Ship prefixes in the United States Navy have consistently been "United States Type," where Type was "Ship," "Sloop," "Bark," and so on. (The types other than "Ship" have fallen out of use.) Hull classification symbols -- "BB" for battleships and so on -- were haphazard, but in 1907 were standardized by executive order of President Theodore Roosevelt.

Table of Ship Prefixes

In the Royal Netherlands Navy, "HNLMS" is the prefix in English, but in Dutch translates to "Hr.Ms." or "Z.Ms.". Thus "Hr.Ms." should never be used in an English document; nevertheless it is often seen on the World Wide Web.

United States ships that have not been commissioned in the Navy yet don't hold the title of USS, it holds the title of PCU (Pre-commissioned unit) For example, the shipyard is building the new aircraft carrier-- The Neversail. For the day the keel is laid to the date it is commissioned, it is called the PCU Neversail. Once it enter active service in the fleet and is commissioned it will be referred to as the USS Neversail. See also the WikiProject Ships.

External Link

• Warship National Prefixes