National Underwater and Marine Agency
Encyclopedia
The National Underwater and Marine Agency (NUMA), originally an organization within the fiction of author Clive Cussler
, is a private non-profit organization
in the United States
. Cussler created and leads the actual organization which is dedicated to "preserving maritime heritage through the discovery, archaeological survey and conservation of shipwreck
artifacts."
NUMA has discovered many sunken ships. The wreck of the Confederate States Navy
submarine
H. L. Hunley
was discovered by NUMA in 1995, possibly using information based around Dr. E. Lee Spence
's alleged prior discovery of the wreck, and salvaged in August 2000.
series of adventure novel
s by Clive Cussler
, NUMA is a government organization. The fictional NUMA is devoted to oceanic exploration and investigation, and is the agency employing the main characters in the series of books. Its headquarters is a 30-story building located on the east bank of the Potomac River
, overlooking the Capitol building in Washington, DC. The agency comprises over five thousand employees and scientists that often work around the clock on expeditions. It is often referred to as a marine version of NASA
, although it mission seems to be a cross of NOAA and the US Coast Guard.
The fictional NUMA is headed by the character Admiral James Sandecker
, with Rudi Gunn
as second in command, although Dirk Pitt is eventually asked to take over when Sandecker pursues the vice-presidency.
Housed inside this headquarters is one of world's most advanced computer systems which contains almost every known piece of information, both current and ancient, about the sea. The computer center takes up the entire 10th floor but is in an "open" setting with a raised circular platform that uses a hologram to display Hiram Yeager's computer's embodiment, named Max, at its center. There are no cubicles. Hiram Yeager
designed, runs, and maintains the computer lab.
prototype submarine.
The show features Cussler and James Delgado, who is also an author and executive director of the Vancouver Maritime Museum
. The show gives an in-depth explanation of the story of the shipwreck NUMA is exploring, including information about the ship's history and how it sank.
Two books titled The Sea Hunters were authored by Clive Cussler about NUMA's explorations.
and Confederate ships of the American Civil War
. NUMA has located or attempted to locate the following vessels and marine artifacts:
Clive Cussler
Clive Eric Cussler is an American adventure novelist and marine archaeologist. His thriller novels, many featuring the character Dirk Pitt, have reached The New York Times fiction best-seller list more than seventeen times...
, is a private non-profit organization
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Cussler created and leads the actual organization which is dedicated to "preserving maritime heritage through the discovery, archaeological survey and conservation of shipwreck
Shipwreck
A shipwreck is what remains of a ship that has wrecked, either sunk or beached. Whatever the cause, a sunken ship or a wrecked ship is a physical example of the event: this explains why the two concepts are often overlapping in English....
artifacts."
NUMA has discovered many sunken ships. The wreck of the Confederate States Navy
Confederate States Navy
The Confederate States Navy was the naval branch of the Confederate States armed forces established by an act of the Confederate Congress on February 21, 1861. It was responsible for Confederate naval operations during the American Civil War...
submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
H. L. Hunley
H. L. Hunley (submarine)
H. L. Hunley was a submarine of the Confederate States of America that played a small part in the American Civil War, but a large role in the history of naval warfare. The Hunley demonstrated both the advantages and the dangers of undersea warfare...
was discovered by NUMA in 1995, possibly using information based around Dr. E. Lee Spence
E. Lee Spence
Edward Lee Spence is a pioneer in underwater archaeology who studies shipwrecks and sunken treasure. He is also a published editor and author of non-fiction reference books; a magazine editor , and magazine publisher ; and a...
's alleged prior discovery of the wreck, and salvaged in August 2000.
The fictional NUMA
In the Dirk PittDirk Pitt
Dirk Pitt is a fictional character, the protagonist of a series of bestselling adventure novels written by Clive Cussler. The name Dirk Pitt is a registered trademark of Clive Cussler.-Character information and the supporting cast:...
series of adventure novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
s by Clive Cussler
Clive Cussler
Clive Eric Cussler is an American adventure novelist and marine archaeologist. His thriller novels, many featuring the character Dirk Pitt, have reached The New York Times fiction best-seller list more than seventeen times...
, NUMA is a government organization. The fictional NUMA is devoted to oceanic exploration and investigation, and is the agency employing the main characters in the series of books. Its headquarters is a 30-story building located on the east bank of the Potomac River
Potomac River
The Potomac River flows into the Chesapeake Bay, located along the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States. The river is approximately long, with a drainage area of about 14,700 square miles...
, overlooking the Capitol building in Washington, DC. The agency comprises over five thousand employees and scientists that often work around the clock on expeditions. It is often referred to as a marine version of NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
, although it mission seems to be a cross of NOAA and the US Coast Guard.
The fictional NUMA is headed by the character Admiral James Sandecker
James Sandecker
Admiral James Sandecker is a fictional character in the Dirk Pitt and Kurt Austin adventure novels by acclaimed novelist Clive Cussler. Sandecker is the Director of NUMA, the National Underwater and Marine Agency...
, with Rudi Gunn
Rudi Gunn
Rudi Gunn is a fictional character in the Dirk Pitt adventure novels by acclaimed novelist Clive Cussler. He is played by Rainn Wilson in the movie Sahara....
as second in command, although Dirk Pitt is eventually asked to take over when Sandecker pursues the vice-presidency.
Housed inside this headquarters is one of world's most advanced computer systems which contains almost every known piece of information, both current and ancient, about the sea. The computer center takes up the entire 10th floor but is in an "open" setting with a raised circular platform that uses a hologram to display Hiram Yeager's computer's embodiment, named Max, at its center. There are no cubicles. Hiram Yeager
Hiram Yeager
Hiram Yeager is a character in the Dirk Pitt adventure novels by novelist Clive Cussler.Yeager is in charge of the computer lab, which he designed and operates at the National Underwater and Marine Agency . Admiral James Sandecker, the head of NUMA has given Yeager free run in the creation and...
designed, runs, and maintains the computer lab.
The Sea Hunters
Cussler and NUMA have helped produce a television series on underwater exploration called The Sea Hunters, which chronicles the discovery and subsequent removal and conservation of the CSS H. L. Hunley in 1995. The show also features a number of other shipwrecks in various international locations, and on occasion the failure to find anything at all, such as their attempts to find the Holland IIIHolland III
The Holland III was an early prototype submarine made by John Holland. The 16-foot 1-ton model was a scaled-down version of the Fenian Ram intended for experiments to help him improve navigation....
prototype submarine.
The show features Cussler and James Delgado, who is also an author and executive director of the Vancouver Maritime Museum
Vancouver Maritime Museum
The Vancouver Maritime Museum is a Maritime museum devoted to presenting the maritime history of Vancouver, British Columbia, and the Canadian Arctic. Opened in 1959 as a Vancouver centennial project, it is located within Vanier Park just west of False Creek on the Vancouver waterfront. The main...
. The show gives an in-depth explanation of the story of the shipwreck NUMA is exploring, including information about the ship's history and how it sank.
Two books titled The Sea Hunters were authored by Clive Cussler about NUMA's explorations.
Trustees
The NUMA Advisory Board of Trustees:- Clive CusslerClive CusslerClive Eric Cussler is an American adventure novelist and marine archaeologist. His thriller novels, many featuring the character Dirk Pitt, have reached The New York Times fiction best-seller list more than seventeen times...
, Chairman - Dirk CusslerDirk CusslerDirk Cussler is the son of best selling author Clive Cussler. He is a co-author of several Dirk Pitt adventure novels, including Black Wind and Treasure of Khan as well as being the namesake for the Pitt character....
, President - Colonel Walter Schob
- Dana Larson
- Admiral William Thompson
- William SheaWilliam SheaWilliam Alfred "Bill" Shea was an American lawyer and a name partner of the prominent law firm of Shea & Gould...
- Michael HoganMichael HoganMichael Hogan may refer to:*Michael Hogan , American scholar and president of the University of Illinois*Michael Hogan Michael Hogan may refer to:*Michael Hogan (academic) (fl. early 2000s), American scholar and president of the University of Illinois*Michael Hogan (Canadian actor) Michael Hogan...
- Harold EdgertonHarold Eugene EdgertonHarold Eugene "Doc" Edgerton was a professor of electrical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology...
(deceased) - Eric Schonstedt (deceased)
- Clyde SmithClyde SmithClyde Harold Smith was a United States Representative from Maine.Born on a farm near Harmony, Maine, he moved with his parents to Hartland, Maine in 1891. He attended the rural schools and Hartland Academy, and taught school...
- Don WalshDon WalshDon Walsh is an American oceanographer, explorer and marine policy specialist. He and Jacques Piccard were aboard the bathyscaphe Trieste when it made a record maximum descent into the Mariana Trench on 23 January 1960, the deepest point of the world's ocean...
- Peter ThrockmortonPeter ThrockmortonPeter Throckmorton , DMH, American journalist and underwater archaeologist is one of several pioneer underwater archaeologists frequently described as the Father of Underwater Archaeology. Throckmorton was a founding member of the Sea Research Society and served on its Board of Advisors until his...
(deceased) - Kenhelm Stott, Jr. (deceased)
- Tony Bell
- Douglas Wheeler
- Wayne Gronquist
- Craig DirgoCraig DirgoCraig Dirgo is an American author of techno thrillers and adventure novels, as well as non-fiction. He started off co-authoring with Clive Cussler on his non-fiction work. He soon moved to his own novels starring his character, John Taft, an agent of a fictitious US spy agency, the National...
- Barbara Knight (deceased)
- Robert Esbenson (deceased)
- Ralph Wilbanks
NUMA expeditions
NUMA's expeditions tend to focus on ships of American origin from the early 19th century to the early 20th century, especially on UnionUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Confederate ships of the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. NUMA has located or attempted to locate the following vessels and marine artifacts:
- HMS ActaeonHMS Actaeon (1775)HMS Actaeon was a 28-gun Enterprise-class sixth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy. The Actaeon was first commissioned in June 1775 under the command of Captain Christopher Atkins.- References :...
- USS Akron
- CSS AlabamaCSS AlabamaCSS Alabama was a screw sloop-of-war built for the Confederate States Navy at Birkenhead, United Kingdom, in 1862 by John Laird Sons and Company. Alabama served as a commerce raider, attacking Union merchant and naval ships over the course of her two-year career, during which she never anchored in...
- Alexander NevskiRussian frigate Alexander NeuskiAlexander Nevsky , named after the famous Russian historical figure, was a large screw frigate of the Russian Imperial Navy. The ship was designed as part of a challenge being offered by the Russian Empire to the Royal Navy, but was lost in a shipwreck in 1868 while Grand Duke Alexei, son of Tsar...
, a Russian steam frigate; stranded off ThyborønThyborønThyborøn is a fishing village in Jutland, Denmark with a population of 2,241 , primarily famous for being the site of numerous shipwrecks, such as that of the Imperial Russian naval vessel Alexander Neuski....
in 1868 while carrying the crown princeCrown PrinceA crown prince or crown princess is the heir or heiress apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The wife of a crown prince is also titled crown princess.... - CSS ArkansasCSS ArkansasThe CSS Arkansas was a Confederate Ironclad warship during the American Civil War. Serving in the Western Theater, the vessel ran through a U.S. Navy fleet at Vicksburg, Mississippi, on 15 July 1862, in a celebrated action in which she inflicted more damage than she received...
- SMS BlücherSMS BlücherSMS Blücher was the last armored cruiser to be built by the German Imperial Navy . She was designed to match what German intelligence incorrectly believed to be the specifications of the British s...
, a German heavy cruiserHeavy cruiserThe heavy cruiser was a type of cruiser, a naval warship designed for long range, high speed and an armament of naval guns roughly 203mm calibre . The heavy cruiser can be seen as a lineage of ship design from 1915 until 1945, although the term 'heavy cruiser' only came into formal use in 1930...
; sunk at the battle of Dogger Bank in 1915Battle of Dogger Bank (1915)The Battle of Dogger Bank was a naval battle fought near the Dogger Bank in the North Sea on 24 January 1915, during the First World War, between squadrons of the British Grand Fleet and the German High Seas Fleet.... - BrutusTexan schooner BrutusThe Texan schooner Brutus was one of the four ships of the First Texas Navy that wreaked havoc on towns along the coast of Mexico, blockaded Mexican ports, and captured ships bound for Mexico with goods and munitions of war during the Texas Revolution.Her final, and most controversial, voyage was...
, a schoonerSchoonerA schooner is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts with the forward mast being no taller than the rear masts....
of the Republic of TexasRepublic of TexasThe Republic of Texas was an independent nation in North America, bordering the United States and Mexico, that existed from 1836 to 1846.Formed as a break-away republic from Mexico by the Texas Revolution, the state claimed borders that encompassed an area that included all of the present U.S...
NavyNavyA navy is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake- or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions... - Bonhomme RichardUSS Bonhomme Richard (1765)|-External links:** Clive Cussler recounts his elusive search for the Bonhomme Richard....
- USS CarondeletUSS Carondelet (1861)USS Carondelet was a gunboat constructed for the Union Navy by James B. Eads during the American Civil War...
- RMS CarpathiaRMS CarpathiaRMS Carpathia was a Cunard Line transatlantic passenger steamship built by Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson. Carpathia made her maiden voyage in 1903 and became famous for rescuing the survivors of after the latter ship hit an iceberg and sank on 15 April 1912...
- CSS ChicoraCSS ChicoraCSS Chicora was a Confederate ironclad ram that fought in the American Civil War. She was built under contract at Charleston, South Carolina in 1862. James M. Eason built her to John L...
- CSS CharlestonCSS CharlestonThe CSS Charleston was a Confederate Navy ironclad ram during the American Civil War. Construction at Charleston, South Carolina was authorized in fall 1862 and the ship was laid down in December 1862, entering service nine months later...
- USS Commodore Jones
- USS CumberlandUSS Cumberland (1842)The first USS Cumberland was a 50-gun sailing frigate of the United States Navy. She was the first ship sunk by the ironclad CSS Virginia....
- USS CyclopsUSS Cyclops (AC-4)USS Cyclops was one of four Proteus-class colliers built for the United States Navy several years before World War I. Named for the Cyclops, a primordial race of giants from Greek mythology, she was the second U.S. Naval vessel to bear the name...
- CSS DrewryCSS DrewryCSS Drewry was a wooden gunboat with foredeck protected by an iron V-shaped shield. Classed as a tender, she was attached to Flag Officer French Forrest's James River Squadron sometime in 1863 with Master Lewis Parrish, CSN, in command....
- HMS DefenceHMS Defence (1907)HMS Defence was a armoured cruiser built for the Royal Navy in the mid-1900s. She was the last armoured cruiser built for the Royal Navy. She was stationed in the Mediterranean when the First World War began and participated in the pursuit of the German battlecruiser and light cruiser...
, a British armoured cruiser, sunk during the battle of JutlandBattle of JutlandThe Battle of Jutland was a naval battle between the British Royal Navy's Grand Fleet and the Imperial German Navy's High Seas Fleet during the First World War. The battle was fought on 31 May and 1 June 1916 in the North Sea near Jutland, Denmark. It was the largest naval battle and the only... - HM Bark EndeavourHM Bark EndeavourHMS Endeavour, also known as HM Bark Endeavour, was a British Royal Navy research vessel commanded by Lieutenant James Cook on his first voyage of discovery, to Australia and New Zealand from 1769 to 1771....
- CSS FloridaCSS Florida (cruiser)CSS Florida was a cruiser in the Confederate States Navy.Florida was built by the British firm of William C. Miller & Sons of Toxteth, Liverpool, and purchased by the Confederacy from Fawcett, Preston & Co., also of Liverpool, who engined her...
- CSS FredericksburgCSS FredericksburgCSS Fredericksburg was an ironclad of the Confederate States Navy during the American Civil War.Fredericksburg was built at Richmond, Virginia in 1862-63. The CSS Fredericksburg was the second ironclad to be completed in Richmond. On November 30, 1863 she was reported completed and awaiting armament...
- CSS GainesCSS GainesCSS Gaines was a wooden side wheel gunboat constructed by the Confederates at Mobile, Alabama during 1861-62. The ship was hastily built with unseasoned wood, which was partially covered with 2-inch iron plating. Gaines resembled CSS Morgan except that she had high pressure boilers. Operating in...
- CSS General BeauregardCSS General BeauregardCSS General Beauregard was a cotton-clad sidewheel ram of the Confederate Navy during the American Civil War.Built in Algiers, Louisiana in 1847 as a towboat, the paddle steamer Ocean was selected in January 1862 by Capt. James E. Montgomery, former river steamboat master, for his River Defense...
- CSS General Lovell
- General SlocumGeneral SlocumThe PS General Slocum was a passenger steamboat built at Brooklyn, New York, in 1891. The General Slocum was named for Civil War officer and New York Congressman Henry Warner Slocum. She operated in the New York City area as an excursion steamer for the next thirteen years under the same ownership...
- CSS General Thompson
- CSS Governor MooreCSS Governor MooreLSNS Governor Moore was a schooner-rigged steamer in the Confederate States Navy.Governor Moore had been Southern S. S. Company's Charles Morgan, named for the firm's founder and built at New York in 1854 as a schooner-rigged, low pressure, walking beam-engined, seagoing steamer...
- Great Stone FleetStone FleetThe Stone Fleet consisted of a fleet of aging ships purchased in New Bedford and other New England ports, loaded with stone, and sailed south during the American Civil War by the Union Navy for use as Blockships...
- Greyhound
- HMS HawkeHMS Hawke (1891)HMS Hawke, launched in 1891, was the sixth British warship to be named Hawke. She was an Edgar-class protected cruiser.-Service:...
, a first-class British cruiser, sunk by the German U-boatU-boatU-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...
U-9 in October 1914 - USS HousatonicUSS Housatonic (1861)The first USS Housatonic was a screw sloop-of-war of the United States Navy, named for the Housatonic River of New England which rises in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, and flows southward into Connecticut before emptying into Long Island Sound a little east of Bridgeport, Connecticut...
- H. L. HunleyH. L. Hunley (submarine)H. L. Hunley was a submarine of the Confederate States of America that played a small part in the American Civil War, but a large role in the history of naval warfare. The Hunley demonstrated both the advantages and the dangers of undersea warfare...
- HMS InvincibleHMS Invincible (1907)HMS Invincible was a battlecruiser of the British Royal Navy, the lead ship of her class of three, and the first battlecruiser to be built by any country in the world. She participated in the Battle of Heligoland Bight in a minor role as she was the oldest and slowest of the British battlecruisers...
, a British battle cruiser, sunk at the battle of Jutland - Ivanhoe, a Confederate blockade runnerBlockade runnerA blockade runner is usually a lighter weight ship used for evading a naval blockade of a port or strait, as opposed to confronting the blockaders to break the blockade. Very often blockade running is done in order to transport cargo, for example to bring food or arms to a blockaded city...
- CSS JamestownCSS JamestownCSS Jamestown, originally a side-wheel, passenger steamer, was built at New York City in 1853, and seized at Richmond, Virginia in 1861 for the Commonwealth of Virginia Navy...
- USS KeokukUSS Keokuk (1862)USS Keokuk was an experimental ironclad steamer of the United States Navy named for the city of Keokuk, Iowa. Her keel was laid down at New York City by Charles W. Whitney, with the name Moodna . She was renamed while under construction, launched in December 1862 sponsored by Mrs. C. W...
- L'Oiseau Blanc ("White Bird"), aircraft flown by Charles NungesserCharles NungesserCharles Eugène Jules Marie Nungesser, MC was a French ace pilot and adventurer, best remembered as a rival of Charles Lindbergh...
and François ColiFrançois ColiFrançois Coli was a French pilot and navigator best known as the flying partner of Charles Nungesser in the doomed attempt to fly the Atlantic Ocean on the aircraft known as The White Bird....
which vanished on an attempted transatlantic flightTransatlantic flightTransatlantic flight is the flight of an aircraft across the Atlantic Ocean. A transatlantic flight may proceed east-to-west, originating in Europe or Africa and terminating in North America or South America, or it may go in the reverse direction, west-to-east...
in 1927 - Leopoldville, a Belgian troop transport torpedoed outside Cherbourg in 1944
- LexingtonSteamship LexingtonThe paddlewheel steamship Lexington was the fastest vessel which traveled from New York City to Boston during 1835-1840. It sank on January 14, 1840 after catching fire the previous evening.-The Ship:...
- Lost Locomotive of Kiowa Creek
- CSS LouisianaCSS LouisianaCSS Louisiana was an ironclad ship of the Confederate States Navy built to aid in defending the lower Mississippi River from invasion by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. She took part in one major action of the war, the Battle of Forts Jackson and St...
- George MalloryGeorge MalloryGeorge Herbert Leigh Mallory was an English mountaineer who took part in the first three British expeditions to Mount Everest in the early 1920s....
and Andrew IrvineAndrew Irvine (mountaineer)Andrew "Sandy" Comyn Irvine was an English mountaineer who took part in 1924 British Everest Expedition, the third British expedition to the world's highest mountain, Mount Everest....
, explorers lost on Mount EverestMount EverestMount Everest is the world's highest mountain, with a peak at above sea level. It is located in the Mahalangur section of the Himalayas. The international boundary runs across the precise summit point...
in 1924 - CSS ManassasCSS ManassasCSS Manassas, formerly the steam icebreaker Enoch Train, was built as a twin-screw towboat at Medford, Massachusetts, by James O. Curtis in 1855. A New Orleans commission merchant, Captain John A...
- Mary CelesteMary CelesteThe Mary Celeste was an American brigantine merchant ship famous for having been discovered on 4 December 1872, in the Atlantic Ocean unmanned and apparently abandoned , despite the fact that the weather was fine and her crew had been experienced and able...
- USS MilwaukeeUSS Milwaukee (1864)The first USS Milwaukee, a double-turreted river monitor, was launched by James B. Eads at Carondelet, MO, 4 February 1864; and commissioned at Mound City, IL, 27 August 1864, Acting Volunteer Lieutenant James W. Magune in command.-Service history:...
- USS MississippiUSS Mississippi (1841)USS Mississippi, a paddle frigate, was the first ship of the United States Navy to bear that name. She was named for the Mississippi River. Her sister ship was . Her keel was laid down by the Philadelphia Navy Yard in 1839; built under the personal supervision of Commodore Matthew Perry. She was...
- New OrleansNew Orleans (steamboat)The New Orleans was the first steamboat on the western waters of the United States. Its 1811-1812 voyage from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to New Orleans, Louisiana on the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers ushered in the era of commercial steamboat navigation on the western rivers.-Background:The New...
- Norseman, a Confederate blockade runner
- Northampton, a Confederate cargo ship
- Odin, a Royal Swedish steamship that ran aground off JutlandJutlandJutland , historically also called Cimbria, is the name of the peninsula that juts out in Northern Europe toward the rest of Scandinavia, forming the mainland part of Denmark. It has the North Sea to its west, Kattegat and Skagerrak to its north, the Baltic Sea to its east, and the Danish–German...
in 1836 with the Swedish prime minister on board - USS OsageUSS OsageTwo ships of the United States Navy have been named Osage after the Osage Native American tribe.* USS Osage , a single-turreted Neosho-class river monitor* USS Osage , a vehicle landing ship which served during World War II...
- CSS Palmetto StateCSS Palmetto StateCSS Palmetto State, an ironclad ram, was built by Cameron and Co., Charleston, South Carolina in January 1862, under the supervision of Flag Officer D. N. Ingraham, CSN. She was readied for service by September 1862 when Lieutenant Commander John Rutledge, CSN, was placed in command. Her armor was...
- USS PatapscoUSS PatapscoSix ships of the United States Navy have borne the name USS Patapsco, named for the Patapsco River in Maryland. a sloop laid down as USS Chesapeake, but renamed while under construction. a Passaic-class ironclad monitor during the American Civil War. the lead ship of her class of tugs between 1911...
- HMS PathfinderHMS Pathfinder (1904)HMS Pathfinder was the lead ship of the Pathfinder class scout cruisers, and was the first ship ever to be sunk by a torpedo fired by submarine . She was built by Cammell Laird, Birkenhead, launched on 16 July 1904, and commissioned on 18 July 1905...
, a British scout cruiser - USS Philippe
- Platte Valley
- Raccoon, a Confederate blockade runner
- Rattlesnake, a Confederate blockade runner
- HMS ResolutionHMS Resolution (Cook)HMS Resolution was a sloop of the Royal Navy, and the ship in which Captain James Cook made his second and third voyages of exploration in the Pacific...
- CSS RichmondCSS RichmondCSS Richmond, an ironclad ram, was built at Gosport Navy Yard to the design of John L. Porter with money and scrap iron collected by the citizens of Virginia, whose imagination had been captured by the ironclad CSS Virginia. Consequently she was sometimes referred to as Virginia II, Virginia No. 2...
- Ruby, a Confederate blockade runner
- S-35, a German destroyerDestroyerIn naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
sunk during the battle of Jutland - Saint Patrick, a Confederate blockade runner
- SS SavannahSS SavannahSS Savannah was an American hybrid sailing ship/sidewheel steamer built in 1818. She is notable for being the first steamship in the world to cross the Atlantic Ocean, a feat that was accomplished from May to June 1819, although only a fraction of the distance was covered with the ship under steam...
, the first steamship to cross the Atlantic OceanAtlantic OceanThe Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area... - HMS SharkHMS Shark (1912)HMS Shark, was an Acasta-class destroyer built in 1912 and sunk during the Battle of Jutland on the evening of 31 May 1916.-Construction:She was built at the Wallsend yard of Swan, Hunter & Wigham Richardson and launched on 30 July 1912...
, a British destroyer sunk during the battle of Jutland - Stonewall Jackson, a Confederate blockade runner
- SultanaSultana (steamboat)The SS Sultana was a Mississippi River steamboat paddlewheeler whose destruction in an explosion on April 27, 1865 was the greatest maritime disaster in United States history. An estimated 1,800 of the Sultanas 2,400 passengers were killed when three of the ship's four boilers exploded and the...
, the worst ship disaster in number of lives lost in North AmericaNorth AmericaNorth America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas... - Swamp Angel, the cannon that fired during the American Civil WarAmerican Civil WarThe American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
on CharlestonCharleston, South CarolinaCharleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
before exploding - Torpedo Raft
- Twin Sisters, a pair of six-pounder cannon used against General Antonio López de Santa AnnaAntonio López de Santa AnnaAntonio de Padua María Severino López de Santa Anna y Pérez de Lebrón , often known as Santa Anna or López de Santa Anna, known as "the Napoleon of the West," was a Mexican political leader, general, and president who greatly influenced early Mexican and Spanish politics and government...
in the battle of San JacintoBattle of San JacintoThe Battle of San Jacinto, fought on April 21, 1836, in present-day Harris County, Texas, was the decisive battle of the Texas Revolution. Led by General Sam Houston, the Texian Army engaged and defeated General Antonio López de Santa Anna's Mexican forces in a fight that lasted just eighteen... - U-12, sunk by HMS ArielHMS Ariel (1911)HMS Ariel was an Acheron-class destroyer built in 1911, which served during the First World War and sank in 1918 after striking a mine...
in 1915 - U-20, a German U-boat that sank the oceanliner RMS LusitaniaRMS LusitaniaRMS Lusitania was a British ocean liner designed by Leonard Peskett and built by John Brown and Company of Clydebank, Scotland. The ship entered passenger service with the Cunard Line on 26 August 1907 and continued on the line's heavily-traveled passenger service between Liverpool, England and New...
in 1915; ran aground on the Jutland coast in 1916, abandoned by crew and blown up by Denmark - U-21SM U-21 (Germany)SM U-21 was one of the most famous U-boats to serve in the Imperial German Navy in World War I. She was the first submarine to sink a ship with a self-propelled torpedo. She also sank the British battleships HMS Triumph and HMS Majestic...
, a German U-boat, sank in 1919 - V-48, a German destroyer sunk during the Battle of JutlandBattle of JutlandThe Battle of Jutland was a naval battle between the British Royal Navy's Grand Fleet and the Imperial German Navy's High Seas Fleet during the First World War. The battle was fought on 31 May and 1 June 1916 in the North Sea near Jutland, Denmark. It was the largest naval battle and the only...
- USS VarunaUSS Varuna (1861)USS Varuna was a heavy steam-powered ship acquired by the Union Navy during the early days of the American Civil War. She was outfitted with powerful 8-inch guns and assigned, as a gunboat, to the Union blockade of the waterways of the Confederate States of America.- Built in Connecticut :Varuna,...
- CSS VirginiaCSS VirginiaCSS Virginia was the first steam-powered ironclad warship of the Confederate States Navy, built during the first year of the American Civil War; she was constructed as a casemate ironclad using the raised and cut down original lower hull and steam engines of the scuttled . Virginia was one of the...
, a.k.a. USS Merrimack - CSS Virginia IICSS Virginia IICSS Virginia II was a Confederate Navy steam-powered ironclad ram laid down in 1862 at the William Graves' shipyard in Richmond, Virginia. Acting Constructor William A. Graves, CSN, was the superintendent in charge of her building. In order to conserve scarce iron plating, he ordered the ship's...
- Virginia Navy Fleet sunk by Benedict ArnoldBenedict ArnoldBenedict Arnold V was a general during the American Revolutionary War. He began the war in the Continental Army but later defected to the British Army. While a general on the American side, he obtained command of the fort at West Point, New York, and plotted to surrender it to the British forces...
- USS WeehawkenUSS Weehawken (1862)The first USS Weehawken was a Passaic-class ironclad monitor in the United States Navy during the American Civil War.Weehawken was launched on 5 November 1862 at Jersey City, New Jersey by Zeno Secor & Company; sponsored by Ms. Nellie Cornstock; and commissioned on 18 January 1863, Captain John...
- WaratahWaratah (ship)The SS Waratah, sometimes referred to as "Australia's Titanic", was a 500 foot long steamship that operated between Europe and Australia in the early 1900s. In July 1909, the ship, en route from Durban to Cape Town, disappeared with 211 passengers and crew aboard. Some people say the disappearance...
- SMS WiesbadenSMS WiesbadenSMS Wiesbaden was the lead ship of the Wiesbaden-class of light cruisers of the German Imperial Navy in World War I, the other being the Frankfurt-Specifications:...
, a German light cruiserLight cruiserA light cruiser is a type of small- or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck...
sunk off Jutland - ZavalaTexan schooner ZavalaThe Texan steamship Zavala was a Texas Navy ship in Texas' second Navy after the Texas Revolution. She was the first steamship-of-war in the Texas Navy.-Background of the Texas Navy:...
, a steamer in the Republic of TexasRepublic of TexasThe Republic of Texas was an independent nation in North America, bordering the United States and Mexico, that existed from 1836 to 1846.Formed as a break-away republic from Mexico by the Texas Revolution, the state claimed borders that encompassed an area that included all of the present U.S...
Navy