 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name |
|
| Builder | Pusey & Jones Corp.,Wilmington, Delaware |
| Launched | 22 August 1945 |
| Commissioned | 1 June 1953 |
| Decommissioned | 1973 |
| In service | 1973 |
| Out of service | 1 January 1991 |
| Stricken | 20 August 1992 |
| Identification | IMO number: 8834897 |
| Motto | Find it, Fix it, Hide it. |
| Fate | Recycled in late 2005 |
| Notes | Ship underwent modifications as USSNeptune and a major modernization in 1982 with resulting changes in specifications. |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | S3-S2-BP1; Army cable ship, later USNCable Repair Ship (ARC) |
| Displacement | 7,400 long tons (7,519 t) |
| Length | 362 ft 0 in (110.34 m) |
| Beam | 47 ft 0 in (14.33 m) |
| Draft | 25 ft (7.6 m) |
| Propulsion | 2 × Skinner Uniflow Reciprocating Steam Engines; changed to turbo-electric in 1982; twin shafts |
| Speed | 14knots (26 km/h; 16 mph) |
| Complement |
|
| Armament | None |
USNSNeptune (ARC-2), was the lead ship in her class of cable repair ships in U.S. Naval service. The ship was built byPusey & Jones Corp. ofWilmington, Delaware, Hull Number 1108, as theUSACSWilliam H. G. Bullardnamed for Rear Adm.William H. G. Bullard. She was the first of twoMaritime Commission type S3-S2-BP1 ships built for theUS Army Signal Corps near the end ofWorld War II. The other ship was theAlbert J. Myer, which later joined her sister ship in naval service as the USNSAlbert J. Myer (T-ARC-6).[1][2]
The ship was assigned to and largely worked on installation of theSound Surveillance System (SOSUS) under its unclassified name for installation, Project Caesar.
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Neptune's assignments were typically to transport, deploy, retrieve and repair submarine cables, tow cable plow[note 1] and acoustic projectors, and conduct acoustic, hydrographic, and bathymetric surveys.[3] Civilian cable engineers and specialist were involved during cable or surveying operations in addition to a Navy crew of nine officers and 142 enlisted personnel.[4][note 2] In addition to cable operations and surveys for Project Caesar the ship supported experimental efforts and other projects.[5]
After completion for the US Army Signal Corps in February 1946,Neptune was handed to theMaritime Commission and placed in theJames Riverreserve fleet on 2 March 1946.[6][7][8]
In 1952Neptune was assigned to Project Caesar, the unclassified name for the installation phase of SOSUS. The system's mission was declassified in 1991.[9] On 17 February 1953 the ship was namedNeptune and withdrawn from the reserve fleet.[6] The ship then went to theBethlehem Steel Co. inBaltimore, Maryland for a number of modifications: e.g., electric cable machinery (in place of steam), precision navigation instrumentation, and a helicopter platform over the fantail.[5] Cable drums 15 ft (4.6 m) in diameter and bow sheaves spanning 12 ft (3.7 m) were among the more visible modifications.[10] On 1 June 1953 the ship wascommissionedUSSNeptune (ARC-2).[5]
The ship's operations were classified so few specific ones are public. One was the 1962 connection of the array once terminating at Naval Facility Cape May toNaval Facility Lewes necessitated by destruction of the Cape May shore station in the"Ash Wednesday" Storm.[9][11][12][note 3]
From December 1965 through March 1966Neptune was overhauled in Boston.[5] In 1973,Neptune transferred to theMilitary Sealift Command (MSC), was re-designatedT-ARC-2, and continued operations with an MSCcivil service crew.
Only two of the four cable ships available for Project Caesar had been designed and built as cable ships, the others being conversions and lacking some critical features needed for cable operations. The largerAeolus andThor were not suitable for modernization whileAlbert J. Myer andNeptune had cable ship features, including deeper draft than the larger ships, that made them suitable candidates for modernization.[13] In hearings for the 1980 appropriations the Navy requested an increase of $9.6 million over an original estimate of $14.5 million inNeptune conversion budget for a total of $24.1 million. The revised estimate was based on actualMyer conversion costs. In particular the Navy was questioned about conversion of merchant type hulls to cable ships and answered that conversion would be more expensive. Further, charter of commercial cable ships was done when needed, but expensive and those ships were not always available when required. The AT&TCS Long Lines was used on occasion to lay trunk cable at a daily cost of $30,000 viceNeptune's $19,200. Scheduled Project Caesar work required a minimum of three Navy cable ships.[14]
Neptune was extensively modernized in 1982 byGeneral Dynamics Corporation inQuincy, Massachusetts.[note 4] That work included new turbo-electric engines.Neptune and sister shipAlbert J. Myer, with SkinnerUniflow Reciprocating Steam Engines, were the last ships in the Navy to operate using reciprocating steam engines.[3]
Neptune performed cable repair duties all over the world until 1991, when she'd been in service for some 38 years. During her career, she received aNavy E ribbon in 1988.
Inactivated in 1991, the same year in which the SOSUS mission was declassified, she was placed in the James Riverreserve fleet near Ft. Eustis, VA on 24 September 1991. The ex-Neptune was removed from the fleet 6 December 1994 to stripped.[6] The ship was dismantled and recycled by International Shipbreaking Ltd. ofBrownsville, TX in late 2005.
This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be foundhere.