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USS Mars (AFS-1)
Encyclopedia
USS Mars (AFS‑1), the third United States Navy
ship to bear the name, was laid down by the National Steel and Shipbuilding Company
in San Diego, California
, on 5 May 1962; launched on 15 June 1963, sponsored by Mrs. Clyde Doyle, widow of Representative Clyde Doyle
of California
; and commissioned at Long Beach Naval Shipyard
on 21 December 1963, with Captain Russel C. Medley in command.
Mars was the first of a new class that was intended to replace three types of supply ships: the AF (Store Ship), AKS (Stores Issue Ship), and AVS (Aviation Supply Ship). Two innovations were Boeing UH‑46 helicopters
and an automatic highline shuttle transfer system to make a rapid transfer of supplies possible. To speed replenishment processing, Mars became the first ship in the Pacific Fleet
to be equipped with a UNIVAC 1104 computer
system.
, Mexico
, for shakedown
, returning to San Diego on Easter Sunday. On 1 September she departed for the western Pacific, arriving at Yokosuka, Japan
, on the 23rd. With Yokosuka as home port, the combat storeship operated from the Philippines
to the South China Sea
through the rest of the year.
Mars continued through the next three years to provide logistic support to the far-ranging 7th Fleet
at sea, especially off Vietnam
, while revisiting the South Pacific
ports of Hong Kong
; Sasebo, Japan
; and Subic Bay
, Philippines. Typical of the combat storeship's supply activities was a night vertical replenishment of while the heavy cruiser
was fighting off Vietnam
, her 8 in (203.2 mm) guns on the engaged side fired in support of troops ashore. Mars had taken an especially active part in similar operations in South Vietnam
. She set several replenishment records in 1967 and 1968, and into 1969 continued to play an important role in the fleet operations in the Southeast Asia area. In January 1968, Mars sailed to the waters off North Korea as part of the support fleet when the USS Pueblo was seized by North Korea.
to support the 7th Fleet and Marine Amphibious forces after the increased Vietnam war activity that spring. She returned to her homeport of Alameda, CA, that December; her homeport was then moved to Sasebo, Japan during April 1973. From April 1973 to the end of 1974, Mars continued replenishing the ships of the western Pacific and made two trips to the Indian Ocean
to support the U.S. Navy patrolling the Persian Gulf
area.
On 14 May 1979, and Mars collided off Point Loma near San Diego, CA, injuring seven.
Mars participated in PACEX '89 with port visits to Dutch Harbor, Alaska, Pusan, Korea, Yokosuka, Japan and Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
Mars was decommissioned from naval service on 1 February 1993, at Naval Station Treasure Island, San Francisco, CA
, and was placed in service by the Military Sealift Command
(MSC) as USNS Mars (T-AFS-1).
On 19 February 1998, Mars was placed out of service by the Military Sealift Command and laid up in the Pacific Reserve Fleet, Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility
, Pearl Harbor
, HI
, (Maintenance Category "B").
Mars was struck from the Naval Register on 24 May 2004, and retained as a logistics support asset (Maintenance category "L") at Pearl Harbor.
Mars final disposition was as a torpedo target during RIMPAC
2006 exercises. She was sunk off Hawaii on 15 July 2006. Mars rests in 2,750 fathoms (5,000 m) of water some 54 nmi (62.1 mi; 100 km) from the coast.
Mars received the Navy Unit Commendation
and eleven campaign stars for Vietnam War
service.
In April 2006, the bell
of Mars was donated to the small borough of Mars
, Pennsylvania
as a memorial. The ship was named after the Western Pennsylvania
community. U.S. Senator Rick Santorum
, and former crew members were present at the ceremony, and helped to dedicate the large brass
bell to the ship's namesake.
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...
ship to bear the name, was laid down by the National Steel and Shipbuilding Company
National Steel and Shipbuilding Company
National Steel and Shipbuilding Company, commonly referred to as NASSCO, is a shipyard in San Diego, California and Norfolk, Virginia and a division of General Dynamics. The shipyard specializes in constructing commercial cargo ships and auxiliary vessels for the US Navy and Military Sealift...
in San Diego, California
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
, on 5 May 1962; launched on 15 June 1963, sponsored by Mrs. Clyde Doyle, widow of Representative Clyde Doyle
Clyde Doyle
Clyde Gilman Doyle was a United States Representative from California. He was born in Oakland, Alameda County, California. He attended public schools in Oakland, Seattle, Washington, Los Angeles and Long Beach, California. He graduated from the College of Law of the University of Southern...
of California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
; and commissioned at Long Beach Naval Shipyard
Long Beach Naval Shipyard
thumb|right|300px|Long Beach Naval Shipyard in 1993The Long Beach Naval Shipyard, which closed in 1997, was located at Terminal Island between the city of Long Beach and the San Pedro district of Los Angeles and approximately 23 miles south of the Los Angeles International Airport.The Long Beach...
on 21 December 1963, with Captain Russel C. Medley in command.
Mars was the first of a new class that was intended to replace three types of supply ships: the AF (Store Ship), AKS (Stores Issue Ship), and AVS (Aviation Supply Ship). Two innovations were Boeing UH‑46 helicopters
CH-46 Sea Knight
The Boeing Vertol CH-46 Sea Knight is a medium-lift tandem rotor transport helicopter, used by the United States Marine Corps to provide all-weather, day-or-night assault transport of combat troops, supplies and equipment. Assault Support is its primary function, and the movement of supplies and...
and an automatic highline shuttle transfer system to make a rapid transfer of supplies possible. To speed replenishment processing, Mars became the first ship in the Pacific Fleet
United States Pacific Fleet
The United States Pacific Fleet is a Pacific Ocean theater-level component command of the United States Navy that provides naval resources under the operational control of the United States Pacific Command. Its home port is at Pearl Harbor Naval Base, Hawaii. It is commanded by Admiral Patrick M...
to be equipped with a UNIVAC 1104 computer
Computer
A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...
system.
1963–1969
Assigned to Service Squadron 1 (ServRon 1), Mars left San Diego on 16 March 1964 for AcapulcoAcapulco
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...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, for shakedown
Shakedown (testing)
A shakedown is a period of testing or a trial journey undergone by a ship, aircraft or other craft and its crew before being declared operational. Statistically, a proportion of the components will fail after a relatively short period of use, and those that survive this period can be expected to...
, returning to San Diego on Easter Sunday. On 1 September she departed for the western Pacific, arriving at Yokosuka, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, on the 23rd. With Yokosuka as home port, the combat storeship operated from 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...
to the South China Sea
South China Sea
The South China Sea is a marginal sea that is part of the Pacific Ocean, encompassing an area from the Singapore and Malacca Straits to the Strait of Taiwan of around...
through the rest of the year.
Mars continued through the next three years to provide logistic support to the far-ranging 7th 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...
at sea, especially off Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
, while revisiting the South Pacific
Oceania
Oceania is a region centered on the islands of the tropical Pacific Ocean. Conceptions of what constitutes Oceania range from the coral atolls and volcanic islands of the South Pacific to the entire insular region between Asia and the Americas, including Australasia and the Malay Archipelago...
ports of 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...
; Sasebo, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
; and Subic Bay
Subic 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...
, Philippines. Typical of the combat storeship's supply activities was a night vertical replenishment of while the heavy cruiser
Heavy cruiser
The heavy cruiser was a type of cruiser, a naval warship designed for long range, high speed and an armament of naval guns roughly 203mm calibre . The heavy cruiser can be seen as a lineage of ship design from 1915 until 1945, although the term 'heavy cruiser' only came into formal use in 1930...
was fighting off Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
, her 8 in (203.2 mm) guns on the engaged side fired in support of troops ashore. Mars had taken an especially active part in similar operations in South Vietnam
South Vietnam
South Vietnam was a state which governed southern Vietnam until 1975. It received international recognition in 1950 as the "State of Vietnam" and later as the "Republic of Vietnam" . Its capital was Saigon...
. She set several replenishment records in 1967 and 1968, and into 1969 continued to play an important role in the fleet operations in the Southeast Asia area. In January 1968, Mars sailed to the waters off North Korea as part of the support fleet when the USS Pueblo was seized by North Korea.
1971–1979
She underwent extensive overhaul from late August 1971-April 1972 in Richmond, CA, receiving naval distillate fuel burning boilers, upgraded electronics, etc. She was then immediately deployed to the South China SeaSouth China Sea
The South China Sea is a marginal sea that is part of the Pacific Ocean, encompassing an area from the Singapore and Malacca Straits to the Strait of Taiwan of around...
to support the 7th Fleet and Marine Amphibious forces after the increased Vietnam war activity that spring. She returned to her homeport of Alameda, CA, that December; her homeport was then moved to Sasebo, Japan during April 1973. From April 1973 to the end of 1974, Mars continued replenishing the ships of the western Pacific and made two trips to the Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
to support the U.S. Navy patrolling the Persian Gulf
Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf, in Southwest Asia, is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.The Persian Gulf was the focus of the 1980–1988 Iran-Iraq War, in which each side attacked the other's oil tankers...
area.
On 14 May 1979, and Mars collided off Point Loma near San Diego, CA, injuring seven.
1980–1988
Mars departed its homeport of Alameda, California in February, 1982, transitted the Pacific, and arrived in the Indian Ocean in March. One of her first assignments was to send a working party ashore on the island of Masirah off the coast of Oman to clear the area of the debris left at the staging point for the attempted rescue of the embassy hostages in Tehran, Iran. Once this task was complete, Mars stayed in the Indian Ocean, conducting underway replenishments with the battle groups assigned, steaming to Diego Garcia to be re-supplied, and conducting re-supply evolutions on Masirah. The State Department had negotiated a specific window of 0900-1300 for the U.S. Air Force to land a C-141 cargo plane so Mars personnel could unload it and transfer it to the Mars via its CH-46 helicopters. Mars arrived back in Alameda in November to begin preparations for her next deployment in January 1982. Mars continued to make WestPac and Indian Ocean deployments from Alameda then from its forward-deployed home of Sasebo Japan until its transfer to the Military Sealift Command in 1993.1989–2006
Mars was decommissioned from naval service on 1 February 1993, at Naval Station Treasure Island, San Francisco, CA
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, and was placed in service by the Military Sealift Command
Military Sealift Command
The Military Sealift Command is a United States Navy organization that controls most of the replenishment and military transport ships of the Navy. It first came into existence on 9 July 1949 when the Military Sea Transportation Service became solely responsible for the Department of Defense's...
(MSC) as USNS Mars (T-AFS-1).
On 19 February 1998, Mars was placed out of service by the Military Sealift Command and laid up in the Pacific Reserve Fleet, Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility
Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility
A Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility is a facility owned by the U.S. Navy as a holding facility for decommissioned naval vessels, pending determination of their final fate...
, 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...
, HI
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
, (Maintenance Category "B").
Mars was struck from the Naval Register on 24 May 2004, and retained as a logistics support asset (Maintenance category "L") at Pearl Harbor.
Mars final disposition was as a torpedo target during RIMPAC
RIMPAC
RIMPAC, the Rim of the Pacific Exercise, is the world's largest international maritime exercise. Conducted biennially , it is hosted and administered by the United States Navy, with the United States Marine Corps, United States Coast Guard, and Hawaii National Guard forces under the leadership of...
2006 exercises. She was sunk off Hawaii on 15 July 2006. Mars rests in 2,750 fathoms (5,000 m) of water some 54 nmi (62.1 mi; 100 km) from the coast.
Mars received the Navy Unit Commendation
Navy Unit Commendation
The Navy Unit Commendation of the United States Navy is an award that was established by order of the Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal on 18 December 1944...
and eleven campaign stars for Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
service.
In April 2006, the bell
Ship's bells
A ship's bell is usually made of bronze, and often has the ship's name engraved or cast on it. The ship's cook traditionally has the job of shining the ship's bell.-Timing of duty periods:...
of Mars was donated to the small borough of Mars
Mars, Pennsylvania
Mars is a borough in Butler County, Pennsylvania, USA. The population was 1,746 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Mars is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of , all of it land....
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
as a memorial. The ship was named after the Western Pennsylvania
Western Pennsylvania
Western Pennsylvania consists of the western third of the state of Pennsylvania in the United States. Pittsburgh is the largest city in the region, with a metropolitan area population of about 2.4 million people, and serves as its economic and cultural center. Erie, Altoona, and Johnstown are its...
community. U.S. Senator Rick Santorum
Rick Santorum
Richard John "Rick" Santorum is a lawyer and a former United States Senator from the commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Santorum was the chairman of the Senate Republican Conference -making him the third-ranking Senate Republican from 2001 until his leave in 2007. Santorum is considered both a social...
, and former crew members were present at the ceremony, and helped to dedicate the large brass
Brass
Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc; the proportions of zinc and copper can be varied to create a range of brasses with varying properties.In comparison, bronze is principally an alloy of copper and tin...
bell to the ship's namesake.