Naval History and Heritage Command

The Surface Navy is the backbone of America’s Navy and the most capable surface force in the world. Since 13 October 1775, the men, and then later women, of the Surface Navy have deployed around the globe. 

Beginning with the six original wooden-hulled, three-masted heavy frigates, of which USS Constitution remains, the surface Navy has utilized a myriad of platforms with propulsion from sails to nuclear power. During the War of 1812, ships of sail, such as frigates, brigs, sloops, and schooners, comprised the U.S. Navy’s first fleet. During the Civil War, the U.S. used primarily sail, but began to experiment with ironclads that were steam propelled. In the 1890s, the “New Navy” transitioned to the building of America’s first cruisers and battleships that used steam as the main source of power. Aircraft carriers took the lead during World War II with battleships used primarily in the bombardment of islands scheduled for amphibious landings. During the 1950s, the development of nuclear-powered ships took prominence. The Vietnam War saw the emergence of the “brown-water navy” that consisted of small gunboats to patrol rivers and waterways. The modern fleet of today consists of nuclear-powered ships and the first electric warships.  

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Eras of the Surface Navy

• Age of Sail
• Sail to Steam Propulsion
• Modern Surface Warfare 

Seamanship

• Navigation, Seamanship, and Signals
• Asa Curtis Personal Rules Log
• “Training Ships”
• History of Ship Bells infographic
• Return to Homeport infographic
• Nautical Terms Part 1 infographic
• Nautical Terms Part 2 infographic
• Tending the Side infographic 

Anti-Aircraft Warfare

• Joseph Thomas Yavorsky
• Oral History: Sonarman 1st Class Jack Gebhardt
• Antiaircraft Action Summary: World War II 

Ballistic-Missile Defense

• Navy Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) Program
• Sea-based X-Band Radar (T-SBX-1)
• Missile Defense: The Current Debate
• North Korean Ballistic Missile Threat to the United States
• “More Bang for the Buck:” U.S. Nuclear Strategy and Missile Development 1945–1965 

Combat

• H-005-5 100th Anniversary of WWI: Initial U.S. Navy Combat Operations
• Mine Warfare
• Gleaves’ Convoy Formation
• Surface Lessons of Guadalcanal
• “The Landings in the Solomons”
• War Damage Reports
• Action Reports
• United States Atlantic Fleet Organization—1942
• United States Pacific Fleet Organization: 1 May 1945
• Cuban Missile Crisis
• “By Sea, Air and Land”—Chapter 3: The Years of Combat, 1965–1968
• Grenada: Operation Urgent Fury
• H-020-1: The Fog of War: USS Vincennes Tragedy—3 July 1988
• Desert Storm U.S. Navy Surface Warfare Operations
• Desert Shield/Desert Storm: Lessons Learned and Summary
• Desert Shield/Desert Storm: Beans, Bandages, Bullets—Logistics Operations
• Desert Shield/Desert Storm: The Role of the Navy
• Desert Shield/Desert Storm: “Thunder and Lightning”—The War with Iraq 

Art Exhibits

• World War I
• The United States Exploring Expedition, 1838–1842
• America’s Naval Heritage: A Catalog of Early Imprints
• Amphibious Operations
• The Invasion of Normandy
• Alaska During the Pacific War
• The Vietnam Experience
• The Gulf War 1990–1991 

Blogs/Articles

• Frigates, Brigs, Sloops, Schooners, and the Early Continental Navy’s Struggle for Success
• “Act to Provide a naval armament”—225th Anniversary of the Creation of the United States Navy
• The Fates of the Six Frigates Created by the Naval Act of 1794
• America’s First Black Sailors
• Stalemate: Treaty of Ghent Ends War of 1812 in a Draw
• The Story Continues: Capt. David Porter, USS Essex and the War of 1812 in the Pacific
• In Harm’s Way: Lt. Decatur Avenges Capture of The Frigate Philadelphia
• Commanding the Waves: The Legacy of Surface Warfare Officers
• Surface Warrior—Remembering Ernest Evans
• World War II Surface Warrior Dies at 95
• Surface Force in Desert Storm: USS Nicholas Leads a Distributed, Lethal Attack on Enemy Troops
• On the Surface, Conspicuous Gallantry and Intrepidity Were Hallmarks of a WWII Submariner
• Strong Crew, and Rescue, Set Sailor Standards for Initiative and Toughness
• Special Report: Surface Force Readiness Reforms
• The U.S. Navy’s Surface Force Strategy: Return to Sea Control
• Why I Love Being a U.S. Navy Surface Warfare Officer
• Building and Programming the Navy’s Surface Vision
• Introductory Course for New Surface Warfare Officers
• Prepared to Defend 

Additional Resources

• Naval Surface Warfare Center, Dahlgren Division
• Carderock Division, Naval Surface Warfare
• Evolution of Power infographic
• The World Cruise of the Great White Fleet
• U.S. Ship Force Levels: 1886–present
• Christening, Launching and Commissioning of U.S. Navy Ships
• A Century of Replenishment at Sea
• Navy Shipboard Lasers for Surface, Air, and Missile Defense
• Navy Lasers, Railgun, and Hypervelocity Projectile
• A Sampling of U.S. Naval Humanitarian Operations
• Ship Abbreviations and Symbols
• Ship Command Operations Reports
• “Forward… From the Start” The Navy & Homeland Defense: 1775–2003
• Navy Lasers, Railgun and Hypervelocity Projectile
• Record of the Chief of Naval Operation Fleet Operations Division 1940–1972