Ship Profiles - Notable Warships

HMS Victory was first commissioned into the Royal Navy in 1778. A 104-gun ship of the line, HMS Victory was present at many of the key naval battles of the Napoleonic Wars and is best remembered as Vice Admiral Horatio Nelson's flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar. Retired from active service in 1812, HMS Victory was used for a variety of...

USS Constitution was launched in 1797 and is the oldest commissioned warship in the US Navy. Earning fame during the War of 1812, USS Consititution defeated the British frigates Guerriere and Java. Known as "Old Ironsides", USS Constitution is now a museum ship in Boston.

USS President was one of the original six frigates built for the US Navy. Seeing service during the First Barbary War, USS President later at the center of the Little Belt Affair. After several cruises during the War of 1812, USS President was captured by the British in the waning days of the conflict.

USS United States was one of the original six frigates built for the new US Navy. Launched in 1797, USS United States saw service during the Quasi-War and won a victory over HMS Macedonian in the War of 1812. Remaining in service, USS United States saw active duty until 1849 and was finally broken up in the 1860s.

USS Chesapeake was 38-gun frigate built for the US Navy and launched in 1799. One of the US Navy's original six frigates, USS Chesapeake was attacked by HMS Leopard during the 1807 Chesapeake-Leopard Affair. USS Chesapeake was later defeated and captured by HMS Shannon during the War of 1812.

USS Princeton (1843) was the US Navy's first screw steam warship. Designed by John Ericsson and Robert Stockton, USS Princeton entered service in 1843. USS Princeton is best remembered for the February 28, 1844 disaster which saw one of its guns, the Peacemaker, explode killing several people including the Secretaries of State and the Navy.

USS Constellation is the last all-sail warship built for the US Navy and the last naval vessel active during the Civil War still afloat. Best known for its work fighting the slave trade, USS Constellation is now preserved as a museum in Baltimore, MD.

HMS Warrior was the first iron-hulled, armored warship built for the Royal Navy. Built at London, HMS Warrior immediately made every warship in the world obselete. In addition, Warrior laid the foundation for the naval arms race that would dominate the next half century.

USS Connecticut (BB-18) was an American battleship that saw service during the early 20th century. In 1907 to 1909, USS Connecticut acted as flagship of the Great White Fleet and sailed around the world. USS Connecticut later took part in World War I and was scrapped in 1923.

HMS Dreadnought entered service in 1906 and immediately rendered existing battleships obsolete. The first to feature an "all big gun" design, HMS Dreadnought also was the first to be powered by steam turbines making it faster than previous battleships. The launching of HMS Dreadnought ignited a naval arms race between Britain and Germany that...

HMHS Britannic was a British hospital ship during World War I. A sister of RMS Titanic, HMHS Britannic conducted several voyages to the Mediterranean to evacuate wounded. In November 1916, HMHS Britannic struck a mine and sank.

Launched in 1913, the battleship HMS Warspite saw extensive service during both world wars. A Queen Elizabeth-class battleship, Warspite fought at Jutland in 1916. After an extensive modernization in 1935, Warspite fought in the Mediterranean and Indian Oceans during World War II and provided support during the Normandy landings.

USS Arizona was a Pennsylvania-class battleship commissioned in 1917. USS Arizona served in a variety of peacetime roles during the interwar years and was at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. During the Japanese attack, USS Arizona was struck by a bomb detonating its forward magazine and destroying the ship.

USS Langley was the first aircraft carrier to see service with the US Navy. Converted from a collier in 1922, Langley conducted a wide variety of aviation testing and sailed with both the Atlantic and Pacific fleets. Modified into a seaplane tender in 1936, Langley was sunk by the Japanese in 1942.

USS Nautilus was the world's first nuclear-powered submarine and was the first to make a submerged transit of the North Pole. Commissioned in 1954, USS Nautilus remained in the fleet until 1980. It is currently docked at Groton, CT as a museum ship.

USS George Washington (SSBN-598) was the United States' first ballistic missile submarine. Launched in 1959, USS George Washington served in a nuclear deterrent role until 1982. For the last three years of its career, USS George Washington served as an attack submarine.

USS Enterprise (CVN-65) is the world's first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. Commissioned in 1961, USS Enterprise has seen extensive service during the Vietnam War as well as during numerous other military operations. Currently in use, USS Enterprise is schedule to be retired in 2013.

USS Oriskany (CV-34) was a aircraft carrier that saw service with the US Navy from 1950 to 1976. Laid down during World War II, USS Oriskany was completed after the conflict and later saw service during the Korean and Vietnam Wars. In 2006, USS Oriskany was sunk in the Gulf of Mexico as an artificial reef.

The homeport of the US Pacific Fleet, Pearl Harbor was first acquired by the United States in 1887. Slow to develop due to its shallow entrance channel, Pearl Harbor became the US Navy’s premier base in the Pacific in the years prior to World War II. Attacked on December 7, 1941, Pearl Harbor rose from the ashes and supported the US Pacific...

A history of the famous aircraft carrier USS Hornet from the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.

Built at San Francisco (1891), USS Olympia served as Commodore George Dewey's flagship at the Battle of Manila Bay in 1898. This site provides photo tour of the ship which is moored at Penn's Landing in Philadelphia.