The list of ship launches in 1988 includes a chronological list of all ships launched in 1988.
The list of ship launches in 1988 includes a chronological list of all ships launched in 1988.
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 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 increases the time of availability on the combat zone.
A clipper was a type of mid-19th-century merchant sailing vessel, designed for speed. Clippers were generally narrow for their length, small by later 19th-century standards, could carry limited bulk freight, and had a large total sail area. "Clipper" does not refer to a specific sailplan; clippers may be schooners, brigs, brigantines, etc., as well as full-rigged ships. Clippers were mostly constructed in British and American shipyards, although France, Brazil, the Netherlands, and other nations also produced some. Clippers sailed all over the world, primarily on the trade routes between the United Kingdom and China, in transatlantic trade, and on the New York-to-San Francisco route around Cape Horn during the California Gold Rush. Dutch clippers were built beginning in the 1850s for the tea trade and passenger service to Java.
The Kirov class, Soviet designation Project 1144 Orlan, is a class of nuclear-powered guided-missile battlecruisers of the Soviet Navy and Russian Navy, the largest and heaviest surface combatant warships in operation in the world. Among modern warships, they are second in size only to large aircraft carriers, and of similar size to a World War I-era battleship. The ships are often referred to as battlecruisers by Western defence commentators due to their size and general appearance. The Soviet classification of the ship-type is "heavy nuclear-powered guided-missile cruiser".
USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) is the United States Navy's third Nimitz-class supercarrier. She is named for Carl Vinson (1883-1981), a congressman from Georgia, in recognition of his contributions to the U.S. Navy. The ship was launched during Vinson's lifetime in 1980, undertook her maiden voyage in 1983, and underwent refueling and overhaul between 2005 and 2009.
Ulyanovsk, Soviet designation Project 1143.7, was a fixed-wing aircraft carrier laid down on 25 November 1988 as the first of a class of Soviet nuclear-powered supercarriers. It was intended for the first time to offer true blue water naval aviation capability for the Soviet Navy. The ship would have been equipped with steam catapults that could launch fully loaded aircraft, representing a major advance over the Kuznetsov class, which could only launch less-loaded aircraft from their ski-jumps. However, construction of Ulyanovsk was stopped at about 40% after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991.
USS MacKenzie (DD–175) was a Wickes-class destroyer in the United States Navy following World War I. In 1940, as part of the Destroyers for Bases Agreement she was transferred to the Royal Canadian Navy as the Town-class destroyer HMCS Annapolis.
MV Doña Paz was a Japanese-built and Philippine-registered passenger ferry that sank after it collided with the oil tanker Vector on December 20, 1987. Built by Onomichi Zosen of Hiroshima, Japan, the ship was launched on April 25, 1963 as the Himeyuri Maru with a passenger capacity of 608. In October 1975, the Himeyuri Maru was bought by Sulpicio Lines and renamed the Don Sulpicio. After a fire on board in June 1979, the ship was refurbished and renamed Doña Paz.
The Krivak class, Soviet designation Project 1135 Burevestnik, are a series of frigates and guard ships built in the Soviet Union primarily for the Soviet Navy since 1970. Later some sub-branches, like the Nerey (Nereus) were designed for coastal patrol by the KGB Border Troops. Until 1977, the ships in the class were considered to be large anti-submarine warfare vessels.
HMS President is a retired Flower-class Q-ship that was launched in 1918. She was renamed HMS President in 1922 and moored permanently on the Thames as a Royal Navy Reserve drill ship. In 1982 she was sold to private owners and, having changed hands twice, served as a venue for conferences and functions as well as the offices for a number of media companies. She has been moved to Chatham on the Medway in Kent since 2016, but is due to return to the capital. She had the suffix "(1918)" added to her name in order to distinguish her from HMS President, the Royal Naval Reserve base in St Katharine Docks. She is one of the last three surviving Royal Navy warships of the First World War. She is also the sole representative of the first type of purpose built anti-submarine vessels, and is the ancestor of World War II convoy escort sloops, which evolved into modern anti-submarine frigates.
Light Vessel Number 83 (LV-83) Swiftsure is a lightship and museum ship owned by Northwest Seaport in Seattle, Washington. Launched in 1904 at Camden, New Jersey and in active service until 1960 after serving on all five of the American west coast's lightship stations, it is the oldest surviving lightship in the United States, the only one still fitted with its original steam engine, and the last lightship with wooden decks. LV-83 was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1989, and has been undergoing major restoration since 2008.
The Thornycroft type leader or Shakespeare class were a class of five destroyer leaders designed by John I. Thornycroft & Company and built by them at Woolston, Southampton for the Royal Navy towards the end of World War I. They were named after historical naval leaders. Only Shakespeare and Spenser were completed in time for wartime service. The other three were completed after the war, Broke and Keppel after being towed to Royal dockyards for completion, and two further ships - Saunders and Spragge - were cancelled. The function of a leader was to carry the flag staff of a destroyer flotilla, therefore they were enlarged to carry additional crew, offices and signalling equipment, allowing a fifth gun to be carried. These ships were very similar to the Admiralty type leader, but had Thornycroft design characteristics, the most noticeable being the broad, slab-sided funnels.
The RIM-66 Standard MR (SM-1MR/SM-2MR) is a medium-range surface-to-air missile (SAM), with a secondary role as an anti-ship missile, developed for the United States Navy (USN). A member of the Standard Missile family of weapons, the SM-1 was developed as a replacement for the RIM-2 Terrier and RIM-24 Tartar that were deployed in the 1950s on a variety of USN ships. The RIM-67 Standard (SM-1ER/SM-2ER) is an extended range version of this missile with a solid rocket booster stage.
The RIM-67 Standard ER (SM-1ER/SM-2ER) is an extended range surface-to-air missile (SAM) with a secondary anti-ship capability, originally developed for the United States Navy (USN). The RIM-67 was developed as a replacement for the RIM-8 Talos, a 1950s system deployed on a variety of USN ships, and eventually replaced the RIM-2 Terrier as well, since it was of a similar size and fitted existing Terrier launchers and magazines. The RIM-66 Standard MR was essentially the same missile without the booster stage, designed to replace the RIM-24 Tartar. The RIM-66/67 series thus became the US Navy's universal SAM system, hence the designation "Standard Missile".
The Fargo-class cruisers were a modified version of the Cleveland-class cruiser design; the main difference was a more compact pyramidal superstructure with single trunked funnel, intended to improve the arcs of fire of the anti-aircraft (AA) guns. The same type of modification differentiated the Baltimore and Oregon City classes of heavy cruisers, and to a lesser degree the Atlanta and Juneau classes of light cruisers. Changes were made in order to reduce the instability of the Cleveland-class light cruisers, especially their tendency to roll dangerously. The main battery turrets sat about a foot lower and the wing gunhouses were lowered to the main deck. The medium (40 mm) anti-aircraft mounts were also lowered.
The Palestro-class were four destroyers of the Italian Regia Marina that saw service from the mid-1920s to World War II.
SS Mercer Victory was a Boulder Victory-class cargo ship built for World War II. Mercer Victory, a Victory ship, was launched 14 March 1945 by Permanente Metals Corporation, Richmond, California and operated by the States Marine Line. At the ceremonial ship launching, Mercer University President Spright Dowell said the SS Mercer Victory should strive: “to do her full-part for the national defense” and “to study a plan for after war conditions and needs.”
The Harpoon is an all-weather, over-the-horizon, anti-ship missile manufactured by McDonnell Douglas. The AGM-84E Standoff Land Attack Missile (SLAM) and later AGM-84H/K SLAM-ER are cruise missile variants.
Aratama Maru (Kanji:新玉丸) was a merchant ship of the Empire of Japan. Launched in 1938, she was pressed into service as a munitions transport in World War II. She was struck by a torpedo fired from USS Seahorse on April 8, 1944, while approaching Guam as part of a Japanese ammunition resupply convoy. Engulfed in flames, her crew abandoned her and were picked up by an escort vessel. After drifting for three days, the abandoned hull came to rest just inside the reef fringing Talofofo Bay on Guam's southeastern coast. While resting on the reef she split in half with the stern of the ship drifting off of the reef toward the Mariana Trench. The wreck was partially salvaged shortly afterward and was further salvaged in the 1960s, leaving only the hull remnants, the anchor with chain, and some elements of its superstructure. It has also been the subject of souvenir diving, and its position and condition have been affected by several typhoons. Seahorse damaged Kizugawa Maru in the same attack, which was towed into Apra Harbor for repairs and during a second American bombing attack was sunk where she remains today.
The Östanå I is a motor vessel, and former steam ship, that was built in 1905/6 at Stockholm. In 1913 she was sold to Waxholmsbolaget, with whom she remained in service until 1957. Between then and 1986 she was out of service and had a number of owners, and in 1985 she was converted to diesel power. In 1986 Strömma Kanalbolaget bought the ship. She is now used for tourist services in the Stockholm archipelago. She is a listed historic ship of Sweden.
PS Enterprise is an 1878 Australian paddle steamer, currently owned by the National Museum of Australia in Canberra. It is still operational, and one of the oldest working paddle steamers in the world. It is listed on the Australian Register of Historic Vehicles.
