For ships that are not original see Ship replica. For preserved incomplete ships see Ships preserved in museums.

A museum ship, or sometimes memorial ship, is a ship that has been preserved and converted into a museum open to the public, for educational as well as memorial purposes. Some are also used for training and recruitment purposes, a use found mostly with the small number of museum ships that are still operational, i.e. capable of regular movement.^[1][2] There are several hundred museum ships around the world, often associated with maritime museums.

Significance

Despite the long history of sea travel, the ravages of the elements and the expense of maintenance has resulted in the destruction of nearly all the ships that were ever built, often by sinking, usually by being broken up and sold for scrap. Only a few have survived, sometimes because of historical significance, but more often simply due to luck and circumstance.

Since an old ship tied up at dockside, without attention, will still decay and eventually sink, the practice of recent years has been to form some sort of preservation society, solicit donations from governments and the wealthy, organize volunteer labor from the enthusiasts, and open the restored ship to visitors, usually for a fee.

The restoration and continual maintenance of museum ships presents an interesting set of problems for historians who are frequently asked for advice, and the results periodically generate some controversy. For instance, the rigging of sailing ships has almost never survived, and so the rigging plan must be reconstructed from various sources. Studying the ships also allows historians to analyse how life on and operation of the ships took place. ^[3] Numerous scientific papers have been written on ship restoration and maintenance, and international conferences are held discussing the latest developments.^[4]

Another discussion in the preservation community is the distinction between a 'real' museum ship, and a ship replica. As repairs accumulate over time, less and less of the ship is of the original materials, and the lack of old parts (or even 'appropriate' work tools) may lead to the use of modern 'short-cuts' (such as welding a metal plate instead of riveting it, as would be the case during the ships historical period).^[5] Visitors without historical background are also often unable to distinguish between a historical museum ship and a more-or-less historically relevant ship replica, which may serve solely as a tourist attraction.^[3]

Museum usage

Typically the visitor enters via gangplank, wanders around on the deck, then goes below, usually using the original stairways, giving a sense of how the crew got around. The interior features restored but inactivated equipment, enhanced with mementos including old photographs, explanatory displays, pages from the ship's logs, menus, and the like. Some will add recorded sound effects, audio tours or video displays to add to the experience.

A number of the larger museum ships have begun to offer hosting for weddings, meetings, and other events, sleepovers, and on a few ships still seaworthy, cruises. In this category is the Constitution's annual "turnaround", where the old ship is towed out into the harbor and brought back in facing the other way, so as to weather evenly. A place on the deck is by invitation or lottery only, and highly prized.

The tourism appeal of a city waterfront graced by an interesting old vessel is such that most port cities of the world now have at least one museum ship, even if it has meant building a replica ship at great expense.

The first museum ship could be considered to be Jason's Argo, which after his expedition for the Golden Fleece, was preserved on a beach and shown to visitors for ages afterwards.

Notable museum ships

Main article: List of museum ships

Name	Location	Affiliated with	Comments
HNLMS Abraham Crijnssen	Den Helder, Netherlands	Netherlands	Minesweeper, escaped disguised as a tropical island from Surabaya, Java in 1942, and made it to Australia
USS Alabama	Mobile, Alabama	United States	Battleship, received nine WWII battle stars, later joined by USS Drum (SS-228)
Aurora	St. Petersburg, Russia	Russia	Protected cruiser, launched in 1900, survived the Battle of Tsushima and fired the first shots of the October Revolution
Balclutha	San Francisco, California	United States	Tall ship, launched in 1886, U.S. National Historic Landmark
HMS Belfast	London, England	United Kingdom	Light cruiser of World War II
ORP Błyskawica	Gdynia, Poland	Poland	Destroyer of World War II, oldest preserved one (launched 1936)
USS Bowfin	Pearl Harbor, Hawaii	United States	Submarine, fought in the Pacific Theater of World War II
HMY Britannia	Edinburgh, Scotland	United Kingdom	Royal Yacht / Hospital ship (designed for potential conversion), last such ship of the United Kingdom
HMS Cavalier	Chatham, England	United Kingdom	Destroyer, last remaining British World War II destroyer
USS Cod	Cleveland, Ohio	United States	Submarine, fought in the Pacific Theater of World War II
USS Constitution	Boston, Massachusetts	United States	Frigate, oldest commissioned warship afloat
Cutty Sark	Greenwich, England	United Kingdom	Clipper, only such ship surviving, recently (2007) sustained heavy damage in a fire
Drazki	Varna, Bulgaria	Bulgaria	Torpedo boat, launched in 1907
Elissa	Galveston, Texas	United States	Tall ship, one of the oldest still active, launched in 1877, U.S. National Historic Landmark
Gorch Fock	Stralsund, Germany	Germany, Soviet Union ,	Barque, school ship scuttled at the end of World War II, raised and re-used as school ship by the Soviet Union
SS Great Britain	Bristol, England	United Kingdom	Ocean liner, a Brunel design, first ocean-going ship to have screw propellor and iron hull
HMCS Haida	Hamilton, Ontario	Canada	Destroyer, Tribal class, one of the most successful ships of World War II
Hiddensee	Fall River, Massachusetts	East Germany	Corvette, missile, only Tarantul I class (Russia) on public display in the world
Huáscar	Talcahuano, Chile	Peru, Chile ,	Monitor launched in 1865, one of first ironclads, took significant part in the War of the Pacific
USS Lexington	Corpus Christi, Texas, USA	United States	Aircraft carrier, served in WWII and subsequently used in the training of US Navy aircrews for three decades
USS Midway	San Diego	United States	Aircraft carrier, largest such museum ship
Mikasa	Yokosuka, Japan	Japan	Pre-dreadnought battleship, Admiral Togo's flagship at the Battle of Tsushima, only preserved example of the ship type
USS Missouri	Pearl Harbor, Hawaii	United States	Battleship, site of the Japanese surrender ceremony in World War II
USS Nautilus	Groton, Connecticut	United States	Nuclear-powered submarine, first such ship
USS New Jersey	Camden, New Jersey	United States	Battleship, one of the longest-serving of the 20th Century
USS North Carolina	Wilmington, North Carolina	United States	Battleship, served in every campaign of the Pacific Theater, World War II
USS Olympia	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	United States	Protected cruiser, flagship during the Battle of Manila Bay, Spanish-American War
Passat	Travemünde, Germany	Germany	Barque, four-masted, flying P-Liner, sister ship of Pamir
Peking	South Street Seaport, New York	United States	Barque, four-masted, flying P-Liner
Pommern	Mariehamn, Ã…land	Finland	Barque, four-masted, flying P-Liner
RMS Queen Mary	Long Beach	United Kingdom	Ocean Liner, now museum ship and hotel
HNoMS Rap	Horten, Norway	Norway	Torpedo boat, first of such type
HMCS Sackville	Halifax	Canada	Corvette, escort; last remaining such WWII ship
USS Salem	Quincy, Massachusetts	United States	Heavy cruiser, only example of a heavy cruiser class of naval warship still in existence
USS Slater	Albany, New York	United States	Destroyer escort, only World War II memorial/museum ship of this type still afloat
HMS Småland	Gothenburg, Sweden	Sweden	Destroyer, launched in 1956, decommissioned in 1979
Star of India	San Diego	United Kingdom, United States ,	Tall ship, one of the oldest still active, launched in 1863, U.S. National Historic Landmark
USCGC Taney	Baltimore	United States	Cutter, coast guard, last U.S. ship still afloat that was present at Pearl Harbor attack
USS Texas	La Porte, Texas	United States	Battleship (Dreadnought), oldest surviving of such type, one of only two ships remaining to have served in both World Wars
U-505	Chicago	Nazi Germany	Submarine, Type XIC. German WWII veteran captured by the United States Navy in 1944
U-995	Laboe	Nazi Germany, Norway ,	Submarine, only remaining Type VIIC/41. German WWII veteran and post-war Norwegian KNM Kaura
Vasa	Stockholm	Sweden	A late galleon, and the world's only almost fully preserved 17th century warship
HMS Victory	Portsmouth, England	United Kingdom	Ship of the line, technically still flagship of the Royal Navy (though permanently in drydock) and the oldest ship in commission in any navy
HMS Warrior	Portsmouth, England	United Kingdom	Battleship, first ocean-going iron hulled ship of its type, launched in 1860
USS Wisconsin	Norfolk, Virginia, on loan	United States	Battleship, served in various conflicts since World War II
USS Yorktown	Charleston, South Carolina	United States	Aircraft carrier, oldest such ship still intact, launched in 1943

See also

• List of museum ships
• Ship replica
• Ships preserved in museums

References

External links

• Historic Naval Ship Visitors' Guide (from the international Historic Naval Ships Association website)

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Life Cycle of a Navy Ship

Service Life

Ship naming and launching | Ship commissioning | Ship decommissioning

After Decommissioning

Reserve fleet | Scrapping | Recycling | Scuttling or Weapons testing | Museum ship