The list of ship decommissionings in 1971 includes a chronological list of all ships decommissioned in 1971.

Date	Operator	Ship	Class and type	Fate	Other notes
30 June	United States Navy	Shangri-La	Essex-class aircraft carrier	Scrapped	Reserve until stricken in 1982
2 July	United States Navy	Bon Homme Richard	Essex-class aircraft carrier	Scrapped	Reserve until stricken in 1989[1]

• "Bon Homme Richard (CV-31)". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 26 February 2024.