"Students of American naval history cannot find detailed information on those vessels in any single source. This work attempts to fill that lack by bringing together in one place the surviving statistical information on those vessels which have been commissioned into naval service or were intended for it. Insofar as possible, this volume rests of official sources, but those are sometimes incomplete and often contradictory. Where feasible, the omissions in the official record have been filled from other sources. Yet, major gaps in our knowledge of the ships of the navy still persist. The author hopes that this work will lead others to fill in some of the blank spaces"--Pref.