Port of San Francisco
U.S. Navy ships: Pier 30/32 + Pier 35
USCG ship: Pier 19
Note: These piers are 1.7 miles apart on the waterfront. There will be two ships at each pier.
Tour Dates and Times TBA
We welcome you to come down to the San Francisco waterfront to tour our visiting ships docked at the Port of San Francisco and get a glimpse of the day-to-day lives of the sailors serving in the U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard. For 2022, our largest ship, the LSD (Dock Landing Ship) will be located at Pier 35. Please plan accordingly as the two piers are over one mile apart.
We have several guides on this site to help you with information about planning your experience at Fleet Week under "Plan Your Trip".
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Ship Tour Lineup
USS Harpers Ferry (LSD 49)
“First in Freedom”
HISTORY
John Brown's Raid
On Oct. 16, 1859, the radical abolitionist John Brown led a small group of 22 men in a raid on the Arsenal. Five were black: three free blacks, one a freed slave, and one a fugitive slave. During this time assisting fugitive slaves was illegal even in the north, and morally unacceptable to most southern white communities. Brown attacked and captured several buildings; he hoped to use the captured weapons to initiate a slave uprising throughout the South. However, he and his men were quickly pinned down by local citizens and militia, and forced to take refuge in the engine house adjacent to the armory.
On Oct. 18, U.S. Marines were sent via train to Harpers Ferry. Under the temporary command of U.S. Army Colonel Robert E. Lee, they stormed the fire house and killed or captured most of the raiders. Brown was tried for treason by the State of Virginia, convicted, and hanged in nearby Charles Town. Following the prosecution, "John Brown captured the attention of the nation like no other abolitionist or slave owner before or since." The failed raid was a catalyst for the American Civil War.
Civil War
The Civil War was disastrous for Harpers Ferry, which changed hands eight times between 1861 and 1865. Because of the town's strategic location on the railroad and at the northern end of the Shenandoah Valley, both Union and Confederate troops moved through Harpers Ferry frequently. The town's garrison of 14,000 Federal troops played a key role in the Confederate invasion of Maryland in September 1862. General Robert E. Lee did not want to continue on to Pennsylvania without capturing the town, which was on his supply line and would control one of his possible routes of retreat if the invasion did not go well. Dividing his army of approximately 40,000 into four sections, he used the cover of the mountains and sent three columns under Stonewall Jackson to surround and capture the town. The Battle of Harpers Ferry started with light fighting Sept. 13 to capture the Maryland Heights to the northeast while John Walker moved back over the Potomac to capture Loudon Heights south of town. After an artillery bombardment Sept. 14-15, the Federal garrison surrendered. Lee, because of the delay and the movement of Federal forces west, was forced to regroup at the town of Sharpsburg, leading two days later to the fateful Battle of Antietam, and the bloodiest single day in American military history. When Virginia seceded in April 1861 the U.S. garrison attempted to burn the arsenal and destroy the machinery. Locals saved the equipment, which was later transferred to a more secure location in Richmond. Arms production never returned to Harpers Ferry.
Shortly after the end of the Civil War, Harpers Ferry, along with all of both Berkeley and Jefferson Counties, was separated from Virginia and incorporated into West Virginia. The inhabitants of the counties as well as the Virginia legislature protested, but the federal government went ahead anyway, forming the West Virginia "panhandle" of today. Without the distraction of Union forces at Harpers Ferry during the Antietam campaign the North might not have won that crucial battle or, consequently, the war.
ABOUT THE SHIP
Dock Landing Ships support amphibious operations including landings via Landing Craft Air Cushion (LCAC), conventional landing craft and helicopters, onto hostile shores. These ships transport and launch amphibious craft and vehicles with their crews and embarked personnel in amphibious assault operations.
USS HARPERS FERRY (LSD-49) SPECIFICATIONS
- Length: 610 Feet
- Beam: 84 Feet
- Draft: 20 Feet
- Displacement: 16,708 tons
- Speed: 20 plus knots
- Landing Craft: Two Landing Craft, Air Cushion
- Propulsion: 4 Colt Industries 16 Cylinder Diesels; 2 shafts, 33,000 shaft horsepower
- Crew: Ships Company: 22 officers, 397 enlisted; Marine Detachment: 402 plus 102 surge
- Hull: Steel hull, steel superstructure
- Armament: Two 25mm MK 38 Machine Guns, Two 20mm Phalanx CIWS mounts and Six .50 cal. machine guns, two Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM) mounts.
USS Princeton (CG 59)
“Honor and Glory”
A PROUD NAMESAKE
CG 59 is the sixth ship in a proud series of U. S. Navy ships to honor the name PRINCETON. The first vessel named Princeton was a sloop of war, commissioned in 1843. She was the first Navy vessel to be powered by a steam-driven screw. On Feb., 28, 1844, while demonstrating a new type of cannon to the President and numerous dignitaries, ten people were killed when the cannon burst. Among the casualties were the Secretary of State and two senators. The ship was decommissioned in 1849.
The second PRINCETON was an armed transport and training ship, commissioned in 1852, and in service until 1866. The third vessel named for the Battle of Princeton was a composite gunboat which was commissioned in 1898. She served in the far east and off Nicaragua, and was decommissioned in 1919.
The fourth PRINCETON was the Independence class carrier CVL 23, commissioned in 1943. Her battle record included raids on Tarawa, Bougainville, the Gilbert and Marshall Island, Guam and the Battle of Philippine Sea. She was sunk in a fierce battle off Surigao Straits in 1944. Among the awards she received were the Asiatic-Pacific Area Campaign Ribbon with 9 battle stars and the Republic of the Philippines Presidential Unit Citation.
The fifth PRINCETON was an Essex class carrier, CV 37. The ship was already in construction when CVL 23 was sunk, and the name PRINCETON was given to the new replacement. Commissioned just after the end of World War II in 1945, she was reclassed in 1950 as CVA 37. The ship earned the Navy Unit Commendation and 8 battle stars during the Korean War. In 1954, she was reclassed as an amphibious assault ship, LPH 5. She served off the coast of Vietnam conducting support missions for the U. S. Marines, which earned her a Meritorious Unit Commendation. She was also the primary recovery ship for APOLLO TEN. the fifth PRINCETON was decommissioned in 1970.
The sixth PRINCETON was commissioned in 1989 in Pascagoula, MS on Feb. 11, 1989 and has completed three deployments to the Arabian Gulf and won two consecutive Battle Efficiency Awards in 1992-1993.
ABOUT THE SHIP
- Large combat vessel with multiple target response capability.
- USS PRINCETON (CG 59) SPECIFICATIONS
- Class and type: Ticonderoga-class cruiser
- Displacement: Approx. 9,600 long tons (9,800 t) full load
- Length: 567 feet
- Beam: 55 feet
- Draft: 34 feet
- Propulsion: 4 × General Electric LM2500 gas turbine engines; 2 × controllable-reversible pitch propellers; 2 × rudders
- Speed: 32.5 knots (60 km/h; 37.4 mph)
- Complement: 30 officers and 300 enlisted
- Armament: MK41 vertical launching system Standard Missile (MR); Vertical Launch ASROC (VLA) Missile; Tomahawk Cruise Missile; Six MK-46 torpedoes (from two triple mounts); Two MK 45 5-inch/54 caliber lightweight guns; Two Phalanx close-in weapons systems.
- Aircraft: Two SH-60 Seahawk (LAMPS III).
USS Fitzgerald (DDG 62)
“Protect Your People”
NAMESAKE
USS Fitzgerald is named in honor of Lieutenant William C. Fitzgerald, who, in 1967, was posthumously awarded the U. S. Navy's highest decoration for valor, The Navy Cross. From the award citation, dated Aug. 7, 1967:
"The President of the United States of America takes pride in presenting the Navy Cross (Posthumously) to Lieutenant William Charles Fitzgerald (NSN: 0-669041), United States Navy, for extraordinary heroism on 7 August 1967 while serving as Senior Advisor to Vietnamese Navy Coastal Group SIXTEEN in connection with combat operations against the communist insurgents (Viet Cong) in the Republic of Vietnam. When Coastal Group 16 was taken under a coordinated attack by numerically superior Viet Cong forces, Lieutenant Fitzgerald immediately established communications with the Vietnamese Navy commanding officer, and attempted to coordinate assistance with free-world forces in the area. The enemy fire soon became too intense for the outnumbered base defense force to resist successfully and the Viet Cong completely overran the base. Aware that his bunker was the only remaining source of resistance, Lieutenant Fitzgerald requested an artillery barrage to be laid down on his own position and ordered his men to evacuate the base toward the river. He gallantly remained in the command bunker in order to provide cover fire for the evacuating personnel. Before Lieutenant Fitzgerald could carry out his own escape, he was fatally shot by the Viet Cong aggressors. By his fearless dedication to duty, courage under fire, and heroic actions in defense of the base, despite overwhelming odds, Lieutenant Fitzgerald served as an inspiration to all persons engaged in the counterinsurgency effort in Vietnam and upheld the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.”
ABOUT USS FITZGERALD (DDG 62)
USS Fitzgerald (DDG 62) is an Arleigh Burke-class (Flight I) guided missile destroyer, laid down by Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine 9 Feb. 1993; launched 29 Jan. 1994; and commissioned 14 Oct. 1995 in Newport, R.I. The USS Fitzgerald was homeported in San Diego, CA.
Arleigh Burke-class destroyers are warships that provide multi-mission offensive and defensive capabilities, including Anti-Air Warfare, Anti-Submarine Warfare, and Anti-Surface Warfare. Destroyers can operate independently or as part of carrier strike groups, surface action groups, amphibious ready groups, and underway replenishment groups.
Like most modern U.S. surface combatants, DDG 51 utilizes gas turbine propulsion. Employing four General Electric LM 2500 gas turbines to produce 100,000 total shaft horsepower via a dual shaft design, Arleigh Burke-class destroyers are capable of achieving 30 plus knot speeds in open seas.
USS FITZGERALD SPECIFICATIONS
- Class and type: Arleigh Burke-class destroyer
- Displacement: Light, approx. 6,800 long tons; full, approx. 8,900 long tons
- Length: 505 feet
- Beam: 59 feet
- Draft: 31 feet
- Propulsion: 2 × Shafts
- Speed: >30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph)
- Range: 4,400 nautical miles at 20 knots (8,100 km at 37 km/h)
- Complement: 33 commissioned officers, 38 chief petty officers, 210 enlisted personnel
- AEGIS Weapons System (AWS) including SPY-1 Radar, 96 cell MK 41 VLS, MK 99
- Fire Control System
- AN/SQQ-89 Sonar
- MK 45 5" Gun for ASuW, AAW), and land attack (NSFS) targets
- 25mm CIWS and MK 38 self-defense guns
- SLQ-32 or SEWIP Electronics warfare system
- Helo landing capability (DDG 51-78); Dual Hangars for organic Helo support (DDG 79 and follow)
- Four Gas Turbine Engines driving twin controllable propellers
Three SSGTG (Ship Service Gas Turbine Generators)
USS Kansas City (LCS 22)
“United We Stand, Divided We Fall”
The Navy celebrated the commissioning of Independence-variant littoral combat ship USS Kansas City (LCS 22) Dec. 17, 2021 at Naval Base San Diego. Kansas City was administratively commissioned on June 20, 2020, but due to restrictions on large gatherings because of the COVID-19 pandemic at the time, no traditional commissioning ceremony was held.
Since its administrative commissioning, USS Kansas City has been an active littoral combat ship in the U.S. Navy, including successful completion of certifications and participation in exercise Resolute Hunter in November 2021.
Kansas City is the 11th of the Independence-variant to join the fleet and second ship to be named for Kansas City. The name Kansas City was assigned to a heavy cruiser during World War II. However, construction was canceled after one month due to the end of the war. The name Kansas City was also assigned to the Wichita-class replenishment oiler AOR-3 in 1967. This ship saw service in the Vietnam War and Operation Desert Storm and was decommissioned in 1994.
Kansas City was christened in a traditional ceremony at Austal shipyard in Mobile, Alabama, on Sept. 22, 2018.
ABOUT THE SHIP
The Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) is a fast, agile, mission-focused platform designed to operate in near-shore environments, winning against 21st-century coastal threats. The LCS is capable of supporting forward presence, maritime security, sea control, and deterrence.
USS KANSAS CITY (LCS 22) SPECIFICATIONS
- Class and type: Independence-class littoral combat ship
- Displacement: 2,307 metric tons light, 3,104 metric tons full, 797 metric tons deadweight
- Length: 377 feet
- Beam: 103 feet
- Propulsion: 2× gas turbines, 2× diesel, 4× waterjets, retractable Azimuth thruster, 4× diesel generators
- Speed: 40 knots (74 km/h; 46 mph)+, 47 knots (54 mph; 87 km/h) sprint
- Range: 4,300 nautical miles (8,000 km; 4,900 mi) at 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph)+
- Complement: 41 core crew (9 officers, 32 enlisted) plus up to 35 mission crew
USCGC Terrell Horne (WPC-1131)
Coast Guard Cutter TERRELL HORNE, commissioned in March of 2019 and is a Fast Response Cutter that is homeported in San Pedro, CA. The Fast Response Cutters are named after Coast Guard enlisted heroes.
Originally from Mountain View CA, Senior Chief Terrell Horne III gave his life on December 2nd, 2012 protecting his shipmates during the interdiction of a drug smuggling vessel.
The ships primary missions are drug and migrant interdiction as well as search and rescue and living marine resource enforcement. Since the ships commissioning, Coast Guard Cutter TERRELL HORNE has saved over 65 lives at sea, prevented 285 migrants from illegally entering the country, and seized over 20 Kilograms of Methamphetamine.