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.

• 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 now sits at the Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.