List of currently active United States military watercraft

Last updated

The United States military has numerous types of watercraft, operated by the Navy, including Naval Special Warfare Command and Military Sealift Command, as well as the Coast Guard, Army and Air Force

Contents

Commissioned ships (USN)

Aircraft carriers

USS Nimitz, the lead ship of her class of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, known as 'supercarriers'. USS Nimitz in Victoria Canada 036.jpg
USS Nimitz, the lead ship of her class of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, known as 'supercarriers'.

Amphibious assault ships

Wasp class amphibious assault ship takes aboard a Landing Craft Utility USS Essex Thailand.jpg
Wasp class amphibious assault ship takes aboard a Landing Craft Utility

Amphibious command ships

Amphibious transport docks

Attack submarines

Seawolf-class submarine USNavySeawolfSubmarine.jpg
Seawolf-class submarine

Ballistic missile submarines

Classic frigate

Cruisers

USS Leyte Gulf (Ticonderoga class) USSLeyteGulfCG-55.jpg
USS Leyte Gulf (Ticonderoga class)

Destroyers

Dock landing ships

Expeditionary mobile base

(sub-variant of the expeditionary transfer dock)

Guided missile submarines

Littoral combat ships

Mine countermeasures ships

Submarine tenders

Technical research ship

Non-commissioned ships (MSC)

(List includes "Support" and "Ready Reserve Force" ships)

USNS Bridge (Supply class) USNS Bridge (T-AOE 10).jpg
USNS Bridge (Supply class)

Cable repair ships

Cargo and replenishment ships

USNS Big Horn (Henry J. Kaiser-class oiler) USNS Big Horn T-AO-198.jpg
USNS Big Horn (Henry J. Kaiser-class oiler)

Crane ships

Expeditionary transfer dock

High speed vessels

Stand-alone vessels;

Hospital ships

The USNS Comfort hospital ship USNS Comfort Statue of Liberty.jpg
The USNS Comfort hospital ship

Landing craft

LCAC LCAC-55 maneuvers to enter the well deck.jpg
LCAC

Salvage ships

Surveillance, intelligence and survey vessels

Tug boats

Special Warfare and Coastal Riverine Force (NSW)

Surface craft

Small Unit Riverine Craft Riverine Squadron 2 Iraq 2007.jpg
Small Unit Riverine Craft

Swimmer delivery vehicles

Cutters (USCG)

USCG Legend-class cutter USCG National Security Cutter BERTHOLF (WMSL-750).jpeg
USCG Legend-class cutter

Patrol ships

Patrol boats

Icebreakers

Stand-alone vessels;

Tenders

Support craft (US Army)

Logistics support vessel

Landing craft

Tug boats

Support craft (USAF)

Tug boats

Recovery craft

See also

Related Research Articles

The United States Navy, United States Coast Guard, and United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) use a hull classification symbol to identify their ships by type and by individual ship within a type. The system is analogous to the pennant number system that the Royal Navy and other European and Commonwealth navies use.

Avondale Shipyard was an independent shipbuilding company, acquired by Litton Industries, in turn acquired by Northrop Grumman Corporation. In 2011, along with the former Ingalls Shipbuilding, the yard was part of Huntington Ingalls Industries. It closed in October 2014. The yard was located on the west bank of the Mississippi River in an area called Bridge City, about 20 miles (32 km) upriver from New Orleans near Westwego, Louisiana. It was the site of the modernization of the battleship USS Iowa in the early 1980s and also constructed some of the lighter aboard ships (LASH). At one time, it was the largest employer in Louisiana, with about 26,000 employees.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">USCG seagoing buoy tender</span> Type of United States Coast Guard Cutter

The USCG seagoing buoy tender is a type of United States Coast Guard Cutter used to service aids to navigation throughout the waters of the United States and wherever American shipping interests require. The U.S. Coast Guard has maintained a fleet of seagoing buoy tenders dating back to its origins in the U.S. Lighthouse Service (USLHS). These ships originally were designated with the hull classification symbol WAGL, but in 1965 the designation was changed to WLB, which is still used today.

The history of the United States Coast Guard goes back to the United States Revenue Cutter Service, which was founded on 4 August 1790 as part of the Department of the Treasury. The Revenue Cutter Service and the United States Life-Saving Service were merged to become the Coast Guard per 14 U.S.C. § 1 which states: "The Coast Guard as established January 28, 1915, shall be a military service and a branch of the armed forces of the United States at all times." In 1939 the United States Lighthouse Service was merged into the Coast Guard. The Coast Guard itself was moved to the Department of Transportation in 1967, and on 1 March 2003 it became part of the Department of Homeland Security. However, under 14 U.S.C. § 3 as amended by section 211 of the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Act of 2006, upon the declaration of war and when Congress so directs in the declaration, or when the President directs, the Coast Guard operates as a service in the Department of the Navy.

USCGC <i>Maple</i>

USCGC Maple (WLB-207) is a Juniper-class seagoing buoy tender operated by the United States Coast Guard. She was based at Sitka, Alaska for 16 years and is currently homeported at Atlantic Beach, North Carolina. Her primary mission is maintaining aids to navigation, but she also supports search and rescue, law enforcement, oil spill response, and other Coast Guard missions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Coast Guard Cutter</span> Commissioned vessel of the U.S. Coast Guard

United States Coast Guard Cutter is the term used by the U.S. Coast Guard for its commissioned vessels. They are 65 feet (19.8 m) or greater in length and have a permanently assigned crew with accommodations aboard. They carry the ship prefix USCGC.

USCGC <i>Fir</i> (WLM-212) Lighthouse tender

The United States Coast Guard Cutter Fir was the last lighthouse tender built specifically for the United States Lighthouse Service to resupply lighthouses and lightships, and to service buoys. Fir was built by the Moore Drydock Company in Oakland, California in 1939. On 22 March 1939, the U.S. Lighthouse Tender Fir was launched. She was steam driven with twin screws, 175 feet (53 m) in length, had a beam of 32 feet (9.8 m), drew 11 feet 3 inches (3.43 m) of water, and displaced 885 tons. Fir was fitted with a reinforced bow and stern, and an ice-belt at her water-line for icebreaking. She was built with classic lines and her spaces were lavishly appointed with mahogany, teak, and brass. The crew did intricate ropework throughout the ship. The cost to build Fir was approximately US$390,000. Fir's homeport was Seattle, Washington for all but one of her fifty one years of service when she was temporarily assigned to Long Beach, California when USCGC Walnut was decommissioned on 1 July 1982.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Net laying ship</span> Ship type built to lay and maintain steel anti-torpedo or anti-submarine nets

A net laying ship, also known as a net layer, net tender, gate ship or boom defence vessel was a type of naval auxiliary ship.

USCGC <i>Citrus</i>

USCGC Citrus (WAGL-300/WLB-300/WMEC-300) was a Cactus (A)-class seagoing buoy tender built in 1942 in Duluth, Minnesota, and now operated by the navy of the Dominican Republic.

USCGC Clover WAGL/WLB/WMEC-292, a Cactus (A) Class buoy tender was built by Marine Iron and Shipbuilding, Duluth, Minnesota. Her keel was laid 3 December 1941, and she was launched 25 April 1942. She was commissioned on 8 November 1942 in the United States Coast Guard as the United States Coast Guard Cutter Clover. She was built as a WAGL, redesignated a WLB in 1965, and again redesignated a WMEC in 1979.

USCGC Tupelo WAGL/WLB-303, was a Cactus (A) Class 180-foot buoy tender vessel built by Zenith Dredge Company of Duluth, Minnesota. Her keel was laid 15 August 1942, launched 28 November 1942 and commissioned on 30 August 1943. She was built as a WAGL and redesignated a WLB in 1965.

USCGC <i>Cahoone</i>

USCGC Cahoone (WPC/WSC/WMEC-131) was an Active-class patrol boat of the United States Coast Guard. Launched in 1927, she served until 1968.

<i>Active</i>-class patrol boat

The Active-class patrol boat was one of the most useful and long-lasting classes of United States Coast Guard cutters. Of the 35 built in the 1920s, 16 were still in service during the 1960s. The last to be decommissioned from active service was the Morris in 1970; the last in actual service was the Cuyahoga, which sank after an accidental collision in 1978.

USCGC <i>Kukui</i> (WLB-203)

USCGC Kukui (WLB-203) is the third cutter in the Juniper-class 225 ft (69 m) of seagoing buoy tenders and is the third ship to bear the name. She is under the operational control of the Commander of the Seventeenth Coast Guard District and is home-ported in Sitka, Alaska. Her primary area of responsibility is the inland and coastal waters of southeastern Alaska. Kukui conducts heavy lift aids-to-navigation operations, and law enforcement, homeland security, environmental pollution response, and search and rescue as directed.

USCGC <i>White Sage</i> White-class buoy tender of the United States Coast Guard

USS YF-444 was an American YF-257-class covered lighter built in 1944 for service in World War II. She was later acquired by the United States Coast Guard and renamed USCGC White Sage (WAGL-544).

References

  1. "US Navy to lease high-speed transport to Bay Ferries". 24 March 2016.
  2. "Refit Completed on Leased U.S. Navy Fast Ferry".
  3. "Navy's stealthy Combatant Craft Assault boats operating in Middle Eastern waters". 3 August 2017.
  4. "Meet the new CCM Mk1 naval special warfare craft of the US Special Forces".
  5. "Combatant Craft Medium (CCM)".
  6. "Internal Server Error" (PDF).
  7. "SOF looks to next generation Combatant Craft Heavy - Shephard Media".
  8. "USCG: About Us - Aircraft & Cutters". www.uscg.mil. Archived from the original on 2007-05-18.