Famous Ships and Boats in History

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Faith, SS — American Concrete cargo steamer
The first concrete ship built in the United States and the largest in the world at the time at 336.5 feet (102.6 meters) and 8000 tons. The first successfully launched cement ship was the 84 foot-400 ton Namsenfjord on August 2, 1917, N.K. Fougner of Norway. LAUNCHED: 1918, March 14 → FATE: After being cracked during a Gulf storm in 1921, she was towed to Cuba for use as a breakwater.

(Another )

Felicity Ace — Japanese roll-on/roll-off cargo ship
The greatest economic loss of cargo shipping in history, costing about $400 million dollars. She was carrying 3,965 Volkswagen Group cars, including Audi, Porsche, Lamborghini and Bentley models. All crew were safely evacuated. LAUNCHED: 2005, July 2 → FATE: She caught fire on February 16, 2022 south of the Azores, then on March 1, 2022, Felicity Ace capsized and sank.

Fenian Ram — American submarine
The second experimental submarine built by Irish-born inventor and educator John P. Holland. In 1916, she was exhibited in Madison Square Garden to raise funds for victims of the Easter Rising. LAUNCHED: 1881 → FATE: On exhibit at the Paterson Museum in Paterson, New Jersey.

(Another )

Floating Theater — American caravel
The first deliberately-planned showboat, created by British-born actor William Chapman, Sr.; replaced by a new steamboat with a stage and named Steamboat Theatre. In 1914, circus actors James Adams and his wife launched the James Adams Floating Theatre, a showboat that would tour the Chesapeake Bay. LAUNCHED: 1831, and 1836 → FATE: Both unknown.

Flying Cloud — American clipper ship
The most famous clipper ship, she set a world record (until 1989) for the fastest passage from New York to San Francisco in 89 days, more than 16,000 miles. The ship's navigator was a woman, Eleanor Creesy wife of Josiah Perkins Creesy who skippered Flying Cloud. LAUNCHED: 1851 → FATE: Went aground at Saint John, New Brunswick June 19, 1874.

Flying Dutchman — Dutch sailing ship of unknown sort
A legendary ghost ship that is doomed to sail the seas forever. She is much cited in movies, TV, books and other amusements. LAUNCHED: 1790, first reference → FATE: Casting about forever.

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Flying Enterprise — American cargo ship in World War II, then a tramp steamer
Subject of intense deep-sea diving and salvage. In 1960, a portion of the cargo was salvaged by an Italian company. In 2001, a team of Danish and British divers re-discovered the lost shipwreck almost 50 years after she had sunk. LAUNCHED: 1944, March → FATE: Sank south of Cornwall, England January 10, 1952.

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Fram — Norwegian schooner
Used in expeditions in the Arctic and Antarctic regions by the Norwegian explorers. Most likely she was the strongest ship ever built, having sailed farthest north and south than any other wooden ship. LAUNCHED: 1892 → FATE: Currently on display at the Fram Museum, Oslo, Norway.

Francisco, HSC — Argentine high-speed catamaran
The world's faster ferry sailing at a speed of 58 knots (67 mph). Named after Pope Francis, she is powered by liquefied natural gas. (More info) LAUNCHED: 2012, November 17 → FATE: Still operating.

(Another )

Frigorifique — French steamship
First to carry frozen meat across the ocean; from Argentina to France. The first commercially successful shipment of frozen meat that launched the industry was by the steamship Dunedin from New Zealand to England in 1882. LAUNCHED: 1876 → FATE: Sank after a collision with British coal freighter Rumney along the coast of France in March of 1884.

Fujikawa Maru — Japanese cargo ship, transport ship
Her sunken remains are a leading wreck diving site for scuba divers. She was sunk in Truk Lagoon during Operation Hailstone during World War II. LAUNCHED: 1938 → FATE: Sunk by torpedo on February 17, 1944.

Furious, HMS — British battlecruiser (modified while under construction as an aircraft carrier)
First aircraft carrier; her forward turret was removed and a flight deck was added in its place. Spent last of World War I and much of World War II as an aircraft ferry. LAUNCHED: 1916, August 18 → FATE: Sold for scrap in 1948.

Galeb — Croatian yacht, built as an Italian auxillary cruiser called Ramb III
Official yacht of former Yugoslavian president Tito and used for entertaining world leaders and celebrities. The Germans seized the boat in World War II and named it Kiebitz; after the war, the Yugoslavian navy converted it to a training ship; then in 1952, it became Tito's yacht. LAUNCHED: 1938,, then seized by Germany September 1943 → FATE: Being restored and is occasionally opened to the public.

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Gaspée — English single-masted sloop-of-war, used as a fast revenue cutter
Subject of the "Gaspée Affair," the torching of the ship by a group of American colonialists, leading up to the American Revolution. The city of Warwick, RI commemorates the Gaspée Affair with a festival and parade, including burning the Gaspée in effigy. LAUNCHED: 1764, January → FATE: Looted and burned in Narragansett Bay June 9, 1772.

Gaul — English fishing trawler
Worst peacetime maritime disaster to befall the UK fishing fleet. No distress signal was received and her loss was not realised until days later. 36 crew were lost. LAUNCHED: 1971, December 18 → FATE: Mysteriously sank in the Barents Sea, north of Norway February, 1974.

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General Slocum — American river paddle steamboat, side-wheeler
Caught fire and burned to the water line in New York's East River on June 15, 1904 killing 1,021 people. She was named after Major General Henry Warner Slocum, 1827-94. LAUNCHED: 1891, April 18 → FATE: The remains were recovered and converted into a barge, which sank in a storm in 1911.

Georgios Averof — Greek Armored cruiser
The only anored cruiser still in existence. The ship served as the Greek flagship during most of the first half of the 20th century. LAUNCHED: 1910, March 12 → FATE: She has been reinstated on active duty as a museum ship in the Naval Tradition Park in Faliro, Athens.

Gerda III — Danish lighthouse tender
During WWII, in 1943, she was used to smuggle about 300 Jews from Nazi occupied Denmark to Sweden. The rescue story is the subject of the 1991 film A Day in October. LAUNCHED: 1928 → FATE: On exhibit at the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York City.

Ghost — American schooner; a seal-hunting ship
The setting for the 1941 movie The Sea Wolf, starring Edward G. Robinson and Ida Lupino. The story is based on the novel The Sea Wolf by Jack London. LAUNCHED: 1941 → FATE: Inconclusive.

Ghost, stealth ship — American super-cavitating stealth ship
A prototype ship for stealth operations designed by a private American company, Juliet Marine Systems. Designed to travel above the water's surface, her main hull is positioned atop by two long and narrow struts. LAUNCHED: 2009, (trials in 2011) → FATE: Its future is uncertain.

Gjøa — Norwegian sloop, square sterned
The first vessel to transit the Northwest Passage. She reached San Francisco in 1906 where she was put on display, but slowly deteriorated until 1949 when she was refurbished. Then in 1972 she was returned to Norway. LAUNCHED: 1872 → FATE: On display at the Fram Museum in Bygdøy, Norway.

Glencairn, SS — British tramp steamer
In the movie The Long Voyage Home about the men on board on the long voyage home from the West Indies to Baltimore and then to England. Nine prominent American artists, all painters, were hired to construct the dramatic scenes during the film's production. LAUNCHED: 1940, for the movie → FATE: Inconclusive.

Gloire — French ocean-going ironclad
First ocean-going ironclad, developed in response to navel gun technology, including the Paixhans gun, thus rendering obsolete traditional unarmoured wooden ships-of-the-line. She was constructed with light barquentine sails as well as a steam-powered screw. LAUNCHED: 1859, November 18 → FATE: Scrapped in 1883.

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Glomar Explorer — American deep sea research vessel
Built for a secret operation by the CIA to recover a sunken Soviet submarine, K-129 which was lost in April, 1968. She was converted into a deep sea oil drilling ship in 1997. LAUNCHED: 1972, November 18 → FATE: Currently operates as the GSF Explorer.

Gloriana — English royal barge, or rowbarge
The lead vessel of the flotilla celebrating Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee, June 3, 2012. She is powered by 18 oarsmen, and can carry an additional 34 passengers and crew. LAUNCHED: 2012, April 18 → FATE: Still afloat.

Goeben, SMS — German battlecruiser
Last surviving ship built by the Imperial German Navy, and the longest-serving battlecruiser or dreadnought-type ship in any navy. During World War I, she and light cruiser Breslau were transferred to the Ottoman Empire, August of 1914, and became the flagship Yavuz Sultan Selim. LAUNCHED: 1911, March 18 → FATE: Scrapped in 1973.

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Gokstad — Viking clinker-built ship
Viking ship found in a burial mound at Gokstad farm in Sandefjord, Norway in 1880. Later she was used for the burial of an important chieftain who died about 900 A.D. (A replica is on display at the Hjemkomst Center museum in Moorhead, MN.) LAUNCHED: 890, circa → FATE: On display at the Viking Ship Museum in Oslo, Norway.

Golden Hind — English galleon
Second ship to circumnavigation of the globe between 1577 and 1580, captained by Sir Francis Drake. Several replicas were built, the latest the Golden Hinde lauched in 1973. LAUNCHED: 1576, probably → FATE: In dry dock at Deptford, England as a museum piece, rotted away after decades around 1650.

Golden Hinde — English galleon
A full-size replica of the 1577 Golden Hind and appeared in several movies. She has travelled a distance equal to more than five times around the globe. Like Francis Drake's ship, she has circumnavigated the globe. LAUNCHED: 1973 → FATE: Since 1996 she has been berthed at St Mary Overie Dock, Southwark, London.

Goliath, RMS — British ocean liner
Fiction ocean liner in the movie Goliath Awaits. The interiors of Goliath were filmed aboard the RMS Queen Mary in Long Beach, California. LAUNCHED: 1981, movie release → FATE: Inconclusive.

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Graf Spee, Admiral — German pocket battleship
Though size was limited by the Treaty of Versailles, she was as heavily armed as a battleship. Sank nine Allied merchant ships. Afterwards, ships of this size were called heavy cruisers. LAUNCHED: 1934, June 18 → FATE: Scuttled off Montevideo December 17, 1939.

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Grandcamp, SS — American liberty ship
Origin of the deadliest industrial accident in U.S. history and one of the largest non-nuclear explosions. The initial blast and subsequent fires and explosions in other ships and nearby oil-storage facilities killed at least 581 people, wounding over 5,000. LAUNCHED: 1942, November → FATE: Exploded and destroyed April 16, 1947.

(Another )

Great Britain, SS — British steamship, passenger ship
First steamer to cross the Atlantic. Also first built of iron and with a screw propeller. She ran aground in 1846 and was sold for salvage, repaired and revised. In 1881 she was converted to sail. In 1937 she was retired and scuttled. In 1970 she was recovered and eventually restored as a museum ship. LAUNCHED: 1845, July 18 → FATE: Now a museum ship in Bristol Harbour.

(Another )

Great Eastern, SS — British iron paddle steamboat, side-wheeler with sails
The world's largest steamship; successfully laid cable across the Atlantic Ocean. She completed 45 crossings in eight years; then she was used for carrying mail, then troops. LAUNCHED: 1858, January 18 → FATE: Broken up for scrap at Rock Ferry on the River Mersey in 1889.

Great Republic — American clipper, four-masted
The largest wooden clipper ship ever constructed, requiring 1,500,000 feet of pine, 336½ tons of iron, and 56 tons of copper. In 1853, fire sank her; but she was salvaged and rebuilt as a three deck vessel and went on to set transatlantic speed records. LAUNCHED: 1853, October 18 → FATE: Abandoned during a hurricane off Bermuda March 5, 1872.

Great Western, SS — British paddle steamboat, side-wheeler
First paddle ship built for crossing the Atlantic; completed the crossing in April of 1838. In later years, she was used as a showboat, a floating palace/concert hall and gymnasium. LAUNCHED: 1837, July 18 → FATE: Taken out of service December of 1846, she was broken up in 1856.

Gribshunden — Danish warship, one of the first carvel-built vessels and among the earliest armed with guns.
She was the flagship of the King of Denmark, Hans, on her way to a political summit with the Swedish leader when she sank, killing a number of those aboard and the summit. In 2015, the wreckage attracted international attention when a near perfectly-preserved wooden figurehead of a mythical beast was brought to the surface. LAUNCHED: 1485 → FATE: In 1495, she sank after an accidental fire while in the Baltic Sea off the coast of Ronneby in southeastern Sweden.

The number of All Countries All Ships and Boats listed is 37

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For a full list of all ships, select HERE

First Ship on each page
Page	Ship Name (Country and Type)
1.	Felicity Ace (Japanese roll-on/roll-off cargo ship)
2.	Fram (Norwegian schooner)
3.	General Slocum (American river paddle steamboat)
4.	Glomar Explorer (American deep sea research vessel)
5.	Grandcamp, SS (American liberty ship)

All Countries All Ships and Boats
1.	Felicity Ace Japanese roll-on/roll-off cargo ship
2.	Fenian Ram American submarine
3.	Floating Theater American caravel
4.	Flying Cloud American clipper
5.	Flying Dutchman Dutch sailing ship
6.	Flying Enterprise American cargo ship
7.	Fram Norwegian schooner
8.	Francisco, HSC Argentine high-speed catamaran
9.	Frigorifique French steamship
10.	Fujikawa Maru Japanese cargo ship
11.	Furious, HMS British battlecruiser
12.	Galeb Croatian yacht
13.	Gaspée English single-masted sloop-of-war
14.	Gaul English fishing trawler
15.	General Slocum American river paddle steamboat
16.	Georgios Averof Greek Armored cruiser
17.	Gerda III Danish lighthouse tender
18.	Ghost American schooner
19.	Ghost, stealth ship American super-cavitating
20.	Gjøa Norwegian sloop
21.	Glencairn, SS British tramp steamer
22.	Gloire French ocean-going ironclad
23.	Glomar Explorer American deep sea research vessel
24.	Gloriana English royal barge
25.	Goeben, SMS German battlecruiser
26.	Gokstad Viking clinker-built
27.	Golden Hind English galleon
28.	Golden Hinde English galleon
29.	Goliath, RMS British ocean liner
30.	Graf Spee, Admiral German pocket battleship
31.	Grandcamp, SS American liberty ship
32.	Great Britain, SS British steamship
33.	Great Eastern, SS British iron paddle steamboat
34.	Great Republic American clipper
35.	Great Western, SS British paddle steamboat
36.	Gribshunden Danish warship

Famous Ships and Boats

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