U.S.S. New York

Location:   The Seven Seas

Year:   1776

There have been seven U.S. Navy vessels named New York, and one named New York City.

The original U.S.S. New York was a gondola built in 1776, that served on Lake Champlain during the Revolutionary War. 

The second New York was a 36-gun frigate built in 1798, alongside the U.S.S. Constitution ("Old Ironsides"). She fought in the Quasi-war with France (1800-1801), in the War with the Barbary Pirates (1802-1803), and in the War of 1812. She was captured and scuttled by the British in August 1812.

The third New York, a 74-gun frigate was built in 1820. She never left the shipyard, and was scrapped as obsolete in 1861 at the beginning of the Civil War.

The fourth New York was built in 1863. She was a sloop with an auxiliary engine, similar to U.S.S. Kearsarge and C.S.S. Alabama. Like her predecessor, she never left the shipyard, and was decommissioned and sold in 1883. 

The fifth New York was an armored cruiser built in 1883. She served in the Spanish-American War, eventually decommissioned, and was scrapped in 1941 for her steel. 

The sixth New York was built in 1911. She was the lead battleship of her class, carrying 14-inch guns. She served with distinction in World War I, being the only U.S. ship to sink a German U-boat. In World War II, she originally served in the Atlantic Fleet. She took part in Operation Torch, the invasion of North Africa in late 1942. Afterward, she served as a training ship until 1945, when she was sent to the Pacific to participate in the invasions of Iwo Jima, Saipan, and Okinawa. After World War II, she was used as a target ship in A-Bomb tests, did not sink, and was studied for her survival capacity. She met her end as a target ship in 1948.

The seventh New York is an amphibious transport dock built in 2004, using steel salvaged from the World Trade Center in New York City. She has served in the Persian Gulf.

 

The U.S.S. New York City is the only U.S. Navy ship named for the City of New York as opposed to the State, in conformity with other Los Angeles-class submarines. Launched in 1977, she was decommissioned in 1997, and is due for eventual "recycling."