Collection

Ships

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

Showing 10,301–10,350

Name	Type	Hull Num	Class	Status	Comm Is Date	Decom Sunk Or Reclass	Reclass Num	Builder	Built City	Built State	Home Port	Historynotes
Lesuth	AK	125	Crater	Decom	1943-11-01 00:00:00.000	1946-08-16 00:00:00.000		California Shipbuilding Corp.	Wilmington	CA		Laid down as William M. Gwin Renamed Lesuth Oct 11 1942, be… Laid down as William M. Gwin Renamed Lesuth Oct 11 1942, before commissioning WW II Decommissioned Aug 16 1946 Returned to Maritime Commission May 29 1947 Struck Jul 17 1947
Letter B	SP	732		Returned		1919-04-29 00:00:00.000		Elco Co.	Bayonne	NJ		Built 1912 Acquired by Navy May 7 1917 WW I 5th Naval Dis… Built 1912 Acquired by Navy May 7 1917 WW I 5th Naval District Returned to owner Apr 29 1919
Leutze	DD	481	Fletcher	Decom	1944-03-04 00:00:00.000	1945-12-06 00:00:00.000		Puget Sound Navy Yard	Bremerton	WA		WW II Oct 1944, Invasion of Leyte, CDR B. A. Robbins Jan 1… WW II Oct 1944, Invasion of Leyte, CDR B. A. Robbins Jan 1945, Invasion at Lingayen Gulf, CDR B. A. Robbins Feb 1945, Invasion of Iwo Jima. Damaged 2/17/45 by Japanese coastal defense gun Apr 1945, Operation Iceberg, Okinawa Campaign, TG 54.1, LT Leon Grabowsky. Severely damaged 4/06 and sent to Navy yard for repair Decommissioned Dec 6 1945 Struck Jan 3 1946 Sold Jun 17 1947 for scrap Named for RADM Eugene H. C. Leutze, qv 5 Battle Stars WW II
Levant	SlpW			Lost	1838-03-17 00:00:00.000			New York Navy Yard	New York	NY		Decommissioned Jun 26 1842 Recommissioned Mar 27 1843 Mexi… Decommissioned Jun 26 1842 Recommissioned Mar 27 1843 Mexican War Decommissioned May 4 1855 Recommissioned Oct 31 1855 Disappeared after leaving Hawaii Sep 18 1860 en route to Panama
Levant	TB			Sold		1920-04-21 00:00:00.000		Yarrow & Co., Ltd.	London	EN		Ex Manley (TB-23), qv Renamed Levant Apr 11 1918 after bein… Ex Manley (TB-23), qv Renamed Levant Apr 11 1918 after being struck but still being used by Navy Sold Apr 21 1920
Lever's Band					1945-06-23 00:00:00.000			Walter Butler Shipbuilders, Inc.	Duluth	MI		Maritime Commission Hull 2139 Merchant ship Original opera… Maritime Commission Hull 2139 Merchant ship Original operator, Grace Line, Inc.
Levi Woodbury												1st Levi Woodbury See Woodbury A revenue cutter 1846, Mex… 1st Levi Woodbury See Woodbury A revenue cutter 1846, Mexican War
Levi Woodbury					1943-04-26 00:00:00.000			Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Inc.	Baltimore	MD		Maritime Commission E Hull 969 Merchant ship Original oper… Maritime Commission E Hull 969 Merchant ship Original operator, J. H. Winchester WW II
Levi Woodbury	RC				1873-06-05 00:00:00.000		*	J. W. Lynn & Sons	Philadelphia	PA		2nd Levi Woodbury Named for Secretary of the Navy Levi Wood… 2nd Levi Woodbury Named for Secretary of the Navy Levi Woodbury Ex Mahoning Taken over by Navy Mar 24 1898 Known in Navy records simply as Woodbury, qv S[anish-American War Returned to Treasury Department Aug 17 1898
Leviathan	ScTug											Civil War Steamer belonging to Army Quartermaster Departmen… Civil War Steamer belonging to Army Quartermaster Department, became shortest-lived Confederate privateer on record, captured by Teaser during raid off moths of Mississippi but recaptured a few hours later by USS De Soto
Leviathan	SP	1326		Decom	1917-07-25 00:00:00.000	1919-10-29 00:00:00.000		Blohm & Voss	Hamburg	GE		Ex SS Vaterland, built 1913 Seized at Hoboken NJ when US en… Ex SS Vaterland, built 1913 Seized at Hoboken NJ when US entered WW I WW I Decommissioned Oct 29 1919 and returned to US Shipping Board the same day Sold for scrapping Dec 10 1937 Broken up Jun 6 1938
Levisa	Str			Decom	1918-11-19 00:00:00.000	1919-04-01 00:00:00.000		Detroit Drydock Co.	Wyandotte	MI		Acquired by Navy Nov 19 1918 WW I NOTS Decommissioned Ap… Acquired by Navy Nov 19 1918 WW I NOTS Decommissioned Apr 1 1919 and returned to owner the same day
Levy	DE	162	Cannon	Decom	1943-05-13 00:00:00.000	1947-04-04 00:00:00.000		Federal Shipbuilding Co.	Newark	NJ		WW II Oct 1944, Invasion of Leyte Decommissioned Apr 4 194… WW II Oct 1944, Invasion of Leyte Decommissioned Apr 4 1947 Named for CPT Uriah P. Levy, qv 5 Battle Stars WW II
Lew Wallace					1943-09-05 00:00:00.000			Permanente Metals Corp., Richmond #1	Richmond	CA		Maritime Commission E Hull 485 Merchant ship Original oper… Maritime Commission E Hull 485 Merchant ship Original operator, Alaska Steamship WW II
Lewellyn	Steamer											Civil War March 1862, used to transport Union troops for th… Civil War March 1862, used to transport Union troops for the Battle of Shiloh. (Hurst List)
Lewis	Ship			Grounded								Civil War Purchases Oct 28 1861 for use in Stone Fleet Int… Civil War Purchases Oct 28 1861 for use in Stone Fleet Intended to be sunk in channel entering Savannah Harbor. Ran aground and bilged after departing New London Nov 20 1861
Lewis	DE	535	John C. Butler		1944-09-05 00:00:00.000			Boston Navy Yard	Boston	MA
Lewis and Clark	T-AKE	1		In service	2006-06-20 00:00:00.000			National Steel and Shipbuilding Co.	San Diego	CA		2nd Lewis and Clark
Lewis and Clark	SSBN	644	Lafayette	Decom	1965-12-22 00:00:00.000			Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Co.	Newport News	VA		1st Lewis and Clark
Lewis B. Puller	FFG	23	Oliver Hazard Perry	Reserve	1982-04-17 00:00:00.000			Todd Shipbuilding Co.	San Pedro	CA	Long Beach
Lewis Cass					1943-01-12 00:00:00.000			California Shipbuilding Corp.	Los Angeles	CA		Maritime Commission E Hull 689 Merchant ship Original oper… Maritime Commission E Hull 689 Merchant ship Original operator, Waterman Steamship WW II
Lewis Cass	Sch											U.S. Revenur Cutter Civil War Seized Jan 31 1861 by Alabam… U.S. Revenur Cutter Civil War Seized Jan 31 1861 by Alabama authorities and turned over to Confederate States Navy
Lewis E. Dyche				Sunk								Merchant ship May be listed as Lewis Dyche WW II Sunk by … Merchant ship May be listed as Lewis Dyche WW II Sunk by Kamikaze attack
Lewis Emery, Jr.					1943-10-25 00:00:00.000			Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Inc.	Baltimore	MD		Maritime commission E Hull 1806 Merchant ship Original ope… Maritime commission E Hull 1806 Merchant ship Original operator, Merchants & Miners WW II
Lewis Hancock	DD	675	Fletcher	Decom	1943-09-29 00:00:00.000	1957-12-18 00:00:00.000		Federal Shipbuilding & Drydock Co.	Kearny	NJ		Named for LCDR Lewis Hancock, qv WW II June 19-20 1944, Ba… Named for LCDR Lewis Hancock, qv WW II June 19-20 1944, Battle of the Philippine Sea Oct 1944, Invasion of Leyte, CDR W. M. Searles Apr-Jun 1945, Operation Iceberg, Okinawa Campaign,CDR W. M. Searles, then CDR R. E. Babb Decommissioned Jan 10 1946 Recommissioned May 19 1951 Korean War Decommissioned Dec 18 1957 Transferred to Brazil Aug 1 1967 Renamed Piaui (D 31) 9 Battle Stars WW II 2 Battle Stars Korean War
Lewis L. Dyche					1943-12-09 00:00:00.000			Oregon Shipbuilding Corp.	Portland	OR		Maritime Commission E Hull 2532 Merchant ship Original ope… Maritime Commission E Hull 2532 Merchant ship Original operator, Inter Ocean Steamship WW II
Lewis Morris					1942-06-19 00:00:00.000			Permanente Metals Corp, Richmond #2	Richmond	CA		Maritime Commission E Hull 250 Merchant ship Original oper… Maritime Commission E Hull 250 Merchant ship Original operator, American President Lines WW II Nov 1942, Operation Torch, Invasion of North Africa Jul 1943, Operation Husky, Invasion of Sicily
Lewiston	Launch							Gunderson Bros.	Portland	OR		Built 1943 Army vessel WW II
Lewiston Victory					1945-01-29 00:00:00.000			Oregon Shipbuilding Corp.	Portland	OR		Maritime Commission Victory Hull 148 Merchant ship Origina… Maritime Commission Victory Hull 148 Merchant ship Original operator, Pacific-Atlantic Steamship WW II
Lexington	Brig			Surrendered		1777-09-19 00:00:00.000						1st Lexington Ex Wild Duck "Make-do" brig, 16 guns Revolu… 1st Lexington Ex Wild Duck "Make-do" brig, 16 guns Revolutionary War Under command of John Barry, on 4/04/1776, defeated HMS Edward (8 guns). First of Barry's successes. Surrendered to British cutter Alert new Morlaix France Sep 19 1777
Lexington	gunboat											Civil War 2/7/1862, together with other Union gunboats Cone… Civil War 2/7/1862, together with other Union gunboats Conestoga and Tyler, captured Confederate steamer Eastport Jun 17 1862, Battle of Saint Charles
Lexington	Slp			Decom	1826-06-11 00:00:00.000	1855-02-26 00:00:00.000		New York Navy Yard	New York	NY		2nd Lexington Mexican War, 1846-47 1853, Peary expedition … 2nd Lexington Mexican War, 1846-47 1853, Peary expedition to Japan Decommissioned Feb 26 1855 Sold in 1860
Lexington	SwStr			Decom		1865-07-02 00:00:00.000			Pittsburgh	PA		3rd Lexington Army vessel converted to gunboat Civil War … 3rd Lexington Army vessel converted to gunboat Civil War Feb 1862, along with Conestoga and Tyler, captured Confederate vessel Muscle, qv, at Chickasaw, north of Eastport TN Transferred to Navy Oct 1 1862 Jun 7 1863, Battle of Milliken's Bend Decommissioned Jul 2 1865 Sold Aug 17 1865
Lexington	CV	16	Essex	Reclas	1943-02-17 00:00:00.000	1952-10-01 00:00:00.000	*	Bethlehem Steel Co.	Quincy	MA		5th Lexington WW II Nov-Dec 1943, Operation Galvanic, Gilb… 5th Lexington WW II Nov-Dec 1943, Operation Galvanic, Gilbert Islands operation, CPT R. P. Stump Jun 19-20 1944, Battle of Philippine Sea, CPT E. W. Litch, flag of VADM Mitscher Oct 1944, Invasion of Leyte, CPT E. W. Litch Feb 1945, Invasion of Iwo Jima Decommissioned Apr 23 1947 Redesignated CVA-16, qv, Oct 1 1952 Presidential Unit Citation and 11 Battle Stars WW II
Lexington	CVA	16		Reclas	1952-10-01 00:00:00.000	1962-10-01 00:00:00.000	*	Bethlehem Steel Co.	Quincy	MA		5th lexington Formerly CV-16, qv Redesignated CVA-16 Oct 1… 5th lexington Formerly CV-16, qv Redesignated CVA-16 Oct 1 1952 Redesignated CVS-16, qv, Oct 1 1962
Lexington	CVS	16		Reclas	1962-10-01 00:00:00.000	1969-01-01 00:00:00.000	*	Bethlehem Steel Co.	Quincy	MA		5th Lexington Formerly CVA-16, qv Redesignaeted CVS-16 Oct… 5th Lexington Formerly CVA-16, qv Redesignaeted CVS-16 Oct 1 1962 Redesignated CVT-16, qv, Jan 1 1969
Lexington	CVT	16			1969-01-01 00:00:00.000			Bethlehem Steel Co.	Quincy	MA		5th Lexington Formerly CVS-16, qv Redesignated CVT-16 Jan … 5th Lexington Formerly CVS-16, qv Redesignated CVT-16 Jan 1 1969
Lexington	CV	2	Lexington	Sunk	1927-12-14 00:00:00.000	1942-05-08 00:00:00.000		Fore River Shipbuilding Co.	Quincy	MA		4th Lexington Originally CC-1. Converted to CV while build… 4th Lexington Originally CC-1. Converted to CV while building "Lady Lex" WW II Feb 20 1942, en route to Rabaul destroyed several attacking Japanese planes, causing Japanese to delay actions against New Guinea Mar 10 1942, attack on Lae and Salamaua, New Guinea May 1942, Battle of Coral Sea, CPT Frederick C. Sherman (flag of RADM Fitch) On May 8, severely damaged by enemy air attack. Sunk that day by torpedoes from USS Phelps (DD 360). 2 Battle Stars WW II
Lexington II	SP	705		Decom	1917-07-23 00:00:00.000	1918-11-21 00:00:00.000		New York Yacht, Launch & Engine Co.	Morris Heights	NY		Built 1911 Chartered by Navy Jul 13 1917 WW I 4th Naval D… Built 1911 Chartered by Navy Jul 13 1917 WW I 4th Naval District Decommissioned Nov 21 1918 Returned to owner Nov 23 1918
Leyden	ScStr			Foundered		1903-01-21 00:00:00.000		James Tetlow	Chelsea	MA		1st Leyden Built 1865 Spanish-American War 1898, Cuba
Leyden	IX	167		Decom	1944-05-22 00:00:00.000	1945-07-23 00:00:00.000		Harlan & Hollingsworth Corp.	Wilmington	DE		Built 1911 2nd Leyden WW II Returned to War Shipping Admi… Built 1911 2nd Leyden WW II Returned to War Shipping Administration Sold Nov 7 1946 Renamed Hung Chong
Leyte	Gbt			Decom	1900-03-22 00:00:00.000	1902-01-27 00:00:00.000		Hong Kong & Whampoa Dock Co.	Hong Kong	CH		Built 1887 Spanish-American War Captured by U.S. Navy in P… Built 1887 Spanish-American War Captured by U.S. Navy in Philippines Decommissioned Jan 27 1902 Struck May 27 1907 Sold Dec 16 1907
Leyte	LCU	1526	LCU-1400									Army vessel 1996, Fort Island
Leyte	CV	32	Essex	Reclas	1946-04-11 00:00:00.000	1952-10-01 00:00:00.000	*	Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Co.	Newport News	VA		3rd Leyte Korean War Reclassified CVA-32, qv, Oct 1 1952 … 3rd Leyte Korean War Reclassified CVA-32, qv, Oct 1 1952 2 Battle Stars Korean War
Leyte	CVA	32	Essex	Reclas	1952-10-01 00:00:00.000	1953-08-08 00:00:00.000	*	Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Co.	Newport News	VA		3rd Leyte Previously CV-32, qv Reclassified CVA-32 Oct 1 1… 3rd Leyte Previously CV-32, qv Reclassified CVA-32 Oct 1 1952 Reclassified CVS-32, qv, Aug 8 1953
Leyte	CVS	32		Decom	1953-08-08 00:00:00.000	1959-05-15 00:00:00.000		Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Co.	Newport News	VA		3rd Leyte Formerly CVA-32, qv Reclassified CVS-32 Aug 8 19… 3rd Leyte Formerly CVA-32, qv Reclassified CVS-32 Aug 8 1953 Decommissioned May 15 1959 and reclassified AVT-10 the same day
Leyte	ARG	8	Luzon	Renamed	1944-02-25 00:00:00.000	1945-05-31 00:00:00.000	*	Bethlehem Fairfield Shipyard, Inc.	Baltimore	MD		2nd Leyte Maritime Commission E Hull 2595 WW II Renamed M… 2nd Leyte Maritime Commission E Hull 2595 WW II Renamed Maui May 31 1945 so that the name Leyte could be given a new aircraft carrier (CV-32)
Leyte Gulf	CG	55	Ticonderoga	Active	1987-09-26 00:00:00.000			Ingalls Shipbuilding Co.	Pascagoula	MS	Norfolk	Oct, 1994, in Persian Gulf, in response to Iraqi buildup on … Oct, 1994, in Persian Gulf, in response to Iraqi buildup on Kuwaiti border
Libby Island					1943-08-31 00:00:00.000			Avondale Marine Ways, Inc.				Maritime Commission Hull 1011 Merchant ship Original opera… Maritime Commission Hull 1011 Merchant ship Original operator, Moran Towing Co. WW II
Liberator	Str			Decom	1918-07-02 00:00:00.000	1919-10-04 00:00:00.000		Union Iron Works	San Francisco	CA		1st Liberator WW I NOTS Decommisssioned Oct 4 1919 Sold … 1st Liberator WW I NOTS Decommisssioned Oct 4 1919 Sold 1933

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.