USNS Albert J Myer (T-ARC-6)
| Career | |
|---|---|
| Laid down: | 14 April 1945 |
| Launched: | 7 November 1945 |
| Delivered: | 17 May 1946 |
| Stricken: | 7 November 1994 |
| Fate: | recycled in 2005 |
| General Characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 7815 tons |
| Length: | 112.5 meters (369 feet) |
| Beam: | 14.3 meters (47 feet) |
| Draft: | 5.5 meters (18 feet) |
| Powerplant: | 2 Skinner Uniflow Reciprocating Steam Engines; replaced in the early 1980's with diesel engines; twin shafts |
| Speed: | 14 knots |
| Complement: | 71 civilians, 6 Navy, 25 technicians |
| Armament: | none |
USNS Albert J. Meyer (ARC-6), was a Neptune-class cable laying ship built for the US Army near the end of World War 2. She is named for Brig. Gen. Albert J. Meyer, the founder of the Army Signal Corps. The keel was laid down on 14 April 1945 by the by Pusey & Jones Corp. of Wilmington, Delaware. Albert J. Meyer was launched on 7 November 1945, and sponsored by Mrs. Grace Salisbury Ingles, the wife of Major General Harry C. Ingles, commanding officer of the Army Signal Corps.
Function
Cable laying ships transport, deploy, retrieve and repair submarine cables, tow acoustic projectors, and conduct acoustic, hydrographic, and bathymetric surveys.
Career
Since World War 2 ended some eight months before her completion, the Albert J. Myer was delivered to the Maritime Commission and placed in the reserve fleet. In 1952, she was commissioned by the Navy as a cable repair ship to support the SOSUS program and operated as a regular Navy ship (USS Albert J. Meyer). In 1973, Meyer was transferred to the Military Sealift Command (MSC), designated T-ARC-6, and operated by a mostly civilian crew. The Albert J. Meyer was extensively modernized and fitted with new engines in 1979-82. It is said that Meyer and Neptune were the last ships in the Navy to operate using reciprocating engines. Meyer performed cable repair duties all over the world until 1994, when she was inactivated and eventually placed in the reserve fleet near Ft. Eustis, VA. During her career, she received a Meritorious Unit Commendation (1974), and two Navy E ribbons (1981, 1985). She was dismantled and recycled by International Shipbreaking Ltd of Brownsville, TX in late 2005.
References
This article includes information collected from the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.
- The Ships and Aircraft of the U.S. Fleet, Norman Polmar, Naval Institute Press, 13th edition, 1984.
- OPNAV NOTICE 1650, Master List of Unit Awards and Campaign Medals, 9 Mar 2001.
- MARAD press release 14-05, 28 July 2005, Maritime Administration announcement of the disposal of ex-Meyer & ex-Neptune.