The list of ship launches in 1955 includes a chronological list of all ships launched in 1955.
The list of ship launches in 1955 includes a chronological list of all ships launched in 1955.
An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a naval force to project air power worldwide without depending on local bases for staging aircraft operations. Carriers have evolved since their inception in the early twentieth century from wooden vessels used to deploy balloons to nuclear-powered warships that carry numerous fighters, strike aircraft, helicopters, and other types of aircraft. While heavier aircraft such as fixed-wing gunships and bombers have been launched from aircraft carriers, these aircraft have not successfully landed on a carrier. By its diplomatic and tactical power, its mobility, its autonomy and the variety of its means, the aircraft carrier is often the centerpiece of modern combat fleets. Tactically or even strategically, it replaced the battleship in the role of flagship of a fleet. One of its great advantages is that, by sailing in international waters, it does not interfere with any territorial sovereignty and thus obviates the need for overflight authorizations from third-party countries, reduces the times and transit distances of aircraft and therefore significantly increase the time of availability on the combat zone.
Landing Ship, Tank (LST), or tank landing ship, is the naval designation for ships first developed during World War II (1939–1945) to support amphibious operations by carrying tanks, vehicles, cargo, and landing troops directly onto shore with no docks or piers. This enabled amphibious assaults on almost any beach.
Kotlin-class destroyers were Cold War era ships built for the Soviet Navy. The Russian name for this class was Project 56 Spokoiny. 27 ships were built between 1955 and 1958; they were all decommissioned in the late 1980s. The Kildin class is based on the design of the Kotlins. The Chinese Luda class which is based on the Soviet Neustrashimy class, also borrows some design concepts from the Kotlin class.
The Grand Trunk steamship Prince Rupert and her sister ship SS Prince George served the coast of British Columbia and Alaska. Prince Rupert had a 45-year career serving northern ports from Vancouver, British Columbia, from 1910 to 1955. The ship was considered "unlucky" and suffered several incidents during her career, including two significant ones that left large portions of the vessel underwater. The ship was broken up in 1956.
The 3M-54 Kalibr,, also referred to it as 3M54-1 Kalibr, 3M14 Biryuza, is a family of Russian cruise missiles developed by the Novator Design Bureau (OKB-8). There are ship-launched, submarine-launched and air-launched versions of the missile, and variants for anti-ship, anti-submarine and land attack use. Some versions have a second propulsion stage that initiates a supersonic sprint in the terminal approach to the target, reducing the time that target's defense systems have to react, while subsonic versions have greater range than the supersonic variants. The missile can carry a warhead weighing up to 500 kilograms (1,100 lb) of explosive or a thermonuclear warhead.
USS Scanner (AGR/YAGR-5) was a Guardian-class radar picket ship, converted from a Liberty Ship, acquired by the US Navy in 1955. She was obtained from the National Defense Reserve Fleet and reconfigured as a radar picket ship and assigned to radar picket duty in the North Pacific Ocean as part of the Distant Early Warning Line.
USS Interceptor (AGR-8/YAGR-8) was a Guardian-class radar picket ship acquired by the US Navy in 1955, from the "mothballed" reserve fleet. She was reconfigured as a radar picket ship and assigned to radar picket duty in the North Pacific Ocean as part of the Distant Early Warning Line.
Argobeam was a 7,130 GRT cargo ship which was built in 1945 as Empire Calshot for the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT). In 1946 she was sold and renamed Derrycunihy. A further sale in 1952 saw her renamed Argobeam. In August 1955 an engine room fire left her listing 40° to port and she was abandoned. She was salvaged, repaired and sold, being renamed Parkgate. In 1960 she was sold to Panama and renamed Panagos, serving until scrapped in 1968.
Yelkenci was a 7,052 GRT refrigerated cargo ship which was built in 1943 for the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT) as Empire Camp. She was sold in 1946 and renamed Valacia. In 1951, she was sold and renamed New York City. A further sale in 1955 saw her renamed Loch Morar. A final sale to Turkish owners saw her renamed Yelkenci. She served with them until scrapped in 1971.
Clan Matheson was a 5,614 GRT cargo ship that William Hamilton & Co Ltd of Port Glasgow built in 1919 as Clan Morgan for Clan Line Steamers Ltd. She was sold in 1948 and renamed Harmodius. In 1951 she was sold again and renamed Claire T. In 1955 she was bought by the Ministry of Transport (MoT) which renamed her Empire Claire. She was scuttled on 27 July 1955 with a cargo of obsolete chemical materiel.
SS Empire Comfort was a 1,333 GRT convoy rescue ship which was launched in 1944 as HMS York Castle a Castle-class corvette, but was renamed Empire Castle and converted for merchant service before completion by Ferguson Brothers Ltd., Port Glasgow as yard number 372. She was launched on 20 September 1944. The ship was 252 feet (76.81 m) long, with a beam of 36 feet (10.97 m) and a draught of 13 feet 6 inches (4.11 m).
El Primero is a steam yacht that was built in 1893. This vessel was once considered one of the most luxurious yachts on the West Coast of the United States, and was one of the few steam yachts to be operated on Puget Sound. The yacht has since been converted to diesel, but it remained operational as of 2010.
SS Midland City was originally a Canadian side-wheel steamboat that provided passenger and cargo transportation on the Great Lakes from 1871 until 1955. Originally named Maud, then America, she underwent several extensive refits over her 84-year service, and saw several owners. The ship was intentionally run aground and burnt to the waterline in 1955 near the mouth of the Wye River in Midland Bay. The wreck is intact and visible above the water to this day, where it acts as a breakwater for the Wye Heritage Marina and local attraction.
Empire Fowey was a 19,121 GRT ocean liner that was built in 1935 as Potsdam by Blohm & Voss, Hamburg for the Hamburg America Line. She was sold before completion to Norddeutscher Lloyd. While owned by Norddeutscher Lloyd she was one of three sister ships operating the service between Bremen and the Far East. Her sister ships were SS Scharnhorst and SS Gneisenau.
SS R. Ney McNeely was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after R. Ney McNeely, a State Representative in North Carolina, a member of the North Carolina Senate, a later the American Consul in Aden.
SS Minnie M. Fiske was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Minnie M. Fiske, a late nineteenth and early twentieth century actress that spearheaded the fight against the Theatrical Syndicate for the sake of artistic freedom.
| Ship events in 1955 | |||||||||||
| Ship launches: | 1950 | 1951 | 1952 | 1953 | 1954 | 1955 | 1956 | 1957 | 1958 | 1959 | 1960 |
| Ship commissionings: | 1950 | 1951 | 1952 | 1953 | 1954 | 1955 | 1956 | 1957 | 1958 | 1959 | 1960 |
| Ship decommissionings: | 1950 | 1951 | 1952 | 1953 | 1954 | 1955 | 1956 | 1957 | 1958 | 1959 | 1960 |
| Shipwrecks: | 1950 | 1951 | 1952 | 1953 | 1954 | 1955 | 1956 | 1957 | 1958 | 1959 | 1960 |
