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30-605: United States Naval Ship ( USNS ) is the prefix designation given to non- commissioned ships that are property of the United States Navy (USN). United States Naval Ships are unarmed auxiliary support vessels owned by the U.S. Navy and operated in non-commissioned service by Military Sealift Command with a civilian crew. Some ships include a small military complement to carry out communication and special mission functions, or for force protection. In comparison, U.S. Navy ships commissioned into military service have

60-474: A hull classification symbol to uniquely identify vessels and to aid identification. A particular combination of hull classification and hull number is never reused and therefore provides a means to uniquely identify a particular ship. For example, there have been at least eight vessels named USS Enterprise , but CV-6 uniquely identifies the World War II aircraft carrier from all others. For convenience,

90-706: A Craft Identification Number (CIN) or Hull Identification Number (HIN), standardised as EN ISO 10087:2006. The numbers are a permanent, unique, fourteen-digit alphanumeric identifier issued to all marine vessels in Europe. The numbering system is mandated by the European Recreational Craft Directive and descended from the American system. Larger vessels over 300 gross tons also receive a permanent international IMO ship identification number , and European vessels over 20 metres receive

120-588: A permanent ENI number . An example CID/HIN might appear as "GB-ABC00042-A8-99", where "GB" is the ISO 3166-1 country code, "ABC" would be the Acme Boat Company's Manufacturer Identity Code (MIC); "00042" would be the forty-second hull constructed by the organisation; "A8" would be January 1998 for the date keel was laid to the nearest month and "99" denoted as the year 1999 as the particular model year. Months are denoted from A…L for January…December. In

150-408: A vessel's prefix is seldom omitted due to government regulations dictating that a certain prefix be used. Today the common practice is to use a single prefix for all warships of a nation's navy, and other prefixes for auxiliaries and ships of allied services, such as coast guards . For example, the modern navy of Japan adopts the prefix "JS" – Japanese Ship. However, not all navies use prefixes. Among

180-430: A vessel's purpose (e.g., "RMS" for a Royal Mail ship or "RV" for research vessel ) are also used. Prefixes used for naval ships primarily reflect ownership, but may also indicate a vessel's type or purpose as a sub-set. Historically, the most significant navy was Britain's Royal Navy , which has usually used the prefix "HMS", standing for "His/Her Majesty's Ship". The Royal Navy also adopted nomenclature that reflected

210-400: A vessel's purpose or function, technology has introduced a broad variety of differently named vessels onto the world's oceans, such as "LPGC" (liquified petroleum gas carrier), or "TB" (tug-boat), or "DB" (derrick barge). In many cases though, these abbreviations are used for purely formal, legal identification and are not used colloquially or in the daily working environment. Prefixes indicating

240-477: A vessel's type or purpose, e.g. HM Sloop . Commonwealth navies adopted a variation, with, for example, HMAS , HMCS , and HMNZS pertaining to Australia, Canada, and New Zealand, respectively. In the early days of the United States Navy , abbreviations often included the type of vessel, for instance "USF" (United States Frigate ), but this method was abandoned by President Theodore Roosevelt 's Executive Order No. 549 of 1907, which made "United States Ship" (USS)

270-789: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in 1970. USFC was replaced by USFS when the United States Commission on Fish and Fisheries was reorganized as the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries in 1903, and USFS in turn was replaced in 1940 by US FWS when the Bureau of Fisheries merged with the United States Department of the Interior 's Division of Biological Survey to form the Department of

300-735: The Royal Australian Navy in Bay City, Michigan , were given the hull numbers DDG-25, DDG-26, and DDG-27; but these hull numbers were not assigned to any American destroyers after the Australian Navy had changed those to its own identification numbers. Several other new warships have been constructed in American shipyards for countries such as West Germany and Taiwan . Guided-missile frigates were constructed in Portugal under military-assistance aid packages were given

330-574: The blue-water navies , those of France, Brazil, China, Russia, Germany, and Spain do not use ship prefixes. NATO designations such as FS (French Ship), FGS (Federal German Ship), and SPS (Spanish Ship) can be used if needed. Historically, prefixes for civilian vessels often identified the vessel's mode of propulsion, such as "MV" ( motor vessel ), "SS" ( screw steamer ; often cited as "steam ship"), or "PS" ( paddle steamer ). These days, general civilian prefixes are used inconsistently, and frequently not at all. In terms of abbreviations that may reflect

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360-473: The 1970s, the guided missile frigates that were then redesignated as guided missile cruisers had their designations changed from DLG to CG; in this case, they kept their previous numbers. Some other guided-missile frigates were redesignated as guided missile destroyers (DDG) and given new numbers. Hull numbers have been used to identify armored tanks for the U.S. Army and the U.S. Marine Corps , and other military services, also. In Europe, ships are given

390-943: The 20th century onwards, most navies identify ships by letters or hull numbers (pennant numbers) or a combination of such. These identification codes were, and still are, painted on the side of the ship. Each navy has its own system: the United States Navy uses hull classification symbols , and the Royal Navy (e.g. 'D35' is destroyer 35 – HMS Dragon ) and other navies of Europe and the Commonwealth use pennant numbers . These tables list both current and historical prefixes known to have been used. These prefixes are generally used for merchant vessels of any nationality. Ratna Mornarica Vojske Jugoslavije RМVЈ (English: War navy of Yugoslavia Armed Forces) 1992–2003 The designations for United Kingdom ships applied at

420-521: The Interior's Fish and Wildlife Service (which in 1956 was reorganized as the United States Fish and Wildlife Service ). Seagoing ships Fish and Wildlife Service ships with the prefix US FWS that were transferred to NOAA when NOAA was created in 1970 switched to the NOAAS prefix. A United States Navy ship that is not in active commission does not hold the title of United States Ship with simply

450-572: The Navy later resumed the original sequence of hull numbers with USS  Virginia  (SSN-774) for its next class of nuclear attack submarines . This change in numbering was done because the Seawolf class was to have a radical new and large design for the continuation of the Cold War into the 21st century, but cost overruns combined with the end of the Cold War , and the resulting reduction of

480-504: The Navy's construction budget resulted in only three of these boats being constructed: Seawolf  (SSN-21) , Connecticut  (SSN-22) , and Jimmy Carter  (SSN-23) . Also, whenever warships are constructed in American shipyards for foreign navies, any hull numbers used to identify the ships during their construction are never reused by the U.S. Navy. For example, the Perth -class guided missile destroyers that were built for

510-748: The United Kingdom, the British Marine Federation manage the issuing of Manufacturer Identity Code on behalf of the British Department for Business Innovation and Skills . Amateur boat builders in the United Kingdom may apply for one-off HIN from the Royal Yacht Association who will issue one number from their "GB-RYAxxxxx" range. The hull number in Russian is known as bortovoi nomer . During

540-562: The United States, the hull number is given to the vessel when it is built and forms part of the hull identification number, which uniquely identifies the vessel and must be permanently affixed to the hull in at least two places. A Hull Identification Number (HIN) is a unique set of 12 characters, similar to the Vehicle Identification Number which is found on automobiles. In 1972, The United States Coast Guard

570-421: The case of SS Comet . Ship prefix A ship prefix is a combination of letters, usually abbreviations, used in front of the name of a civilian or naval ship that has historically served numerous purposes, such as identifying the vessel's mode of propulsion, purpose, or ownership/nationality. In the modern environment, prefixes are cited inconsistently in civilian service, whereas in government service

600-453: The combined designation, which is painted on the sides of the hulls, is frequently called the "hull number". The official Navy Style Guide says that hull numbers do not include hyphens. The U.S. Navy sometimes ignores the sequence of hull numbering. For example, the Navy built the last Los Angeles -class nuclear submarine as Cheyenne  (SSN-773) . Next the Navy built the three Seawolf -class submarines SSN-21 through SSN-23 . Then

630-579: The designation " USS ", are armed , and are crewed by U.S. Navy personnel. Additionally, the United States Naval Ships hull classification symbol begins with "T-" to denote its civilian crew. The USNS prefix can be assigned only while the ship is owned by the U.S. Navy. If, after being taken out of service, the ship is transferred to the Maritime Administration the prefix reverts to a civilian ship prefix such as

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660-485: The fleet, the ship's name is used without the prefix. Since King Willem-Alexander succeeded Queen Beatrix on 30 April 2013, "Hr.Ms." is replaced by "Zr.Ms.". In Australia, the prefix NUSHIP is used to denote ships that have yet to be commissioned into the fleet. In the United States, all prefixes other than "USS", "USNS", "USNV", and "USRC" were made obsolete in 1901, when President Theodore Roosevelt issued an Executive order fixing American naval nomenclature. USRC

690-703: The hull numbers DEG 7 through 11. When a naval vessel is modified for use as a different type of ship, it is often assigned a new hull number along with its new classification. Often the actual number remains the same while the hull classification changes. For example, a heavy cruiser (CA) that was converted into a guided missile cruiser became a CG and its number was changed. This happened with Albany  (CA-123) , Chicago  (CA-136) , and Columbus  (CA-74) , which became, respectively, CG-10, CG-11, and CG-12. Also, during World War II , nine Cleveland -class light cruisers (CL) were converted to light aircraft carriers (CVL), with different numbers. During

720-506: The letters O, I, and Q (they can be easily mistaken). The last four characters determine the model and certification year of the boat. The HIN may be found on the aft of the vessel in the uppermost right corner. Also, the HIN may be stated on the title, registration, and insurance documents. The United States Navy , United States Coast Guard, and United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration employ hull numbers in conjunction with

750-524: The name without prefix used before and after commissioned service. Vessels, such as yard and harbor craft that are not commissioned and "in service" are officially referred to by name or hull number without prefix. Prior to commissioning, ships may be described as a pre-commissioning unit or PCU; for example, USS Gerald R. Ford was described as the "pre-commissioning unit (PCU) Gerald R. Ford " prior to her commissioning in 2017. Military Sealift Command (MSC) civilian crewed ships "in service" are given

780-607: The prefix United States Naval Ship (USNS). When it is stricken from the fleet list, a ship typically has the prefix "ex-" added to its name, to distinguish it from any active ships bearing the same name. For example, after USS Constellation (CV-64) was retired in 2003, she became referred to as ex- Constellation . Fictional equivalents of tri-letter prefixes frequently appear in English-language science fiction works, applied to seafaring and spaceborne ships alike. Hull number For civilian craft manufactured in

810-404: The standard signifier for USN ships on active commissioned service. United States Navy prefixes officially only apply while a ship is in active commission, with only the name used before or after a period of commission and for all vessels "in service" rather than commissioned status. However, not all navies used prefixes; this includes the significant navies of China, France and Russia. From

840-787: The time of the British Empire , before the establishment of separate navies for the Dominions. In the Royal Netherlands Navy , " HNLMS " is the prefix in English, a translation of the Dutch original "Hr.Ms." or "Zr.Ms.". "Hr.Ms." should preferably not be used in English-language documents; nevertheless it is often seen on the World Wide Web . Until the moment a Dutch naval ship officially enters active service in

870-542: Was asked to create a standardized format for HINs to allow for better tracking of accidents and history of boats. This HIN format is as follows: The first three characters consist of the Manufacturers Index Code (MIC) and should only be letters. The following five characters are the unique serial number assigned by the Manufacturer, and can be a series of letters and/or numbers with the exception of

900-824: Was replaced by USCGC when the Revenue Cutter Service merged with the United States Lifesaving Service to become the United States Coast Guard in 1915. USLHT also was replaced by USCGC when the United States Lighthouse Service became a part of the U.S. Coast Guard in 1939. USC&GS was replaced by NOAAS when the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey merged with other U.S. Government scientific agencies to form

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