Navy Vessels Named After WYOMING!

Did you know that the state of Wyoming has a navy? If you did not, it's because - WE DON'T. But as with other states, the U.S. Navy has ships named after the state of Wyoming and a few of its towns.

Most notably, the battleship USS Wyoming (BB-32) and the current ballistic missile submarine USS Wyoming (SSBN-742).

Other vessels included a Civil War-era steamer, a monitor renamed as the first USS Cheyenne, and a famous civilian wooden schooner.

Key Ships Named After the State of Wyoming.

USS Wyoming (1859–1892): A wooden-hulled screw sloop-of-war.

USS Wyoming (BM-10 / Monitor No. 10): Commissioned in 1902, later renamed USS Cheyenne in 1909 to free the name for a battleship.

USS Wyoming (BB-32): A Wyoming-class battleship commissioned in 1912, served in both World Wars, and was used for training.

USS Wyoming (SSBN-742): An Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine commissioned in 1996.

Civilian Ships
Wyoming (Schooner): Built in 1909 in Maine, it was the largest wooden ship ever built.

Other Related Ships

USS Cheyenne (SSN-773): A Los Angeles-class submarine named after the city of Cheyenne.

USNS Laramie (T-AO-203): A Henry J. Kaiser-class oiler.

USS Casper (PF-12): A Tacoma-class patrol frigate.

In addition to naval ships, tankers, schooners, and fishing smacks named "Wyoming," there were Great Lake steamers and a Missouri River steamer named Wyoming. There have been a number of civilian ships named Wyoming. A Hudson River sidewheel steamer, Wyoming, owned by Joseph Cornell, brother of Thomas Cornell of the famed Cornell Steamboat Company, owner of the Mary Powell. The vessel was named after a county in Northern New York, east of Buffalo. (Wyoming Tales & Trails).

The Cope Line was founded by Thomas P. Cope in 1821 of Philadelphia. The Wyoming was constructed in 1845 by John Vaughan & Sons of Philadelphia. The Cope line ran packet ships between Liverpool and Philadelphia from 1841 until the 1870's. (Wyoming Tales & Trails).

Wyoming operated a landlocked U.S. Coast Guard Base. It was for a global navigation system called LORAN-C (Long-Range Navigation) station south of Gillette from November 1990 until February 2010. As a critical navigation beacon, it helped ships on U.S. rivers and the Great Lakes triangulate their locations, with the 700-foot tower maintained by a local crew.