I love ships....these are only a few of my favorites and notables
1st Choice: USS Monitor. This warship not only spawned the first practical birth of revolving encased gun platforms, but was
one of the first warships totally dependant on engines alone to get her into the fight, no sails at all. She also introduce the innovation of forced air draft for the engines (her engine room in effect was under pressure to ensure their maximum heat potential) forced central ventilation for the crew, and in my opinion, was so darn cute looking!
2nd Choice: DD 963...USS Spuance. the first modern destroyer built for the navy in 1975 in over 25 years, the Spruance holds a place in my heart because it and its 40 sister ships saved pascagoula Mississippi from being a ghost town. That and its jet turbine engines, fire control system, and few other thing made it a force to be reconized...destroyer indeed!
3rd choice...USS Laffey. This ship took seven separate hits from japanese suicide planes...and lived to tell the tale simply because its crew would not let the ship die. One of the most intriguing stories of damage control to come out of WWII.
4th choice...in the Big gun category...USS Texas. Why this one? Well she is the oldest and only dreadnought class battleship still afloat, as a memorial in Houston texas. The dreadnoughts were the more interesting as they were the new way to take the big guns to sea. (I also liked the original HMS dreadnought..i mean those side turrets made it look so viscous...)
In the small boy capacity..the confederate David. somehow, the thought of taking a boat designed to be semi submersible (it was flooded down till it barely poked above the water) and ramming it with a spar torpedo into the side of a union ship just sends shivers down my spine.
in the odd man category...has to be the USS Kathadin. This was as far as i know, the only US ship built
from the ground up to defeat another ship by...ramming it. Actually was so slow it never could catch any vessel it went after. looked interesting though.
in the really spectacular feat department..The HMS Cambletown (Campletown?) The use of this ship as one of the largest floating bombs during the raid on St Nazaire to stop the subs from getting out, has to be the high point for the quick end of a ship. literally packed with explosives and driven through the dock gates, she exploded spectactuarly.
In the carrier category...for me its not the enterprise...not the hornet...Its the USS Saratoga. the third of the original US carrier fleet (langley, Lexington, saratoga and ranger) she made it all the way through WWII..and 2 atomic bombs designed to send her to the bottom during operation crossroads.
For infamy...Its the USS Somers in the early 1800s. It was the only us vessel in history...where crew members were tried, convicted, and hanged for the crime of mutiny.
finally..pointing towards the future..the USS Seashadow. anyship that was copied for a James Bond Movie cant be all bad...