USS Yorktown

At least five ships of the United States Navy have borne the name Yorktown, to commemorate of the decisive Battle of Yorktown in the American Revolutionary War.

• The first Yorktown was a 16-gun ship sloop commissioned in 1840 that sunk in 1850 after hitting a reef in the Cape Verde islands.

• The second Yorktown was a gunboat commissioned in 1889 and decommissioned in 1921.

• The third Yorktown (CV-5) was an aircraft carrier commissioned in 1937, and a major combatant in World War II until she was sunk at the Battle of Midway in 1942.

• The fourth Yorktown (CV-10) was also an aircraft carrier, commissioned in 1943, a participant in World War II and the Vietnam War, decommissioned in 1970 and later a memorial at Patriot's Point, South Carolina.

• The fifth Yorktown (CG-48) is a guided missile cruiser, commissioned in 1984 and still on active service as of 2003.