William M. Crane (1776-18 March 1846) was an officer in the United States Navy during the First Barbary War and the War of 1812.

Crane was born in 1776 at Elizabethtown, New Jersey and appointed midshipman in 1799 and captain in 1814. Serving as a lieutenant in Congress, he won honors for his gallant fighting in the attacks on Tripoli in 1804. Captain Crane was assigned command of the Mediterranean Squadron in 1827 and acted as one of the commissioners in the negotiations with the Ottoman Empire. He was on the Board of Navy Commissioners and the first Chief of the Bureau of Ordnance and Hydrography from 1842 until his death 18 March 1846.

Legacy

The Naval Ammunition Depot in Burns City, Indiana was renamed US Naval Ammunition Depot, Crane, in honor of Commodore Crane. Burns City was subsequently renamed Crane after the depot. The depot is currently named Crane Division , Naval Surface Warfare Center .

USS Crane (DD-109) was also named in his honor.