Museum ship

The Polish destroyer ORP Błyskawica is currently preserved as a museum ship in Gdynia.

For ships that are not original see Ship replica. For preserved incomplete ships see Ships preserved in museums.

A museum ship, or sometimes memorial ship, is a ship that has been preserved and converted into a museum open to the public, for educational or memorial purposes. Some are also used for training and recruitment purposes, a use found mostly with the small number of museum ships that are still operational, i.e., capable of regular movement.^[1]

There are several hundred museum ships around the world, with around 175 of them organised in the Historic Naval Ships Association^[2] though there are also many non-naval museum ships as well, from general merchant ships to tugs and lightships. Many, if not most, museum ships are also associated with a maritime museum.

Significance

Mikasa, one of the earlier ships of the Empire of Japan, and the only surviving predreadnought battleship.

Former crew members of USS Missouri pose for photos after the Anniversary of the End of World War II ceremony.

Despite the long history of sea travel, the ravages of the elements and the expense of maintenance results in the eventual destruction of nearly all ships ever built, often by sinking, usually by being broken up and sold for scrap. Only a few survive, sometimes because of historical significance, but more often due to luck and circumstance. Since an old ship tied up at dockside, without attention, still decays and eventually sinks, the practice of recent years has been to form some sort of preservation society, solicit donations from governments or private individuals, organize volunteer labor from the enthusiasts, and open the restored ship to visitors, usually for a fee.

The restoration and maintenance of museum ships presents problems for historians who are asked for advice, and the results periodically generate some controversy^{[citation needed]}. For instance, the rigging of sailing ships has almost never survived, and so the rigging plan must be reconstructed from various sources. Studying the ships also allows historians to analyze how life on and operation of the ships took place.^[3] Numerous scientific papers have been written on ship restoration and maintenance, and international conferences are held discussing the latest developments.^[4] Some years ago, the Barcelona Charter was signed by a variety of international owner organizations of traditional vessels, and provides certain accepted minimum criteria for the restoration and operation of traditional watercraft still in operation.^[5]

Another consideration is the distinction between a 'real' museum ship, and a ship replica. As repairs accumulate over time, less and less of the ship is of the original materials, and the lack of old parts (or even 'appropriate' work tools) may lead to the use of modern 'short-cuts' (such as welding a metal plate instead of riveting it, as would be the case during the ships historical period).^[6] Visitors without historical background are also often unable to distinguish between a historical museum ship and a (more-or-less historically relevant) ship replica, which may serve solely as a tourist attraction.^[3]

Museum usage

The 17th-century warship Vasa on display in the Vasa Museum

Typically the visitor enters via gangplank, wanders around on the deck, then goes below, usually using the original stairways, giving a sense of how the crew got around. The interior features restored but inactivated equipment, enhanced with mementos including old photographs, explanatory displays, pages from the ship's logs, menus, and the like. Some add recorded sound effects, audio tours or video displays to enhance the experience.

In some cases ships the radio room has been brought back into use, with volunteers operating amateur radio equipment. Often the callsign assigned is a variation on the original identification of the ship. For example, the submarine USS Cobia, which had the call NBQV, is now on the air as NB9QV. The WWII submarine USS Pampanito SS383, berthed at the National Maritime Historic Park in San Francisco, had the wartime call NJVT and is now on the air as NJ6VT. In other cases, such as the USS Missouri, a distinctive call (in this case KH6BB) is used. This radio work not only helps restore part of the vessel, but provides worldwide publicity for the museum ship.

A number of the larger museum ships have begun to offer hosting for weddings, meetings, and other events, sleepovers, and on a few ships still seaworthy, cruises. In the United States, this includes the USS Constitution's annual "turnaround", where the old ship is towed out into the harbor and brought back in facing the other way, so as to weather evenly. A place on the deck is by invitation or lottery only, and highly prized^{[citation needed]}.

Many consider the tourism appeal of an interesting old vessel on the city waterfront strong enough that any port city should showcase one or more museum ships. This may even include building a replica ship at great expense.^[7]

Notable examples

Name	Location	Nationality	Launched	Type	Comments
ARA Presidente Sarmiento	Buenos Aires, Argentina	Argentina	1897	Barque (training ship)	Made thirty seven annual training cruises including six circumnavigations of the globe.
ARA Uruguay	Buenos Aires, Argentina	Argentina	1874	corvette	Built in England, is the largest ship afloat of its age in the Argentine Navy.
BAE Abdón Calderón	Guayaquil, Ecuador	Ecuador	1886	Gunboat	Launched in 1886. In 1941, during the armed conflict with Peru, BAE Abdon Calderón had a successful confrontation with Peruvian destroyer Admiral Villar, a ship that had vastly superior characteristics. Today it is a museum ship in Guayaquil, Ecuador.
HNLMS Abraham Crijnssen	Den Helder, Netherlands	Netherlands	1937	Minesweeper	Escaped from Surabaya, Java during the Japanese invasion in 1942 disguised as a tropical island and reached Australia.
af Chapman	Stockholm, Sweden	Sweden	1888	Full Rigged Ship	A full rigged metal ship, built 1888.
USS Alabama	Mobile, USA	United States	1942	Battleship	Received nine WWII battle stars, later joined by USS Drum.
Aurora	St. Petersburg, Russia	Russia	1900	Protected cruiser	Launched in 1900, survived the Battle of Tsushima and signaled the start of the October Revolution.
Balclutha	San Francisco, USA	United States	1886	Tall ship	Launched in 1886, U.S. National Historic Landmark.
USS Becuna	Philadelphia, USA	United States	1944	Submarine	Launched in January 1944 and received four battle stars during World War II.
HMS Belfast	London, England	United Kingdom	1938	Light cruiser	Only surviving cruiser built during the 1930s. Mined in 1939 and later assisted in the sinking of the battleship Scharnhorst and provided gunfire support on D-Day and during the Korean War.
ORP Błyskawica	Gdynia, Poland	Poland	1936	Destroyer	Oldest surviving destroyer, escaped from Poland just before the German invasion began in 1939.
USS Bowfin	Pearl Harbor, USA	United States	1942	Submarine	Fought in the Pacific Theater of World War II.
HMY Britannia	Edinburgh, Scotland	United Kingdom	1953	Royal Yacht / Hospital ship (designed for potential conversion)	The last British Royal Yacht.
USS Cairo (1861)	Vicksburg, USA	USA	1861	Ironclad warship	Only preserved Union ironclad from the American Civil War, raised in 1964 and reconstructed at Vicksburg National Military Park.
Cap San Diego	Hamburg, Germany	Germany	1962	Bulk carrier	Combination cargo/passenger ship formerly used on the South American run.
MV Cape Don	Sydney, Australia	Australia	1962	Lighthouse tender	She was used to service lighthouse buoys and lightships on the Australian coast.[8]
HMAS Castlemaine	Williamstown, Victoria, Australia	Australia	1941	Corvette	Commissioned in 1942, opened as museum ship in 1973
HMS Cavalier	Chatham, England	United Kingdom	1944	Destroyer	Only preserved British World War II destroyer.
USS Cavalla	Galveston, USA	United States	1943	Submarine	fought in the Pacific Theater of World War II.
INS Chapal (K94)	Karwar, India	India	1976	Missile boat	Commissioned in 1976, it is an example of the type of missile boats used in the Indo-Pakistan War of 1971.
Charles W. Morgan	Mystic Seaport, USA	United States	1841	Whaler	Wooden 19th century whaler, only such U.S. ship remaining.
USS Cobia (SS-225)	Manitowoc, Wisconsin, USA	United States	1943	Submarine	six patrols in the Pacific Theater of World War II.
USS Cod	Cleveland, USA	United States	1943	Submarine	fought in the Pacific Theater of World War II.
USS Constellation	Baltimore, USA	United States	1854	Sloop-of-War	At one point considered one of USS Constitution's sister ships, she is the only surviving ocean-going American Civil War-era warship.
USS Constitution	Boston, USA	United States	1797	Frigate	Oldest commissioned warship afloat.
Cutty Sark	Greenwich, England	United Kingdom	1869	Clipper	Only surviving clipper ship. Heavily damaged by fire in 2007, under restoration to reopen in 2012.[9]
Delfín (S-61)	Torrevieja, Spain	Spain	1973	submarine	Commissioned 1 January 1974, opened as museum ship 8 May 2004.[10]
Dom Fernando II e Glória	Almada, Portugal	Portugal	1843	Frigate	It was built in Daman, Portuguese India, and launched on 22 October 1843. It was the last sailing frigate of Portuguese Navy during is service time (1845–1878).It burnt in 1963 in the river Tagus and remained until 1992 when the restoration process began. In 1998 fully recovered it was part of the exhibit of Expo '98
Drazki	Varna, Bulgaria	Bulgaria	1907	Torpedo boat	The only surviving example of a large steam-powered torpedo boat. Built in 1907, she saw action during the Balkan Wars including a successful torpedo attack on a Turkish cruiser.
Elissa	Galveston, USA	United States	1877	Tall ship	One of the oldest tall ships still active, launched in 1877; U.S. National Historic Landmark.
Enrico Toti (S 506)	Milan, Italy	Italy	1968	Submarine	Completed 1968 - decommissioned 1992 - Museum ship in Milan, named after World War I Italian war hero Enrico Toti.
Falls of Clyde	Honolulu, USA	United States	1878	Full Rigged Ship	World's last surviving iron-hulled, four masted full-rigged ship and worlds only sail-driven oil tanker.
HMS Gannet	Chatham, England	United Kingdom	1878	Sloop-of-war	Only surviving example of a steam-powered sloop.
Georgios Averof	Palaio Faliro, Greece	Greece	1910	Armored cruiser	Former flagship of the Greek Navy. Last surviving armoured cruiser in the world.
Micalvi	Puerto Williams, Chile	Germany , Chile	1925	Transport ship	Museum ship and yacht club. First worked as refuse ship in river Rhine, Germany. Bought in 1928, to transport ammunition for Battleship "Almirante Latorre". Served the settlers and pioneers in remote areas of Chilean Patagonia. She participated in the founding of Puerto Williams.
Gorch Fock	Stralsund, Germany	Germany, Soviet Union ,	1933	Barque	Kriegsmarine school ship scuttled at the end of World War II, raised and re-used by the Soviet Union.
SS Great Britain	Bristol, England	United Kingdom	1843	Ocean liner	A Brunel design, Great Britain was the first ocean-going ship to have screw propeller and an iron hull.
HMCS Haida	Hamilton, Canada	Canada	1942	Destroyer	Tribal class destroyer, one of the most successful ships of World War II.
Hiddensee	Fall River, USA	East Germany	1985	Missile Corvette	The only Russian-designed Tarantul I class on public display in the world.
Hikawa Maru	Yokohama, Japan	Japan	1929	Ocean liner / Hospital ship	One of the few pre-war Japanese merchantmen to survive World War II, she served in the Imperial Japanese Navy as a hospital ship before returning to civilian use after the war.
HNoMS Hitra	Haakonsvern, Norway	Norway	1942	Submarine chaser	Used by the Shetland Bus, a Norwegian special command based in the Shetland Isles during World War II. Owned by the Royal Norwegian Navy Museum in Horten, while sailing under naval command in the summer season.
Holland 1	Gosport, United Kingdom	United Kingdom	1900	Submarine	Laid down in 1900 was the first submarine commissioned by the Royal Navy.
USS Hornet	Alameda, USA	United States	1943	Aircraft carrier	World War II Essex-class aircraft carrier, launched on 30 August 1943. Famous for recovering the capsule of Apollo 11.
Huáscar	Talcahuano, Chile	Peru, Chile ,	1865	Ironclad	Launched in 1865, Huáscar is the oldest surviving ironclad turret ship. She survived a battle with a British squadron in 1877 and played a significant part in the 1879 War of the Pacific, later seized by the Chilean fleet.
USS Intrepid	New York City, USA	United States	1943	Aircraft carrier	World War II Essex-class aircraft carrier, launched on April 26, 1943 and now part of the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum.
USS Iowa	San Pedro, Los Angeles, USA	United States	1942	Battleship	Opened as museum on 7 July 2012.
Jylland	Ebeltoft, Denmark	Denmark	1860	Screw frigate	Veteran of the Battle of Heligoland, she is the last surviving wooden screw frigate.
INS Kursura (S20)	Visakhapatnam, India	India	1969	Submarine	Commissioned on December 18, 1969, it was one of the first submarines to serve in the Indian Navy. It was deployed during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.
USS Laffey	Charleston, USA	United States	1943	Destroyer	Hit by four bombs and six kamikazes off Okinawa, earning the nickname "The Ship That Wouldn't Die".
SMS Leitha	Budapest, Hungary	Austro-Hungarian Empire	1871	Monitor	The only surviving Austro-Hungarian warship, launched in 1871.
USS Lexington	Corpus Christi, USA	United States	1942	Aircraft carrier	Served in World War II and subsequently served as a training ship for three decades' worth of US Navy air crews. Lexington is the oldest surviving aircraft carrier still intact.
Lo Yang (DD-14)	Cijin District, Kaohsiung City, Taiwan	Republic of China	1944	Destroyer	Launched on 25 January 1944 as USS Taussig (DD-746).
Mary Rose	Portsmouth, England	United Kingdom	1511	Carrack	Built 1510-12, she was one of the earliest purpose-built warships to serve in the Royal Navy. Sank in 1545 and raised in 1982.
USS Massachusetts	Fall River, USA	United States	1941	Battleship	Served in World War II.
USS Midway	San Diego, USA	United States	1945	Aircraft carrier	Served from 1946 to Desert Storm.
Mikasa	Yokosuka, Japan	Japan	1902	Battleship	Last surviving pre-dreadnought battleship. Admiral Togo's flagship at the Battle of Tsushima.
Minsk	Shenzhen, China	Soviet Union	1975	Aircraft carrier
USS Missouri	Pearl Harbor, USA	United States	1944	Battleship	Site of the Japanese surrender ceremony that ended World War II.
HTMS Maeklong	Samut Prakan province, Thailand	Thailand	1935	Corvette	The longest serving ship in the Thai Royal Navy, sixty years from 1937.
USS Nautilus	Groton, USA	United States	1954	Submarine	World's first nuclear-powered vessel.
Nazario Sauro (S 518)	Genoa, Italy	Italy	1976	Submarine	Decommissioned 2002; since September 2009 has been a museum ship in Genoa.
BAP Abtao (SS-42)	El Callao, Peru	Peru	1954	Submarine	The submarine was decommissioned in 1998 and became a museum ship in 2004.
USS New Jersey	Camden, USA	United States	1942	Battleship	One of the longest-serving warships of the twentieth century. Most decorated battleship.
SS Nomadic	Harland and Wolff, Belfast, United Kingdom	United Kingdom	1911	Tender	Commissioned in 1911 and built to tender the RMS Olympic and the RMS Titanic in Cherbourg. Opened as museum ship 2012. She is the only ship built by the White Star Line still afloat.
RAM Poderoso	Talcahuano, Chile	Chile	1911	Tug	Now half destroyed by the earthquake and tsunami of February 27, 2010. There are proposals to recover to her previous condition of museum ship..
USS North Carolina	Wilmington, USA	United States	1940	Battleship	Served in every post-Midway campaign of the Pacific Theater during World War II.
HMS Ocelot	Chatham, England	United Kingdom	1962	Submarine	Was the last submarine built for the Royal Navy at historic Royal Dockyard in Chatham.
USS Olympia	Philadelphia, USA	United States	1892	Protected cruiser	Commodore Dewey's flagship during the Battle of Manila Bay. Only surviving ship from the Spanish-American War and from the Great White Fleet.
HMS Onyx	Barrow-in-Furness, United Kingdom	United Kingdom	1966	Submarine	The only non-nuclear submarine of the Royal Navy to take part in the Falklands War.
USS Pampanito	San Francisco, USA	United States	1943	Submarine	Launched in January 1943 and completed six war patrols from 1944 to 1945 and served as a Naval Reserve Training ship from 1960 to 1971. Currently at Fisherman's wharf in San Francisco.
Passat	Travemünde, Germany	Germany	1911	Barque	Four-masted flying P-Liner, sister ship of Pamir.
Peking	New York City, USA	United States	1911	Barque	Four-masted flying P-Liner.
Pommern	Mariehamn, Åland	Finland	1903	Barque	Four-masted flying P-Liner and the world's last four-masted steel barque still in original condition as a cargo ship.
USS Pueblo	Pyongyang, North Korea	United States	1944	Technical research ship	Captured by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in 1968.
RMS Queen Mary	Long Beach, USA	United Kingdom	1934	Ocean Liner	Famous Cunard liner. Now a museum, with its first-class staterooms used as hotel rooms; used frequently for film and television.
HNoMS Rap	Horten, Norway	Norway	1873	Torpedo boat	One of the first torpedo craft, a class of warship that revolutionized naval warfare during the late nineteenth century.
HMCS Sackville	Halifax, Canada	Canada	1941	Corvette	Flower class convoy escort. Last surviving example of one of the most important ship classes of World War Two.
USS Salem	Quincy, USA	United States	1947	Heavy cruiser	Only surviving example of a heavy cruiser.
USS Slater	Albany, USA	United States	1944	Destroyer escort	Currently the only museum ship of this type afloat in North America.
HMS Småland	Gothenburg, Sweden	Sweden	1956	Destroyer	Launched in 1956, the Småland became one of the first destroyers to carry missiles as part of her armament.
Star of India	San Diego, USA	United Kingdom, United States ,	1863	Tall ship	One of the oldest tall ships still active, the Star of India was launched in 1863. U.S. National Historic Landmark
Sundowner	Ramsgate, England	United Kingdom	1912	Pinnace	Built as a steam launch for the Royal Navy, later purchased by Charles Lightoller, Second Officer of the Titanic. Participated in the evacuation of Dunkirk.
USCGC Taney	Baltimore, USA	United States	1936	Cutter	One of only two U.S. ships still afloat that were present at the Pearl Harbor attack, the other being the harbor tug USS Hoga.
USS Texas	Houston, USA	United States	1912	Battleship	Oldest surviving dreadnought battleship. Served in Veracruz Expedition, WWI, and WWII. Berthed in the San Jacinto Monument Historic Park.
USS Torsk	Baltimore, USA	United States	1944	Submarine	The last U.S. Navy ship to sink an enemy ship in World War II..
HMS Trincomalee	Hartlepool, England	United Kingdom	1817	Frigate	The oldest British warship still afloat.
HMS Unicorn	Dundee, Scotland	United Kingdom	1824	Frigate	Only example of a wooden frigate 'in ordinary', or in a reserve fleet.
German submarine U-505	Chicago, USA	Germany	1941	Submarine	Type IXC U-boat captured by the United States Navy in 1944.
U-534	Birkenhead, England	Germany	1942	Submarine	Type IXC sunk 3 May 1945 in the Baltic and raised in 1993. It is now displayed in sections at the Woodside terminal of the Mersey Ferries at Birkenhead.[11]
U-995	Laboe, Germany	Germany, Norway ,	1943	Submarine	Only remaining Type VIIC/41 U-boat. After World War Two she became the Norwegian KNM Kaura.
Wilhelm Bauer (U-2540)	Bremerhaven, Germany	Germany	1945	Submarine	Only remaining Type XXI U-boat. After World War Two she was raised from the Baltic Sea and renamed Wilhelm Bauer.
HMAS Vampire	Sydney, Australia	Australia	1956	Destroyer	Largest warship preserved in the Southern Hemisphere.
Vasa	Stockholm, Sweden	Sweden	1627	Galleon	The world's only almost fully preserved 17th century warship. Sank on her maiden voyage in 1628 and salvaged in 1961.
INS Vela (S40)	Tamil Nadu, India	India	1973	Submarine	Commissioned in 1973, it was one of the first submarines to serve in the Indian Navy.
HMAS Onslow	Darling Harbour, Sydney, Australia	Australia	1968	Submarine	One of six Oberon class submarines operated by the Royal Australian Navy.
O'Brien	Valdivia, Chile	Chile	1972	Submarine	.
HMS Victory	Portsmouth, England	United Kingdom	1765	Ship of the line	Nelson's flagship at Trafalgar. Remains the flagship of the Royal Navy, and is the oldest ship in commission in any navy.
INS Vikrant	Mumbai, India	India, United Kingdom ,	1945	Aircraft carrier	Commissioned on 4 March 1961, the carrier served the Indian Navy until 31 January 1997, and played a key role in the blockade of East Pakistan during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.
HMS Warrior	Portsmouth, England	United Kingdom	1860	Armored Frigate	Launched in 1860, Warrior was the first ocean-going iron hulled ship of its type.
USS Wisconsin	Norfolk, USA	United States	1943	Battleship	Served in various conflicts since World War II.
USS Yorktown	Mount Pleasant, USA	United States	1943	Aircraft carrier	Launched on 21 January 1943 and served throughout the Pacific during World War II
Zhongshan	Jiangxia District, Wuhan, People's Republic of China	Republic of China	1913	Gunboat	Launched in 1913, sunk in the Battle of Wuhan in 1938
HMCS Bras d'Or (FHE 400)	L'Islet-sur-Mer, Canada	Canada	1968	Hydrofoil	One of the first hydrofoils in naval service.

References

Further reading

• Aymar, B. (1967). A pictorial treasury of the marine museums of the world; A guide to the maritime collections, restorations, replicas, and marine museums in twenty-three countries. New York: Crown.
• Evans, M. H., & West, J. (1998). Maritime museums: A guide to the collections and museum ships in Britain and Ireland. London: Chatham Pub.
• Stammers, M. (1978). Discovering maritime museums and historic ships. Discovering series, no. 228. Aylesbury [England]: Shire Publications
• Sullivan, D. (1978). Old ships, boats & maritime museums. London: Coracle Books.
• Heidbrink, I. (1994). Schrott oder Kulturgut. Zur Bewertung historischer Wasserfahrzeuge aus der Perspektive des Historikers. Bestandserfassung - Bewertung - quellengerechte Erhaltung. Lage / Lippe: Fritz Heidbrink.

External links

• Historic Naval Ship Visitors' Guide (from the international Historic Naval Ships Association website)