Number's on the bow. From the angle, it looked like 17, but after looking a little closer, I see that it is actually 41 (was reading it upside down as well.) See attached .eta for a better view.
That gives it considerable more history than the other. This is none other than the USS Midway- veteran of three wars (WW2, Vietnam and Desert Storm) and probably the holder of the record for the most peacetime onboard fires and explosions. MORE INFO
Quote: Midway was decommissioned for the last time at North Island Naval Air Station in San Diego, California on April 11, 1992. She was stricken from the Navy List on March 17, 1997 and is now stored at the Navy Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility, Bremerton, Washington.
-------------------- The Schutzstaffel (German for "Protective Squadron"), abbreviated SS, grew from a small paramilitary unit to an elite force that served as the Führer's "Praetorian Guard," the Nazi Party's "Shield Squadron" and a force with as much political influence as the regular German armed forces. Built upon the Nazi racial ideology, the SS, under Heinrich Himmler's command, was primarily responsible for the crimes against humanity perpetrated by the Nazis during the Second World War.
"We cannot continue to rely only on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives that we've set. We've got to have a civilian national security force that's just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded." Barack Obama - 10/30/2008