Famous Ships – Part 1 … The Stories They Tell … 1, The Santa Maria … This ship was the largest of Christopher Columbuses’ 3 ships. It was the flagship for his voyage across the Atlantic Ocean in 1492 …The Niña and Pinta were support ships. 2, The USS Constitution … Commonly known as Old Ironsides, She is a three-masted wooden-hulled heavy frigate in the US Navy. Launched in 1797 it is the oldest ship still afloat in the world. It is also one of six frigates authorized by the Naval Act of 1794. 3, The Hunley … She was an early submarine built by the Confederate Navy and that played a small part in the Civil War. Historically, the Hunley demonstrated the advantages and the dangers of undersea warfare. 4, The Monitor and the Merrimack … These two ships are famous for their long battle in Hampton Roads, Virginia in March of 1862. 5, The Monitor … She is likely the first ship to have used a rotating gun turret. This was built upon an older Union frigate named the Merrimac. The Monitor went down in heavy seas off Cape Hatteras with 16 crew members on New Year’s Eve. 6, The Turtle … This early submarine was built in 1775, by an American named David Bushnell. She was the first submarine to be used in combat. 7, The Great Eastern … The Great Eastern was an iron sail-powered, paddle wheel and screw-propelled steamship designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, and built by John Scott Russell & Co. at Millwall Iron Works on the River Thames, London. 8, The Flying Cloud … She was a clipper ship that set the world’s sailing record for being the fastest ship sailing between New York City and San Francisco … 89 days 8 hours! This ship held on to its record for over 130 years. 9, The Star of India … The world’s oldest ship. It operated for 155 years. 10, The Cutty Sark … She is a British clipper ship that is preserved as a museum ship in London. 11, HMS Bounty … A ship forever linked with a mutiny that took place on Tahiti in 1789. It was led by Fletcher Christian. In January of 1790 several mutineers who stayed loyal to Fletcher Christian settled on Pitcairn Island. Others remained on Tahiti were captured by the British and returned to England were they were hanged. The search for Christian and his followers was not successful. However, years after settling on Pitcairn, Polynesian men rose up and killed the remaining mutineers. 12, The Maine … The Maine was a United States Navy ship that sank in Havana Harbor on February 15, 1898, contributing to the outbreak of the Spanish–American War. This has gone into the history of ships as one of the most remembered because of the role this ill-fated warship played during the short-lived Spanish-American War. 13, Queen Anne’s Revenge … This18th-century ship, was famously used as a flagship by Edward Teach, who is better known as Blackbeard. As the captain, he ruled the eastern coast of North America and the Caribbean. In 1718, the ship was abandoned after being grounded. Blackbeard’s life was gruesomely ended when he lost his last battle which is said to have been one of the most famous events in the history of piracy. He fell with 5 shots and 20 cuts in his body. He was decapitated and his severed head was put on a bowsprit, never to be seen again. 14, The Bismarck … This battleship was the first of two battleships built by Germany during World War ll. Its’ sister ship was the Tirpitz. The Bismarck was sunk by three torpedoes fired from a British cruiser. Its’ sister the Tirpitz lasted longer but was sunk also. It is now a diver’s destination off the coast of Norway. 15, The Arizona … The USS Arizona was the second and last of the Pennsylvania class of “super-dreadnought” battleships built for the United States Navy in the mid-1910s, and named in honor of the 48th state. It was sank during the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. It’s wreck is still on the bottom of Pearl Harbor. 16, The Yamato … This battleship was the lead ship of her class of battleships built for the Imperial Japanese Navy shortly before World War II. 17, HMS Warrior … This battleship is a 40-gun steam-powered armored frigate built for the Royal Navy in 1859–1861. 18, HMS Victory … This earlier battleship was a 100-gun first-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy. It was built to the dimensions of the 1733 proposals of the 1719 Establishment and launched on 23 February 1737. 19, … The USS Thresher … This submarine was the lead boat of her class of nuclear-powered attack submarines in the United States Navy. She was the U.S. Navy’s second submarine to be named after the thresher shark. This submarine went missing at sea with 99 crewmen. It was one of two nuclear submarines the U.S. Navy has lost, the second being the USS Thresher #SSN-593. 20 … The Titanic … This well-known ship was a British passenger liner operated by the White Star Line. It sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on April 15, 1912 after striking an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton UK, to New York City. 21 …The Olympic … This Cruise Ship was also a British ocean liner and it was the lead ship of the White Star Line’s trio of Olympic-class liners. 22, The Britannic … This ship was the third and final ship in the White Stars’ Line of Olympic class steamers. In May 1918, The Olympic sighted a German U-boat. It then rammed and sank the vessel. After that encounter she was scraped. The Fate of these Three Sister Ships !!! During its fifth commercial voyage, the Olympic collided with the HMS Hawke near the Isle of Wight. It was determined that suction from the Olympic had pulled the Hawke into the ocean liner. 23, How did the Britannic Sink??? After her maiden voyage, The Britannic sank after striking a mine during the first World War … 24, The Olympic … In May 1918 the Olympic sighted a German U boat. It then rammed and sank that vessel. After the encounter she was scraped … 25, The Khufu … This ancient vessel was sealed into the pyramid of the pharaoh Khufu around 2500 BC. Thisship is one of the best-preserved in antiquity. She could Sail today if put in the water. 26, Caligula’s Giant Ship … This was actually a large barge. It was found during construction of Rome’s DaVinci Airport … Safe Boatingis Smart Boating … Let’s not forget that our centuries old boats are Treasures to be Preserved !!!
