Famous Ships and Boats in History

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K-13 — British K-class submarine
The first in the class of the steam-powered submarines. She sank in an accident during sea trials in early 1917 and was salvaged and recommissioned as HMS K22. 32 people died in the accident and 48 were rescued. LAUNCHED: 1916, November 11 → FATE: Sold for scrapping December 16, 1926 in Sunderland.

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Kalakala — American ferry
The first streamlined ferry with Art Deco styling and luxurious amenities served in Puget Sound from 1935 to 1967. From 1926 to 1933, she sailed as the ferry Peralta; after a fire, the superstructure was rebuilt in modern style. LAUNCHED: 1926, April as Peralta; relaunch 1934 → FATE: Moored at Tacoma, Washington.

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Kalmar Nyckel — Swedish full-rigged pinnace
The ship is famed for carrying Swedish settlers to North America in 1638 to establish the colony of New Sweden. A replica (as seen in "Another IMAGE) was launched in 1997. The Kalmar Nyckel made four successful round trips from Sweden to North America, a record unchallenged by any other colonial vessel. LAUNCHED: 1625 → FATE: The original ship was sunk in the North Sea by the Dutch in a war against the English in July of 1652. Replica is in service as a tourist attraction at Wilmington, Delware.

Kathleen and May — British three masted schooner
Last remaining British built wooden hull three-masted top sail schooner. Originally equipped with the first known fitting of Appledore roller reefing. After years of service, during restoration in 2000, 70% of the original planking was stripped from the frames, enabling most of her internal timbers to later be refitted. LAUNCHED: 1900, April → FATE: Restored and based in Bideford on the River Torridge.

Kaz II — Australian catamaran yacht
Three men sailing aboard their yacht mysteriously vanish without a trace off the north-eastern coast of Australia. The fate of her crew is still unknown and the circumstances in which they disappeared can be compared to that of Marie Celeste. LAUNCHED: 1989 → FATE: Unknown.

Keying, Junk — Chinese junk, three-masted (trading ship)
The first ship from China to visit New York where it was visited by 4,000 tourists a day paying 25 cents to board the ship and meet its crew. She was manned by 30 Chinese and 12 Englishmen, and commanded by the British Captain Charles Alfred Kellett during her travel. LAUNCHED: 1846, circa → FATE: Neglected and rotted in England in 1855.

Kiangya, SS — Chinese steamship, passenger
Blew up, probably after hitting a World War II Japanese mine, resulting in over 3000 killed. She was packed with refugees from the Chinese Civil War fleeing the advancing Communist army when she sank. LAUNCHED: 1939 → FATE: Sank December 4, 1948 in the mouth of the Huangpu River 50 miles south of Shanghai.

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Kin Lung, SS — Chinese tramp steamer
The ship setting in the 1935 movie China Seas starring Clark Gable and Jean Harlow. (The ship exterior is rarely seen in the movie; image here is from an opening scene). The special effects during the typhoon with huge waves washing over everyone are dramatic and effective. LAUNCHED: 1935, for the movie; the existence of the actual ship is unknown → FATE: Inconclusive.

Kingston II — American tugboat
She assisted the launch of several U.S. Navy submarines including Nautilus, the world’s first nuclear submarine. Her ceremonial duties at the museum have included leading river parades of antique boats and welcoming visiting vessels from other nations. LAUNCHED: 1937 → FATE: On exhibit at Mystic Seaport Museum at Mystic, Connecticut.

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Kirk, USS — American destroyer escort, Knox-class
She was sent to help evacuate Americans and fleeing refugees from South Vietnam, caring out one of the most significant humanitarian missions in U.S. military history.. During the evacuation, she was a makeshift landing pad for helicopters flown by South Vietnamese pilots fleeing with families and friends on board. LAUNCHED: 1971, September 25 → FATE: On 29 September 1999, the ship was purchased by Taiwan and renamed Fen Yang.

Kon Tiki — Norwegian raft
Used by Norwegian Thor Heyerdahl to cross the Pacific. Heyerdahl used the craft in his 1947 expedition from South America to the Polynesian islands to show that people from South America could have settled Polynesia in pre-Columbian times. LAUNCHED: 1947 → FATE: On display in the Kon-Tiki Museum in Oslo, Norway.

Kursk, K-141 — Russian nuclear submarine
Sank with all 118 crew; Russia declined rescue offers even though rescue of some was possible. With the use of a giant barge, the she was eventually raised and the dead recovered and buried in Russia. LAUNCHED: 1994 → FATE: Sank in the Barents Sea on August 12, 2000.

Kursura, INS — Indian Kalvari-class submarine (Russian built)
A famous tourist attraction and one of the few submarine museums to be exhibited as it was in service. She was laid off for several years and cannibalized for spare parts for other submarines; then between 1980 to 1982 underwent a refit in the Soviet Union and made operational again in 1985. LAUNCHED: 1969, December 18 → FATE: Decommissioned on February 2001 and made into a museum ship August 2002 at Ramakrishna Mission Beach in Visakhapatnam, India.

Kuru, SS — Finnish steamship
On September 7, 1929, she capsized and sank on lake Näsijärvi, in Tampere making it the worst maritime disaster in Finnish waters with the loss of 136 lives. The capsizing was mainly due to a high center of gravity when a third deck level was added in 1927. LAUNCHED: 1915 → FATE: The wreck was raised and repaired shortly afterwards and served until 1936.

L'Hydroptère — French speed sailboat; experimental
Currently the world's fastest sailboat. In 2008, it reached a sailing speed of 56.3 knots, the first sailboat to ever pass 100 km/h. LAUNCHED: 2008 → FATE: Still sailing.

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La Amistad — Spanish schooner, two-masted; built in U.S.
In 1839, Africans being transported as slaves revolted against their captors aboard. She primarily engaged in short coastal trade with sugar-industry cargo. Her normal route ran from Havana to her home port of Guanaja. LAUNCHED: 1838, maybe → FATE: Renamed Ion, she was sold in Guadeloupe in 1844. No record after 1844.

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La Belle — French barque
Explorer Robert De La Salle's flagship in the 1680s; its wreckage recovered in the late 1990s was an important maritime archaeological achievement. Discovered in 1995, the hull of the ship was recovered with over a million artifacts, many on display at the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum in Austin, Texas. LAUNCHED: 1684, probably → FATE: Washed aground and wrecked in Matagorda Bay in the Gulf of Mexico in 1686.

La Gloire — French battleship, steamer
The first ocean-going ironclad battleship in history. The ship initiated the obsolescence of traditional unarmored wooden ships-of-the-line. LAUNCHED: 1859, November → FATE: Scrapped in 1883.

Labrador, CCGS — Canadian Wind-class icebreaker
The first ship to circumnavigate North America in a single voyage and first warship to transit the Northwest Passage. Her career marked the beginning of the CCG's icebreaker operations which continue to this day. LAUNCHED: 1951, December 14 → FATE: Sold for scrap and broken up 1989.

Laconia, RMS — British ocean liner, then converted to a troop ship
After a torpedo attack, a dramatic rescue of the ship's passengers turned to disaster and became known as the Laconia incident. U.S. planes attacked the several German U-boats trying to rescue its 2,732 passengers and crew most of whom were abandoned by the subs, resulting in a loss of over 1,649 people. The sinking was portrayed in the 2011 British TV movie. LAUNCHED: 1921, April 18 → FATE: Sunk by German submarine U-156 off the coast of West Africa, September 12, 1942.

Lady Elgin, PS — American paddle steamer
The wooden-hulled sidewheel steamship sank in Lake Michigan near Port Clinton, Illinois with the loss of 300 lives. During her time afloat, she was one of the most elegantly appointed passenger ships sailing the Great Lakes. LAUNCHED: 1851 → FATE: Sunk in collision with schooner Augusta of Oswego September 8, 1860

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Lady Elizabeth — British 3-masted iron barque
The hulk of the ship is the only semi-intact hulk left in the harbours of the Falkland Island. After being condemned in 1913, she served as a timber warehouse alongside the East Jetty. In February 1936 she broke her moorings in a storm and drifted to her present location. LAUNCHED: 1879, June 6 → FATE: Her remains now lie at the bottom of Whale Bone Cove harbour, Stanley, Falkland Islands.

Lady Lovibond — English schooner
A legendary ship said to reappear every fifty years as a ghost ship, yet no records of the ship or its sinking exist. The ship may have been a fabrication from a newspaper article in 1924, or based on phantom sightings between 1914 and 1924. LAUNCHED: 1798, February 12, first supposed sighting → FATE: Allegedly wrecked on the Goodwin Sands, off the coast of south-east England, on February 13, 1748, killing everyone aboard.

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Laffey, USS — American Allen M. Sumner-class destroyer
During the battle of Okinawa, she withstood the greatest kamikaze air attack in history, losing 32 killed and 71 wounded. Laffey was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1986, the only remaining US-owned Sumner-class destroyer LAUNCHED: 1943, November 21 → FATE: After WWII, she was repaired and continued to serve until decommissioned March 9, 1975. Laffey is currently a museum ship at Patriots Point in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina.

Lancastria, RMS — British ocean liner
Worst single loss of life in British maritime history and the bloodiest single engagement for UK forces in World War II. Over 4000 people were lost while evacuating British nationals and troops from France. LAUNCHED: 1922, June → FATE: Sunk off the French port of St. Nazaireon June 17, 1940.

Langley, USS — American aircraft carrier
First American aircraft carrier and U.S. Navy's first turbo-electric-powered ship. Following a conversion in 1936 to a seaplane tender, she fought in World War II. LAUNCHED: 1911, built as a collier converted in 1920 → FATE: Attacked and badly damaged by Japanese planes, she was scuttled, February 27, 1942.

LCT7074, HM — British landing craft, tank (LCT)
The last amphibious assault ship in the United Kingdom for landing tanks, other vehicles and troops on beachheads. De-commissioned in 1947 she was renamed Landfall and became the club ship for the Master Mariners’ Club of Liverpool. The craft was later converted into a riverfront nightclub. LAUNCHED: 1944, April 4 → FATE: Salvaged and restored by 2020, then moved to a permanent display at Portsmouth's The D-Day Story museum.

Leitha, SMS (later named Lajta) — Austro-Hungarian river monitor
The first river monitor in Europe. The oldest and the only restored warship of the Austro-Hungarian Navy. In October 1914, her turret took a direct hit, all the crew inside being killed. LAUNCHED: 1872, October 13 → FATE: Restored in 2009, Lajta is currently moored on the Danube in Budapest as a museum ship

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Lexington — American steamboat, paddlewheel
Fastest steamer on Long Island Sound that sunk after an on-board fire sweep through the cargo. The ship's overcrowded lifeboats sank almost immediately with all but 4 people drowning in the freezing water. LAUNCHED: 1834 → FATE: Sunk January 13, 1840.

Liberté, SS — German ocean liner; then American war prize; then French owned
Featured prominently in the movie The French Line, starring Jane Russell. She was taken as a US war prize at the end of World War II, then used to transport US servicemen back to the states, and finally turned over to the French as war reparations. LAUNCHED: 1928, August 18 → FATE: Retired in 1961 and scrapped in 1962.

Liemba, MV — German ferry, passenger and car
The last vessel of the German Imperial Navy still sailing. She was the inspiration for the German gunboat in the novel and movie The African Queen. LAUNCHED: 1915, February → FATE: Scuttled July 26, 1916; raised in 1927, still in service on Lake Tanganyika.

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Lightning, HMS — British torpedo boat
The first ship to launch self-propelled torpedos. She was used exclusively with HMS Vernon, a torpedo school ship at the Royal Navy's Torpedo Branch at Portsmouth, England. LAUNCHED: 1876 → FATE: Scrapped in 1896.

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Lusitania, RMS — British ocean liner
Torpedoed by German submarine U-20, killing 1,198 people. Her sinking during transatlantic passage turned public opinion against Germany in World War I. LAUNCHED: 1906, June 18 → FATE: Sank 70 kms from the Old Head of Kinsale May 7, 1915.

The number of All Countries All Ships and Boats listed is 33

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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.	Kalakala (American ferry)
2.	Kin Lung, SS (Chinese tramp steamer)
3.	La Amistad (Spanish schooner)
4.	Laffey, USS (American Allen M. Sumner-class destroyer)
5.	Lightning, HMS (British torpedo boat)

All Countries All Ships and Boats
1.	Kalakala American ferry
2.	Kalmar Nyckel Swedish full-rigged pinnace
3.	Kathleen and May British three masted schooner
4.	Kaz II Australian catamaran
5.	Keying, Junk Chinese junk
6.	Kiangya, SS Chinese steamship
7.	Kin Lung, SS Chinese tramp steamer
8.	Kingston II American tugboat
9.	Kirk, USS American destroyer escort, Knox-class
10.	Kon Tiki Norwegian raft
11.	Kursk, K-141 Russian nuclear submarine
12.	Kursura, INS Indian Kalvari-class
13.	Kuru, SS Finnish steamship
14.	L'Hydroptère French speed sailboat
15.	La Amistad Spanish schooner
16.	La Belle French barque
17.	La Gloire French battleship
18.	Labrador, CCGS Canadian Wind-class icebreaker
19.	Laconia, RMS British ocean liner
20.	Lady Elgin, PS American paddle steamer
21.	Lady Elizabeth British 3-masted iron barque
22.	Lady Lovibond English schooner
23.	Laffey, USS American Allen M. Sumner-class destroyer
24.	Lancastria, RMS British ocean liner
25.	Langley, USS American aircraft carrier
26.	LCT7074, HM British landing craft, tank (LCT)
27.	Leitha, SMS Austro-Hungarian river monitor
28.	Lexington American steamboat
29.	Liberté, SS German ocean liner
30.	Liemba, MV German ferry
31.	Lightning, HMS British torpedo boat
32.	Lusitania, RMS British ocean liner

Famous Ships and Boats

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All Countries All Ships and Boats