Four ships in the United States Navy have been named USS Gwin for William Gwin.
The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most capable navy in the world and it has been estimated that in terms of tonnage of its active battle fleet alone, it is larger than the next 13 navies combined, which includes 11 U.S. allies or partner nations. with the highest combined battle fleet tonnage and the world's largest aircraft carrier fleet, with eleven in service, and two new carriers under construction. With 319,421 personnel on active duty and 99,616 in the Ready Reserve, the Navy is the third largest of the service branches. It has 282 deployable combat vessels and more than 3,700 operational aircraft as of March 2018, making it the second-largest air force in the world, after the United States Air Force.
William Gwin was an officer in the United States Navy who was killed in action during the American Civil War. One of the most promising officers in the nation, with extensive command and combat experience, Gwin had risen to the rank of Lieutenant Commander by the time of his death.
- USS Gwin (TB-16) was a torpedo boat, commissioned in 1898 and decommissioned in 1914. She was renamed Cyane and reclassified YFB-4 in 1920, and finally sold in 1925
- USS Gwin (DD-71) was a Caldwell-class destroyer commissioned in 1920, and decommissioned in 1922.
- USS Gwin (DD-433) was a Gleaves-class destroyer, commissioned in 1941, served in World War II and sank in battle in July 1943.
- USS Gwin (DM-33) was a Robert H. Smith-class destroyer-minelayer, commissioned in 1944 and decommissioned in 1958. She was transferred to Turkey in 1971 and renamed TCG Muavenet (DM-357). She was scrapped in 1992.
The first USS Gwin, was launched 15 November 1897 by the Herreshoff Manufacturing Co., Bristol, Rhode Island, and commissioned at Newport 4 April 1898, Lt, (j.g.) C. S. Williams in command.
A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval ship designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs rammed enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes, and later designs launched self-propelled Whitehead torpedoes. They were created to counter battleships and other slow and heavily armed ships by using speed, agility, and the power of their torpedo weapons. A number of inexpensive torpedo boats attacking en masse could overwhelm a larger ship's ability to fight them off using its large but cumbersome guns. An inexpensive fleet of torpedo boats could pose a threat to much larger and more expensive fleets of capital ships, albeit only in the coastal areas to which their small size and limited fuel load restricted them.
USS Gwin (DD-71) was one of six Caldwell-class destroyers built for the United States Navy in the 1910s.
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