It omits small boats and landing craft not listed on the Naval Vessel Register. Ships are listed alphabetically by name, or, for unnamed ships, by hull number.
Sailing vessels show the official gun rate in parentheses.
Hull numbers are those assigned under the standard nomenclature system adopted by the Navy in July 1920. In a few cases, incomplete dates are indicated by dashes in place of the year. A revised edition of Part A of volume 1 appeared in 1991. These volumes are available at most major libraries and may be purchased from U.S. Government Bookstores. The history of the Charlestown Navy Yard as a shipbuilder is documented in the five-volume historic resource study of the yard written by Edwin C. Bearrs and Frederick A. Black.