US naval inventory classification system
The
United States Navy
,
United States Coast Guard
, and United States
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA) use a
hull classification symbol
(sometimes called
hull code
or
hull number
) to identify their ships by type and by individual ship within a type. The system is analogous to the
pennant number
system that the
Royal Navy
and other European and
Commonwealth
navies use.
History
[
edit
]
United States Navy
[
edit
]
The U.S. Navy began to assign unique
Naval Registry Identification Numbers
to its ships in the 1890s. The system was a simple one in which each ship received a number which was appended to its ship type, fully spelled out, and added parenthetically after the ship's name when deemed necessary to avoid confusion between ships. Under this system, for example, the
battleship
Indiana
was USS
Indiana
(Battleship No. 1), the
cruiser
Olympia
was USS
Olympia
(Cruiser No. 6), and so on. Beginning in 1907, some ships also were referred to alternatively by single-letter or three-letter codes?for example, USS
Indiana
(Battleship No. 1) could be referred to as USS
Indiana
(B-1) and USS
Olympia
(Cruiser No. 6) could also be referred to as USS
Olympia
(C-6), while USS
Pennsylvania
(Armored Cruiser No. 4) could be referred to as USS
Pennsylvania
(ACR-4). However, rather than replacing it, these codes coexisted and were used interchangeably with the older system until the modern system was instituted on 17 July 1920.
[1]
During
World War I
, the U.S. Navy acquired large numbers of privately owned and commercial ships and craft for use as
patrol vessels
,
mine warfare vessels
, and various types of naval
auxiliary ships
, some of them with identical names. To keep track of them all, the Navy assigned unique identifying numbers to them. Those deemed appropriate for patrol work received
section patrol
numbers (SP), while those intended for other purposes received "identification numbers", generally abbreviated "Id. No." or "ID;" some ships and craft changed from an SP to an ID number or vice versa during their careers, without their unique numbers themselves changing, and some ships and craft assigned numbers in anticipation of naval service were never acquired by the Navy. The SP/ID numbering sequence was unified and continuous, with no SP number repeated in the ID series or vice versa so that there could not be, for example, both an "SP-435" and an "Id. No. 435". The SP and ID numbers were used parenthetically after each boat's or ship's name to identify it; although this system pre-dated the modern hull classification system and its numbers were not referred to at the time as "hull codes" or "hull numbers," it was used in a similar manner to today's system and can be considered its precursor.
[2]
United States Revenue Cutter Service and United States Coast Guard
[
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]
The
United States Revenue Cutter Service
, which merged with the
United States Lifesaving Service
in January 1915 to form the modern
United States Coast Guard
, began following the Navy's lead in the 1890s, with its
cutters
having parenthetical numbers called
Naval Registry Identification Numbers
following their names, such as (Cutter No. 1), etc. This persisted until the Navy's modern hull classification system's introduction in 1920, which included Coast Guard ships and craft.
United States Coast and Geodetic Survey
[
edit
]
Like the U.S. Navy, the
United States Coast and Geodetic Survey
? a uniformed seagoing service of the
United States Government
and a predecessor of the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA) ? adopted a hull number system for its fleet in the 20th century. Its largest vessels, "Category I"
oceanographic
survey ships
, were classified as "ocean survey ships" and given the designation "OSS". Intermediate-sized "Category II" oceanographic survey ships received the designation "MSS" for "medium survey ship," and smaller "Category III" oceanographic survey ships were given the classification "CSS" for "coastal survey ship." A fourth designation, "ASV" for "auxiliary survey vessel," included even smaller vessels. In each case, a particular ship received a unique designation based on its classification and a unique hull number separated by a space rather than a hyphen; for example, the third Coast and Geodetic Survey ship named
Pioneer
was an ocean survey ship officially known as
USC&GS
Pioneer
(OSS 31)
.
[3]
[4]
The Coast and Geodetic Survey
'
s system persisted after the creation of NOAA in 1970, when NOAA took control of the Survey
'
s fleet, but NOAA later changed to its modern hull classification system.
United States Fish and Wildlife Service
[
edit
]
The Fish and Wildlife Service, created in 1940 and reorganized as the
United States Fish and Wildlife Service
(USFWS) in 1956, adopted a hull number system for its
fisheries
research ships
and
patrol vessels
. It consisted of "FWS" followed by a unique identifying number. In 1970, NOAA took control of the seagoing ships of the USFWS's Bureau of Commercial Fisheries, and as part of the NOAA fleet they were assigned new hull numbers beginning with "FRV," for Fisheries Research Vessel, followed by a unique identifying number. They eventually were renumbered under the modern NOAA hull number system.
The modern hull classification system
[
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]
United States Navy
[
edit
]
The U.S. Navy instituted its modern hull classification system on 17 July 1920, doing away with section patrol numbers, "identification numbers", and the other numbering systems described above. In the new system, all hull classification symbols are at least two letters; for basic types the symbol is the first letter of the type name, doubled, except for aircraft carriers.
The combination of symbol and hull number identifies a modern Navy ship uniquely. A heavily modified or re-purposed ship may receive a new symbol, and either retain the hull number or receive a new one. For example, the heavy gun cruiser
USS
Boston
(CA-69)
was converted to a gun/missile cruiser, changing the hull number to CAG-1. Also, the system of symbols has changed a number of times both since it was introduced in 1907 and since the modern system was instituted in 1920, so ships' symbols sometimes change without anything being done to the physical ship.
[5]
Hull numbers are assigned by classification. Duplication between, but not within, classifications is permitted. Hence, CV-1 was the
aircraft carrier
USS
Langley
and BB-1 was the battleship
USS
Indiana
.
Ship types and classifications have come and gone over the years, and many of the symbols listed below are not presently in use. The
Naval Vessel Register
maintains an online database of U.S. Navy ships showing which symbols are presently in use.
After
World War II
until 1975, the U.S. Navy defined a "
frigate
" as a type of surface warship larger than a
destroyer
and smaller than a cruiser. In other navies, such a ship generally was referred to as a "
flotilla leader
", or "destroyer leader". Hence the U.S. Navy's use of "DL" for "frigate" prior to 1975, while "frigates" in other navies were smaller than destroyers and more like what the U.S. Navy termed a "
destroyer escort
", "
ocean escort
", or "DE". The
United States Navy 1975 ship reclassification
of
cruisers
, frigates, and ocean escorts brought U.S. Navy classifications into line with other nations' classifications, at least cosmetically in terms of terminology, and eliminated the perceived
"cruiser gap"
with the
Soviet Navy
by redesignating the former "frigates" as "cruisers".
Military Sealift Command
[
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]
If a U.S. Navy ship's hull classification symbol begins with "T-", it is part of the
Military Sealift Command
, has a primarily civilian crew, and is a
United States Naval Ship
(USNS) in non-commissioned service ? as opposed to a
commissioned
United States Ship
(USS) with an all-military crew.
United States Coast Guard
[
edit
]
If a ship's hull classification symbol begins with "W", it is a commissioned
cutter
of the
United States Coast Guard
. Until 1965, the Coast Guard used U.S. Navy hull classification codes, prepending a "W" to their beginning. In 1965, it retired some of the less mission-appropriate Navy-based classifications and developed new ones of its own, most notably WHEC for "
high endurance cutter
" and WMEC for "
medium endurance cutter
".
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[
edit
]
The
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA), a component of the
United States Department of Commerce
, includes the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps
(or "NOAA Corps"), one of the eight
uniformed services of the United States
, and operates a fleet of seagoing research and survey ships. The
NOAA fleet
also uses a hull classification symbol system, which it also calls "hull numbers," for its ships.
After NOAA took over the former fleets of the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Bureau of Commercial Fisheries in 1970, it initially retained the Coast and Geodetic Survey's hull-number designations for its
survey ships
and adopted hull numbers beginning with "FRV", for "Fisheries Research Vessel", for its
fisheries
research ships
. It later adopted a new system of ship classification, which it still uses today. In its modern system, the NOAA fleet is divided into two broad categories, research ships and survey ships. The research ships, which include
oceanographic
and fisheries research vessels, are given hull numbers beginning with "R", while the survey ships, generally
hydrographic
survey vessels, receive hull numbers beginning with "S". The letter is followed by a three-digit number; the first digit indicates the NOAA "class" (i.e., size) of the vessel, which NOAA assigns based on the ship's
gross tonnage
and
horsepower
, while the next two digits combine with the first digit to create a unique three-digit identifying number for the ship.
Generally, each NOAA hull number is written with a space between the letter and the three-digit number, as in, for example,
NOAAS
Nancy Foster
(R 352)
or
NOAAS
Thomas Jefferson
(S 222)
.
[6]
Unlike in the U.S. Navy system, once an older NOAA ship leaves service, a newer one can be given the same hull number; for example, "S 222" was assigned to
NOAAS
Mount Mitchell
(S 222)
, then assigned to NOAAS
Thomas Jefferson
(S 222), which entered NOAA service after
Mount Mitchell
was stricken.
United States Navy hull classification codes
[
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]
The U.S. Navy's system of alpha-numeric ship designators, and its associated hull numbers, have been for several decades a unique method of categorizing ships of all types: combatants, auxiliaries and district craft. Although considerably changed in detail and expanded over the years, this system remains essentially the same as when formally implemented in 1920. It is a very useful tool for organizing and keeping track of naval vessels, and also provides the basis for the identification numbers painted on the bows (and frequently the sterns) of most U.S. Navy ships.
The ship designator and hull number system's roots extend back to the late 1880s when ship type serial numbers were assigned to most of the new-construction warships of the emerging "Steel Navy". During the course of the next thirty years, these same numbers were combined with filing codes used by the Navy's clerks to create an informal version of the system that was put in place in 1920. Limited usage of ship numbers goes back even earlier, most notably to the "Jeffersonian Gunboats" of the early 1800s and the "Tinclad" river gunboats of the Civil War Mississippi Squadron.
It is important to understand that hull number-letter prefixes are not acronyms, and should not be carelessly treated as abbreviations of ship type classifications. Thus, "DD" does not stand for anything more than "Destroyer". "SS" simply means "Submarine". And "FF" is the post-1975 type code for "Frigate."
[7]
The hull classification codes for ships in active duty in the United States Navy are governed under Secretary of the Navy Instruction 5030.8D.
[8]
Warships
[
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]
Warships are designed to participate in combat operations.
The origin of the two-letter code derives from the need to distinguish various cruiser subtypes.
[1]
Battleship
|
Heavy gun-armed vessel (?1962)
|
BB
|
Cruiser
|
armored (1921?1931)
heavy (1931?1975)
|
CA
|
large (?1947)
|
CB
|
battle
command
(?1961)
|
CC
|
light (?1950)
|
CL
|
aviation or
voler
|
CV
|
Destroyer
|
ship
|
DD
|
escort
|
DE
|
Aircraft carrier type
[
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]
Aircraft carriers are ships designed primarily for the purpose of conducting combat operations by aircraft which engage in attacks against airborne, surface, sub-surface and shore targets. Contrary to popular belief, the "CV" hull classification symbol does not stand for "carrier vessel". "CV" derives from the cruiser designation, with one popular theory that the V comes from French
voler
, "to fly", but this has never been definitively proven.
[9]
[10]
The V has long been used by the U.S. Navy for heavier-than-air craft and possibly comes from the French
volplane
.
[11]
[12]
Aircraft carriers are designated in two sequences: the first sequence runs from CV-1 USS
Langley
to the very latest ships, and the second sequence, "CVE" for escort carriers, ran from CVE-1
Long Island
to CVE-127
Okinawa
before being discontinued.
- AV: Heavier-than-air aircraft tender, later
Seaplane tender
(retired)
- AVD:
Seaplane tender destroyer
(retired)
[13]
- AVP:
Seaplane tender, Small
(retired)
- AZ: Lighter-than-air aircraft tender (retired) (1920?1923)
[A 1]
- AVG: General-purpose aircraft tender (repurposed
escort carrier
) (1941?42)
- AVT (i) Auxiliary aircraft transport (retired)
- AVT (ii) Auxiliary training carrier (retired)
- ACV: Auxiliary aircraft carrier (escort carrier, replaced by CVE) (1942)
- CV:
Fleet aircraft carrier
(1921?1975), multi-purpose
aircraft carrier
(1975?present)
- CVA: Aircraft carrier, attack (category merged into CV, 30 June 1975)
- CV(N): Aircraft carrier, night (deck equipped with lighting and pilots trained for nighttime fights) (1944) (retired)
- CVAN: Aircraft carrier, attack, nuclear-powered (category merged into CVN, 30 June 1975)
- CVB: Aircraft carrier, large (original USS
Midway
class, category merged into CVA, 1952)
- CVE:
Aircraft carrier, escort
(retired) (1943?retirement of type)
- CVHA: Aircraft carrier, helicopter assault (retired in favor of several LH-series
amphibious assault ship
hull codes)
- CVHE: Aircraft carrier, helicopter, escort (retired)
- CVL:
Light aircraft carrier
or aircraft carrier, small (retired)
[14]
[15]
[16]
- CVN: Aircraft carrier, nuclear-powered
- CVS:
Antisubmarine aircraft carrier
(retired)
- CVT: Aircraft carrier, training (changed to AVT (auxiliary))
- CVU: Aircraft carrier, utility (retired)
- CVG: Aircraft carrier, guided missile (retired)
- CF:
Flight deck cruiser
(1930s, retired unused)
- CVV:
[17]
Aircraft carrier, vari-purpose, medium
(retired unused)
Surface combatant type
[
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]
Surface combatants are ships which are designed primarily to engage enemy forces on the high seas. The primary surface combatants are battleships, cruisers and destroyers. Battleships are very heavily armed and armored; cruisers moderately so; destroyers and smaller warships, less so. Before 1920, ships were called "<type> no. X", with the type fully pronounced. The types were commonly abbreviated in ship lists to "B-X", "C-X", "D-X" et cetera?for example, before 1920,
USS
Minnesota
(BB-22)
would have been called "USS
Minnesota
, Battleship number 22" orally and "USS
Minnesota
, B-22" in writing. After 1920, the ship's name would have been both written and pronounced "USS
Minnesota
(BB-22)". In generally decreasing size, the types are:
- ACR:
Armored cruiser
(pre-1920)
- AFSB:
Afloat forward staging base
(also AFSB(I) for "interim", changed to MLP (
Mobile Landing Platform
, then ESD and ESB)
- B: Battleship (pre-1920)
- BB:
Battleship
- BBG: Battleship, guided missile or
arsenal ship
(never used operationally)
[A 2]
- BM:
Monitor
(1920?retirement)
- C:
Cruiser
(pre-1920 protected cruisers and peace cruisers)
- CA: (first series) Cruiser, armored (retired, comprised all surviving pre-1920 armored and protected cruisers)
- CA: (second series)
Heavy cruiser
, category later renamed gun cruiser (retired)
- CAG:
Cruiser, heavy, guided missile
(retired)
- CB:
Large cruiser
(retired)
[A 3]
- CBC: Large command cruiser (never used operationally)
[A 4]
- CC: (first usage)
Battlecruiser
(never used operationally)
[A 5]
- CC: (second usage)
Command cruiser
(retired)
- CLC: Command cruiser, light (retired)
[A 6]
- CG:
Cruiser, guided missile
- CGN:
Cruiser, guided missile, nuclear-powered
:
USS
Long Beach
(CGN-9)
and
USS
Bainbridge
(CGN-25)
- CL:
Cruiser, light
(retired)
- CLAA:
Cruiser, light, anti-aircraft
(retired)
- CLD:
Cruiser-destroyer, light
(never used operationally)
- CLG:
Cruiser, light, guided missile
(retired)
- CLGN: Cruiser, light, guided missile, nuclear-powered (never used operationally)
- CLK:
Cruiser, hunter?killer
(never used operationally)
[A 7]
- CM:
Cruiser?minelayer
(retired)
- CS:
Scout cruiser
(retired)
- CSGN:
Cruiser, strike
, guided missile, nuclear-powered (never used operationally)
- D: Destroyer (pre-1920)
- DD:
Destroyer
- DDC: Corvette (briefly proposed in the mid-1950s)
[18]
- DDE:
Escort destroyer
, a destroyer (DD) converted for
antisubmarine warfare
? category abolished 1962. (
not to be confused with destroyer escort DE
)
- DDG:
Destroyer, guided missile
- DDK: Hunter?killer destroyer (category merged into DDE, 4 March 1950)
- DDR:
Destroyer, radar picket
(retired)
- DE:
Destroyer escort
(World War II, later became
Ocean escort
)
- DE:
Ocean escort
(abolished 30 June 1975)
- DEG: Guided missile ocean escort (abolished 30 June 1975)
- DER: Destroyer escort, radar picket (abolished 30 June 1975) There were two distinct breeds of DER, the DEs
which were converted to DERs during World War II
and
the more numerous postwar DER conversions
.
- DL: Destroyer leader (later frigate) (retired)
- DLG: Destroyer leader, guided missile (later frigate) (abolished 30 June 1975)
- DLGN: Destroyer leader, guided missile, nuclear-propulsion (later frigate) (abolished 30 June 1975) The DL category was established in 1951 with the abolition of the CLK category. CLK 1 became DL 1 and DD 927?930 became DL 2?5. By the mid-1950s the term destroyer leader had been dropped in favor of frigate. Most DLGs and DLGNs were reclassified as CGs and CGNs, 30 June 1975. However, DLG 6?15 became DDG 37?46. The old DLs were already gone by that time. Only applied to
USS
Bainbridge
(DLGN-25)
.
- DM: Destroyer, minelayer (retired)
- DMS: Destroyer, minesweeper (retired)
- FF:
Frigate
- PF: Patrol frigate (retired)
- FFG: Frigate, guided missile
- FFH: Frigate with assigned helicopter
[19]
- FFL: Frigate, light
- FFR: Frigate, radar picket (retired)
- FFT: Frigate (reserve training) (retired) The FF, FFG, and FFR designations were established 30 June 1975 as new type symbols for ex-DEs, DEGs, and DERs. The first new-built ships to carry the FF/FFG designation were the
Oliver Hazard Perry
-class
frigates
.
- PG: Patrol gunboat (retired)
- PCH:
Patrol craft, hydrofoil
(retired)
- PHM:
Patrol, hydrofoil, missile
(retired)
- K:
Corvette
(retired)
- LCS:
Littoral combat ship
In January 2015, the Navy announced that the up-gunned LCS will be reclassified as a frigate, since the requirements of the
SSC Task Force
was to upgrade the ships with frigate-like capabilities. The Navy is hoping to start retrofitting technological upgrades onto existing and under construction LCSs before 2019.
[20]
- LSES: Large Surface Effect Ship
- M:
Monitor
(1880s?1920)
- SES:
Surface Effect Ship
- TB:
Torpedo boat
Submarine type
[
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]
Submarines are all self-propelled submersible types (usually started with SS) regardless of whether employed as combatant, auxiliary, or research and development vehicles which have at least a residual combat capability. While some classes, including all diesel-electric submarines, are retired from USN service, non-U.S. navies continue to employ SS, SSA, SSAN, SSB, SSC, SSG, SSM, and SST types.
[21]
With the advent of new
Air Independent Propulsion
/Power (AIP) systems, both SSI and SSP are used to distinguish the types within the USN, but SSP has been declared the preferred term. SSK, retired by the USN, continues to be used colloquially and interchangeably with SS for diesel-electric attack/patrol submarines within the USN, and, more formally, by the Royal Navy and British firms such as
Jane's Information Group
.
- SC: Cruiser Submarine (retired)
- SF: Fleet
Submarine
(retired)
- SM: Submarine Minelayer (retired)
- SS: Submarine,
Attack Submarine
[22]
- SSA: Submarine Auxiliary, Auxiliary/Cargo Submarine
- SSAN: Submarine Auxiliary Nuclear, Auxiliary/Cargo Submarine, Nuclear-powered
- SSB: Submarine Ballistic,
Ballistic Missile Submarine
- SSBN: Submarine Ballistic Nuclear,
Ballistic Missile Submarine
, Nuclear-powered
- SSC: Coastal Submarine, over 150 tons
- SSG:
Guided Missile Submarine
- SSGN: Guided Missile Submarine, Nuclear-powered
[A 8]
- SSI: Attack Submarine (Diesel Air-Independent Propulsion)
[23]
- SSK
:
Hunter-Killer
/ASW Submarine (retired)
[24]
- SSKN
: Hunter-Killer/ASW Submarine, Nuclear-powered (retired)
- SSM: Midget Submarine, under 150 tons
- SSN
:
Attack Submarine
, Nuclear-powered
- SSNR: Special Attack Submarine
[note 1]
- SSO: Submarine Oiler (retired)
[A 9]
- SSP: Attack Submarine (Diesel Air-Independent Power) (alternate use), formerly Submarine Transport
- SSQ: Auxiliary Submarine, Communications (retired)
- SSQN: Auxiliary Submarine, Communications, Nuclear-powered (retired)
[25]
- SSR:
Radar Picket Submarine
(retired)
- SSRN: Radar Picket Submarine, Nuclear-powered (retired)
[A 10]
- SST: Training Submarine
- AGSS: Auxiliary Submarine
- AOSS: Submarine Oiler (retired)
- ASSP: Transport Submarine (retired)
- APSS: Transport Submarine (retired)
- LPSS: Amphibious Transport Submarine (retired)
- SSLP: Transport Submarine (retired)
|
SSP, ASSP, APSS, and LPSS were all the same type, redesignated over the years.
|
Patrol combatant type
[
edit
]
Patrol combatants are ships whose mission may extend beyond coastal duties and whose characteristics include adequate endurance and seakeeping, providing a capability for operations exceeding 48 hours on the high seas without support. This notably included
Brown Water Navy
/Riverine Forces during the Vietnam War. Few of these ships are in service today.
- PBR:
Patrol Boat, River
, Brown Water Navy (Pibber or PBR-Vietnam)
- PC: Coastal Patrol, originally
Sub Chaser
- PCF:
Patrol Craft, Fast
; Swift Boat, Brown Water Navy (Vietnam)
- PE:
Eagle Boat
of
World War I
- PF: World War II Frigate, based on British
River class
.
- PG: WWII-era
Gunboats
, later Patrol combatant, with ability to operate in rivers; what is generally known as
River gunboats
- PGH: Patrol Combatant, Hydrofoil (
USS
High Point
)
- PHM: Patrol,
Hydrofoil
Missile (
Pegasus
-class
hydrofoil
)
- PR: Patrol, River, such as the
USS
Panay
(PR-5)
- PT:
Patrol Torpedo Boat
, the U.S. take on the
Motor Torpedo Boat
(World War II)
- PTF: Patrol Torpedo Fast, Brown Water Navy (Vietnam)
- PTG/PTGB: Patrol Torpedo Gunboat
- Monitor
: Heavily gunned riverine boat, Brown Water Navy (Vietnam and prior). Named for
USS
Monitor
- ASPB:
Assault Support Patrol Boat
, "Alpha Boat", Brown Water Navy; also used as riverine minesweeper (Vietnam)
- PACV
:
Patrol Air Cushion Vehicle
,
hovercraft
that was part of the Brown Water Navy (Vietnam)
- SP:
Section Patrol
, used indiscriminately for
patrol vessels
,
mine warfare vessels
, and some other types (World War I; retired 1920)
Amphibious warfare type
[
edit
]
Amphibious warfare vessels include all ships having an organic capability for amphibious warfare and which have characteristics enabling long duration operations on the high seas. There are two classifications of craft:
amphibious warfare ships
, which are built to cross oceans, and
landing craft
, which are designed to take troops from ship to shore in an invasion.
The U.S. Navy hull classification symbol for a ship with a
well deck
depends on its
facilities for aircraft
:
- An
LSD
has a
helicopter deck
, which was removable in the older ships.
- An
LPD
has a hangar in addition to the helicopter deck.
- An
LHD
or
LHA
has a full-length flight deck.
[26]
Ships
- AKA:
Attack Cargo Ship
(To LKA, 1969)
- APA:
Attack Transport
(To LPA, 1969)
- APD:
High speed transport
(Converted Destroyer or Destroyer Escort) (To LPR, 1969)
- APM:
Mechanized Artillery Transports
(To LSD)
- AGC:
Amphibious Force Flagship
(To LCC, 1969)
- LCC: (second usage)
Amphibious Command Ship
- LHA: General-Purpose Amphibious Assault Ship, also known as
Landing ship, Helicopter, Assault
- LHD: Multi-Purpose Amphibious Assault Ship, also known as
Landing ship, Helicopter, Dock
- LKA:
Amphibious Cargo Ship
(out of commission)
- LPA:
Amphibious Transport
- LPD:
Amphibious transport dock
, also known as Landing ship, Personnel, Dock
- LPH:
Landing ship, Personnel, Helicopter
[27]
- LPR:
High speed transport
- LSD:
Landing Ship, Dock
- LSH:
Landing Ship, Heavy
- LSIL:
Landing Ship, Infantry
(Large) (formerly LCIL)
- LSL:
Landing Ship, Logistics
- LSM:
Landing Ship, Medium
- LSM(R): Landing Ship, Medium (Rocket)
- LSSL:
Landing Ship, Support (Large)
(formerly LCSL)
- LST:
Landing Ship, Tank
- LSV:
Landing Ship, Vehicle
Landing Craft
- LCA:
Landing Craft, Assault
- LCAC:
Landing Craft Air Cushion
- LCC: (first usage) Landing Craft, Control
- LCFF: (Flotilla Flagship)
- LCH: Landing Craft, Heavy
- LCI:
Landing Craft, Infantry
, World War II-era classification further modified by
- (G) ? Gunboat
- (L) ? Large
- (M) ? Mortar
- (R) ?
Rocket
- LCL:
Landing Craft, Logistics
(UK)
- LCM:
Landing Craft, Mechanized
- LCP: Landing Craft, Personnel
- LCP(L):
Landing Craft, Personnel, Large
- LCP(R):
Landing Craft, Personnel, Ramped
- LCPA: Landing Craft, Personnel, Air-Cushioned
- LCS(L):
Landing Craft, Support (Large)
changed to
LSSL
in 1949
- LCT:
Landing Craft, Tank
(World War II era)
- LCU:
Landing Craft, Utility
- LCVP:
Landing Craft, Vehicle and Personnel
- LSH:
Landing Ship Heavy
(Royal Australian Navy)
Expeditionary support
[
edit
]
Operated by Military Sealift Command, have ship prefix "USNS", hull code begins with "T-".
Mine warfare type
[
edit
]
Mine warfare ships are those ships whose primary function is
mine warfare
on the high seas.
- ADG:
Degaussing ship
- AM:
Minesweeper
- AMb: Harbor minesweeper
- AMc: Coastal minesweeper
- AMCU: Underwater mine locater
- AMS: Motor minesweeper
- CM: Cruiser (i.e., large) minelayer
- CMc: Coastal minelayer
- DM: High-speed minelayer (converted destroyer)
- DMS: High-speed minesweeper (converted-destroyer)
- PCS: Submarine chasers (wooden) fitted for minesweeping
[29]
- YDG: District degaussing vessel
In 1955 all mine warfare vessels except for degaussing vessels had their hull codes changed to begin with "M".
Coastal defense type
[
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]
Coastal defense ships are those whose primary function is coastal patrol and interdiction.
- FS:
Corvette
- PB:
Patrol boat
- PBR:
Patrol boat
, river
- PC:
Patrol
, coastal
- PCE: Patrol craft, escort
- PCF: Patrol craft, fast, (swift boat)
- PCS: Patrol craft, sweeper (modified-motor minesweepers meant for anti-submarine warfare)
- PF:
Frigate
, in a role similar to World War II Commonwealth
corvette
- PG: Patrol
gunboat
- PGM: Motor gunboat (To PG, 1967)
- PR: Patrol,
river
- SP:
Section patrol
Auxiliaries
[
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]
An auxiliary ship is designed to operate in any number of roles supporting combatant ships and other naval operations.
Combat logistics type
[
edit
]
Ships which have the capability to provide
underway replenishment
(UNREP) to fleet units.
Mobile logistics type
[
edit
]
Mobile logistics ships have the capability to provide direct material support to other deployed units operating far from home ports.
Support ships
[
edit
]
Support ships are not designed to participate in combat and are generally not armed. For ships with civilian crews (owned by and/or operated for
Military Sealift Command
and the
Maritime Administration
), the prefix T- is placed at the front of the hull classification.
Support ships are designed to operate in the open ocean in a variety of sea states to provide general support to either combatant forces or shore-based establishments. They include smaller auxiliaries which, by the nature of their duties, leave inshore waters.
- AB: Auxiliary Crane Ship (1920?41)
[A 14]
- ACS:
Auxiliary Crane Ship
- AG:
Miscellaneous Auxiliary
- AGB:
Icebreaker
- AGDE: Testing Ocean Escort
[A 15]
- AGDS:
Deep Submergence Support Ship
- AGEH: Hydrofoil, experimental
[A 16]
- AGER: (i): Miscellaneous Auxiliary, Electronic Reconnaissance
- AGER: (ii):
Environmental Research Ship
- AGF:
Miscellaneous Command Ship
- AGFF: Testing Frigate
[A 17]
- AGHS: Patrol combatant support ship?ocean or inshore
- AGL: Auxiliary vessel,
lighthouse tender
- AGM:
Missile Range Instrumentation Ship
- AGMR:
Major Communications Relay Ship
- AGOR:
Oceanographic Research Ship
- AGOS:
Ocean Surveillance Ship
- AGR:
Radar picket ship
- AGS:
Surveying Ship
- AGSC:
Coastal Survey Ships
- AGSE: Submarine and Special Warfare Support
- AGTR:
Technical research ship
- AH:
Hospital ship
- AKD: Cargo Ship, Dock
[A 18]
- AKL:
Cargo Ship, Small
- AKN:
Cargo Ship, Net
- AKR:
Cargo Ship, Vehicle
- AKV:
Cargo Ship, Aircraft
- AN:
Net laying ship
- AOG:
Gasoline tanker
- AOT:
Transport Oiler
- AP:
Transport
- APB:
Self-propelled Barracks Ship
- APC:
Coastal Transport
- APc:
Coastal Transport, Small
- APH:
Evacuation Transport
- APL:
Barracks Craft
- ARS:
Rescue and Salvage Ship
- ARSD:
Salvage Lifting Vessels
- ASR:
Submarine Rescue Ship
- AT:
Fleet Tug
- ATA:
Auxiliary Ocean Tug
- ATF:
Fleet Ocean Tug
- ATLS: Drone Launch Ship
- ATO:
Fleet Tug, Old
- ATR:
Rescue Tug
- ATS:
Salvage and Rescue Ship
- AVB(i): Aviation Logistics Support Ship
- AVB(ii): Advance Aviation Base Ship
- AVM: Guided Missile Ship
[A 19]
- AVT(i): Auxiliary Aircraft Transport
- AVT(ii): Auxiliary Aircraft Landing Training Ship
- EPCER: Experimental ? Patrol Craft Escort ? Rescue
- PCER: Patrol Craft Escort ? Rescue
[31]
- SBX:
Sea-based X-band Radar
? a mobile
active electronically scanned array
early-warning radar
station.
Service type craft
[
edit
]
Service craft are navy-subordinated craft (including non-self-propelled) designed to provide general support to either combatant forces or shore-based establishments. The suffix "N" refers to non-self-propelled variants.
Submersibles
[
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]
Yard and district craft
[
edit
]
Miscellaneous ships and craft
[
edit
]
Airships
[
edit
]
Although aircraft, pre-World War II rigid airships were commissioned (no different from surface warships and submarines), flew the U.S. ensign from their stern and carried a United States Ship (USS) designation.
Rigid airships:
Lighter-than-air aircraft (e.g.,
blimps
) continued to fly the U.S. ensign from their stern but were registered as aircraft:
Temporary designations
[
edit
]
United States Navy Designations (Temporary) are a form of U.S. Navy ship designation, intended for temporary identification use. Such designations usually occur during periods of sudden mobilization, such as that which occurred prior to, and during,
World War II
or the
Korean War
, when it was determined that a sudden temporary need arose for a ship for which there was no official Navy designation.
During
World War II
, for example, a number of commercial vessels were requisitioned, or acquired, by the U.S. Navy to meet the sudden requirements of war. A
yacht
acquired by the U.S. Navy during the start of World War II might seem desirable to the Navy whose use for the vessel might not be fully developed or explored at the time of acquisition.
On the other hand, a U.S. Navy vessel, such as the yacht in the example above, already in commission or service, might be desired, or found useful, for another need or purpose for which there is no official designation.
- IX: Unclassified Miscellaneous Auxiliary Ship, for example, yacht
Chanco
acquired by the U.S. Navy on 1 October 1940. It was classified as a
minesweeper
AMc-5
, but instead, mainly used as a
patrol craft
along the
New England
coast. When another assignment came, and it could not be determined how to classify the vessel, it was redesignated IX-175 on 10 July 1944.
- IXSS: Unclassified Miscellaneous Submarines, such as the
USS
Cod
(IXSS-224)
, the
USS
Angler
(IXSS-240)
and the
USS
Croaker
(IXSS-246)
.
- YAG: Miscellaneous Auxiliary Service Craft, such as the
USS
George Eastman
(YAG-39)
,
USS
Butternut
(YAG-60)
and
USS
Christiana
(YAG-32)
which, curiously, was earlier known as
IX-80
.
Numerous other U.S. Navy vessels were launched with a temporary, or nominal, designation, such as YMS or PC, since it could not be determined, at the time of construction, what they should be used for. Many of these were vessels in the 150 to 200 feet length class with powerful engines, whose function could be that of a
minesweeper
,
patrol craft
,
submarine chaser
,
seaplane tender
,
tugboat
, or other. Once their destiny, or capability, was found or determined, such vessels were reclassified with their actual designation.
United States Coast Guard vessels
[
edit
]
Prior to 1965, U.S. Coast Guard cutters used the same designation as naval ships but preceded by a "W" to indicate Coast Guard commission. The U.S. Coast Guard considers any ship over 65 feet in length with a permanently assigned crew, a cutter.
[32]
Current USCG cutter classes and types
[
edit
]
Historic USCG cutter classes and types
[
edit
]
USCG classification symbols definitions
[
edit
]
- CG: all Coast Guard ships in the 1920s (retired)
- WAGB: Coast Guard
Polar-class
icebreaker
- WAGL: Auxiliary vessel, lighthouse tender (retired 1960's)
- WAVP: seagoing Coast Guard seaplane tenders (retired 1960s)
- WDE: seagoing Coast Guard destroyer escorts (retired 1960s)
- WHEC: Coast Guard high endurance cutters
- WIX: Coast Guard barque
Eagle
- WLB: Coast Guard
buoy tenders
- WLBB: Coast Guard seagoing buoy tenders/ice breaker
- WLI: Coast Guard inland buoy tenders
- WLIC: Coast Guard inland construction tenders
- WLM: Coast Guard coastal buoy tenders
- WLR: Coast Guard river buoy tenders
- WMEC: Coast Guard medium endurance cutters
- WMSL: Coast Guard maritime security cutter, large (referred to as national security cutters)
- WPB: Coast Guard patrol boats
- WPC: Coast Guard patrol craft?later reclassed under WHEC, symbol reused for Coast Guard patrol cutter (referred to as
fast response cutters
)
- WPG: seagoing Coast Guard gunboats (retired 1960s)
- WTGB:
Coast Guard tug boat
(140' icebreakers)
- WYTL:
Small harbor tug
USCG classification symbols for small craft and boats
[
edit
]
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration hull codes
[
edit
]
- R: Research ships, including oceanographic and fisheries research ships
- S: Survey ships, including hydrographic survey ships
The letter is paired with a three-digit number. The first digit of the number is determined by the ship
'
s "power tonnage," defined as the sum of its
shaft horsepower
and
gross international tonnage
, as follows:
- If the power tonnage is 5,501 through 9,000, the first digit is "1".
- If the power tonnage 3,501 through 5,500, the first digit is "2."
- If the power tonnage is 2,001 through 3,500, the first digit is "3."
- If the power tonnage is 1,001 through 2,000, the first digit is "4."
- If the power tonnage is 501 through 1,000, the first digit is "5."
- If the power tonnage is 500 or less and the ship is at least 65 feet (20 meters) long, the first digit is "6."
[33]
The second and third digits are assigned to create a unique three-digit hull number.
See also
[
edit
]
Notes
[
edit
]
Explanatory notes
[
edit
]
- ^
This odd entry is not recognized by the U.S. Naval Vessel Register, and appears only in MIL-STD-2525A:
Common Warfighting Symbology
(15 December 1996) and later editions (MIL-STD-2525B:
Common Warfighting Symbology
(30 January 1999) and MIL-STD-2525C:
Common Warfighting Symbology
(17 November 2008)). It seems to refer to some kind of nuclear-powered submarine used by Special Operations Forces.
Citations
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
Derdall and DiGiulian, (section:
Cruisers
)
- ^
Naval History and heritage Command Online Library of Selected Images (archived from
the original
at
https://web.archive.org/web/20100329212007/http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/shusn-no/spid-no.htm
).
- ^
United States Department of State,
United States Treaties and Other International Obligations, Volume 23, Part Four
, Washington, D.C.:U.S. Government Printing Office, 1972, p. 3612.
- ^
"United States Department of Commerce,
Annual Report of the Director of the Coast and Geodetic Survey for the Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 1964
, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C.: 1964, pp. 3?5"
(PDF)
. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on 19 February 2013
. Retrieved
6 May
2014
.
- ^
Derdall and DiGiulian, (section:
Nomenclature history
)
- ^
Wertheim,
The Naval Institute Guide to Combat Fleets of the World, 15th Edition: Their Ships, Aircraft, and Systems
, p. 1005.
- ^
"U.S. Navy Ships ? Listed by Hull Number"
. Naval History and Heritage Command.
- ^
SECNAVINST 5030.8D
- ^
Grossnick, Roy (1997).
United States Naval Aviation 1910-1995
(PDF)
. Naval History and Heritage Command, Washington, D.C.: Naval Historical Center. p. 625.
ISBN
0-945274-34-3
.
- ^
"English Translation of "voler" | Collins French-English Dictionary"
.
www.collinsdictionary.com
. Retrieved
7 February
2019
.
- ^
United States Naval Aviation 1910?1995.
Appendix 16:
US Navy and Marine Corps Squadron Designations and Abbreviations.
- ^
Military naming conventions: The ABCs of US ships
, Daily Press
- ^
"Flush-deck destroyers converted as seaplane tenders (AVD)"
. 12 June 2021. Archived from
the original
on 12 June 2021
. Retrieved
11 October
2021
.
- ^
Bureau of Aeronautics, Navy Department."New Carrier Designations".
BuAER News
(title later changed to
Naval Aviation News
). Washington, D.C. No. 198 (1 Aug 1943) p. 9.
- ^
United States. Office of Naval History.
Glossary of U.S. Naval Abbreviations
. 3d ed. Washington: U.S. Govt. Print. Off., 1947. p. 20.
- ^
United States. Office of Naval Records and History.
Glossary of US Naval Abbreviations
. 5th ed. Washington: U.S. Govt. Print. Off., 1949.
Naval History and Heritage Command
. accessed 6 May 2017.
- ^
"The Vari-Purpose Carrier"
. Archived from
the original
on 4 March 2016
. Retrieved
4 August
2011
.
- ^
Friedman, Norman
(2003).
U.S. Destroyers: An Illustrated Design History
(Revised ed.). Annapolis, MD: U.S. Naval Institute Press. pp. 266?267.
ISBN
978-1-55750-442-5
.
...a gutted
Benson
-class
destroyer
. This "corvette" (DDC) "can be readily obtained..."
- ^
Derdall and DiGiulian, (section:
Torpedo Boats, Destroyers, Escorts and Frigates
)
- ^
Navy Plans to Expand, Speed-Up LCS Modifications
? Military.com, 4 March 2015
- ^
Russia still employs several SSA and SSAN class submarines like the Delta Stretch as well as one SST, China has older SSB and SSG types such as the Golf and Mod Romeo classes, and North Korea has built many SSCs and SSMs. See 2007?2008
Jane
'
s Fighting Ships
.
- ^
U.S. Navy Ship And Service Craft Classifications
Archived
16 October 2004 at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
Buff, Joe
(June 2007).
"Subs in the Littoral: Diesels Just Blowing Smoke?"
.
Proceedings of the Naval Institute
.
133
(6): 40?43.
ISSN
0041-798X
. Retrieved
13 June
2007
.
Diesel AIP boats are known as SSIs, differentiating them from purely diesel-electric-powered hunter-killer subs, or SSKs.
- ^
Inactive Classification Symbols
Archived
18 January 2012 at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
28034_cov.fh
Archived
27 September 2007 at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
"World Wide Landing Ship Dock/Landing Platform Dock"
. Retrieved
17 May
2012
.
- ^
Friedman, Norman (2002).
U.S. Amphibious Ships and Craft: An Illustrated Design History
. Illustrated Design Histories. Naval Institute Press. p. 656.
ISBN
1-55750-250-1
.
- ^
Mongilio, Heather (May 2023).
"SECNAV Del Toro Names New Class of Medical Ships After Bethesda Medical Center"
.
USNI News
. United States Naval Institute.
- ^
"Hull Classification Symbol"
. militarypower.wikidot.com
. Retrieved
17 January
2018
.
- ^
"Report to Congress on Navy Light Replenishment Oiler"
.
USNI News
. United States Naval Institute. April 2023.
- ^
"PCER-848"
. navsource
. Retrieved
21 December
2017
.
- ^
"United States Coast Guard"
. 1 January 2006. Archived from
the original
on 1 January 2006
. Retrieved
27 April
2020
.
- ^
Abunassar, US Department of Commerce, NOAA Office of the Chief Administrative Officer (OCAO). Elias.
"National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Home Page"
.
www.corporateservices.noaa.gov
.
{{
cite web
}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (
link
)
General and cited references
[
edit
]
- Derdall, Guy; DiGiulian, Tony (12 November 2016).
"USN Ship Designations"
. navweaps.com
. Retrieved
8 March
2017
.
- United States Naval Aviation 1910?1995, Appendix 16: U.S. Navy and Marine Corps Squadron Designations and Abbreviations
. U.S. Navy, c. 1995. Quoted in Derdall and DiGiulian,
op cit
.
- "ACP 113 (AF) Call Sign Book for Ships"
(PDF)
.
NATO
. September 2004. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on 27 February 2009
. Retrieved
2 July
2008
.
- USCG Designations
- Naval History and Heritage Command Online Library of Selected Images: U.S. Navy Ships ? Listed by Hull Number: "SP" #s and "ID" #s ? World War I Era Patrol Vessels and other Acquired Ships and Craft
- Wertheim, Eric.
The Naval Institute Guide to Combat Fleets of the World, 15th Edition: Their Ships, Aircraft, and Systems
. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 2007.
ISBN
978-1-59114-955-2
.
ISSN
1057-4581
.
Further reading
[
edit
]
- Friedman, Norman.
U.S. Small Combatants, Including PT-Boats, Subchasers, and the Brown-Water Navy: An Illustrated Design History
. Annapolis, Md: Naval Institute Press, 1987.
ISBN
0-87021-713-5
.
External links
[
edit
]