Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships

Index to Ships: Select the first letter of the ship name from the list below (note many ship names are abbreviated in common usage Lincoln verus Abraham Lincoln therefore it is important to look up ships using the first letter of the full name; as the above ship is found under letter A):

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z |

The Naval Historical Center and the Ships History Branch of the Naval Warfare Division express their sincere and heartfelt thanks to Admiral James L. Holloway III, United States Navy, Retired, Chairman of the Naval Historical Foundation, whose generous grant made the Online DANFS Project possible. The Naval Historical Foundation contracted with Input Solutions, Inc., to convert the entire Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships into electronic format, and then donated the finished product to the Navy.

The Ships History Branch of the Naval Warfare Division researches and writes the multi-volume Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, available in many libraries in the United States and abroad. Compiled like an encyclopedia, each volume includes summary histories of U.S. Navy ships from certain sections of the alphabet. The volumes also include an assortment of appendices on small craft, dictionary entries for Confederate Navy ships and various essays related to naval ships. The first volume, covering ships starting with the letters A-B, was published in 1959. The first edition of the series completed in 1981 with the publication of Volume VIII (letters W-Z). In 1991 a ninth volume, Volume IA, revised the histories beginning with the letter A from the original Volume I. A future Volume IB will revise the histories beginning with the letter B.

Although digital versions of DANFS entries have been available on non-government websites for some time, the Online DANFS Project makes the official version of all 10,000+ entries available for the first time. Initially, the online histories are simply reproductions of the original published material. Since many of these entries are incomplete or out-of-date, the Online DANFS Project continues as historians of the Ships History Branch update these histories and add new material. Priority is being given to completing entries for Volume IB, updating histories for ships currently in commission, and finishing histories of ships that were still serving at the time their entry was originally published. Other entries will be revised to correct errors and improve the overall quality of the series.

To report errors in individual entries or to make suggestions for improvement contact the Ships History Branch at:

Naval Historical Center (SH)
Washington Navy Yard
805 Kidder Breese Street SE
Washington Navy Yard, DC 20374-5060

Acknowledgments	Confederate Forces Afloat
Editorial Note	DANFS Abbreviations & Symbols
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