US Navy History: Ships, Battles and Disasters
Stories of United States Navy ships from the War of 1812 to the Cold War: USS Constitution, USS Indianapolis and the sharks, USS New Orleans and her coconut-log bow, the collier Cyclops that vanished with 306 men, and USS Pueblo, still held in North Korea.
The United States Navy grew from six frigates paid for in 1794 into the largest fleet in the world by the end of the Second World War. Along the way it fought the Barbary corsairs, Britain, the Confederacy, Spain, Germany and Japan, and then spent the Cold War watching the Soviet Union. The stories here follow its ships through those wars and through the accidents in between.
Sail, iron and steel
The Naval Act of 1794 paid for six frigates, designed by Joshua Humphreys to outgun anything that could catch them and outrun anything that could outgun them. USS Constitution beat HMS Guerriere in 1812, became “Old Ironsides”, and is still in commission at Boston.
In the Civil War the Navy fought its own former ship. The Confederates rebuilt the burned frigate Merrimack as the ironclad CSS Virginia, and on 9 March 1862 USS Monitor fought her to a draw at Hampton Roads, the first battle between ironclads.
By 1898 the Navy was steel and coal. The protected cruiser USS Olympia was Dewey’s flagship at Manila Bay, and in 1921 she carried the Unknown Soldier home from France through a hurricane. In the First World War the collier USS Cyclops vanished in 1918 with 306 people aboard. She is still the largest loss of life in the Navy’s history not caused by combat.
Pearl Harbor and the Pacific war
The Second World War began for the US Navy on 7 December 1941. USS Arizona lost 1,177 men, close to half the American dead that day. USS Nevada was the only battleship to get underway, and her crew beached her to keep the channel open. On USS New Orleans, with no power, the crew passed shells to the guns by hand while her chaplain urged them on. USS Phoenix steamed out untouched.
Six months later codebreakers at Pearl Harbor tricked Japan into confirming that its target “AF” was Midway, and Japan lost four carriers. USS Enterprise earned 20 battle stars, more than any other American warship, and was sold for scrap in 1958 anyway.
Off Guadalcanal, more than fifty ships from both sides sank in Ironbottom Sound. New Orleans lost 150 feet of hull to one torpedo and sailed home backwards behind a bow of coconut logs. At Leyte Gulf in 1944, Halsey took the bait and the escort carriers and destroyers of Taffy 3 faced Yamato’s force off Samar.
In July 1945 USS Indianapolis delivered the uranium for the Hiroshima bomb and was torpedoed four days later. About 900 men went into the water and 316 survived.
Ships with problems
Not every story is about combat. The cruiser USS Wichita needed 200 tons of pig iron in her bottom to stay stable. The Cleveland-class cruisers, the largest cruiser class ever built, grew so top-heavy with anti-aircraft guns that equipment had to come off to make room for more. In 1943 the destroyer USS William D. Porter fired a live torpedo at the battleship carrying President Roosevelt.
The Cold War
After 1945 Nevada was painted orange and used as a target for an atomic bomb at Bikini. Most of the losses that followed were peacetime ones. In 1952 USS Hobson turned into the path of the carrier Wasp at night and 176 men died. In 1968 North Korea captured the spy ship USS Pueblo, which is still held in Pyongyang. Phoenix, sold to Argentina as General Belgrano, was sunk by a British submarine in 1982.
All US Navy stories
The Ship That Delivered the Bomb and Disappeared
USS Indianapolis delivered the Hiroshima uranium, got torpedoed four days later, and 900 men went into the water. The Navy didn't notice for four days. Sharks circled for 96 hours. 316 survived. The captain was court-martialed and shot himself.
The Cruiser That Sailed Backwards Across the Pacific With a Bow Made of Coconut Logs
A torpedo blew off a third of USS New Orleans in 1942. The crew built a temporary bow from coconut trees and sailed her backwards 1,800 miles to Australia. Her original bow was found on the seafloor 83 years later.
Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition
USS New Orleans was dead in the water at Pearl Harbor when the attack started. No power, no hoists, no ammunition at the guns. Her chaplain's shout became one of the war's most famous phrases. Frank Loesser turned it into a No. 1 hit.
306 Men Sailed Out of Barbados and the Navy Never Found a Single One
USS Cyclops left Barbados on March 4, 1918 with 306 people and 11,000 tons of manganese ore. No distress signal. No wreckage. No explanation. It's the largest non-combat loss of life in US Navy history and nobody knows what happened.
The Navy Ship That's Been Held Hostage Since 1968
USS Pueblo was captured by North Korea in 1968. The crew spent 11 months as prisoners. In propaganda photos, they flipped off the camera and told guards it was a Hawaiian good luck sign. The ship is still in Pyongyang.
The Destroyer That Turned Left and Nobody Knows Why
During night flying ops in 1952, USS Hobson made an unexplained left turn into the carrier USS Wasp. The carrier cut her in half. 176 men died in four minutes. The captain didn't survive to explain.
The Destroyer That Fired a Torpedo at the President
USS William D. Porter accidentally launched a live torpedo at FDR's ship during a drill. Then tried to warn him with the wrong signal. Legend says every ship greeted her with 'Don't shoot, we're Republicans.'
The Ship That Almost Lost the Unknown Soldier to the Atlantic
In 1921, the casket wouldn't fit below deck. They lashed it to the open deck. Then a hurricane hit.
The US Navy Dumped 200 Tons of Pig Iron Into This Cruiser Just to Stop Her From Tipping Over
USS Wichita was a one-of-a-kind prototype, too top-heavy to sail without 200 tons of pig iron in her belly. She fought in two oceans, earned 13 battle stars, and her hull became the basis for the Baltimore class.
The Ship That Survived Pearl Harbor and Was Sunk Forty Years Later by a Torpedo Older Than Itself
USS Phoenix escaped Pearl Harbor untouched, fought the entire Pacific war, was sold to Argentina, renamed twice, and sunk in 1982 by a British submarine using torpedoes designed thirteen years before the ship was launched. 323 dead. The captain said the British were right.
The Navy Built 27 of These Cruisers, Then Couldn't Stop Them From Tipping Over
The Cleveland class was the largest cruiser class ever built. They were also dangerously top-heavy. The Navy pulled off catapults, restricted ammo, and added ballast. Nine more hulls became aircraft carriers instead.
The Strait Where Fifty Ships Went to Die
Between August 1942 and February 1943, the narrow strait between Guadalcanal and Savo Island swallowed more than fifty warships from both sides. The sailors called it Ironbottom Sound.
Old Ironsides: The 1797 Frigate a Poem Saved and the Navy Never Retired
USS Constitution beat HMS Guerriere in 1812, survived a scrapping scare in 1830 thanks to a student's poem, and still carries a US Navy crew in Boston.
AF Is Short of Water: The Fake Plumbing Problem That Won Midway
In May 1942 US codebreakers knew Japan was coming for a place called AF. To prove AF was Midway, they had the island complain about its water supply over the radio. Japan repeated the complaint.
USS Arizona's Band Never Got to Play the Final
All 21 men of USS Arizona's band died at Pearl Harbor. The popular story says they were sleeping off a contest win. In fact their battle station was the powder hoists of Turret No. 2. Since 1982, 45 survivors have rejoined their shipmates inside the wreck.
Monitor vs Virginia: The Ironclad Duel Where Nobody Could Sink Anybody
On 9 March 1862 USS Monitor and CSS Virginia fought the first battle between ironclads at Hampton Roads. It ended in a draw. Neither ship survived the year, and Monitor's turret came up from the seabed in 2002.
USS Enterprise: Sunk Three Times by Radio, Finished by a Scrap Contract
Japan announced USS Enterprise sunk three times. The one pilot who actually stopped her was misnamed by the US for almost 50 years, and the most decorated American warship of WWII was sold for scrap in 1958 anyway.
Leyte Gulf: Halsey Chased the Bait, and Taffy 3 Fought Yamato Alone
In October 1944 Japan sent a nearly empty carrier force to lure Halsey's Third Fleet away from Leyte. It worked. Off Samar, six escort carriers and seven small escorts faced four battleships, and a padded radio message asked the world's most famous question.
USS Nevada: The Battleship That Ran for the Sea at Pearl Harbor and Lived Through Two Atomic Bombs
USS Nevada was the only battleship to get underway during the Pearl Harbor attack. Her crew beached her to keep the channel open. In 1946 she was the target ship for an atomic bomb, and missed.