.gif)
USS Brunswick (ATS-3)
Encyclopedia
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
from 1972 through her decommissioning in 1996.
Construction and commissioning
The third USS Brunswick, she was laid down on May 27, 1968 at LowestoftLowestoft
Lowestoft is a town in the English county of Suffolk. The town is on the North Sea coast and is the most easterly point of the United Kingdom. It is north-east of London, north-east of Ipswich and south-east of Norwich...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
by Brooke Marine
Brooke Marine
Brooke Marine was a Lowestoft-based shipbuilding firm. The company constructed boats and small ships for civilian and commercial use, as well as minor warships for the Royal Navy, Royal Navy of Oman, Royal Australian Navy, Kenya Navy and United States Navy.The company was founded in 1874 as a...
Ltd.; launched on October 14, 1969; sponsored by the wife of Vice Admiral David C. Richardson, USN (Ret.); delivered to the Navy at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard
Norfolk Naval Shipyard
The Norfolk Naval Shipyard, often called the Norfolk Navy Yard and abbreviated as NNSY, is a U.S. Navy facility in Portsmouth, Virginia, for building, remodeling, and repairing the Navy's ships. It's the oldest and largest industrial facility that belongs to the U.S. Navy as well as the most...
on November 21, 1972; and commissioned there on December 19, 1972, Lt. Comdr. John B. Haskins in command.
Brunswick finished out 1972 and began 1973 fitting out at Norfolk. On March 13, 1973, she got underway for the Pacific Ocean. Along the way she visited Brunswick, Georgia
Brunswick, Georgia
Brunswick is the major urban and economic center in southeastern Georgia in the United States. The municipality is located on a harbor near the Atlantic Ocean, approximately 30 miles north of Florida and 70 miles south of South Carolina. Brunswick is bordered on the east by the Atlantic...
and Montego Bay, Jamaica. She transited the Panama Canal
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...
on March 29 and, after visits to Acapulco
Acapulco
Acapulco is a city, municipality and major sea port in the state of Guerrero on the Pacific coast of Mexico, southwest from Mexico City. Acapulco is located on a deep, semi-circular bay and has been a port since the early colonial period of Mexico’s history...
and San Francisco, arrived in Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
on May 31. She conducted shakedown training during the month of July and, early in August, passed final contractor's trials. On September 11, she began a three-month post-shakedown availability followed by a restricted availability at the Dillingham Shipyard. Brunswick completed repairs on January 31, 1974 and began normal operations in the Hawaiian Islands
Hawaiian Islands
The Hawaiian Islands are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, numerous smaller islets, and undersea seamounts in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some 1,500 miles from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kure Atoll...
.
Operational history
On June 22 she embarked upon her first deployment to the western Pacific. The ship arrived in Sasebo, Japan on July 8. On the 10th, she got underway for salvage training near Chinhae, Korea. Sixteen days later, she completed that mission and shaped a course—via Subic BaySubic Bay
Subic Bay is a bay forming part of Luzon Sea on the west coast of the island of Luzon in Zambales, Philippines, about 100 kilometers northwest of Manila Bay. Its shores were formerly the site of a major United States Navy facility named U.S...
for fuel—to Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
. The salvage tug
Salvage tug
A salvage tug is a specialized type of tugboat which is used to rescue or marine salvage ships which are in distress or in danger of sinking, or which have already sunk or run aground....
arrived in Singapore on August 6 and remained there until the 30th, serving as standby salvage ship for a task force operating in the Indian Ocean. When Brunswick departed Singapore, she headed for the Malacca Strait where she rendezvoused with the task force leaving the Indian Ocean. After steaming with that unit for two days, the ship set off independently for Subic Bay. Between September 8 and 11, she conducted salvage training in the Subic Bay operating area. Following that, she visited Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
between September 16 and 25. Brunswick returned to Subic Bay on the 28th and spent the next week engaged in target towing duty in the local operating area. She continued operations in the vicinity of Luzon
Luzon
Luzon is the largest island in the Philippines. It is located in the northernmost region of the archipelago, and is also the name for one of the three primary island groups in the country centered on the Island of Luzon...
until November 22 at which time she laid in a course for Oahu
Oahu
Oahu or Oahu , known as "The Gathering Place", is the third largest of the Hawaiian Islands and most populous of the islands in the U.S. state of Hawaii. The state capital Honolulu is located on the southeast coast...
. Brunswick reentered Pearl Harbor on December 6 and commenced a leave and upkeep period that lasted through the end of the year and into 1975.
Standdown ended on January 9 when she put to sea to recover a downed helicopter near Maui
Maui
The island of Maui is the second-largest of the Hawaiian Islands at and is the 17th largest island in the United States. Maui is part of the state of Hawaii and is the largest of Maui County's four islands, bigger than Lānai, Kahoolawe, and Molokai. In 2010, Maui had a population of 144,444,...
. The salvage tug spent the last two weeks of January training in salvage operations near the island of Kauai
Kauai
Kauai or Kauai, known as Tauai in the ancient Kaua'i dialect, is geologically the oldest of the main Hawaiian Islands. With an area of , it is the fourth largest of the main islands in the Hawaiian archipelago, and the 21st largest island in the United States. Known also as the "Garden Isle",...
. For the entire month of February, however, she remained in port at Pearl Harbor. Early in March, Brunswick returned to sea briefly for another round of training. Salvage training came at the end of the month. Late in April, the ship conducted surveillance
Surveillance
Surveillance is the monitoring of the behavior, activities, or other changing information, usually of people. It is sometimes done in a surreptitious manner...
operations on Soviet ships exercising nearby. Following a return to Pearl Harbor from May 5 to June 2 for upkeep, Brunswick resumed type training, salvage exercises, and diving drills out of Pearl Harbor. Such operations, as well as local tows, occupied the ship's time through the end of 1975 and for the first three months of 1976.
On April 12, 1976, she departed Pearl Harbor on her way to duty with the United States Seventh Fleet
United States Seventh Fleet
The Seventh Fleet is the United States Navy's permanent forward projection force based in Yokosuka, Japan, with units positioned near Japan and South Korea. It is a component fleet force under the United States Pacific Fleet. At present, it is the largest of the forward-deployed U.S. fleets, with...
in the Far East
Far East
The Far East is an English term mostly describing East Asia and Southeast Asia, with South Asia sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons.The term came into use in European geopolitical discourse in the 19th century,...
. She stopped at Guam
Guam
Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...
from April 29 to May 7 before continuing west to the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
. Brunswick entered Subic Bay on May 15. She performed salvage missions and training duty in the Subic Bay area until late May. On May 28, the ship stood out of Subic Bay for Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
. After a port visit at Kaohsiung
Kaohsiung
Kaohsiung is a city located in southwestern Taiwan, facing the Taiwan Strait on the west. Kaohsiung, officially named Kaohsiung City, is divided into thirty-eight districts. The city is one of five special municipalities of the Republic of China...
from May 30 to June 7, she continued on to Japan, arriving at Numazu on June 12. She spent two days at Numazu conducting sea bottom surveys for amphibious landing mats before moving on to Yokosuka. Brunswick operated out of Yokosuka from June 15 to August 2, conducting salvage operations in Suruga Wan. On the latter day, she shaped a course for Guam. The salvage tug arrived in Apra Harbor
Apra Harbor
Apra Harbor is a deep-water port on the western side of Guam in the Mariana Islands. The harbor is formed by Orote Peninsula in the south and Cabras Island in the north. To the south, the harbor narrows and then widens again to form an inner harbor. The southern end of the harbor is the location...
on August 9 and began a two-week availability.
On the 26th, she headed for Pearl Harbor. The ship entered her home port on September 15 but remained only a week. On September 22, she embarked upon a voyage to the west coast of the United States. She arrived in San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
on the 28th and began preparations to tow the former to Bremerton, Washington
Bremerton, Washington
Bremerton is a city in Kitsap County, Washington, United States. The population was 38,790 at the 2011 State Estimate, making it the largest city on the Olympic Peninsula. Bremerton is home to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and the Bremerton Annex of Naval Base Kitsap...
. She made the tow between October 1 and 10 and afterward made port visits to Bremerton and to Vancouver, British Columbia. She departed Vancouver for Oahu on October 21 and reentered Pearl Harbor on the 29th. Post-deployment leave and upkeep occupied the period from October 30 to November 29. Two weeks of duty as standby salvage vessel in the Pearl Harbor area followed. On December 13, Brunswick began a restricted availability that saw her through the end of the year.
The availability continued into 1977. She resumed normal operations on January 17, 1977 and continued so employed through the next three months. On April 18, after 10 days of preparations in Pearl Harbor, the salvage tug embarked upon another voyage to the west coast of the United States. She arrived at Alameda, California
Alameda, California
Alameda is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. It is located on Alameda Island and Bay Farm Island, and is adjacent to Oakland in the San Francisco Bay. The Bay Farm Island portion of the city is adjacent to the Oakland International Airport. At the 2010 census, the city had a...
on April 25. On May 3, Brunswick took the former in tow off Treasure Island and laid in a course for Hawaii. She pulled her charge into Pearl Harbor on May 16 and then resumed local operations. That occupation lasted until July 1 when she set off for Wake Island
Wake Island
Wake Island is a coral atoll having a coastline of in the North Pacific Ocean, located about two-thirds of the way from Honolulu west to Guam east. It is an unorganized, unincorporated territory of the United States, administered by the Office of Insular Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior...
to salvage a Navy EC-130Q aircraft. The operation was completed on August 18, and Brunswick returned to Pearl Harbor on the 26th. The ship spent the next month in port preparing for regular overhaul. On September 26 she entered drydock at the Dillingham Shipyard. Undocked on November 14, the salvage tug moved to the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard to complete the overhaul.
Brunswick completed the repair period on May 26, 1978 but did not resume active service until June 26. Salvage training, diver qualifications, and various general ship's drills constituted her activity until mid-October when she began preparing for another deployment to the western Pacific. She stood out of Pearl Harbor on the morning of November 24 and shaped a course westward. The first 17 days of December brought her surveillance duty in the Trust Territories of the Pacific Islands. On the 18th, Brunswick put into Apra Harbor, Guam, where she remained for the rest of 1978. She departed Guam for the Philippines on January 3, 1979. The salvage tug reached Subic Bay on the 8th and began a series of training evolutions out of that port. On January 31, she steamed out of Subic Bay bound for Hong Kong. Her crew enjoyed a week of liberty in the British colony between February 2 and 9 before heading for a rendezvous with . The frigate had suffered an engineering casualty, and Brunswick took her in tow on February 10. The salvage tug pulled Davidson into Subic Bay on February 14, remained there for two days, and then got underway for Japan on the 16th.
Originally bound for Beppu, she was rerouted to Sasebo to pick up another tow. She took the barge in tow on February 24 and headed for Pohang
Pohang
Pohang is a city in North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea, and a main seaport in the Daegu-Gyeongbuk region. The built-up area of Pohang is located on the alluvium of the mouth of the Hyeongsan River...
, South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
, and another salvage operation, which took up the period from February 26 to March 7. Following that, she visited Chinhae and Pusan before returning to Subic Bay on the 24th. She remained only until the 26th when she departed the Philippines for a port visit to Kaohsiung, Taiwan. That visit was significant in that the United States had recently severed diplomatic ties with that country to establish relations with the Peking government. Brunswick was one of the first Navy ships to visit Taiwan since the rupture. Serving as a diplomatic barometer, she recorded fair weather as the Taiwanese greeted her and her crew warmly during the six-day call. On April 2, Brunswick stood out of Kaohsiung and set course for Singapore. After three days at sea, she rendezvoused with and embarked 29 Vietnamese refugees whom the frigate had rescued at sea. The salvage tug arrived in Singapore on April 7 and disembarked the refugees. She stayed at Singapore for almost two weeks, heading back to Subic Bay on the 20th. The ship stopped at Subic Bay from April 26 to 29 and then began the voyage to Pearl Harbor with YC-1542 and YC-6568 in tow. She stopped at Guam and picked up an additional tow, , at Midway Island before arriving back in Pearl Harbor on the afternoon of May 24.
Following the usual post-deployment leave and upkeep period, Brunswick resumed normal operations out of Pearl Harbor in late June. For the next year, the salvage tug conducted training operations in the Hawaiian Islands and underwent the usual series of inspections and evaluations. Most frequently, she engaged in salvage training and diver qualifications and evaluations. On occasion, however, she towed targets for gunnery drills, served as a training platform for junior officer ship handling exercises, and conducted independent ship's drills. Early in June 1980, Brunswick began preparations to deploy to the western Pacific. On June 21, the ship put to sea bound for the Philippines. On July 4, 1980, the salvage tug arrived in Apra Harbor, Guam, for what was to have been a short provisioning and fueling stop. A salvage and scuttling mission, however, kept her at Guam for over seven weeks. She finally resumed her voyage west on August 25. Her first port of call was Hong Kong where she remained for the first 10 days in September. From there, she moved to Singapore, arriving on September 15.
On October 1, Brunswick shaped a course for the Philippines. On October 3, she rescued 27 Vietnamese refugees on the high seas and brought them into Subic Bay with her on the 6th. On October 20, the ship departed Subic Bay for Korea. She arrived in Chinhae on October 26 and spent the next two weeks engaged in training exercises with divers of the Republic of Korea Navy
Republic of Korea Navy
The Republic of Korea Navy or the ROK Navy is the branch of the South Korean armed forces responsible for conducting naval operations and amphibious landing operations. The ROK Navy includes the Republic of Korea Marine Corps, which is a quasi-autonomous organization...
. She departed Chinhae on October 9 bound for Japan. After port visits to Sasebo, Numazu, and Yokosuka, Brunswick got underway from the latter port on November 27 and laid in a course for Hawaii. The salvage tug arrived in Pearl Harbor on December 8 and began the usual post-deployment leave and upkeep period.
The year 1981 opened with Brunswick still engaged in post-deployment and holiday standdown. She got underway again on January 14, 1981 for target towing duty. Her return to normal duty in the Hawaiian Islands lasted until April 13 when she began a two-month availability at pierside in Pearl Harbor. She completed repairs on June 12 and got underway to resume local operations on the 16th. That employment continued through September and into October. On October 5 the ship departed Pearl Harbor bound for the west coast with two floating drydocks (YRDMs) in tow. She arrived in San Francisco on October 14 and remained there until the 18th. She made port visits to Long Beach and San Diego before departing the latter port on October 28 to return to Oahu. Brunswick reentered Pearl Harbor on November 4. For a month, the salvage tug took up local operations again. On December 4, 1981 she began preparations for overseas movement.
Decommissioning
Brunswick was decommissioned on March 8, 1996. On August 29, 1996 she was transferred to South KoreaSouth Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
through the Security Assistance Program. She was struck from the Naval Vessel Register
Naval Vessel Register
The Naval Vessel Register is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from the time a vessel is authorized through its life cycle and...
on December 12, 1996, and became ATS-28 Gwangyang. In April 2010, Gwangyang participated in the salvage of the ROKS Cheonan (PCC-772)
ROKS Cheonan (PCC-772)
ROKS Cheonan was a South Korean Pohang-class corvette of the Republic of Korea Navy , commissioned in 1989. On 26 March 2010, it broke in two and sank near the sea border with North Korea...
.