Department of Commerce
Bureau of Navigation

Annual List of
Merchant Vessels of the United States
with official Numbers and Signal Letters
and
Lists of Vessels Belonging to the United States Government
with distinguishing signals

1860 · 1861 · 1862 · 1863 · 1864 · 1865 · 1866 · 1867 · 1868 · 1869
1870 · 1871 · 1872 · 1873 · 1874 · 1875 · 1876 · 1877 · 1878 · 1879
1880 · 1881 · 1882 · 1883 · 1884 · 1885 · 1886 · 1887 · 1888 · 1889
1890 · 1891 · 1892 · 1893 · 1894 · 1895 · 1896 · 1897 · 1898 · 1899

1900 · 1901 · 1902 · 1903 · 1904 · 1905 · 1906 · 1907 · 1908 · 1909
1910 · 1911 · 1912 · 1913 · 1914 · 1915 · 1916 · 1917 · 1918 · 1919
1920 · 1921 · 1922 · 1923 · 1924 · 1925 · 1926 · 1927 · 1928 · 1929
1930 · 1931 · 1932 · 1933 · 1934 · 1935 · 1936 · 1937 · 1938 · 1939
1940 · 1941 · 1942 · 1943 · 1944 · 1945 · 1946 · 1947 · 1948 · 1949
1950 · 1951 · 1952 · 1953 · 1954 · 1955 · 1956 · 1957 · 1958 · 1959
1960 · 1961 · 1962 · 1963 · 1964 · 1965 · 1966 · 1967 · 1968 · 1969
1970 · 1971 · 1972 · 1973 · 1974 · 1975 · 1976 · 1977 · 1978 · 1979

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(The following information is included primarily to be sure the search engines properly index the most relevant terms from the Annual Lists)

The following headings occur in one or more of the Annual Lists. The first section is relatively stable--allowing for the evolution from sail to steam to diesel and the shifting organization of Executive Department agencies, while the second section reflects terms found in some, but not all, volumes (e.g., "Seized German Vessels" occurs in a few years following World War I.)

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Original plan followed in awarding Official Numbers

Statutory Length, Breadth, and Height of Vessels.

1. Merchant sailing vessels alphabetically arranged

2. Merchant steam vessels alphabetically arranged

2. (a) Iron and Steel Vessels of the United States
   (a) Merchant motor vessels alphabetically arranged

3. Unrigged merchant vessels alphabetically arranged

   Index to compound names

4. Loss of American vessels and lists of vessels of the United States measured under Panama Canal rules

5. Government Vessels

   • United States Navy
   • United States Army
     Quartermaster Corps
     Engineer Corps
     Ordnance Department
   • Treasury Department
     Coast Guard
     Public Health Service
   • Department of Commerce
     Lighthouse Service (Bureau of Lighthouses)
     Coast and Geodetic Survey
     Bureau of Fisheries
     Bureau of Navigation
   • Department of Labor
     Bureau of Immigration (Immigration and Naturalization Service)
   • Department of the Interior
     Reclamation Service
   • Mississippi River Commission
   • Vessels owned and employed by the Panama Canal or the Panama Railroad Company

Appendix

Names of vessels changed from ...
Official numbers awarded from ...
American vessels of 100 gross tons and over reported as sold to aliens, July to December ...

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• Seagoing Vessels of the United States with Official Numbers and Signal Letters

  • Names, Alphabetically Arranged, and Post-Office Addresses of Managing Owners of Two or More Merchant Vessels Having Signal Letters, with Rigs, Names, and Gross Tonnages of Vessels.

  • Rules to prevent collisions of vessels (International rules, inland rules).

    Inlands waters on the Atlantic, Pacific, and Gulf costs of the United States where the Inland Rules of the Road are to be followed; and inland waters of the United States bordering on the Gulf of Mexico where the Inland Rules of the Road or Pilot Rules for Western Rivers are to be followed.

   

• Code List of the United States Navy
• Code List of the Quartermaster Corps, United States Army
• Vessels of the Engineer Department, United States Army, Having Signal Letters
  (Code List of the Engineer Corps, United States Army)
• List of Vessels of the United States Coast Guard, Arranged According to Signal Letters
• List of the Tenders of the United States Lighthouse Service, Arranged According to Signal Letters
• List of Vessels of the Coast and Geodetic Survey, Arranged According to Signal Letters
• List of Vessels of the Bureau of Fisheries, Arranged According to Signal Letters
• List of Vessels of the Bureau of Navigation, Department of Commerce, Arranged According to Signal Letters
• List of American Merchant Vessels and Yachts Equipped with Radio Apparatus, Arranged by the Order of Their Call Letters
• List of Vessels of the Unitd States Navy Equipped with Radio Apparatus
• List of Vessels of the Unitd States Army Equipped with Radio Apparatus
• List of Radio Stations Belonging to the United States Army
• List of United States Revenue Cutters Equipped with Radio Apparatus
• List of Vessels of the Bureau of Navigation, Department of Commerce Equipped with Radio Apparatus
• List of Radio Stations Belonging to the United States Navy

• Signals:

  National flag
  Commission pennant
  Union Jack
  Flags of the principal maritime countries
  Funnels and house flags of some principal steamship lines in American trade
  Flags and Pennants to be used in the International Code
  Distress signals
  List of Weather Bureau stations on the U.S. seacoast telegraph lines
  Small craft, storm, and hurricane warnings