United States Navy ships
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| Ships of the United States Navy |
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A - B - C - D - E - F - G |
| Aircraft carriers |
| Airships |
| Amphibious assault ships |
| Auxiliaries |
| Battleships |
| Cruisers |
| Destroyers |
| Destroyer escorts |
| Escort carriers |
| Frigates |
| Mine warfare vessels |
| Monitors |
| Patrol vessels |
| Sailing frigates |
| Steam frigates |
| Steam gunboats |
| Ships of the line |
| Sloops of war |
| Submarines |
| Torpedo boats |
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 Naval 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.
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[edit] Aircraft carriers
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Aircraft carriers are the major strategic arm of the Navy. The U.S. Navy has the largest carrier fleet in the world. The carriers allow U.S. air power to reach most areas of the world. The US Navy has as many aircraft carriers as the rest of the world combined, and its carriers are much larger and more powerful[citation needed] 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 (3 ships, 1 in service)
- USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63) — Yokosuka Naval Base, Japan
- USS Constellation (CV-64) — Retired 2003
- USS America (CV-66) — Retired 1996
Enterprise class (6 original planned, only 1 ever constructed)
John F. Kennedy class (1 Ship)
- USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67) — Retired 2007
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
- USS George H. W. Bush (CVN-77) — Under Construction, will replace Kitty Hawk
Ford Class (1 under construction, 2 planned so far)
- USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) — Under Construction, will replace Enterprise
- CVN-79 — Planned, may replace Nimitz
- CVN-80 — Planned, may replace Dwight D. Eisenhower
[edit] Amphibious assault ships
Amphibious assault ships carry Marines and are the platforms for Marine aircraft. They project power as aircraft carriers do.
- Wasp class (7 ships, 1 under construction)
- USS Wasp (LHD-1), Norfolk, Virginia
- USS Essex (LHD-2), Sasebo, Japan
- USS Kearsarge (LHD-3), Norfolk, Virginia
- USS Boxer (LHD-4), San Diego, California
- USS Bataan (LHD-5), Norfolk, Virginia
- USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD-6), San Diego, California
- USS Iwo Jima (LHD-7), Norfolk, Virginia
- USS Makin Island (LHD-8) — Under Construction
- Tarawa class (5 ships)
[edit] 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.
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- Ohio class (18 in commission) — ballistic missile submarines, 4 to be converted into guided missile submarines
- Virginia class (2 in commission, 4 under construction) — attack submarines
- Seawolf class (3 in commission) — attack submarines
- Los Angeles class (51 in commission) — attack submarines
[edit] Cruisers
The current guided missile cruisers are versatile with capability for air warfare, surface warfare and undersea warfare.
- Ticonderoga class (22 in commission) — first ship class with the Aegis combat system
[edit] Destroyers
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 First 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.
- Arleigh Burke class (51 in commission) — first ship class with comprehensive design for stealth technology.
[edit] Frigates
Frigates (according to the modern classification of U.S. navy warships) are smaller ships than destroyers. They are designed primarily to protect other ships (such as merchant convoys), and perform some Anti-Submarine Warfare duties. They are of more limited scope than destroyers, but are also more cost-efficient. Although there are currently approximately 30 active duty frigates in the United States Navy, all of Oliver Hazard Perry class, the Navy's five-year shipbuilding plan does not include plans for any additional frigates -- indeed, the official website of the latest frigate, USS Ingraham (FFG-61) identifies her as "the Last and Finest" [1].
