USS America

Encyclopedia : U : US : USS : USS America

Three United States Navy ships have been named USS America, after America, the large landmass of the Western Hemisphere.

The first America was a 74-gun ship of the line laid down in 1777, but not launched until 1782, at which time she was given to France and used there for a few years before being broken up.
An America was part of the Stone Fleet.
The second America was originally the German liner Amerika seized in World War I and used as a transport during the war.
The third America (CV-66) was an aircraft carrier commissioned in 1965 and decommissioned 1996. She then sat at the Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In 2005 she was intentionally sunk during target testing in the Atlantic Ocean.

There is currently an effort to have the next United States nuclear powered (CVN-78) be named America in honor of the last ship to bear the name, CV-66. Those involved in this effort maintain the website www.cvn78.com .

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