The US Navy’s Oldest Ships and Submarines

By Chris Lange Published Feb 9, 11:29AM EST

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The US Navy’s Oldest Ships and Submarines — © Robert Sullivan / Public Domain / Flickr

The United States is by far considered militarily the strongest nation on the planet, and this in large part is due to its navy that has over 240 ships and submarines at its disposal. The U.S. Navy is constantly in the process of building new vessels to further complement its current force, which is incredibly formidable. Even with this new influx of vessels, U.S. ships and submarines have an average hull age of roughly 24 years, with many ranging much older than that. (This country has the most military submarines.)

To determine America’s oldest warships, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the Naval Vessel Register directory of commissioned ships in the U.S. and cross-referenced with data from the World Directory of Modern Military Warships regarding the class or type of each warship. We compiled data on all ships and submarines — 23 in total — that have been commissioned in the service of the U.S. Navy for 35 years or more and ranked them by age.

Many of these vessels mentioned have reached such a long service tenure as a result of their operational effectiveness. Years within the service has proven that age is not a weakness for these ships, but instead a badge of honor.

The backbone of the U.S. Navy is the Nimitz-class aircraft carriers which were introduced to the service roughly 50 years ago. These aircraft carriers are still incredibly formidable and often deployed to global hotspots with their strike groups to stabilize these regions. However, as these carriers are reaching the end of their service life, the U.S. Navy intends to replace them with the Ford-class supercarriers.

The Ohio-class and Los Angeles-class submarines are also examples of U.S. naval vessels with an advanced age. These attack submarines carry nuclear payloads, which are capable of massive devastation and, more importantly, a key component of America’s Nuclear Triad. (These are the 19 ships and submarines of the U.S. Navy.)

Here is a look at the U.S. Navy’s oldest ships and submarines:

23. USS Tennessee

Commission date: 12/17/1988
Unit type: Ballistic missile submarine
Class: Ohio-class

22. USS San Juan

Commission date: 8/6/1988
Unit type: Attack submarine
Class: Los Angeles-class

21. USS Leyte Gulf

Commission date: 9/26/1987
Unit type: Cruiser
Class: Ticonderoga-class

20. USS Key West

Commission date: 9/12/1987
Unit type: Attack submarine
Class: Los Angeles-class

19. USS Helena

Commission date: 7/11/1987
Unit type: Attack submarine
Class: Los Angeles-class

18. USS Antietam

Commission date: 6/6/1987
Unit type: Cruiser
Class: Ticonderoga-class

17. USS Theodore Roosevelt

Commission date: 10/25/1986
Unit type: Aircraft carrier
Class: Nimitz-class

16. USS Nevada

Commission date: 8/16/1986
Unit type: Ballistic missile submarine
Class: Ohio-class

15. USS Germantown

Commission date: 2/8/1986
Unit type: Dock landing ship
Class: Whidbey Island-class

14. USS Alaska

Commission date: 1/25/1986
Unit type: Ballistic missile submarine
Class: Ohio-class

13. USS Alabama

Commission date: 5/25/1985
Unit type: Ballistic missile submarine
Class: Ohio-class

12. USS Henry M. Jackson

Commission date: 10/6/1984
Unit type: Ballistic missile submarine
Class: Ohio-class

11. USS Georgia

Commission date: 2/11/1984
Unit type: Guided missile submarine
Class: Ohio-class

10. USS Florida

USS Florida (SSGN 728) returns... by Official U.S. Navy Page

USS Florida (SSGN 728) returns... (CC BY 2.0) by Official U.S. Navy Page

Commission date: 6/18/1983
Unit type: Guided missile submarine
Class: Ohio-class

9. USS Michigan

Commission date: 9/11/1982
Unit type: Guided missile submarine
Class: Ohio-class

8. USS Carl Vinson

Commission date: 3/13/1982
Unit type: Aircraft carrier
Class: Nimitz-class

7. USS Ohio

Commission date: 11/11/1981
Unit type: Guided missile submarine
Class: Ohio-class

6. USS Frank Cable

Commission date: 10/29/1979
Unit type: Submarine tender
Class: Emory S. Land-class

5. USS Emory S. Land

Commission date: 7/7/1979
Unit type: Submarine tender
Class: Emory S. Land-class

4. USS Dwight D. Eisenhower

Commission date: 10/18/1977
Unit type: Aircraft carrier
Class: Nimitz-class

3. USS Nimitz

Commission date: 5/3/1975
Unit type: Aircraft carrier
Class: Nimitz-class

2. USS Mount Whitney

Commission date: 1/16/1971
Unit type: Amphibious command ship
Class: Blue Ridge-class

1. USS Blue Ridge

Commission date: 11/14/1970
Unit type: Amphibious command ship
Class: Blue Ridge-class

About the Author Chris Lange →

Chris Lange is a writer for 24/7 Wall St., based in Houston. He has covered financial markets over the past decade with an emphasis on healthcare, tech, and IPOs. During this time, he has published thousands of articles with insightful analysis across these complex fields. Currently, Lange's focus is on military and geopolitical topics.

Lange's work has been quoted or mentioned in Forbes, The New York Times, Business Insider, USA Today, MSN, Yahoo, The Verge, Vice, The Intelligencer, Quartz, Nasdaq, The Motley Fool, Fox Business, International Business Times, The Street, Seeking Alpha, Barron’s, Benzinga, and many other major publications.

A graduate of Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, Lange majored in business with a particular focus on investments. He has previous experience in the banking industry and startups.