Navy takes delivery of USS New York

The Navy took delivery of the amphibious transport dock ship USS New York, which contains 7 1/2 tons of steel from the World Trade Center. The AP reports that the New York will sail down the Mississippi River in October.

This is the sixth so-named American vessel. The first USS New York was a gondola built on Lake Champlain in 1776.

The second was built in and also funded by the citizens of New York City. The 36-gun frigate served as the flagship during the First Barbary War before being burned by the British in 1814.

The third was laid in 1820 but never finished. The 74-gun ship of the line was burned in 1861 to prevent it from falling into the hands of the Confederates.

The fourth was commissioned in 1893 and served as the flagship for Admiral Samson during the Battle of Santiago when the American Squadron destroyed the Spanish fleet in 1898.

The fifth saw service in both World War I, where it was present during the surrender of the German Fleet in 1918, and World War II, where it saw action in the Atlantic.

More info available at Great White Fleet