United States Navy ships

As a United States Ship (USS) armed warships are referred to, which are commissioned by the Navy of the United States in use. The ships carry in their ship names are prefixed by USS.

There are also United States Naval Ships ( USNS ). These ships are unarmed and are operated by a civilian crew.

Naming

The names of the " United States Ships" will be awarded by the Secretary of the Navy ( Navy Secretary ), under the authority of the Secretary of Defense. The names are usually names of states, cities and other places, famous battles or important people in American history.

Ship types

All ships are classified using abbreviations. The code consists of a hull ID and a serial number. There are a variety of identifiers that characterize the type of ship.

Examples are:

• CV ( Cruiser volplane, often incorrectly referred to as Carrier Vessel ) are aircraft carrier ( USS Langley, for example )
• CVN ( Nuclear Cruiser volplane ) are aircraft carrier with nuclear propulsion (eg USS Nimitz )
• BB ( Battleship ) are battleships ( for example, USS Missouri)
• CG ( Guided Missile Cruiser) are Guided Missile Cruiser ( for example USS Vincennes )
• DDG ( Guided Missile Destroyer ) are destroyers with missiles (such as the USS Cole )
• AOE (Fast Combat Support Ship) are fast supply vessels ( for example, USS Bridge )
• SSBN ( Ballistic Missile Submarine Nuclear) are submarines with nuclear missiles and nuclear devices (eg Ohio - class)

Ship classes

Ships of the same series are grouped into classes. The name of the first ship of a series is also the class name.

For example, the USS Vincennes belongs to the Ticonderoga - class of cruisers. The first ship of this class is the USS Ticonderoga.