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History

From Sail to Submarine: U.S. Military Ships and Watercraft

How America built its fighting fleets, from the Continental Navy's armed merchant ships and the first revenue cutters to ironclads, battleships, aircraft carriers, nuclear submarines, and the landing craft that put troops ashore, and which branches use them.

1775 to todaySourced to the Naval History and Heritage Command, the Coast Guard Historian's Office, the Marine Corps History Division, the U.S. Army, and the Congressional Research Service

Two and a Half Centuries at Sea

The United States began with a handful of converted merchant ships and grew into the largest navy in history. Open any entry to see how each era of ships shaped the next.

The story of American warships is a story about reach. A country with two long coastlines, overseas trade, and allies across both oceans has always needed ships to protect its commerce, guard its shores, and carry its soldiers and supplies to distant wars. Each new technology, from steam and iron to aircraft and nuclear power, changed what a navy could do. See how these ships fit into the wider story of U.S. military history.

The Constitution gives Congress the power "to provide and maintain a Navy," and Congress has decided the size and shape of the fleet ever since. The milestones below are drawn from the Naval History and Heritage Command, the Coast Guard Historian's Office, the Marine Corps History Division, the U.S. Army, and the Congressional Research Service.

At a Glance

  • 1775

    Continental Congress orders the first armed vessels, the Navy's birthday

  • 1790

    Congress authorizes ten revenue cutters, the start of today's Coast Guard

  • 2,710

    Liberty cargo ships built in World War II, the most of any single design

  • ~290

    Battle force ships in the U.S. Navy today

Sources & Further Reading

Ship counts and production totals vary between sources, especially for World War II classes built at many shipyards and for ships later transferred to other countries; the figures here are the ones most commonly cited by the Naval History and Heritage Command, the Coast Guard, and the Congressional Research Service. Fleet sizes and shipbuilding plans after 2023 (the Columbia-class schedule, Zumwalt modernization, and Army watercraft plans) reflect announcements current as of September 2026 and may change.

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