USS San Diego (AFS-6) was a Mars-class

Mars class combat stores ship

The Mars-class combat stores ships are a class of seven auxiliary vessels of the United States Navy. They are designed for underway replenishment, in support of carrier task force groups, carrying miscellaneous stores and munitions. Initially they carried no fuel oil or liquid cargo, but by the...

 combat stores ship

Combat stores ship

Combat stores ships, or Storeships were originally a designation given to captured ships in the Age of Sail and immediately afterward, used to stow supplies and other goods for naval purposes. Modern combat store ships are operated by the United States Navy...

 acquired by the U.S. Navy in 1968. She served the U.S. Atlantic Fleet

U.S. Atlantic Fleet

The United States Fleet Forces Command is an Atlantic Ocean theater-level component command of the United States Navy that provides naval resources that are under the operational control of the United States Northern Command...

 until decommissioned in 1993. She then was redesignated as a United States Naval Ship

United States Naval Ship

United States Naval Ship or USNS is the prefix designation given to non-commissioned ships that are property of the United States Navy.-Overview:...

, assigned to 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...

, and served in a non-commissioned status with a mostly civilian crew as USNS San Diego (T-AFS-6) until 1997.

Built in California

The third ship to be so named, San Diego was laid down on 11 March 1967 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...

 at 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...

; launched

Ship naming and launching

The ceremonies involved in naming and launching naval ships are based in traditions thousands of years old.-Methods of launch:There are three principal methods of conveying a new ship from building site to water, only two of which are called "launching." The oldest, most familiar, and most widely...

 on 13 April 1968, sponsored by Mrs. Frank Curran; and commissioned

Ship commissioning

Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service, and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to the placing of a warship in active duty with its country's military...

 on 24 May 1969, Captain

Captain (naval)

Captain is the name most often given in English-speaking navies to the rank corresponding to command of the largest ships. The NATO rank code is OF-5, equivalent to an army full colonel....

 John W. Wells in command.

Operational history

After 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...

 and refresher training in late 1969, San Diego began a seven-month, deployment to the Mediterranean in support of the United States Sixth Fleet. She returned to her home port, Norfolk, Virginia

Norfolk, Virginia

Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....

, and remained on the United States East Coast until February 1971, when she was selected to represent the United States Atlantic Fleet at the Mardi Gras

Mardi Gras

The terms "Mardi Gras" , "Mardi Gras season", and "Carnival season", in English, refer to events of the Carnival celebrations, beginning on or after Epiphany and culminating on the day before Ash Wednesday...

 celebration in New Orleans, Louisiana

New Orleans, Louisiana

New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...

.

In April 1971, she deployed again to the Sixth Fleet and stayed in the Mediterranean until October 1971. During this tour of duty, she earned the Supply Efficiency "E," rescued sailors from a burning Greek

Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

 freighter, and represented the Sixth Fleet at Admiral Farragut Day at Minorca

Minorca

Min Orca or Menorca is one of the Balearic Islands located in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to Spain. It takes its name from being smaller than the nearby island of Majorca....

 in Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

s Balearic Islands

Balearic Islands

The Balearic Islands are an archipelago of Spain in the western Mediterranean Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula.The four largest islands are: Majorca, Minorca, Ibiza and Formentera. The archipelago forms an autonomous community and a province of Spain with Palma as the capital...

.

On 27 July 1972, following more than nine months back in the United States operating and training along U.S,. East Coast, San Diego got underway to return to the Sixth Fleet. She arrived at Rota, Spain

Rota, Spain

-External references:*, official website * On-line since 1999! News, premiere information, pictures, weather, etc. Into Spanish, English... ****- External links :...

, on 4 August 1972 and relieved USS Sylvania (AFS-2)

USS Sylvania (AFS-2)

USS Sylvania , a , was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named Sylvania.Sylvania was laid down on 18 August 1962 at the National Steel and Shipbuilding Company in San Diego, California; launched on 10 August 1963; sponsored by Mrs. Cyrus R. Vance; and commissioned on 11 July 1964,...

 as the on-station combat stores ship with the Sixth Fleet. At the end of another six months of service in the Mediterranean, San Diego got underway to return to Norfolk in January 1973. She arrived on 26 January and resumed normal operations with the Atlantic Fleet.

San Diego operated out of Norfolk, along the U.S. East Coast, and in the Caribbean

Caribbean

The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...

 until late October 1973. At that time, she departed Norfolk for her fourth tour of duty in the Mediterranean. She arrived at Rota, Spain, on 4 November 1973. She cruised the Mediterranean with the Sixth Fleet for the next six months, getting underway from Rota on 19 April 1974 to return to Norfolk. San Diego reached Norfolk on 27 April 1974.

Between June 1974 and June 1976 San Diego made two more deployments to the Sixth Fleet and an additional excursion to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba

Cuba

The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...

, for refresher training.

During the three Mediterranean cruises from 1973 to 1976, USS San Diego stopped in ports from Lisbon, Portugal, to the Greek Island of Corfu, just off the coast of Albania. The eastern most port San Diego visited was Athens, and the only North African port she called at was Tunis, Tunisia. Palma de Mallorca and Naples, Italy were the ports she most frequented during those years.

[1976-1989]

On 17 January 1989, San Diego was involved in a collision with the submarine

Submarine

A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...

 USS Norfolk (SSN-714)

USS Norfolk (SSN-714)

USS Norfolk , a Los Angeles-class attack submarine, was the third ship of the United States Navy to be named for Norfolk, Virginia. The contract to build her was awarded to Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company in Newport News, Virginia on 20 February 1976 and her keel was laid down on 1...

 off Cape Charles Light

Cape Charles Light

The current Cape Charles Light is a skeleton tower lighthouse at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay on Smith Island. It is the tallest lighthouse in Virginia and the second tallest in the United States...

, Virginia, as both vessels were headed to sea. While trying to pass San Diego in a turn in the channel, Norfolk was set toward an outer buoy on the port side by the current. Over correcting for this, Norfolk delivered a glancing blow to San Diego on her starboard side. There were no injuries, and neither ship suffered significant structural damage.

[1989-1993]

Transfer to Military Sealift Command

On 11 August 1993 San Diego was decommissioned

Ship decommissioning

To decommission a ship is to terminate her career in service in the armed forces of her nation. A somber occasion, it has little of the elaborate ceremony of ship commissioning, but carries significant tradition....

, transferred to the U.S. Navys 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...

, and placed in non-commissioned service as a United States Naval Ship with a mostly civilian crew as USNS San Diego (T-AFS-6).

[1993-1997]

San Diego continued in service until 10 December 1997 when she was laid up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...

.

Disposal

San Diego was stricken from the Navy List

Navy List

A Navy List or Naval Register is an official list of naval officers, their ranks and seniority, the ships which they command or to which they are appointed, etc., that is published by the government or naval authorities of a country....

on 10 December 1997 and she was sold for scrapping at Philadelphia on 9 April 2006.