Famous Ships and Boats

In history, movies, books, on exhibit

War ships, ship tragedies, steam ships, yachts, and more

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Daigo Fukuryu Maru — Japanese fishing boat
First victim of a hydrogen bomb died of radiation poisoning because the ship was too near the test zone. On on March 1, 1954, the boat was contaminated by nuclear fallout from the US's Castle Bravo thermonuclear test on Bikini. On Sept. 23, 1954, the ship's radio operator, Aikichi Kuboyama, succumbed. LAUNCHED: 1947 → FATE: Now on display in Tokyo at the Tokyo Metropolitan Daigo Fukuryu Maru Exhibition Hall in Yumenoshima Park.

Daimlier — German motorboat
The first commercial motor boat. Based upon a boat powered by a petrol engine tested on the Neckar river in Germany in 1886 by Daimler and Maybach. LAUNCHED: 1886 → FATE: Unknown.

Darling, HMS — British torpedo boat destroyer
First destroyer-type ship. Created to defend against torpedo boats. She was described at the time as the "fastest boat ever" having achieved a speed over 28 knots. LAUNCHED: 1893, November 18 → FATE: Scrapped in 1912.

(Another )

David, CSS — American Confederate torpedo boat
A cigar-shaped boat with explosives on the end of a spar projecting forward from her bow. Surface vessel designed to operate very low in the water, resembling a submarine. LAUNCHED: 1863 → FATE: Unknown.

(Another )

Demologos — American paddle steamers with a catamaran hull
First warship to be propelled by a steam engine. Designed by Robert Fulton, with the steam engine between a double hull, no other ship like her was ever built. (See "Another IMAGE" for cross view of her structure.) LAUNCHED: 1815 → FATE: Accidentally blown up in the Brooklyn Navy Yard on June 4, 1829.

Derbyshire, MV — British cargo ship, oil-ore
Largest British ship ever to have been lost at sea. All 42 crew members and two wives were lost with the ship during Typhoon Orchid in 1980. LAUNCHED: 1976, June → FATE: Sank south of Japan September 9, 1980.

Deutschland — German pocket battleship
Lead ship of her class serving in the German Kriegsmarine before and during World War II. Renamed Lützow in November of 1939, because Adolf Hitler feared loss of a ship named Deutschland would make for bad propaganda. LAUNCHED: 1931, May 18 → FATE: Sunk in the Baltic sea July 20, 1947.

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Deutschland, SMS — German battleship
First of five Deutschland class pre-dreadnought battleships built for the Kaiserliche Marine between 1903 and 1906. With the launching of the big-gun English HMS Dreadnought battleship, the SMS Deutschland became obsolete. LAUNCHED: 1904, November 18 → FATE: Scrapped in 1920.

Deutschland, submarine — German submarine
First submarine to cross the Atlantic Ocean. She was a blockade-breaking German merchant submarine used during World War I. LAUNCHED: 1916, March 28; converted 1917 June → FATE: Broken up at Morecambe, England in 1922.

Devastastion, HMS — British Devastation-class ironclad
The first ocean-going capital ship not carry sails, and the first with the entire main armament mounted on top of the hull rather than inside it. Originally conceived as a ocean-going breastwork monitor, she was redesignated as 2nd Class Turret ships in 1886 and finally as 2nd Class Battleships by the 1900. LAUNCHED: 1874 → FATE: Was scrapped in 1908.

Discovery — British three-masted barque
The ship that carried Scott and Shackleton on their first successful journey to the Antarctic. She was locked in the ice of the Antarctic for two years. The ship was eventually freed in February, 1904 by the use of controlled explosives. LAUNCHED: 1901, March 18 → FATE: Museum ship in Dundee, Scotland.

(Another )

Doña Paz, MV — Japanese built, Philippine owned ferry
A collision with MT Vector in 1987 resulted in the deadliest ferry disaster in history in peace time; possibly 4375 lives lost. As Don Sulpicio, on June 5, 1979, she was gutted by fire (with no casualties), beached and declared a total loss. The wreck was sold, refurbished and returned to service in 1981. LAUNCHED: 1963, April 18 → FATE: Collided with the oil tanker, caught fire and sank on December 20, 1987.

Dolpin, USS — American V-class submarine
The penultimate design in the V-boat series and star in the movie Submarine D-1. The movie hi-lights the use of the Momsen lung for emergency submarine rescues as well as the training tank structures of New London, Connecticut submarine base. LAUNCHED: 1931, March 18 → FATE: Broken up in August 1946.

Dreadnought, HMS — British dreadnought battleship
First "all-big-gun" armament and steam turbine propulsion. She revolutionized naval power and started a naval arms race. LAUNCHED: 1906, February 18 → FATE: Sold for scrap in 1923.

Driver, HMS — British side-wheeler paddle sloop
First steamship to circumnavigation the globe. She was the first steamship to visit New Zealand, arriving January 1846, and was involved in the New Zealand Wars. LAUNCHED: 1840, December 18 → FATE: Wrecked on Mayaguana Island on August 3,1861.

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Drum, USS — American Gato-class submarine
She is the oldest of Gato-class submarine still in existence, having received a total of 12 battle stars for her World War II service. She sank 15 ships for a total of 80,580 tons of Japanese shipping, eighth highest of all US submarines. LAUNCHED: 1941, May 18 → FATE: Currently a museum ship in Mobile, Alabama, at Battleship Memorial Park.

Duyfken — Dutch barque
First authenticated European discovery of Australia, 1606. Prior to finding Australia, she explored much of South Pacific including the "Spice Islands" as part of the Dutch East Inda Company fleet. Her replica was built in Australia. LAUNCHED: 1595, original ship; replica launched January 24, 1999 → FATE: Condemned and dismantled in July 1608; replica on display at Elizabeth Quay in Perth, Austrailia.

Earnslaw, TSS — New Zealand ferry, coal-fired steamship
One of the oldest tourist attractions in New Zealand carrying passengers across Lake Wakatipu. She made a cameo appearance in the 2008 movie Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull as an Amazon River boat. LAUNCHED: 1912, February 18 → FATE: Still in use.

(Another )

Eastland, SS — American steamship, passenger
Largest loss of life from a single shipwreck on the Great Lakes. On the morning of July 24, 1915, the ship, being top-heavy, rolled over while docked in the Chicago River, killing 844 passengers and crew. LAUNCHED: 1903, May 18 → FATE: Sunk on July 24, 1915; raised, converted to a gunboat, renamed USS Wilmette February, 1918; sold for scrap in October of 1946.

Eclipse — Russian luxury yacht, (German built)
One of the largest private motor yacht at 162.5 meters (533 feet), costing over a billion dollars. She has two helicopter pads, 24 guest cabins, two swimming pools, and several hot tubs, and is also equipped with three launch boats and a mini-submarine. LAUNCHED: 2009, June 18 → FATE: Still in use.

Edmund Fitzgerald, SS — American lake cargo ship, freighter; ore carrier
Sank suddenly during a gale storm on Lake Superior without a distress signal. All 29 crew members were lost gaining it the appellation "Titanic of the Great Lakes." The wreck was found 17 miles from Whitefish Bay 4 days later. LAUNCHED: 1958, June 18 → FATE: Lost in a storm on November 10, 1975.

El Faro, SS — American container ship (cargo ship)
The worst maritime disaster for a U.S.-flagged vessel in decades, resulting in the deaths of 33 crew. In 2003, prior to the invasion of Iraq in Operation Iraqi Freedom, the vessel, then named Northern Lights, ferried U.S. Marines and supplies from California to Kuwait. LAUNCHED: 1974, November 18 → FATE: Lost at sea with all hands on October 1, 2015 after losing propulsion near the eyewall of Hurricane Joaquin.

Eldridge, USS — American destroyer escort
Famed as part of an alleged military experiment of cloaking ships invisible and carried out by the U.S. Navy at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard.. A 1984 movie of the incident, The Philadelphia Experiment, presented a fictionalized version of the incident. LAUNCHED: 1943, July 25 → FATE: Decommisioned and scrapped November 11, 1999.

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(Another )

Emma Maersk — Danish container ship (cargo ship)
First of the larger container ships. She was once dubbed SS Santa because she was bound for the United Kingdom from China loaded with Christmas goods. During construction, welding work caused a fire that spread throughout the ship. LAUNCHED: 2006, May 18 → FATE: Still in service.

Empire Windrush, MV — German cruise ship captured by England in May of 1945
Carried 493 West Indian immigrants from Jamaica wishing to start a new life in the England on June 22, 1948. Before World War II, she was used for cruises by the Nazi Party to reward party members for services to the Party. Image shown is of sister-ship Empire Doon. LAUNCHED: 1930, December 18 → FATE: Sank in the Mediterranean Sea in March 30, 1954.

Empress of China — American three-masted, square-rigged sailing ship
First American ship to sail from the newly independent United States to China, opening what is known today as the Old China Trade. She left New York harbor on Washington's birthday, February 22, 1784 and returned to New York after a round voyage of fourteen months and twenty-four days. LAUNCHED: 1783 → FATE: Unknown.

(Another )

Empress of Ireland — Canadian ocean liner
Collided with a Norwegian collier in 1914 claiming 1012 lives, the worst Canadian maritime accident in peacetime. The wreck lies in 40 meters (130 ft) of water, making it accessible to divers. Many artifacts from the wreckage are on display at the Site historique maritime de la Pointe-au-Père in Rimouski, Quebec. LAUNCHED: 1906, January 18 → FATE: Sank in the Saint Lawrence River following a collision May 29, 1914.

(Another )

Endeavour, HMS — British collier, three-masted; refitted in 1768 for the expedition
James Cook's ship during his voyage to explore the Pacific Ocean and Terra Australis Incognita. She became the first ship to reach the east coast of Australia at Botany Bay in April 1770, and went on to circumnavigate the world. LAUNCHED: 1764, June → FATE: Later renamed Lord Sandwich. Scuttled in a blockade of Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island, in 1778.

(Another )

Endurance — Norwegian barquentine, three-masted
Used by Sir Ernest Shackleton for the 1914 Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition. Her original purpose was as an luxurious ice-capable steam yacht designed for polar conditions. She was one of the strongest wooden ship ever built. LAUNCHED: 1912, December 18 → FATE: Crushed by pack ice in the Weddell Sea in 1915.

Enterprise, USS — American aircraft carrier
World's first nuclear powered aircraft carrier and the eighth U.S. Naval vessel to bear the name. As one of the oldest carriers in the fleet, she was deactivated in 2012 at which time a Gerald R. Ford class carrier, CVN-80, will inherit the name Enterprise. LAUNCHED: 1960, September 18 → FATE: Put in storage in 2017.

Eos — American three-masted Bermuda rigged schooner, built in Germany
The largest sailing yacht in the world with an overall length of 305 feet or 92.92 meters. With much of its length in the bowsprit, the length at the waterline is less than the Maltese Falcon. LAUNCHED: 2006 → FATE: Still in service.

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(Another )

Esmeralda — Chilean wooden hull steam corvette
Engaged the Peruvian ironclad Huáscar in the Battle of Iquique despite the material superiority of the Peruvian ship. A replica of Esmeralda is a museum ship in Iquique, Chile. LAUNCHED: 1855, June 26 → FATE: Rammed and sunk on 21 May 1879 at the Battle of Iquique during the War of the Pacific.

Essex — American barque; whale ship, a three-masted
Basis of Nathaniel Philbrick's book In the Heart of the Sea and the movie as well as the inspiration for Herman Melville's 1851 classic novel Moby-Dick. She left Nantucket in 1819 on a whaling voyage in the South Pacific with 21 aboard. It was attacked and sunk by a sperm whale in the Pacific Ocean. Only two men survived. LAUNCHED: 1800, approx. → FATE: Sunk in the southern Pacific November 20, 1820.

(Another )

Estonia, MS — German cruise ferry with bow opening car ramp
Worst maritime ship disaster in the European waters in peacetime after the Titanic, costing 852 lives. As the largest Estonian-owned ship of the time, she symbolized the independence Estonia regained after the collapse of the Soviet Union. LAUNCHED: 1980, April 18 → FATE: Capsized and sunk in the Baltic Sea on September 28, 1994.

Etoile du Roy — British frigate, sixth-rate
Stand-in for several different ships for the British TV series Horatio Hornblower, 1998-2003. The three-masted frigate was built specifically to represent a generic Nelson-age warship, with her design inspired by HMS Blandford built in 1741. LAUNCHED: 1997, September → FATE: Sold to a French company and now on exhibit at Saint-Malo, Brittany.

Eureka — American paddle steamboat, stern-wheeler, ferry
The largest wooden passenger ferry ever built, certified to carry 3,500 people. She was the last example of the fleet of ferry boats carrying passengers and vehicles across the San Francisco Bay. LAUNCHED: 1890 → FATE: Preserved at the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park.

(Another )

Ever Given — Japanese container ship
The ship ran aground in the Suez Canal, completely blocking it. Traffic in both directions was blocked for just over six days, leading to a traffic jam of over two hundred vessels. The ship was finally freed on March 29, 2021. LAUNCHED: 2018, May 9 → FATE: Still operating.

(Another )

Exodus 1947 — American packet steamer
The ship carried 4,500 Jewish immigrants from France to British Mandatory Palestine on July 11, 1947. The incident was the topic of the 1960 movie Exodus.. Until 1942, she carried passengers and freight between Norfolk, Virginia and Baltimore, Maryland. LAUNCHED: 1928 → FATE: After efforts to restore her, a fire destroyed her in 1952 while tied up in Haifa. The wreck was towed out past the ship lanes and scuttled. Two later attempts to raise her for salvage failed.

Exxon Valdez — American oil tanker
Spilled millions of gallons of crude oil in Prince William Sound. Over her life, she was renamed several times ending up in 2011 as Oriental Nicety. In 2010, as Dong Fang Ocean, she colided with Aali, a cargo ship, causing severe damage to both ships. LAUNCHED: 1986, October 18 → FATE: Beached for dismantling August 20, 2012.

The number of All Countries All Ships and Boats listed is 39

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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.	Daimlier (German motorboat)
2.	Deutschland, SMS (German battleship)
3.	Drum, USS (American Gato-class submarine)
4.	Emma Maersk (Danish container ship)
5.	Esmeralda (Chilean steam corvette)

All Countries All Ships and Boats
1.	Daimlier German motorboat
2.	Darling, HMS British torpedo boat destroyer
3.	David, CSS American Confederate torpedo boat
4.	Demologos American paddle steamers
5.	Derbyshire, MV British cargo ship
6.	Deutschland German battleship
7.	Deutschland, SMS German battleship
8.	Deutschland, submarine German submarine
9.	Devastastion, HMS British Devastation-class ironclad
10.	Discovery British barque
11.	Doña Paz, MV Japanese ferry
12.	Dolpin, USS American V-class submarine
13.	Dreadnought, HMS British dreadnought battleship
14.	Driver, HMS British paddle sloop
15.	Drum, USS American Gato-class submarine
16.	Duyfken Dutch barque
17.	Earnslaw, TSS New Zealand ferry
18.	Eastland, SS American steamship
19.	Eclipse Russian luxury yacht
20.	Edmund Fitzgerald, SS American lake cargo ship
21.	El Faro, SS American container ship
22.	Eldridge, USS American destroyer escort
23.	Emma Maersk Danish container ship
24.	Empire Windrush, MV German cruise ship
25.	Empress of China American three-masted, square-rigged sailing ship
26.	Empress of Ireland Canadian ocean liner
27.	Endeavour, HMS British collier
28.	Endurance Norwegian barquentine
29.	Enterprise, USS American aircraft carrier
30.	Eos American three-masted Bermuda rigged
31.	Esmeralda Chilean steam corvette
32.	Essex American barque
33.	Estonia, MS German cruise ferry
34.	Etoile du Roy British frigate
35.	Eureka American paddle steamboat
36.	Ever Given Japanese container ship
37.	Exodus 1947 American packet steamer
38.	Exxon Valdez American oil tanker