United States Navy

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. The U.S. Navy is the largest, most capable navy in the world, with the highest combined battle fleet tonnage. The U.S. Navy has the world's largest aircraft carrier fleet, with ten in service, two in the reserve fleet, and three new carriers under construction. The service has 328,194 personnel on active duty and 101,199 in the Navy Reserve. It has 272 deployable combat vessels and more than 3,700 aircraft in active service as of February 2016.

The U.S. Navy traces its origins to the Continental Navy, which was established during the American Revolutionary War and was essentially disbanded as a separate entity shortly thereafter. It played a major role in the American Civil War by blockading the Confederacy and seizing control of its rivers. It played the central role in the World War II defeat of Japan. The 21st century U.S. Navy maintains a sizable global presence, deploying in such areas as East Asia, the Mediterranean, and the Middle East. It is a blue-water navy with the ability to project force onto the littoral regions of the world, engage in forward areas during peacetime, and rapidly respond to regional crises, making it an active player in U.S. foreign and defense policy.

Navy blue

Navy blue is a very dark shade of the color blue.

Navy blue got its name from the dark blue (contrasted with white) worn by officers in the British Royal Navy since 1748 and subsequently adopted by other navies around the world. When this color name, taken from the usual color of the uniforms of sailors, originally came into use in the early 19th century, it was initially called marine blue, but the name of the color soon changed to navy blue.

An early use of navy blue as a color name in English was in 1840 though the Oxford English Dictionary has a citation from 1813.

In practice, actual blue uniforms of the United States Navy and other navies have become outright black in color, in order to combat fading.

Variations of navy blue

Bright navy blue

At right is displayed the color bright navy blue. This is the bright tone called "navy blue" by Crayola.

This tone of navy blue was formulated as a Crayola color in 1958.

Indigo dye

Indigo dye is the color that is called Añil (the Spanish word for "indigo dye") in the Guía de coloraciones (Guide to colorations) by Rosa Gallego and Juan Carlos Sanz, a color dictionary published in 2005 that is widely popular in the Hispanophone realm.

Navy News (Australia)

Navy News is the newspaper published for the Royal Australian Navy. The paper is produced fortnightly and is uploaded online so that members can access it when deployed overseas.

See also

External links

USS Albuquerque (SSN-706)

USS Albuquerque (SSN-706), a Los Angeles-class attack submarine, was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for Albuquerque, New Mexico. The contract to build her was awarded to the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics Corporation in Groton, Connecticut on 31 October 1973 and her keel was laid down on 27 December 1979. She was launched on 13 March 1982 sponsored by Mrs. Nancy L. Domenici, and commissioned on 21 May 1983 with Captain Richard H. Hartman in command.

1983-1989

In October 1983, Captain Hartman was replaced as Commanding Officer by Captain Scott L. Sears. Albuquerque spent the remainder of 1983 engaged in operations at sea completing a variety of tests, examinations, certifications, and inspections.

At the beginning of 1984, Albuquerque reentered Electric Boat Shipyard for post-shakedown availability, returning to sea on 15 April. In May, she transited to the Florida coast for weapons and combat systems certifications. During the summer, she participated in a fleet exercise and took part in a midshipman training cruise. In August, Albuquerque began normal operations from her home port. October and November brought extended operations at sea in the Atlantic Ocean, and, in December, she underwent additional repairs at Electric Boat.

USS Salt Lake City (SSN-716)

USS Salt Lake City (SSN-716), a Los Angeles-class submarine, was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for Salt Lake City, Utah. The contract to build her was awarded to Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company in Newport News, Virginia on 15 September 1977 and her keel was laid down on 26 August 1980. She was launched on 16 October 1982 sponsored by Mrs. Kathleen Garn, and commissioned on 12 May 1984, with Commander Richard Itkin in command.

Actor Scott Glenn trained aboard, and was installed as (honorary) commander for a brief time, aboard Salt Lake City in preparation for his part as Bart Mancuso, Captain of the USS Dallas in the film The Hunt for Red October.

Salt Lake City was featured in The History Channel's Mail Call when R. Lee Ermey answered viewer questions about life inside a submarine.

On 22 October 2004, Salt Lake City returned from a deployment with the Stennis carrier strike group in the western Pacific Ocean, after surging, over a month ahead of schedule, in support of Summer Pulse '04. Port calls during the deployment included Guam, Sasebo, Yokosuka, Singapore, and Oahu, Hawaii.

USS Cincinnati (SSN-693)

USS Cincinnati (SSN-693), a Los Angeles-class submarine, was the fourth ship of the United States Navy to be named for Cincinnati, Ohio. The contract to build her was awarded to Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company in Newport News, Virginia on 4 February 1971 and her keel was laid down on 6 April 1974. She was launched on 19 February 1977 sponsored by Mrs. William Keating, and commissioned on 10 June 1978, with Commander Gilbert V. Wilkes, III in command.

In August 1979, Cincinnati rescued a Finnish sailor 70 miles (100 km) off the east coast of Florida who had been in the water for 22 hours after falling overboard from the Finnish freighter Finnbeaver.

In November 1980, after a patrol in the Mediterranean Sea, Cincinnati was visited by former President of the United States Richard M. Nixon and Admiral Hyman Rickover for an overnight "familiarization and orientation cruise."

Cincinnati was decommissioned and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 29 July 1996. Ex-Cincinnati is scheduled to enter the Nuclear Powered Ship and Submarine Recycling Program in Bremerton, Washington. After an attempt made to preserve her as a museum and memorial in her namesake city failed, the city now plans on acquiring the sail and possibly other artifacts for display on the riverfront.