USS Baltimore - Definition

Six United States Navy ships have been named Baltimore, after the city of Baltimore, Maryland.

• The first Baltimore, a brigantine of 12 guns, was built in 1777 at Baltimore, Maryland, and fitted out as a dispatch or packet vessel. She was used at times for the protection of the coast along the Delaware and Chesapeake Bays. She was commanded by Captain T. Read of the Continental Navy, 1778-79, and was lost near Cape Henry 29 January 1780.

• The second Baltimore was a 20-gun ship built in 1798.

• The third Baltimore was a side-wheel steamer captured in 1861.

• The fourth Baltimore (C-3) was a cruiser commissioned in 1890.

• The fifth Baltimore (CA-68) was a heavy cruiser commissioned in 1943.

• The sixth Baltimore (SSN-704) is a Los Angeles-class nuclear attack submarine.