maritime Commission E Hull 178 Merchant ship Original oper… Maritime Commission E Hull 178 Merchant ship Original operator, Sudden & Chris. WW II
John King	DDG	3	Charles F. Adams	Decom	1961-02-04 00:00:00.000	1990-01-01 00:00:00.000		Bath Iron Works	Bath	ME		Named for Chief Water Tender John King, qv Decommissioned J… Named for Chief Water Tender John King, qv Decommissioned Jan 1 1990 Nov 1962, Cuban Missile Crisis 1964, Cyprus
John L. Clem								William Cramp & Sons Ship & Engine Bldg	Philadelphia	PA		Built 1918 Ex Irwin Army vessel WW II Hospital ship
John L. Elliott					1944-02-29 00:00:00.000			Bethlehem Fairfield Shipyard, Inc.	Baltimore	MD		Maritime Commission E Hull 2594 Merchant ship Original ope… Maritime Commission E Hull 2594 Merchant ship Original operator, Stockard Steamship WW II
John L. Hall	FFG	32	Oliver Hazard Perry	Active	1982-06-26 00:00:00.000			Bath Iron Works	Bath	ME	Mayport	Named for ADM John L. Hall, Jr., qv Oct, 1994, in Persian G… Named for ADM John L. Hall, Jr., qv Oct, 1994, in Persian Gulf, in response to Iraqi buildup on Kuwaiti border
John L. Lawrence	YT	38		Decom		1921-06-22 00:00:00.000			New London	CT		Ex SP-838, qv Reclassified YT-38 1920 Philadelphia Decomm… Ex SP-838, qv Reclassified YT-38 1920 Philadelphia Decommissioned Jun 22 1921 Sold Oct 1921
John L. Lawrence	SP	838		Reclas	1917-06-29 00:00:00.000		*		New London	CT		Built 1877 Taken by Navy Jun 8 1917 Commissioned Jun 29 1… Built 1877 Taken by Navy Jun 8 1917 Commissioned Jun 29 1917 WW I - 2nd Naval District 1920, reclassified YT-38, qv
John L. Manson								Penn-Jersey Shipbuilding Corp.	Camden	NJ		Maritime Commission Hull 468 WW II
John L. McCarley					1945-02-27 00:00:00.000			J. A. Jones Construction Co., Wainright Yd	Panama City	FL		Maritime Commission E Hull 2342 Merchant ship Original ope… Maritime Commission E Hull 2342 Merchant ship Original operator, Alcoa Steamship Co. WW II
John L. Motley	Cargo			Exploded	1943-05-27 00:00:00.000	1943-12-02 00:00:00.000		Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Inc.	Baltimore	MD		Maritime Commission E Hull 986 Merchant ship Original oper… Maritime Commission E Hull 986 Merchant ship Original operator, American Export Lines WW II Dec 2 1943, exploded at Bari Italy as result of German air attack while loaded with ammunition
John L. Stoddard					1943-11-23 00:00:00.000			Permanente Metals Corp., Yard 2	Richmond	CA		Maritime Commission E Hull 2287 Merchant ship Original ope… Maritime Commission E Hull 2287 Merchant ship Original operator, Burns Steamship WW II
John L. Sullivan	Cargo				1943-06-07 00:00:00.000			Permanente Metals Corp., Yard 2	Richmond	CA		Maritime Commission Hull 1122 Merchant ship Original opera… Maritime Commission Hull 1122 Merchant ship Original operator, Oliver J. Olson WW II
John L. Williamson	DE	370	John C. Butler	Decom	1944-10-31 00:00:00.000	1946-06-14 00:00:00.000		Consolidated Steel Corp.	Orange	TX		Named for S1c John L. Williamson, qv WW II Pacific Decomm… Named for S1c John L. Williamson, qv WW II Pacific Decommissioned Jun 14 1946
John LaFarge					1943-11-19 00:00:00.000			Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Inc.	Baltimore	MD		Maritime commission E Hull 1822 Merchant ship Original ope… Maritime commission E Hull 1822 Merchant ship Original operator, American Range Lib. L. WW II
John Land	AP	167	La Salle	Decom	1944-04-08 00:00:00.000	1946-08-05 00:00:00.000		Moore Dry Dock Co.	Oakland	CA		Maritime Commission Hull 294 Originally Merchant ship Orig… Maritime Commission Hull 294 Originally Merchant ship Original operator, Seas Shipping WW II Jun-Aug 1944, Operation Forager, Invasion of Saipan and Tinian, CDR F. A. Graf Sep 1944, Invasion of Palau Islands Oct 1944, Invasion of Leyte, CDR F. A. Graf Decommissioned 8/05/1946 Sold to Waterman Steamship Co. Renamed Norberto Capay 5 Battle Stars WW II
John Langdon					1942-06-20 00:00:00.000			California Shipbuilding Corp.	Los Angeles	CA		Maritime Commission E Hull 77 Merchant ship Original opera… Maritime Commission E Hull 77 Merchant ship Original operator, Mormack Lines WW II
John Laurance					1942-10-08 00:00:00.000			Houston Shipbuilding Corp.	Houston	TX		Maritime Commission E Hull 108 Merchant ship Original oper… Maritime Commission E Hull 108 Merchant ship Original operator, Lykes Bros. WW II
John Lawson					1943-06-30 00:00:00.000			North Carolina Shipbuilding Co.	Wilmington	NC		Maritime Commission E Hull 1985 Merchant ship Original ope… Maritime Commission E Hull 1985 Merchant ship Original operator, South Atlantic WW II
John Lenthall	T-AO	189	Henry J. Kaiser	Actie	1987-07-25 00:00:00.000			Avondale Shipyard	New Orleans	LA		Named for shipbuilder John Lenthall
John Lewis	T-AO	205	John Lewis	Active	2021-07-17 00:00:00.000			National Steel and Shipbuilding Co.	San Diego	CA
John Lind					1943-06-23 00:00:00.000			Permanente Metals Corp, Shipbuilding Div.	Richmond	CA		Maritime Commission E Hull 1573 Merchant ship Original ope… Maritime Commission E Hull 1573 Merchant ship Original operator, American Mail Line WW II
John Lykes	Cargo				1941-01-31 00:00:00.000			Federal Shipbuilding & Drydock Co.	Kearny	NJ		Maritime Commission Hull 71 Merchant ship Original operato… Maritime Commission Hull 71 Merchant ship Original operator, Lykes Bros. WW II
John M. Bermingham	DE	530	Evarts	Decom	1944-04-08 00:00:00.000	1945-10-12 00:00:00.000		Boston Navy Yard	Boston	MA		Named for LCDR John M. Bermingham, qv WW II Atlantic Deco… Named for LCDR John M. Bermingham, qv WW II Atlantic Decommissioned Oct 12 1945 Scrapped Mar 1946
John M. Bozeman					1943-09-28 00:00:00.000			Oregon Shipbuilding Corp.	Portland	OR		Maritime Commission E Hull 2090 Merchant ship Original ope… Maritime Commission E Hull 2090 Merchant ship Original operator, United States Lines WW II
John M. Clayton	Cargo			Renamed	1943-01-08 00:00:00.000		*	California Shipbuilding Corp.	Los Angeles	CA		Maritime Commission E Hull 687 Original operator, American-… Maritime Commission E Hull 687 Original operator, American-Hawaiian Steamship Co. WW II Atlantic Pacific Jan 2 1945, landings on Mindoro. Hit by Japanese bomb. Beached by crew Acquired by Navy Commissioned as Harcourt (IX-225), qv, Jun 22 1945
John M. Connelly	Tanker			Decom	1918-05-09 00:00:00.000	1919-01-18 00:00:00.000		Pennsylvania Shipbuilding Co.	Gloucester	NJ		Built 1917 Delivered to Navy May 5 1918 Commissioned May 9… Built 1917 Delivered to Navy May 5 1918 Commissioned May 9 1918 WW I - 4 trans-Atlantic trips Decommissioned Jan 18 1919 and returned to U.S. Shipping Board the same day
John M. Harlan					1943-09-16 00:00:00.000			J. A. Jones Const. Co., Brunswick Yard	Brunswick	GA		Maritime Commission E Hull 1497 Merchant ship Original ope… Maritime Commission E Hull 1497 Merchant ship Original operator, Moore-McCormack WW II
John M. Howard	IX	75		Returned	1942-07-29 00:00:00.000	1946-01-24 00:00:00.000			Camden	NJ		Named for ENS John M. Howard, qv Built 1934 Ex Elsie Fenim… Named for ENS John M. Howard, qv Built 1934 Ex Elsie Fenimore Purchased by Navy Jul 2 1942 Placed in service Jul 29 1942 Renamed John M. Howard Aug 17 1942 Commissioned Sep 1 1942 WW II Used for ordnance experiments, operating out of Naval Ordnance Laboratory, Washington DC Decommissioned May 9 1945 and placed in service Placed out of service Nov 16 1945 Returned to Maritime Commission Jan 24 1946 for disposal
John M. Morehead												Merchant ship WW II
John M. Parker					1944-04-26 00:00:00.000			Delta Shipbuilding Co.	New Orleans	LA		Maritime Commission E Hull 2456 Merchant ship Original ope… Maritime Commission E Hull 2456 Merchant ship Original operator, T. J. Stevenson WW II
John M. Schofield					1942-11-30 00:00:00.000			Permanente Metals Corp., Richmond #2	Richmond	CA		Maritime Commission E Hull 433 Merchant ship Original oper… Maritime Commission E Hull 433 Merchant ship Original operator, Sudden & Chris. WW II Jul 1943, Operation Husky, Invasion of Sicily
John M. T. Finney					1943-05-31 00:00:00.000			Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Inc.	Baltimore	MD		Maritime Commission E Hull 991 Merchant ship Original oper… Maritime Commission E Hull 991 Merchant ship Original operator, War Shipping Administration WW II
John Marshall					1942-05-31 00:00:00.000			Alabama Dry Dock & Shipbuilding Co.	Mobile	AL		Maritime Commission E Hull 2 Probably named for Chief Justi… Maritime Commission E Hull 2 Probably named for Chief Justice John Marshall, qv Merchant ship Original operator, Waterman Steamship Co. WW II
John Marshall	SSBN	611	Ethan Allen	Decom	1962-05-21 00:00:00.000	1992-01-01 00:00:00.000		Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Co.	Newport News	VA		Named for Chief Justice John Marshall Atlantic Decommissio… Named for Chief Justice John Marshall Atlantic Decommissioned Jan 1 1992
John Martin Miller					1945-01-31 00:00:00.000			Todd-Houston Shipbuilding Corp.	Houston	TX		Maritime Commission E Hull 2991 Merchant ship Original ope… Maritime Commission E Hull 2991 Merchant ship Original operator, Weyerhaeuser Co. WW II
John Mary Odin					1943-06-29 00:00:00.000			Houston Shipbuilding Corp.	Houston	TX		Maritime Commission E Hull 857 Merchant ship Original oper… Maritime Commission E Hull 857 Merchant ship Original operator, United Fruit Co. WW II
John Mason					1943-08-31 00:00:00.000			New England Shipbuilding Corp.	South Portland	ME		Maritime Commission E Hull 815 Merchant ship Original oper… Maritime Commission E Hull 815 Merchant ship Original operator, Coastwise Trs. WW II
John McDonogh					1943-07-06 00:00:00.000			Delta Shipbuilding Co., Inc.	New Orleans	LA		Maritime commission E Hull 1733 Merchant ship Original ope… Maritime commission E Hull 1733 Merchant ship Original operator, Waterman Steamship Co. WW II
John McHale	ClBt				1864-07-19 00:00:00.000							Purchased by Navy Jul 19 1864 One of several vessels collec… Purchased by Navy Jul 19 1864 One of several vessels collected for sinking on Trent's Beach in James River to secure Union Army against attack by water. Presumably sunk, although DANFS does not specifically say
John McKinley					1943-08-20 00:00:00.000			J. A. Jones Const. Co., Brunswick Yard	Brunswick	GA		Maritime Commission E Hull 1495 Merchant ship Original ope… Maritime Commission E Hull 1495 Merchant ship Original operator, Dichman W. & Pugh WW II
John McLean					1942-11-07 00:00:00.000			Permanente Metals Corp., Richmond #1	Richmond	CA		Maritime Commission E Hull 499 Merchant ship Original oper… Maritime Commission E Hull 499 Merchant ship Original operator, Prudential Steamship 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.