Collection

Ships

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

Showing 1,951–2,000

Name	Type	Hull Num	Class	Status	Comm Is Date	Decom Sunk Or Reclass	Reclass Num	Builder	Built City	Built State	Historynotes
Black Hawk	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) Also see other Black Hawk
Black Hawk	SwStr			Sank	1862-12-13 00:00:00.000	1865-04-22 00:00:00.000			New Albany	IN	1st Black Hawk Ex New Uncle Sam, qv Commissioned Dec 6 186… 1st Black Hawk Ex New Uncle Sam, qv Commissioned Dec 6 1862 Renamed Black Hawk Dec 13 1862 Civil War Mississippi Squadron Flagship of RADM D, D. Porter, then RADM S. P. Lee Dec 1862, Vicksburg Jan 11 1863, Capture of Fort Hindman Apr 219-May 2 1863, Attack on Haines Bluff May 19-Jul 4 1863, Seige of Vicksburg Mar 12-May 29 1864, Red River Expedition Accidentally burned and sank Apr 22 1865 three miles above Cairo IL Wreck raised and sold Apr 1867 Also see other Black Hawk
Black Hawk	MHC	58	Osprey	Active	1996-05-11 00:00:00.000			Intermarine USA	Savannah	GA
Black Hawk	AD	9	Black Hawk	Decom	1918-05-15 00:00:00.000	1945-08-15 00:00:00.000		Wm. Cramp & Sons Shipbuilding & Engineering	Philadelphia	PA	2nd Black Hawk Built 1913 as SS Santa Catalina WW I - 191… 2nd Black Hawk Built 1913 as SS Santa Catalina WW I - 1919, Tender to Mine Force Designated Destroyer Tender 10/22/1920 WW II Dec 7 1941, at Balikpapan, Borneo Early 1946, China Decommissioned Aug 15 1946 Transferred to Maritime Commission Sep 4 1947
Black Hills					1944-10-23 00:00:00.000			Kaiser Co., Inc., Swan Island	Portland	OR	Maritime Commission Hull 1951 Merchant ship Original opera… Maritime Commission Hull 1951 Merchant ship Original operator, Union Oil of California WW II
Black Jack	Tanker				1944-09-30 00:00:00.000			Sun Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co.	Chester	PA	Maritime Commission Hull 1761 Merchant ship Original opera… Maritime Commission Hull 1761 Merchant ship Original operator, Marine Transp. WW II
Black Point	Collier			Sunk		1945-05-05 00:00:00.000			Camden	NJ	Built 1918 as a coal collier Merchant ship WW II Sunk 5/0… Built 1918 as a coal collier Merchant ship WW II Sunk 5/05/45 off Rhode Island by German submarine U-853. Last ship sunk in Atlantic in WW II by enemy action
Black River	Tanker				1945-10-30 00:00:00.000			Alabama Drydock & Shipbuilding Co.	Mobile	AL	Maritime Commission Hull 2962 Merchant ship Original opera… Maritime Commission Hull 2962 Merchant ship Original operator, Marine Transport
Black Rock					1943-11-26 00:00:00.000			Globe shipbuilding Co.	Superior	WI	Maritime Commission Hull 890 Merchant ship Original operat… Maritime Commission Hull 890 Merchant ship Original operator, Moran Towing & Transp. WW II Jun 1944, Operation Overlord, Invasion of Normandy
Black Warrior					1944-05-24 00:00:00.000			North Carolina Shipbuilding Co.	Wilmington	NC	Maritime Commission Hull 1374 Merchant ship Original opera… Maritime Commission Hull 1374 Merchant ship Original operator, United Fruit Co. WW II
Black Warrior	Sch			Burned		1862-02-10 00:00:00.000					Civil War Pressed into service by Confederates Feb 7-8 186… Civil War Pressed into service by Confederates Feb 7-8 1862, defense of Roanoke Island Feb 10 1862, defense of Elizabeth City NC Burned Feb 10 1862 to prevent capture. Crew escaped
Black Warrior River	LSM(R)	404						Charleston Navy Yard	Charleston	SC	Ex LSM(R)-404, no name, qv Renamed Black Warrior River at s… Ex LSM(R)-404, no name, qv Renamed Black Warrior River at some point
Blackberry	WLI	65303	Berry					Dubuque Boat & Boiler		IA
Blackbird	AMc(U)	11									LCI(L)-515, qv, was renamed and reclassified AMc(U)-11 at so… LCI(L)-515, qv, was renamed and reclassified AMc(U)-11 at some point
Blackfin	SS	322	Balao	Decom	1944-07-04 00:00:00.000	1954-05-19 00:00:00.000		Electric Boat Co.	Groton	CT	WW II Jan 24 1945, sank Japanese destroyer Shigure Decommi… WW II Jan 24 1945, sank Japanese destroyer Shigure Decommissioned Nov 19 1948 Recommissioned May 15 1951 Decommissioned May 19 1954 Struck Sep 1 1958 Sold May 4 1959 for scrapping 3 Battle Stars WW II
Blackfin	WPB	87317									2000, California
Blackfish	SS	221	Gato	Decom	1942-07-22 00:00:00.000	1946-05-11 00:00:00.000		Electric Boat Co.	Groton	CT	WW II Nov 1942, Operation Torch, invasion of North Africa, … WW II Nov 1942, Operation Torch, invasion of North Africa, LCDR John F. Davidson Feb 19 1943, sank German Patrol Boat No. 408 off north Coast of Spain Oct 1944, Invasion of Leyte, CDR R. F. Sellars Aug 8 1945, bombarded shore installations on Kusakaki Shima Decommissioned May 11 1946 8 Battle Stars WW II
Blackford	APB	45	Benewah	Decom	1945-06-09 00:00:00.000	1947-04-26 00:00:00.000		Missouri Valley Bridge & Iron Co.	Evansville	IN	Ex LST-1111. Reclassified AKS-16 and named Blackford Dec 8… Ex LST-1111. Reclassified AKS-16 and named Blackford Dec 8 1944, while building Reclassifed Blackford (APB-45) Mar 6 1945, while building Commissioned Jun 9 1945 WW II Pacific Decommissioned Apr 26 1947
Blackstocks Ford					1944-04-22 00:00:00.000			Sun Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co.	Chester	PA	Maritime Commission Hull 647 Merchant ship Original operat… Maritime Commission Hull 647 Merchant ship Original operator, Marine Transp. WW II
Blackstone River	LSM(R)	403						Charleston Navy Yard	Charleston	SC	LSMR-403, no name, qv, was named Blackstone River at some po… LSMR-403, no name, qv, was named Blackstone River at some point
Blackwall Hitch	Cargo				1945-07-14 00:00:00.000			Pennsylvania Shipyards, Inc.	Beaumont	TX	Maritime Commission Hull 2342 Merchant ship Original opera… Maritime Commission Hull 2342 Merchant ship Original operator, Waterman Steamship Corp.
Blackwater	Tanker				1944-08-23 00:00:00.000			Sun Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co.	Chester	PA	Maritime Commission Hull 1753 Merchant ship Original opera… Maritime Commission Hull 1753 Merchant ship Original operator, War Emergency Tankers WW II
Bladen	APA	63	Gilliam	Decom	1944-10-18 00:00:00.000	1946-12-26 00:00:00.000		Consolidated Steel Corp.	Wilmington	CA	Maritime Commission Hull 1856 WW II Feb 1945, Invasion of … Maritime Commission Hull 1856 WW II Feb 1945, Invasion of Iwo Jima Apr 1945, Operation Iceberg, Okinawa Campaign 1946, Operation Crossroads Decommissioned Dec 26 1946 Transferred to Maritime Commission Aug 3 1953 2 Battle Stars WW II
Bladensburg	Tanker				1943-09-11 00:00:00.000			Kaiser Co., Inc., Swan Island	Portland	OR	Maritime Commission Hull 818 Merchant ship Original operat… Maritime Commission Hull 818 Merchant ship Original operator, Deconhil Shipping WW II
Blair	Hog Islander							American International Shipbuilding	Philadelphia	PA	WW I - Built for the war but not completed in time to parti… WW I - Built for the war but not completed in time to participate
Blair	DE	147	Edsall	Decom	1943-09-13 00:00:00.000	1956-11-13 00:00:00.000	*	Consolidated Steel Corp.	Orange	TX	Named for CMM Eugene Blair, qv WW II Atlantic Decommissio… Named for CMM Eugene Blair, qv WW II Atlantic Decommissioned Jun 28 1946 Recommissioned Oct 5 1951 Decommissioned Nov 13 1956 Reclassified DER-147, qv
Blair	DER	147		Struck		1972-12-01 00:00:00.000		Consolidated Steel Corp.	Orange	TX	Named for CMM Eugene Blair, qv Ex DE-147, qv Reclassified … Named for CMM Eugene Blair, qv Ex DE-147, qv Reclassified DER-147 while decommissioned Recommissioned Dec 2 1947 Decommissioned ? Struck Dec 1 1972 Sold Oct 9 1974 Scrapped
Blake	Lunch							Barbour Metal Boat Works	Valley Park	MO	Built 1942 Army vessel WW II
Blakeley	DE	1072	Knox	Reclas			*				3rd Blakeley Named for CPT Johnston Blakeley, qv Commissio… 3rd Blakeley Named for CPT Johnston Blakeley, qv Commissioned 1970 Reclassified FF-1072, qv
Blakeley	FF	1072		Decom							3rd Blakeley Named for CPT Johnston Blakeley, qv Ex DE-107… 3rd Blakeley Named for CPT Johnston Blakeley, qv Ex DE-1072, qv Reclassified FF-1072 ? Decommissioned 1991
Blakeley	DD	150	Wickes	Decom	1919-05-08 00:00:00.000	1945-07-21 00:00:00.000		William Cramp & Sons Shipbuilding Co.	Philadelphia	PA	2nd Blakeley Named for CPT Johnston Blakeley, qv Atlantic … 2nd Blakeley Named for CPT Johnston Blakeley, qv Atlantic Decommissioned Jun 29 1922 Recommissioned Oct 16 1939 Neutrality Patrol WW II Torpedoed May 25 1942 by German submarine, taking off 60 feet of her bow and killing 6 of crew Refitted with new bow in Philadelphia Decommissioned Jul 21 1945 Sold Nov 30 1945 1 Battle Star WW II
Blakeley	Torpedo Boat	27	Blakeley	Renamed	1904-12-27 00:00:00.000			George Lawley & Sons Corp.	South Boston	MA	1st Blakeley Named for CPT Johnston Blakeley, qv Atlantic … 1st Blakeley Named for CPT Johnston Blakeley, qv Atlantic Decommissioned Feb 1907 Placed in reserve Jun 19 1907 Recommissioned Jan 13 1908 Placed in reserve later in 1908 Recommissioned May 6 1909 Placed in reserve Nov 9 1909 Decommissioned Mar 17 1914 Recommissioned Apr 7 1917 WW I - 1st Naval District Renamed and reclassified Coast Torpedo Boat No. 13, qv, Aug 1918
Blanche	SwSTr			Burned					Wilmington	DE	Ex General Rusk, qv Civil War Formerly a Confederate vesse… Ex General Rusk, qv Civil War Formerly a Confederate vessel, renamed Blanche in 1862 and used as blockade runner under British flag One successful round trip to Cuba in 1862 as blockade runner Run aground near Marianao Cuba in October by USS Montgomery, qv Caught fire and burned Action protested by both the British, under whose flag she sailed, and the Spanish, in whose territory the grounding occurred
Blanche	Tug										Commissioned 1917 WW I
Blanche E. Sayre	schooner										Army vessel Mexican War era
Blanche F. Sigman	Hospital							California Shipbuilding	Los Angeles	CA	Built 1943 WW II Army hospital ship
Blanco County	LST	344		Decom	1955-07-01 00:00:00.000	1969-10-03 00:00:00.000		Norfolk Navy Yard	Portsmouth	VA	Ex LST-344, no name, qv Renamed Blanco County (LST-344), Ju… Ex LST-344, no name, qv Renamed Blanco County (LST-344), Jul 1 1955 Decommissioned Oct 3 1969 Struck Sep 15 1974 Sold for scrap
Bland	APA	134	Haskell	Decom	1944-12-15 00:00:00.000	1946-04-27 00:00:00.000		California Shipbuilding Corp.	Wilmington	CA	Maritime Commission Victory Hull 50 WW II Pacific Decommi… Maritime Commission Victory Hull 50 WW II Pacific Decommissioned Apr 27 1946 and returned to Maritime Commission the following day
Blandy	DD	943	Forrest Sherman	Decom	1957-11-26 00:00:00.000	1982-11-05 00:00:00.000		Bethlehem Steel Co.	Quincy	MA	Named for ADM William H. P. Blandy, qv Decommissioned Nov 5… Named for ADM William H. P. Blandy, qv Decommissioned Nov 5 1982 Struck Jul 27 1990 Sold Jun 30 1994 Scarpped 1996
Bledsoe County	LST	356		Struck		1960-09-01 00:00:00.000		Charleston Navy Yard	Charleston	SC	Ex LST-356, no name, qv Named Bledsoe County (LST-356), Jul… Ex LST-356, no name, qv Named Bledsoe County (LST-356), Jul 1 1955, after decommissioning Struck Sep 1 1960 Sold Mar 8 1961 and subsequently scrapped
Blenheim								Deutsche Werft A. G.	Hamburg	GE	Built 1923 WW II Army vessel Spare parts ship
Blenny	AGSS	324		Decom		1969-11-07 00:00:00.000		Electric Boat Co.	Groton	CT	Ex SS-324, qv Reclassified AGSS-324 about 1964 Decommissio… Ex SS-324, qv Reclassified AGSS-324 about 1964 Decommissioned Nov 7 1969 Struck Aug 15 1973 Sunk as reef
Blenny	SS	324	Balao	Reclas	1944-07-17 00:00:00.000		*	Electric Boat Co.	Groton	CT	WW II 12/14/1944, sank Japanese Coast Defense vessel No. 28… WW II 12/14/1944, sank Japanese Coast Defense vessel No. 28 in P. I. area Reclassified AGSS-324, qv, about 1964 4 Battle Stars WW II
Blessman	APD	48		Decom	1944-07-31 00:00:00.000	1946-08-28 00:00:00.000		Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyards	Hingham	MA	Named for LT Edward M. Blessman Originally commissioned DE-… Named for LT Edward M. Blessman Originally commissioned DE-69 Reclassified APD-48 7/31/1944 WW II Jan 1945, Invasion at Lingayen Gulf Feb 1945, Invasion of Iwo Jima. Damaged 2/18/45 by horizontal bomber Decommissioned Jun 15 1947 3 Battle Stars WW II as DE and APD
Blessman	DE	69	Buckley	Reclas	1944-07-31 00:00:00.000	1944-07-31 00:00:00.000	*	Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyards	Hingham	MA	Named for LT Edward M. Blessman, qv Originally commissioned… Named for LT Edward M. Blessman, qv Originally commissioned DE-69 WW II Jun 1944, Operation Overlord, Invasion of Normandy Reclassified APD-48, qv, Jul 31 1944
Block Island	CGC			Active
Block Island	LPH	1									Never commissioned as LPH ex CVE 106 Sunset Bay Reclassifi… Never commissioned as LPH ex CVE 106 Sunset Bay Reclassified LPH 1 12/22/57 Reclassified CVE 106 2/17/59
Block Island	CVE	106	Commencement Bay	Decom	1944-12-30 00:00:00.000	1954-08-27 00:00:00.000		Todd-Pacific Shipyards, Inc.	Tacoma	WA	2nd Block Island ex Sunset Bay (per DANFS Vol 6), or Sunset… 2nd Block Island ex Sunset Bay (per DANFS Vol 6), or Sunset (per DANFS Vol 1) Renamed Block Island after launching WW II May-Jun 1945, Operation Iceberg, Okinawa operations Jun-Jul 1945, Balikpapan operations Placed in service in reserve May 298 1946 Recommissioned Apr 28 1951 Atlantic Decommissioned Aug 27 1954 Struck Jul 1 1959 2 Battle Stars WW II
Block Island	ACV	21	Bogue	Reclas	1943-03-08 00:00:00.000	1943-07-15 00:00:00.000	*	Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corp.	Tacoma	WA	1st Block Island Launched as AVG-21. Reclassified ACV-21 A… 1st Block Island Launched as AVG-21. Reclassified ACV-21 Aug 20 1942, before commissioning Commissioned Mar 8 1943 as ACV-21 WW II Aug 5 1942, Atlantic Fleet, CPT L. C. Ramsey Reclassified CVE-21 7/15/1943
Block Island	CVE	21		Sunk	1943-07-15 00:00:00.000	1944-05-29 00:00:00.000		Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corp.	Tacoma	WA	1st Block Island Originally commissioned ACV-21, qv Reclas… 1st Block Island Originally commissioned ACV-21, qv Reclassified CVE-21 7/15/1943 WW II Dec 1943-Feb 1944, in Atlantic, CPT Logan C. Ramsey Sunk May 29, 44 in Atlantic by enemy submarine, CPT Francis M. Hughes. Only US aircraft carrier lost in Atlantic in World War II 2 Battle Stars 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.