A detailed listing of our Naval Battleships per individual state in the USA. Additionally, which ships are available for overnight stays. * Note stay Overnight |
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| Boat Signal flags | Boat Signal Flags, Numbers, Letters and ensigns and more |
| Alabama Top Battleship page | |
| USS LST-325 Chickasaw, Al |
During World War II, USS LST-325 was assigned to the European Theater and participated in the Sicilian occupation in July 1943 and the invasion of Normandy in June 1944. She was decommissioned on July 2, 1946 and struck from the Navy list on September 1, 1961. She earned two battle stars for her World War II service |
| USS Alabama * Mobile, Al |
USS Alabama began her combat service augmenting the British Fleet protecting convoys on the "Murmansk Run" from England through the North Sea to Russia against German warships and aircraft. The ship transferred to the Pacific Fleet in August 1943, and earned 9 battle stars providing gunfire support for amphibious assaults on Japanese-held islands and protecting carrier task forces from air and surface attack. Alabama was credited with shooting down 22 Japanese planes. Her radar was the first to detect enemy bombers in the Battle of the Philippine Sea, at the unprecedented range of 190 miles. This warning enabled U.S. fighters and anti-aircraft gunners to destroy over 400 Japanese planes. Decommissioned in 1947, Alabama was "mothballed" in Bremerton, Washington until 1964, when she was transferred to the State of Alabama and towed 5,600 miles to become a memorial in Mobile |
| USS Drum * Mobile, Al |
USS Drum was among the first fleet boats in combat. On her first war patrol from Pearl Harbor in April 1942, she sank the Japanese Navy seaplane tender Mizuho and three merchant ships. That year she made two more patrols, sinking three and damaging three ships. In 1943, she damaged the Japanese carrier Ryuho, sank three merchant ships and damaged another on her 4th through 8th patrols; receiving heavy damage from escort ships. On her 9th through 12th patrols in 1944, she sank four merchantmen. On her 13th patrol, she provided pilot rescue and reconnaissance support. Drum's 15 sinkings, displacing 80,580 tons, rank her 20th in ships and 8th in tonnage among U.S. submarines. After earning 12 battle stars for her World War II service, Drum conducted training operations until being transferred to the State of Alabama and towed from Norfolk, Va. to join the battleship Alabama at the Park on July 4, 1969. She was moved to a permanent berth ashore in 2001. |
| PBR MK II * Mobile, Al |
The Patrol Boat Riverine (PBR) was one of the most recognizable weapons of the Vietnam War. Designed to operate in water depths of less than two feet, the 9 ton displacement PBR of the Brown Water Navy ran at speeds in excess of 35 knots and could turn 180 degrees in its own 31 foot length. Its fiberglass hull and twin diesel water-jet-pump propulsion system, laden with three 50 caliber machine guns, and other weapons, provided the perfect platform to perform enemy supply interdictions and other covert operations in the Mekong Delta. |
| California Top Battleship page | |
| USS Hornet * Alameda, Ca |
The veteran Essex-class carrier USS Hornet (CV-12, CVA-12, CVS-12) is the eighth and most distinguished namesake in a long line of U.S. Navy warships with proud naval histories, beginning with the first Hornet in 1775. Second Hornet took the Marines "to the shores of Tripoli" in 1805. Third Hornet, under the legendary Captain Lawrence, sank the British warships Peacock and Penguin in the War of 1812. Seventh Hornet (CV-8) took the Doolittle Raiders to Tokyo, helped with the Battle of Midway, and was sunk in October 1942, defending Guadalcanal in the Battle of Santa Cruz |
| Steam Yacht Medea San Diego, Ca Maritime Museum of San Diego |
Steam Yacht Medea was built for William Macalister Hall of Torrisdale Castle, Scotland, who used her mainly for social occasions and hunting excursions around the islands and lochs of western Scotland. In 1917 the French Navy purchased her. Renamed Corneille, she spent the remainder of World War I as a convoy escort for French sailing ships. |
| USS Midway San Diego, Ca |
The 47-year odyssey of the USS Midway is like no other. Only the Midway stood in the crosscurrent of every international crisis in the latter half of the 20th century. Midway guarded the underbelly of NATO in the Mediterranean at the dawn of the Cold War before transferring to the Pacific Fleet in the early 1950s. |
| SS Jeremiah O'Brien San Francisco, Ca National Liberty Ship Memorial |
One of two surviving Liberty ships preserved in the United States, Jeremiah O'Brien is the last unaltered Liberty. The ship is a product of an emergency shipbuilding program of World War II that resulted in the construction of more than 2,700 Liberty ships. Designed as cheap and quickly built simple cargo steamers, the Liberty ships formed the backbone of a massive sealift of troops, arms, material, and ordnance to every theater of the war. Jeremiah O'Brien made wartime voyages between the east coast, Canada, and the United Kingdom, to South America, Australia, and the Philippines. From June until December 1944, O'Brien made 11 trips between the United Kingdom and Normandy in support of the D-Day invasion, including a trip from Belfast, Ireland, to Normandy with troops from Patton's Fifth Division. |
| USS Pampanito * San Francisco, Ca |
One of the best restored World War II fleet boats, Pampanito earned six battle stars for her World War II service in the Pacific, sinking five vessels with a total tonnage of 27,332 tons. Her biggest day came on September 12, 1944, when she and two other submarines surprised an 11-ship convoy and sank seven vessels. Later, Pampanito rescued more than 73 Allied prisoners of war who had been carried aboard the enemy transports unbeknown to the submariners. |
| USS Potomac Oakland, Ca The Presidential Yacht Potomac |
Completed in October 1934 as the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Electra, the ship was taken over by the Navy in November 1935, and renamed USS Potomac in January 1936. She served as President Franklin Roosevelt's presidential yacht from 1936 to the time of his death in April 1945. President Roosevelt spent many delightful hours on her decks cruising the Potomac River near Washington. He cruised nearly 50 times per year in the years preceding World War II. The ship provided a welcome escape from the enormous pressures of public life |
| Lightship Relief Oakland, Ca |
Lightship 605 - now called Relief - is one of six all-welded lightships constructed for the U.S. Coast Guard. She served for 25 years as a floating lighthouse, landfall and communications platform. Her first duty station was as Overfalls lightship station off Delaware. In 1959, she was transferred to the Blunts (reef) station off Cape Mendocino, California. In 1969, she became Relief, relieving all West Coast lightships when they left station for overhaul. She was decommissioned by the Coast Guard in 1975, and given to the City of Olympia, Washington. |
| SS Red Oak Victory Richmond, Ca |
SS Red Oak Victory was acquired by the U.S. Navy from the U.S. Maritime Commission on December 5, 1944. Following a fitting out period, she was loaded with cargo and departed San Francisco for Pearl Harbor on January 10, 1945. She then began her career as an ammunition ship and departed Hawaii loaded with munitions needed in the Marshall and Caroline Islands. She arrived in Ulithi on February 28, 1945, and commenced operating under Commander Service Squadron Ten. Operating out of the Philippines, she issued cargo ammunition to various ships in the fleet through the end of the war in August 1945. During her hazardous tour of duty in the Pacific, USS Red Oak Victory handled many tons of ammunition, supplying the fleet without a single casualty. She was returned to the U.S. Maritime Commission in June 1946. |
| SS Lane Victory San Pedro, Ca |
SS Lane Victory began her first wartime journey on June 27, 1945, in the closing stages of World War II in the Pacific. She went on to serve with distinction in both the Korean and Vietnam conflicts. During the Korean War, Lane Victory's moment of glory came in December 1950, during the evacation of Korean civilians and United Nations personnel from Wonsan. As the cruiser Saint Paul and destroyers laid down a covering fire, Lane Victory offloaded troops, vehicles and cargo. She then evacuated 7,010 men, women and children, taking them south to safety. When they arrived, 7,011 got off the ship....a baby had been born during the voyage. |
| Connecticut Top Battleship page | |
| USCG Boat Icebucket Bridgeport, Ct |
The name Icebucket was given to the boat by The Glacier Society. When in the service of the Coast Guard, it was known simply as ASB 39020. Arctic survey boats such as Icebucket were carried aboard icebreakers to conduct cold climate surveys, take depth soundings ahead of the ship, assist in rescue operations, ferry personnel from ship to shore and serve as a life boat. Icebucket is constructed of a single skin glass-reinforced hull. It has a reinforced bow for minor icebreaking and a reinforced belt around the waterline for protection against ice fields. Diesel-powered, it has a maximum speed of 10 knots and a range of 320 miles. The normal crew is six people. |
| Japanese HA-8 Groton, Ct |
The Japanese began developing midget submarines in the early 1930s. The Type "A" was perhaps the most advanced midget submarine in service with any navy during World War II. They were designed to be carried into a forward area by specially configured surface ships or submarines. Five Type "A" subs were involved in the attack on Pearl Harbor, but all were lost. The HA-19 struck a reef and drifted ashore. Her commanding officer was captured and became the first Japanese prisoner of war. |
| USS Nautilus Groton, Ct |
USS Nautilus was the world's first nuclear-powered submarine. Her propulsion system was a landmark in the history of naval engineering and submersible craft. All vessels previously known as "submarines" were in fact only submersible craft. Nautilus' nuclear plant enabled the boat to remain submerged for weeks, even months. Thus Nautilus was the world's first true submarine. Nautilus demonstrated her capabilities in 1958 when she sailed beneath the Arctic icepack to the North Pole and broadcast the famous message "Nautilus 90 North." Scores of nuclear submarines followed Nautilus, replacing the United States' diesel boat fleet. During her long career Nautilus established many historic firsts. She was decommissioned in 1980. The boat is now open to the public in Groton, Connecticut, where many of America's submarines, including Nautilus, have been built since the early 1930s. |
| Italian Siluro a Lenta Corsa Groton, Ct |
The Italian submersible Siluro a Lenta Corsa, translated as "slow running torpedo", was used during World War II for commando operations. To maintain secrecy, the submersible was developed at a remote farm site, and was nicknamed Maiale ("pig"). It had electric propulsion and joystick steering. Launched from a larger submarine, it’s two-man crew in scuba gear maneuvered from the open cockpit. Once near the target ship, they would attach explosives with a timed fuse. Despite their small size, these all-battery-propelled Siluro A Lenta Corsas achieved effective results early in the war against British ships at Gibraltar, Spain and Alexandria, Egypt. |
| Auxilliary Schooner Brilliant Mystic, Ct |
Auxiliary schooner Brilliant is one of the finest wooden boats of her size ever built in the United States. She crossed the Atlantic in 1933, sailing from the Nantucket Lightship to Bishop's Rock in the record time of 15 days, one hour and 23 minutes. She has participated in several Bermuda races and transatlantic voyages. During World War II she served with the Coast Guard as an anti-submarine patrol vessel. In 1946, she was restored as a yacht by Briggs S. Cunningham, who gave her to the Museum in 1953. |
| USCGC Eagle New London, Ct |
USCGC Eagle is the only active commissioned sailing vessel in the U.S. Maritime services. She is one of five such training barques in the world. Her sister ships are Mirlea of Romania, Sagres II of Portugal, Gorch Folk of Germany, and Tovarich of Russia |
| USS X-1 Groton, Ct |
USS X 1, the U.S. Navy's only midget submarine, was built by the Engine Division of Fairfield Engine and Airplane Corporation. It served for research and testing to assist the Navy in evaluating its ability to defend harbors against other small submarines. The tests helped to determine the offensive capabilities and limitations of this type of submersible. It was originally powered by a hydrogen peroxide/diesel engine and battery system. However, an explosion of its fuel supply in May 1957 resulted in its conversion to diesel-electric drive. |
| District Of Columbia Top Battleship page | |
| USS Barry Washington |
USS Barry is one of only three remaining Forrest Shermans. She is the third ship to bear the name of the illustrious Revolutionary War naval hero, Commodore John Barry. She supported the 1958 Marine and Army airborne unit landing in Beirut, Lebanon. In 1962, she was a member of the task force that quarantined Cuba in response to evidence that Soviet missiles had been installed on the island. |
| LCVP |
By the end of World War II, the U.S. had produced over 22,000 LCVPs (Landing Craft Personnel Vehicles) to the standard design of Higgins Industries of New Orleans, Louisiana. As an expendable item, many were disposed of overseas or declared surplus after the war. During the Korean War the LCVP was called upon to perform a variety of tasks, from amphibious support to mine clearing. Today only a few of these workhorses of the Navy still exist. This boat was found in California. With parts from another which had sunk in Baltimore Harbor, it was restored by the Naval Historical Center Detachment, Boston. |
| Motor Whaleboat |
This World War II vintage wooden motor whaleboat was also the standard shipboard small boat of the Korean War. Of the thousands made by the Navy, only a small number survive today. These boats saw service in special operations along the coast of Korea, as well as daily utility work transporting personnel and as lifeboats |
| PCF-1 | The Patrol Craft Fast (PCF) or "Swift Boat" as it was affectionately known, was adapted from a commercial design manufactured by Sewart Seacraft of Louisiana. The original boats transported workers to the offshore drilling rigs in the Gulf of Mexico. Adapted for military use, these aluminum-hulled boats proved to be very useful in the near-shore, river, and bay war of South Vietnam. One of the machine guns is strapped atop the mortar, an arrangement devised by a Coast Guard warrant officer. |
| Continental Gunboat Philadelphia, |
This is at the Smithsonian Institution.Continental gunboat Philadelphia is the only surviving gunboat built and manned by American Forces during the Revolutionary War. Part of a hastily constructed fleet, she is one of 15 small craft with which Benedict Arnold fought 29 British vessels off Valcour Island in Lake Champlain in October 1776. |
| RV Trieste | Trieste was built in 1953, by Swiss professor, scientist and explorer August Piccard. His son Jacques later worked with him on over 100 test dives, 26 of which were financed by the U.S. Navy. Trieste was purchased by the Navy in 1958. In 1960, she made her record-breaking dive. She dove 35,800 feet near the Marianas Islands. Three years later, Trieste located the remains of the lost submarines USS Thresher and USS Scorpion. She was changed, improved and redesigned so many times that almost no original parts remain. |
| Florida Top Battleship page | |
| SS American Victory Tampa, Fl |
SS American Victory was named after American University in Washington, D.C., to honor the school's contributions to war training and weapons research during both WW I and WW II. From June until September 1945, she carried ammunition and other cargo from U.S. West Coast ports to Southeast Asia. She ferried cargo, equipment and troops back to the U.S. after the war ended. |
| PBR Mark II Orlando, Fl |
The PBR (Patrol Boat River) formed the cornerstone of U.S. Navy strategy during the Vietnam War. At the height of the American involvement, over 290 of these remarkably versatile craft patrolled the intricate waterways of the Mekong Delta |
| Georgia Top Battleship page | |
| CSS Chattahoochee Columbus, Ga |
A 30-foot section of the stern and steam engines of the Confederate gunboat Chattahoochee were recovered from her namesake river in 1964 where the vessel was scuttled by Confederate forces in 1865. |
| CSS Jackson Columbus, Ga |
One of the prime exhibits of Port Columbus is the hull of the ironclad ram Jackson which was designed as an armored, steam-powered ram for river and coast defense |
| Hawaii Top Battleship page | |
| USS Arizona Honolulu, Hi |
Built as part of America's pre-World War I modernization of the Navy, Arizona began her career as a gunnery training ship and cruised the coastal waters of the Atlantic Seaboard prior to the United States' entry into the war. |
| USS Bowfin Submarine
Museum & Park Honolulu, Hi |
Launched on the first anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, Bowfin completed nine war patrols in two years of wartime duty. One of the top-scoring U.S. submarines of World War II, Bowfin is credited with sinking 16 Japanese vessels with a total tonnage of 67,882 tons. |
| Japanese Kaiten |
Honolulu, Hawaii The design for the Japanese Kaiten was originally based on the highly successful surface-launched Type 93 "Long Lance" torpedo. |
| USS Missouri * Honolulu, Hi |
USS Missouri is the youngest of the four magnificent Iowa class battleships built by the United States. These battleships were extensively upgraded several times during their half century of naval service. During World War II, Missouri participated in the invasions of Iwo Jima and Okinawa, screened task force 58 during air strikes against Japan and served as Admiral William F. Halsey's flagship. |
| USS Utah Honolulu, Hi |
Utah's career as both a battleship and target ship spanned three decades and included nationally significant service with international implications, including the American landings at Veracruz, Mexico in 1914, and World War I service. Utah's alteration from battleship to auxiliary ship (target and gunnery training) because of conditions dictated by the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922 was part of a disarmament program with a considerable impact on the U.S. Navy, as well as many other nations' navies. Japanese disappointment over the Treaty contributed to sentiments leading to the outbreak of World War II. |
| Illinois Top Battleship page | |
| German
U-505 Chicago, Illinois |
Operating from Lorient, France, the U-505 was credited with sinking 47,000 tons of allied shipping, including three American ships. As a long-range boat based in the South Atlantic, the U-505 operated in areas such as the waters off Freetown, West Africa, the Panama Canal, Columbia, and Trinidad. During a transit to Trinidad, U-505 was surprised by a British aircraft that dropped three bombs, scoring one direct hit aft of the conning tower. After making emergency repairs, U-505 spent the next month returning home. U-505 earned the distinction of being the most heavily damaged U-boat ever to return home and re-enter service. The second of the three captains assigned to U-505 during the war committed suicide in the conning tower during a heavy depth charge attack, leaving the crew to regain control and find their own way home. |
| Iowa Top Battleship page | |
| USACOE Dredge William
M. Black Dubuque, Ia |
The dredge William M. Black is one of a handful of steam-powered side-wheelers in the U.S. and one of only four surviving unmodified historic U.S. Army Corps of Engineers river dredges. She was used to complete the navigable channel on the Missouri River, making it possible to use the river for shipping wartime supplies during World War II. She moved large amounts of sediment using streams of water and an enormous suction pump. She is called a dustpan dredge because the shape of the suction head is similar to a common dustpan. |
| Louisiana Top Battleship page | |
| USSKIDD & Veterans Memorial Baton Rouge, La |
Representative of the Fletcher class destroyers that formed the backbone of U.S. destroyer forces in World War II, USS Kidd is named for Rear Admiral Isaac C. Kidd, who was killed aboard his flagship, USS Arizona, when the Japanese struck Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Kidd saw heavy action in World War II, participating in nearly every important naval campaign in the Pacific, winning eight battle stars. Kidd and her crew fought gallantly during the invasion of the Gilbert and Marshall Islands, the Philippines at Leyte Gulf, and off Okinawa, where she survived a kamikaze attack. In 1951, the destroyer was deployed to Korean waters, where it won another four battle stars for service. |
| Maryland Top Battleship page | |
| Lightship Chesapeake * Baltimore, Md |
Lightship 116 - now called Chesapeake - was built for the U.S. Lighthouse Service in 1930. For the next 40 years, she served as a floating lighthouse, landfall and communications platform. Her first duty station was Fenwick Island, Delaware. In 1933, she first assumed the name Chesapeake, from her new position off the coast of Virginia at the entrance to Chesapeake Bay. She was redesignated WAL 538 in 1939, when the Lighthouse Service was absorbed by the U.S. Coast Guard. |
| USS Constellation Baltimore, Md |
Constellation bears the same name as the famous frigate of 1797 which was broken up at the same time this ship was being built. Constellation's first duty assignment was interdicting the slave trade off the coast of Africa. She captured two slavers and released the imprisoned slaves. At the outbreak of the Civil War, she made the first Union Navy capture, overpowering Triton, a slaver brig in coastal waters off Africa. She then spent two years on the Mediterranean station attempting to capture the Confederate commerce raider Sumter. She also served briefly with Farragut's Gulf Blockading Squadron. |
| SS John W. Brown * Baltimore, Md |
One of only two surviving fully operational Liberty ships preserved in the U.S., the is a product of the Emergency Shipbuilding Program that built more than 2,700 liberty ships during World War II. Designed for quick and relatively easy construction, Liberty ships made possible the massive sealift of troops, arms, and material to all theaters of the war. The Brown was built in 56 days by the Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard in Baltimore. |
| USCGC Taney
* Baltimore, Md |
USCGC Taney is the only surviving warship left afloat that was present in Hawaii on December 7, 1941, when the Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor was attacked. One of two preserved Secretary class cutters, considered the most successful class of large Coast Guard-built cutters, Taney had duty in the Pacific prior to World War II. After serving in the Pacific, the cutter was sent into the Atlantic for convoy duty in 1944. Returning to the Pacific in 1945, Taney participated in the Okinawa Campaign and the occupation of Japan. |
| USS Torsk * Baltimore, Md |
USS Torsk is an example of the Tench class submarine, a late war program by the U.S. Navy to improve the highly successful Gato and Balao class boats. Only ten Tench class boats were commissioned in time to fight in World War II. USS Torsk fired the last two torpedoes of the war, sinking Japanese Coastal Defense Craft No. 13 and No. 47 on August, 14, 1945. The sinkings of these last Japanese ships of the war completed the Navy's mission, begun on December 7, 1941, to sweep the seas of Japanese merchant vessels and warships. |
| Massachusetts Top Battleship page | |
| USS
Cassin Young Boston, Ma |
Representative of 14 Fletcher class destroyers built at the Charlestown Navy Yard, USS Cassin Young exemplifies the intense military-industrial effort that greatly contributed to the Allied victory in World War II. Named for a winner of the Congressional Medal of Honor, Cassin Young first saw action in the Pacific in April 1944. The ship rescued some 120 survivors of the stricken carrier USS Princeton in October 1944, and carries a commemorative plaque presented by those grateful sailors. But it was on the picket line off Okinawa that she truly distinguished herself, surviving two separate hits by Japanese kamikazes. Although the second attack, on July 30, 1945, killed 22 and wounded twice as many and totally disabled the ship, the heroic efforts of her crew saved the ship. |
| USS Constitution Boston, Ma |
Old Ironsides" is the oldest commissioned warship afloat. USS Constitution is one of six ships ordered by President George Washington to protect America's growing maritime interests in the 1790s. Constitution soon earned widespread renown for her ability to punish French privateers in the Caribbean and thwart the Barbary pirates in the Mediterranean. The ship's greatest glory came during the War of 1812 when she defeated four British frigates. During the battle against the HMS Guerriere, seamen watched British cannon balls bounce off her 21-inch thick oak sides, earning the vessel her famous nickname |
| Tug Luna Boston, Ma |
Luna was the first diesel-electric vessel in the world built for a commercial tugboat company. Using diesel engines to power an electric drive was a revolution that brought a dramatic improvement to a tugboat's efficiency and maneuverability. Luna's colorful career spanned over 40 years, covering an important period in the commercial development of Boston Harbor. She is believed to be the last full-sized wood-hulled harbor tug on the Gulf and Atlantic coasts. |
| Hiddensee Fall River, Ma |
The second of five ships purchased from the U.S.S.R. by the German Democratic Republic Navy (East Germany), she was originally commissioned as Rudolph Engelhofer. This vessel had a significant coastal defense mission. Tactics dictated that she would attack any naval threat to the East German coast with her large and long-range STYX antiship cruise missiles. Significant defensive armament and systems were intended to ensure survivability and success in this role. Among the many well engineered systems aboard the vessel are the use of maintenance-free titanium plumbing, an extensive magnetic silencing system, and her light-weight construction. These systems, her high speed, and her overall good design, ensured that she was well configured for her mission. |
| USS Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr Fall River, Ma |
USS Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. is a World War II Gearing class destroyer. Although none of the Gearing class were built in time to see much combat, they represented the ultimate stage in World War II American destroyer design. Knowledge gained from the construction of the previous Fletcher and Allen M. Sumner classes was incorporated into the design of the Gearing destroyers, all of which remained in service after the war. Most of the Gearing destroyers were ultimately subjected to FRAM reconstruction and modernization, and many were converted into specialized antisubmarine warfare ships. |
| USS Lionfish Fall River, Ma |
USS Lionfish is an intact example of the standard fleet boat of the Balao class that played an important role in the war against Japan. Lionfish made two patrols in the Pacific during the war, receiving one battle star for her service. Late-war submarines were deployed off the coast of Japan as a cordon of "lifeguards" rescuing fliers who splashed after bombing the Japanese home islands. In this capacity Lionfish rescued the crew of a B-29. |
| USS Massachusetts Fall River, Ma |
One of two surviving South Dakota class battleships built by the United States in preparation for war, should it come, Massachusetts saw action in both the European and Pacific theaters. The ship fired the first and last American 16-inch shells of World War II. The first was fired in November 1942 during the invasion of North Africa; the last during a bombardment of Honshu in 1945. Massachusetts slugged it out with the incomplete French battleship Jean Bart at Casablanca in one of the few engagements between capital ships during World War II. At the war's end, Massachusetts had earned 14 battle stars for her combat service. |
| PT 617 Fall River, Ma |
PT-617 was assigned to Patrol Torpedo Boat Squadron 42,the only squaron commissioned after the end of World War II. Although designated for Pacific Fleet duty, PT-617 never deployed. She participated in the Victory Loan Bond Drive in October 1945. PT-617 was restored to her WW II configuration by WW II PT Boats Museum and Archives, the national organization of patrol torpedo boat veterans. Rebuilding was a five-year project culminating with a rechristening ceremony in August 1985. |
| PT 796 Fall River, Ma |
Although never assigned to a World War II Patrol Torpedo Boat Squadron, PT-796 patrolled the Caribbean and East Coast waters and was temporarily part of post war Squadron 1. In 1961, despite the fact that PT-109 was an Elco-built boat, PT-796 stood in for President John F. Kennedy's boat in his inaugural parade. |
| USS Salem * Quincy, Ma |
USS Salem is the third and last ship of the Des Moines class of heavy cruisers. She is comparable in size to some of the famous dreadnoughts of World War I. Her tremendous firepower is perhaps Salem's most important feature. The main battery of nine 8-inch guns were loaded automatically from the ammunition handling rooms to the gun muzzles. They were capable of firing at a rate nearly four times faster than any others of the same or larger caliber. |
| German Seehund * Quincy, Ma |
The Seehund (seal) was the most successful of several Nazi attempts to perfect a midget submarine. Operated by two men and carrying two underslung torpedoes, the Seehund was used very effectively in the waning months of World War II, sinking over 120,000 tons of allied shipping. Their small size and rapid evasive action made them virtually undetectable and depth charges seemed to bounce off of their resilient hulls. In the final months of the war, the Seehunds were used as "butter boats", to replenish the dwindling supplies of German garrisons stranded along the coast. |
| Michigan Top Battleship page | |
| SS City Of Milwaukee Manistee, Mi |
SS City of Milwaukee is the sole surviving example of a pre-1940, "classic" period Great Lakes car ferry. She is in nearly original configuration with only minor changes. She still features her original triple expansion steam engines and scotch boilers. She was involved in crosslake train car ferry service all of her working life, from 1931 to 1982. She is closely associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the maritime history of the Great Lakes region |
| USCGC McLane * Muskegon, Mi |
USCGC McLane was authorized during Calvin Coolidge's administration as one of a class of 33 "Rum Chasers" for use during prohibition. She and her sisters were the last military vessels built for the U.S. Government that carried an auxiliary sail rig. Until the onset of World War II, McLane was based at a number of West Coast stations. |
| SS Milwaukee Clipper Muskegon, Mi |
The oldest American passenger steamship on the Great Lakes, the Milwaukee Clipper was built as the Juniata to carry passengers and freight. Her quadruple-expansion steam engine is one of the few surviving examples of this important engine type. In 1940 she was rebuilt as the Clipper. The entire ship reflected the new aesthetic streamlining of the Art Moderne style. Many design elements introduced in the Clipper are still being included in modern ocean-going passenger ships. The rebuilt ship served the route between Milwaukee, Wisconsin and Muskegon, Michigan from 1941 to 1970. |
| USS Silversides * Muskegon, Mi |
USS Silversides was commissioned into the U.S. Navy eight days after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor. During World War II, the submarine served in the Pacific Fleet along Japan's coasts, in the East China Sea, and through key enemy shipping routes around the Marianas, Carolines, Bismarck Archipelago, and along the Solomons to Guadacanal. Its mission was to stop raw materials and supplies -- oil, bauxite, rubber, coal, food, and iron ore -- from reaching Japan. Silversides completed 14 war patrols and sank 23 ships, the third highest total of enemy ships sunk by a U.S. submarine during the war |
| Mississippi Top Battleship page | |
| USS Cairo, Vicksburg, Mississippi |
In the same year she was commissioned, USS Cairo had the dubious distinction of being the first armored vessel in the history of warfare to be sunk by an electrically detonated torpedo, today called a mine. On December 12, 1862, in the Yazoo River approximately 10 miles north of Vicksburg, Cairo was struck by two torpedoes, sinking in less than 12 minutes with no loss of life. |
| Missouri Top Battleship page | |
| USS Aries Brunswick, Missouri |
USS Aries was homeported in Key West for most of her 11 years of service. She conducted law enforcement operations against smugglers in cooperation with the Coast Guard in the Gulf of Mexico and the east coast of Central America. She took part in various fleet exercises including the "Ocean Venture" and "Solid Shield" series. She also participated in a number of UNITAS exercises with Central and South American Navies. She and the other five ships of the class were decommissioned in 1993 with the downsizing of the U.S. Navy fleet. |
| Nebraska Top Battleship page | |
| USS Hazard Omaha, Nebraska |
The only surviving Admirable class minesweeper, the largest and most successful American minesweepers, Hazard was fitted for both wire and acoustic sweeping and could double as an antisubmarine warfare platform. The Admirable class vessels were also used for patrol and escort duties. Hazard first served in this capacity, escorting a convoy from San Francisco to Pearl Harbor, and then running with convoys to Eniwetok and Ulithi. In March 1945, the sweeper was sent to Okinawa, where she first performed antisubmarine patrols before sweeping the waters off Kerama Retto in keeping with the minesweeper's slogan, "No Sweep, No Invasion." |
| USS LSM-45 Omaha, Nebraska |
USS LSM-45 transited the Panama Canal in September 1944, and served in the Pacific theater for the duration of World War II. She transported Army personnel, LCMs, LCVPs and vehicles between Guam, various ports in the Philippines, and the South Pacific islands of Eniwetok, Saipan, Ulithi and Palau. Following the surrender of Japan, she moved cargo and personnel between Tokyo Bay, Yokohama, Yokosuka and Okinawa. She returned to San Francisco in February 1946, and shortly thereafter was ordered to the Atlantic Fleet. She operated out of Key West, Florida until being decommissioned on 26 March 1947 at Green Cove Springs, Florida. |
| USS Marlin Omaha, Nebraska |
Homeported in Key West, Florida for her entire commissioned service lifetime, USS Marlin provided target and training ship services and helped to evaluate submarine and anti-submarine equipment and tactics. In 1955, she participated in mine warfare maneuvers with a task force under Commander, Mine Force. From 1956 to 1963, she deployed regularly to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba where she provided services to the Fleet Training Group. |
| New Hampshire Top Battleship page | |
| USS Albacore Portsmouth, NH |
USS Albacore holds a place in history as the first Navy-designed vessel with a true submarine hull form, in which surface characteristics were subordinated to underwater performance. She possessed no weapon systems; her sole function was to conduct experiments. During her early trials, she set a new underwater speed record with improved control. From 1955 to 1971, Albacore served in five distinct phases of experimentation, carrying out tests of speed, depth changes and underwater maneuvering. Through a series of configurations, she provided the model for all future U.S. Navy and many foreign submarines that followed. |
| New Jersey Top Battleship page | |
| USS New Jersey * Camden, NJ |
USS New Jersey participated in nearly all of the Western Pacific campaigns from her arrival in the theater in January 1944 until the end of WW II. Her first combat action came as a unit of the Fifth Fleet in assaults on the Marshall Islands. Next was the invasion of the Marianas where her heavy guns battered Saipan and Tinian. She screened carriers as American and Japanese pilots dueled in the Battle of the Philippine Sea, and then contributed to strikes on Guam and the Palaus. In late 1944, she was a unit of fast carrier task forces ranging the waters off the Philippines, Okinawa and Formosa. She shot down planes in the Philippines campaigns and continued to protect the carriers. |
| Japanese Kaiten Hackensack, NJ |
The Kaitens were deployed from November 1944, to the end of WW II. They were normally carried piggyback to their target areas aboard mother submarines or cruisers. On a submarine deployment, the crew entered the Kaiten from the lower hatch under its belly. From cruisers, they were lowered over the side.. At approximately 8300 yards, the Kaiten was launched and cruised at periscope depth. At a distance to its target of 550 yards, the pilot would submerge to 13 feet and lock his controls for the final attack run. Three U.S. ships were sunk by Kaitens |
| USS Ling Hackensack,NJ |
USS Ling is the last of the fleet boats that patrolled American shores during World War II in response to U-Boat attacks off the coast of the United States. Ling made one Atlantic patrol before the war ended. Decommissioned in 1946, Ling became part of the Atlantic Reserve Fleet until reactivation as a submarine training vessel in 1960. Ling was donated to the Submarine Memorial Association in 1971, arriving at her present home in New Jersey in January 1973. The boat is now displayed in the narrow headwaters of the Hackensack River, and is the official state naval museum for New Jersey. Ling continues in service as a training aid for high school ROTC students. The memorial also includes displays of Polaris, Terrier, and Talos missiles; and three small craft: A Japanese Kaiten, A German Seehund, and a PBR Mark II. Ling conducts youth group overnight encampments. |
| PBR Mark II Hackensack,NJ |
The PBR Mark II was designed for combat use in shallow inland waterways. The job of these small but heavily armed boats was interdiction of supplies and troops from North Vietnam. These PBR squadrons had the highest casualty rates and were the most decorated of all naval units in the Vietnam War. |
| German Seehund Hackensack, NJ |
The Seehund (seal) was a successful coastal patrol design submarine. A total of 1,284 were ordered and 67 were built in 1944 and 1945. The Seehund was designed to be used in shallow water close to base, where reloads were available for quick turnaround and return to battle. The two torpedoes were slung externally on rails on each side of the boat. The Seehunds were credited with sinking more than 120,000 tons of Allied shipping in the final months of WW II |
| Fenian Ram, Paterson,NJ |
Fenian Ram is the second experimental submarine built by Irish-born inventor and educator John P. Holland. It was financed by the Fenian Brotherhood, an Irish revolutionary movement in the United States that sought Ireland's independence from British rule. It carried a crew of three, and made frequent dives in New York Harbor. It led Holland to perfect four other experimental craft that eventually resulted in his Holland submarine of 1898, which was adopted by the U.S. Navy and commissioned as SS-1. |
| Holland Boat #1 Paterson,NJ |
Holland Boat #1 is the first experimental submarine built by Irish-born inventor and educator John P. Holland who emigrated to the United States in 1873, and took up residence in Paterson. He was encouraged to pursue his dream of perfecting the submarine by the exploits of the Confederate semi-submersible Hunley and the experiments with the Intelligent Whale in New York Harbor. |
| Intelligent Whale Sea Girt, NJ |
Intelligent Whale was one of a number of submarines built during the Civil War. She was hand-propelled, and steered by horizontal and vertical rudders. Wooden doors on the bottom allowed a diver to exit with a mine. She was purchased by the U.S. Navy in 1869, and brought to the Brooklyn Navy Yard for testing. In September 1872, in her only official Navy test, Intelligent Whale flooded. The crew escaped, but the Navy's interest in her ceased. Intelligent Whale was an early experiment in a field now of great importance. |
| New York Top Battleship page | |
| USS Slater, Albany, NY |
USS Slater is the only floating destroyer escort on display in North America. Out of 563 DEs built during World War II, three survive as memorial ships. Nine more remain on duty in foreign navies in various modified configurations. |
| USS Croaker Buffalo, NY |
Built as part of the effort to assemble a major submarine force just prior to and after the U.S. entry into World War II, USS Croaker was sent into the Pacific to wage a war of attrition against Japan's merchant marine and Navy. Croaker made six war patrols, and attacked and sank a cruiser, four tankers, two freighters, an ammunition ship, two escort craft, and a minesweeper. Credited with eleven sinkings, with a total of 40,000 tons, Croaker's war career typifies the tremendous success of the submarine war against Japan. |
| USS Little Rock * Buffalo, NY |
The only World War II cruiser on display in the U.S., USS Little Rock is the sole survivor of the Cleveland class, the most numerous of U.S. wartime cruisers (29 vessels completed). Little Rock served with distinction as flagship for both the Second and Sixth fleets. In 1960, she was converted to a Talos missile cruiser, making four cruises to the Mediterranean and two to the North Atlantic |
| PTF 17 * Buffalo, NY |
Built as high speed craft, the PTF "Trumpy Boats" were powered by two Napier Deltic 3100 horsepower diesel engines. They were able to travel at speeds up to 40 knots. Their mission was patrol and surveillance of coastal and inland waters. They were employed for this purpose in Vietnam. |
| USS The Sullivans * Buffalo, NY |
USS The Sullivans is named for five brothers who lost their lives in the Battle of the Solomon Islands when their cruiser, USS Juneau (CL-52) was sunk. She is an excellent example of the Fletcher class, the largest and most important class of U.S. destroyer in World War II, forming the backbone of destroyer forces throughout the war. The Sullivans served with distinction in World War II, taking part in intense combat, rescuing downed aviators, and earning nine battle stars for her service. After a Korean War deployment, the vessel was laid up. Acquired by the City of Buffalo, The Sullivans is displayed on the city's lakefront with USS Little Rock, USS Croaker, and an array of aircraft and military vehicles. |
| MV Commander Cornwall-on-Hudson, NY |
Motor Vessel Commander was built as an excursion boat for service between Rockaway and Brooklyn, New York. In 1917, she was leased by the U.S. Navy and assigned to the Brooklyn Navy Yard to outfit submarine chasers and tow manned observation balloons off the entrances of New York Harbor in search of German submarines |
| USS Edson New York, NY |
USS Edson was the last of the 18 Forrest Shermans to be retired. As the first post WWII destroyer design, the Sherman class reflected the combat lessons learned during that conflict. Two other ships of the class are also on display; Barry in Washington, D.C. and Turner Joy in Bremerton, Washington. |
| USS Growler New York, NY |
While under construction as a diesel powered attack submarine, USS Growler was converted to carry nuclear guided missiles of the short-lived Regulus Program. Her career was brief but significant, as she participated in the initial strategic nuclear deterrent patrols made by the United States submarine force. Growler is the sole survivor of the Navy's fleet of pioneering strategic missile diesel powered submarines. As such, she is the only American nuclear missile submarine on display. All of her successors are regulated by treaty. |
| USS Intrepid New York, NY |
USS Intrepid won fame in the Pacific in World War II as the "Fighting I." She survived numerous kamikaze and bomb hits. The carrier fought in the Battle for Leyte Gulf in October 1944. Her combat record includes the sinking of two Japanese battleships and numerous other vessels, as well as the destruction of more than 600 enemy aircraft. Intrepid served three combat tours off Vietnam and twice as NASA Prime Recovery Ship for the manned space program. She was decommissioned in 1974, but was assigned by Congress as the Bicentennial Exposition Ship at the Philadelphia Navy Yard in 1975-76. |
| USAT LT-5 Oswego, NY |
Built to serve during WW II, USAT LT-5 moved military cargo under the Army Transportation Corps. She served in both the Atlantic and Pacific. On February 3, 1944, she sailed for Great Britain to assist in the preparations for Operation Overlord. LT-5 arrived off the Normandy coast on June 7 as part of Operation Mulberry. On June 8th while moored to a sunken LST, LT-5 was subjected to air attacks. Her log book for June 9 records that at 20:30 hours, "planes overhead. Everyone shooting at them. Starboard gunner got an F.W." (German Luftwaffe fighter, the Focke Wulf.) |
| Admiral's Barge Romulus, NY |
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North Carolina Top Battleship page |
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| USS North Carolina
Battleship Memorial Wilmington, NC |
The first of ten fast battleships built by the United States which saw service in World War II, North Carolina set a standard for new shipbuilding technology that combined high speed with powerful armament. Her superior performance during the Battle of the Eastern Solomons in August 1942 established the primary role of the fast battleship as a protector of the aircraft carrier. Her resiliency to battle damage was proven just a month later in the same area when North Carolina sustained a hit from a Japanese torpedo. Despite an 18 by 32 foot hole in her side, and following a short period to counterflood, she resumed a speed of 25 knots to regain position to protect her assigned aircraft carrier. North Carolina is the most decorated U.S. battleship of World War II with 15 battle stars, having participated in every major naval offensive in the Pacific from Guadalcanal to Tokyo Bay. She is also credited with kills of 24 aircraft, a merchantman and the bombardment of nine Japanese strongholds. |
| CSS
Neuse State Historic Site Kinston, NC |
the CSS Neuse was completed in 1864, but low water prevented its entry into the Civil War. In 1865 the Neuse was sunk to avoid its imminent capture by Union troops. The gunboat's massive hull, pulled from the river in 1963, is on display along with fascinating artifacts from the wreckage. The Richard Caswell Memorial, an exhibit center commemorating the Revolutionary leader, North Carolina's first elected governor, is adjacent to the Neuse. |
| Ohio Top Battleship page | |
| USS Cod Cleveland, Ohio |
Operating from Australian ports during World War II, Cod received a battle star for each of her seven war patrols, and sank nearly 27,000 tons of Japanese shipping, including the destroyer Karukaya. As a participant in Project 3, Cod carried a Navy cameraman aboard during her last war patrol. The resulting color film footage included a desperate attempt to rescue the Dutch submarine O-19 which grounded on Ladd Reef. When towing attempts failed, Cod took the Dutch crew aboard and destroyed O-19 with explosive charges, torpedoes and gunfire. Other film highlights include sinking enemy vessels and the recovery of a lost boarding party that became stranded aboard a junk for two days when Cod was forced to submerge by attacking enemy aircraft. |
| SS William G. Mather Cleveland, Ohio |
The Steamship William G. Mather was built during the golden years of American lakes steamboats. As the flagship for the Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Company, she was state-of-the-art with respect to capacity, power, and accommodations. During her 55-year career, she carried millions of tons of iron ore, coal, grain, and distinguished guests, and was nicknamed, "The Ship That Built Cleveland" because Cleveland's steel mills were a frequent destination. |
| Oklahoma Top Battleship page | |
| USS Batfish Muskogee, Ok |
USS Batfish earned nine battle stars for her World War II service in the Pacific. She sank 14 ships and damaged three others during her seven war patrols. Over a period of four days in February 1945, she sank three Japanese submarines. For this feat, the "sub killer" was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation. Her other WW II exploits included blasting a grounded destroyer, bombarding a Japanese village, and rescuing downed aviators. |
| Oregon Top Battleship page | |
| USS Blueback * Portland, Oregon |
USS Blueback was the last non-nuclear powered submarine built by the U.S. Navy, and the last to be decommissioned after serving her country for 31 years. Blueback and her sister ships of the Barbel class utilized radical new concepts in post World War II submarine design, the most important being the teardrop hull and a single propeller. |
| Pennsylvania Top Battleship page | |
| U.S. Brig Niagara Erie, Pennsylvania |
One of six warships built to regain control of the upper Great Lakes from the British during the War of 1812, the hastily built Niagara was Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry's relief flagship in the Battle of Lake Erie on September 10, 1813. In this pivotal naval battle the entire British squadron of six warships was captured by Perry's nine ship squadron. Following the battle, Perry sent his classic message of victory, "We have met the enemy and they are ours..." This victory led to the reopening of American supply lines on the upper Great Lakes, removal of the British and Indian threat to the Northwest Territory and improvement of the country's morale. |
| USS Becuna * Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
An example of the standard fleet-type Balao class submarine of World War II, Becuna was commissioned in May, 1944 and conducted five wartime patrols with the U.S. Seventh Fleet. Becuna sank the 7500 ton freighter Nichiyoku Maru, two small coastal freighters, assisted USS Hawkbill with the sinking of the oiler Tokuwa Maru, and damaged another oiler. The submarine also served as a lifeguard for downed pilots and narrowly missed an attack on the battleship Yamato. |
| USS Olympia * Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
The oldest steel-hulled American warship afloat, Olympia served as Commodore George Dewey's flagship during the Battle of Manila Bay on May 1, 1898. In that engagement, Spanish naval forces in the Philippines were handed a smashing defeat, securing the Philippines for the United States and embarking the nation on an expanded role as a major force in not only the Pacific, but also world affairs. The cruiser was born out of a program of ships for the "New Navy" of the 1880s and 1890s designed to correct the deficiencies of a weakened and neglected naval force. This program was directly responsible for the rise of the steel shipbuilding industry of the United States. Olympia is the last remaining ship built during that program and the sole surviving naval combatant of the Spanish-American War. |
| USS Requin Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
USS Requin was on her way to the western Pacific under the command of submarine ace Commander Slade Deville Cutter when World War II ended. Like most of her Tench-class sisters, Requin did not spend the Cold War in mothballs. Instead, she returned to the shipyard for conversion to a radar picket submarine under Project Migraine. Requin and her sister radar picket subs provided surface battle groups with early warning of enemy air attacks, helped direct friendly air strikes, and provided mid-course guidance for submarine-launched Regulus missiles. In her new role as a submersible radar and control center, Requin's after compartment was filled with state of the art radars, communications gear, and control equipment. |
| Rhode Island Top Battleship page | |
| Soviet Juliett 484 Providence, RI |
The Juliett 484 was a part of the Soviet Navy's guided missile submarine anti-carrier program. Her Soviet hull designation was originally K-77, and later changed to B-77. She was equipped with cruise missiles that could strike targets 940 miles away. Her mission was to attack hostile carrier forces. The submarine had to surface to fire her missiles. If the target was above the horizon, the missiles would be controlled by a specially designed aircraft that would guide them to their targets |
| South Carolina Top Battleship page | |
| USCGC Ingham * Mount Pleasant, SC |
One of only two preserved Secretary class cutters, probably the most successful large cutters built by the U.S. Coast Guard, Ingham served with distinction during World War II on convoy duty. Protecting ships ferrying vital supplies to Great Britain, Ingham battled stormy weather, German U-Boats, and enemy aircraft. During one crossing Ingham engaged and sank the enemy submarine U-626. After 1944, Ingham served as an amphibious flagship. Ingham patrolled the waters surrounding Korea during the Korean War and earned a Presidential Unit Citation for her service during the Vietnam War. After the war the cutter returned to regular Coast Guard duties, serving until 1988, when she was decommissioned. Acquired by Patriots Point in 1989, Ingham is displayed along with the aircraft carrier Yorktown, the destroyer Laffey, and the submarine Clamagore. |
| USS Laffey Mount Pleasant, SC |
The only preserved Allen M. Sumner class destroyer, as well as the only surviving U.S. World War II destroyer that saw action in the Atlantic, USS Laffey acted as an escort for convoys to Great Britain. On D-Day, the destroyer helped bombard Utah Beach at Normandy. Sent into the Pacific, Laffey was involved in one of the most famous destroyer-kamikaze duels in the war. Hit several times, racked by explosions and fires, Laffey remained afloat because of the valiant efforts of her crew to earn the sobriquet "the ship that would not die." Laffey earned five battle stars and a Presidential Unit Citation for her World War II service and two battle stars for her Korean War service. |
| USS Yorktown * Mount Pleasant, SC |
Second of the Essex class carriers, Yorktown replaced her namesake, lost at the Battle of Midway in June 1942. The Essex carriers formed the core of the fast carrier task forces that struck Japanese forces in the Pacific with devastating results. Yorktown's planes inflicted heavy losses on the enemy at Truk and in the Marianas; the carrier supported American troops in the Philippines, at Iwo Jima, and at Okinawa. Yorktown received 11 battle stars for her World War II service and was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation. For service off Vietnam she was awarded four battle stars. |
| USS Clamagore Mount Pleasant, SC |
The Balao class submarine Clamagore is one of many fleet submarines built during World War II for the U.S. Navy. Clamagore was a typical fleet boat designed and constructed as part of a major program of submarine construction following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The submarine warfare pursued by the United States and supported by this construction program was instrumental in securing an American victory in the Pacific. After VJ Day, some of these submarines were modified to embody the lessons learned during the conflict. Arriving too late to serve in combat in World War II, Clamagore was modified in 1947 and again in 1962 into a FRAM II/GUPPY III submarine. The modifications to Clamagore included a snorkel and a lengthened pressure hull to accommodate updated sonars and fire control systems. One of only nine boats converted to a Guppy III configuration, and the sole survivor of these vessels, Clamagore represents the continued adaptation and use of war-built diesel submarines by the Navy for the first two decades of the Cold War. The Guppy submarines, like Clamagore, comprised the bulk of the United States submarine force through the mid-1960s. Clamagore is displayed along with the aircraft carrier Yorktown, the destroyer Laffey, and the Coast Guard Cutter Ingham |
| CSS H. L. Hunley North Charleston, SC |
On the night of 17 February 1864, the Confederate submarine CSS H. L. Hunley attacked and sank the Union sloop of war USS Housatonic outside Charleston Harbor. In so doing she became the first submarine to sink a ship. Hunley signaled to shore that she had completed the attack, and was on the way home. However, she disappeared in the dark with her crew. |
| Texas Top Battleship page | |
| USS Lexington * Corpus Christi, Tx |
Prepared for her launching in less than 16 months, USS Lexington was originally to be named USS Cabot. A petition submitted to the Secretary of the Navy by the vessel's construction work force asked that she be named for the CV-2 scuttled by the Navy after sustaining serious damage in the Battle of the Coral Sea in May, 1942. Lexington served as the flagship of Fast Carrier Task Force 58 under the command of Admiral Marc Mitscher. Mitscher is credited with making the aircraft carrier task force the predominant naval weapon system of the 20th century while aboard Lexington in the western Pacific. Lexington participated in every major naval campaign from Tarawa to Tokyo and was hit twice by the enemy. Lexington was nicknamed "The Blue Ghost" by the Japanese propagandist Tokyo Rose because she never wore the typical camouflage paint of all the other U.S. aircraft carriers. |
| Admiral's Barge Fredericksburg, Tx |
This craft is an officers' motorboat of the type that was commonly used during World War II to carry high ranking officers, VIPs and staffs. It was equipped with a Buda 6 cylinder diesel engine capable of 105 horsepower. The boat was active with the Navy at Guantanamo Bay until the early 1960s. Acquired by the Nimitz Museum in 1974, it was transported to Pensacola, Florida on the USS LEXINGTON, now a museum vessel in Corpus Christi. From Pensacola, it was trucked to Fredericksburg. |
| Japanese HA-19 Fredericksburg, Tx |
HA-19 is one of five Japanese midget submarines that participated in the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. HA-19, with her four companions, was supposed to penetrate the harbor and attack the U.S. Pacific Fleet. However, none of the vessels managed to damage or sink any U. S. ships. HA-19 developed problems with its gyrocompass, forcing it to make a visual approach to the harbor entrance. It ran aground on a coral reef. Draining its batteries attempting to back off the reef, the boat was abandoned by it's two-man crew. Scuttling charges failed to work. The boat, with one crewmember, was captured by U.S. forces. |
| USS Cavalla * Galveston, Tx |
USS Cavalla was called "The Luckiest Ship in the Submarine Service" because of her outstanding performance during her short time in service before the end of World War II. She logged 90,000 miles, made 570 dives, and sank 34,180 tons of Japanese shipping. Her greatest sinking, during six war patrols, was the aircraft carrier Shokaku that had participated in the attack on Pearl Harbor. She was present in Tokyo Bay in September 1945 for the surrender signing aboard Missouri. |
| USS Stewart Galveston, Tx |
USS Stewart began her service operating out of Miami as a "school ship" training student officers. She escorted President Roosevelt in the presidential yacht down the Potomac River to rendezvous with USS Iowa in the Chesapeake bay for his mission to Casablanca and Tehran. In 1944, she commenced North Atlantic convoy operations, making 30 crossings with occasional enemy submarine and aircraft encounters. Heavy seas and icing conditions were frequent. |
| PT 309 Fredericksburg, Tx |
PT 309 is the only restored PT Boat to have seen actual combat service during World War II. Stationed in the Mediterranean, she fired over 100 torpedoes during the war and was credited with sinking five enemy ships. She was also responsible for the capture of an Italian MAS (PT equivalent) boat. PT 309 was nicknamed "Oh Frankie" following a meeting between the boat's first skipper, Wayne Barber, and Frank Sinatra at a night club in New York City just prior to her departure for the European Theater. |
| USS Texas LaPorte, Tx |
Texas is the last of the battleships, patterned after HMS Dreadnought, that participated in World War I and the Second World War. Considered the most powerful warship afloat because of her ten 14"/45 guns in five twin turrets, Texas was commissioned in March 1914 and proceeded almost immediately to Mexican waters where she joined the Special Service Squadron following the "Vera Cruz Incident". She returned to Atlantic Fleet operations in the fall of 1914, after the Mexican crisis was resolved. In 1916 Texas became the first U. S. battleship to mount anti-aircraft guns and the first to control gunfire with directors and range-keepers, analog forerunners of todays computers |
| USS Orleck Orange, Tx |
USS Orleck operated in the western Pacific with Task Force 77 off China and Japan during her early overseas deployments in 1946 and 1947. She participated in the Atomic tests at Eniwetok and cold weather operations off Alaska in 1948 and 1949. During the Korean War, she performed carrier escort duties, blockade and logistics interdiction missions and shore bombardment. On two occasions her gunfire smashed North Korean supply trains. After Korea, Orleck rotated regularly between duty in the Far East and training exercises in the eastern Pacific. |
| Virginia Top Battleship page | |
| USS Monitor Newport News, Va |
USS Monitor was the first ironclad ship to be commissioned into the U.S. Navy. Built during the Civil War in response to the Confederate Navy's ironclad CSS Virginia, Monitor played an integral role in the transformation of military vessels from wood to iron. |
| RV Aluminaut Richmond, Va |
Aluminaut was built for Reynolds Metals Co. by the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics in Groton, Connecticut in 1964. She was operated by Reynolds Submarine Services Corp., based in Miami, until 1970. With four view ports, active and passive sonar, manipulators, side scan sonar, and 6000 pounds of scientific payload, the submersible was outfitted for many types of oceanographic and salvage missions. |
| USS Wisconsin * Norfolk, Va |
USS Wisconsin (BB-64), one of the four Iowa-class battleships, began her career in the middle of World War II. Wisconsin reported for duty with the Pacific Fleet in October 1944. The powerful new warship joined Admiral William F. Halsey's 3rd Fleet when the liberation of the Philippines was underway. The battleship helped neutralize Japanese sea, air and ground forces occupying the islands. Wisconsin was reassigned to the 5th Fleet in February 1945 and supported the landings on Iwo Jima and Okinawa. The battleship's brief but active World War II career concluded with the transport of war-weary GI's back to the U.S. during operation Magic Carpet. |
| Washington Top Battleship page | |
| USS Turner Joy Bremerton, Wa |
The destroyer USS Turner Joy was the last Forrest Sherman class destroyer built. While some of these ships were later converted to guided missile destroyers, Turner Joy remains close to her original 1959 configuration. The destroyer has been restored to reflect the appearance during her active years between 1960 and 1982. |
| RV Deep Quest Keyport, Wa |
The deep submersible vehicle Deep Quest was designed, built, and operated by Lockheed Missiles & Space Company. Its broad program of research was available to both commercial activities and the U.S. Navy. The submersible was designed and equipped for a variety of missions, including salvage, seafloor survey and inspection to include coring, shear strength measurement, ocean bottom mapping, color photography, and other special assignments |
| RV Trieste II Keyport, Wa |
Trieste II was originally certified to operate under submerged stay-times that were limited to eight hours. However, scientists have recorded stay-times that reached 24 hours. She has been changed, improved and redesigned so many times that almost no original parts remain. The most recent changes were made in June 1971, when her hull number was changed to DSV 1, and in May 1984, when she was assigned to Submarine Development Group 1. She was moved to Keyport in 1985. |
| Tug Arthur Foss Seattle, Wa |
Tug Arthur Foss is the only known wood-hulled 19th century tugboat still afloat and in operating condition in the U.S. Built as the Wallowa, she began her career towing lumber and grain-laden square-rigged ships across the treacherous Columbia River bar. From 1904 to 1929 she towed log rafts around Puget Sound and the Washington coast. She was sold to the Foss Launch and Tug Company in 1929, and starred in the MGM film "Tugboat Annie" in 1933 with Wallace Beery and Marie Dressler. |
| Lightship Swiftsure Seattle, Wa |
Lightship 83, now called Swiftsure, was built for the U.S. Lighthouse Service as the Blunts Reef, California lightship. She is the oldest surviving example of an America lightship with its original marine steam engine. She weathered severe storms and heavy damage from ramming by a steam schooner during her first six years of service. She later rescued 155 survivors from a stranded coastal steamer. Sails were used to help keep her on station in the early years. Replaced at Blunts Reef in 1930, she became the San Francisco lightship. |
| Schooner Wawona Seattle, Wa |
The Wawona is one of only three surviving three-masted schooners in the U.S. She was built for service in the booming Pacific Coast lumber trade. She called at tiny lumber ports up and down the coast, often loading cargo "under the wire" from coastal cliffs. She entered the fishing trade in 1914, working the fisheries off the Alaska coast and in the Bering Sea. |
| Wisconsin Top Battleship page | |
| USS Cobia * Manitowoc, Wi |
Representative of the Gato class submarines, USS Cobia earned four battle stars and is credited with sinking six Japanese vessels (over 500 tons) totalling 16,835 tons. Cobia was dedicated by the people of Wisconsin in 1970 as an International Memorial to submariners throughout the world and placed on display at the Wisconsin Maritime Museum. Twenty-eight fleet boats were built by Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company during the war. Although not built at Manitowoc, Cobia is virtually identical to the submarines built here and is symbolic of the great industrial achievement and effort of the people of Wisconsin toward winning World War II. Cobia conducts youth group overnight encampments. |
| USCG Boat Icelander * Manitowoc, Wi |
Icelander was obtained from the Coast Guard by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. In 1988, she was purchased by Mr. Theodore Jessen who restored and maintained the boat in operating condition. Mr. Jessen passed away in 1993. His widow Lou Ann donated it to the Wisconsin Maritime Museum in 1999. Icelander is used in the Museum's Education Afloat program to teach young people aquatic safety and boating skills. |
| * Note stay overnight this was right time of printing | |
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