These are notable warships (submarines, aircraft carriers, destroyers, cruisers, battleships) that have been decommissioned (mostly – I’m looking at you, USS Constitution, and you, HMS Victory!) and are now visitor attractions, floating, dry-docked or in museum buildings.
| Ship | Location | Desc |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama, USS Battleship, 1942 |
USA – Mobile, Alabama | Wet-berthed WW2 battleship that had a busy, if brief (5 yrs) service. |
| Aurora Cruiser, 1903 |
Russia – St. Petersburg | Wet-berthed historic cruiser that fired the first shot of the October Revolution. More info… |
| B-39 Submarine, 1967 |
USA – San Diego, CA | Wet-berthed former Foxtrot class diesel-electric Soviet submarine now moored in the Maritime Museum of San Diego. |
| B-396 Submarine, 1980 |
Russia – Moscow | Wet-berthed former Tango class diesel Soviet submarine ‘Novosibirsky Komsomolets’ now a museum display on the Moscow river since 2006. |
| B-413 Submarine, 1968 |
Kaliningrad – Konigsburg | Wet-berthed former diesel-electric Soviet submarine |
| Belfast, HMS Cruiser, 1938 |
UK – London | Wet-berthed WW2 cruiser berthed next to tower bridge in London. |
| Blyskawica, ORP Destroyer, 1937 |
Poland – Gdynia | Wet-berthed WW2 Polish destroyer. The world’s oldest preserved destroyer. |
| Cod, USS Submarine, 1942 |
USA – Cleveland, OH | Wet-berthed WW2 era, GATO class fleet submarine. |
| Constitution, USS Sail, 1797 |
USA – Charleston, MS | Wet-berthed heavy frigate. The world’s oldest commissioned warship in active service. More info… |
| Drum, USS Submarine, 1941 |
USA – Mobile, Alabama | Dry-berthed WW2 Gato class submarine. Saw early action in the Pacific. |
| Espadon Submarine, 1958 |
France – St Nazaire | Wet-berthed French Narval class submarine now on display in the former U-boat pens. |
| Georgios Averof Cruiser, 1910 |
Greece – Faliron | Wet-berthed Greek armoured cruiser More info… |
| Hiddensee Missile Corvette, 1984 |
USA – Fall River, MS | Wet-berthed former soviet missile corvette, now an exhibit at Battleship Cove, MS. |
| Hornet, USS Aircraft Carrier, 1943 |
USA – Alameda, CA | Wet-berthed Essex class aircraft carrier that saw service in WW2, Vietnam, and recovered the Apollo 11 space capsule. |
| Intrepid, USS Aircraft Carrier, 1943 |
USA – New York | Wet-berthed WW2 aircraft carrier with a terrific array of aircraft exhibited on board too. More info… |
| Kidd, USS Destroyer, 1943 |
USA – Baton Rouge, Louisiana | Wet-berthed WW2 destroyer with a distinguished war history in the Pacific. |
| Kiev Aircraft Carrier, 1972 |
China – Tianjin | Wet-berthed former flagship of the Soviet Pacific Fleet and now, like her sister ship, Minsk, a theme park in China… or was. She still appears to be there, but a BBC news report in 2011 said she was being turned into a luxury hotel. I’ll keep her listed here until I find a link for her. |
| Maillé-Brézé Destroyer 1953 |
Nantes, France | Wet-berthed Le Maillé-Brézé (D627) is a Surcouf-class destroyer, decommissioned in 1988 and on display in the city of Nantes. She featured, with her modern gear (like radar antennae) removed or covered up, in the 2017 movie, ‘Dunkirk’. |
| Massachusetts, USS Battleship, 1941 |
USA – Fall River, MS | Wet-berthed WW2 battleship. (I visited her once. Very slender, designed to go through the Panama Canal) |
| Midway, USS Aircraft Carrier, 1945 |
USA – San Diego, CA | Wet-berthed First of the post-WW2 carriers, she has numerous exhibits on board and 27 restored aircraft. |
| Mikasi Battleship, 1900 |
Japan – Yokosuka | Wet-berthed flagship of Admiral Togo during the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905). |
| Minsk Aircraft Carrier, 1972 |
China – Shenzhen | Wet-berthed former Soviet aircraft carrier, now a theme park in China (like her sister ship, Kiev). She was last reported to be closed and is being relocated to Nantong, Jiangsu. I’ll keep her listed in the hope she’s re-opened as a museum ship. |
| New Jersey, USS Battleship, 1942 |
USA – Philadelphia | Wet-berthed WW2 and Korean war battleship |
| Onslow, HMAS Submarine, 1968 |
Australia – Sydney | Wet-berthed Australian navy diesel-electric submarine, that left the service only recently (1990) and is now on display at the Australian National Maritime Museum. |
| Otus, HMS Submarine, 1962 |
Germany – Rügen island | Wet-berthed Royal Navy submarine from the cold war era and later, serving during the Falkland War & the 1991 Persian Gulf war. |
| U-505 Submarine, 1941 |
USA – Chicago | Dry-berthed type IXC U-boat that was famously captured intact, with its enigma code books, is now a museum exhibit at the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry. More info… |
| U-534 Submarine, 1942 |
UK – Birkenhead | Dry-berthed WW2 German U-boat, sunk in the Baltic, raised in 1993. More info… |
| U-995 Submarine, 1943 |
Germany – Laboe | Dry-berthed WW2 German U-boat. The only surviving type VIIC. More info… |
| Unicorn, HMS Sail, 1824 |
UK – Dundee | Wet-berthed 46-gun frigate, moored alongside without masts and rigging. |
| Vasa Sail, 1628 |
Sweden – Stockholm | Dry-berthed flagship of Swedish navy sunk in Stockholm harbour on her maiden voyage, and raised in 1961. |
| Victory, HMS Sail, 1778 |
UK – Portsmouth | Dry-berthed flagship of Admiral Nelson, made famous at the battle of Trafalgar |
Notes
- The Historic Naval Ships Association has many of the above ships in its membership database, with a lot more detail.
- The National WW2 Museum in New Orleans is currently working on the restoration of a WW2 patrol boat, PT-305.
- Not exactly a warship, but as well as the B-396, the Naval Museum in Moscow has a rare exhibit – the Alekseyev A-90 Orlyonok Ekranoplan. Only a handful of these extraordinary ground-effect vehicles were ever made.
