USS Hunley (AS-31)
Encyclopedia
USS Hunley (AS-31) was a submarine tender
of the United States Navy
launched on 28 September 1961 and commissioned 16 June 1962. The Hunley was designed to tend most of the long-term requirements of the Polaris Class of submarines. The ship achieved several records and milestones in its long service. The Hunley was decommissioned from the regular navy, in 1995 transferred to the US Maritime Commission, and in 2007 sold as scrap to a metal recycling company in Louisiana. In September 2008, during Hurricane Gustav, the decommissioned ship broke free of its moorings in the New Orleans Inner Harbor
, but caused little or no damage while adrift.
to service and maintain the U.S. Navy's nuclear-powered Ballistic Missile Submarine Fleet. She had complete facilities for servicing the complex Polaris Weapons Systems
and for accomplishing any submarine
repair other than a major shipyard
overhaul. The hull was laid down in by the Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company
, Newport News, Virginia
and sponsored by Mrs. J. Palmer Gaillard, wife of the Mayor of Charleston, South Carolina
. The ship was named in honor of Horace Lawson Hunley, the designer of the first submarine to sink an enemy vessel in naval history, the Confederate submarine H. L. Hunley
.
until 6 September 1962. She visited several Gulf and Atlantic ports and returned to Norfolk
28 September for post-shakedown alterations until 8 December, 1962. After which the Hunley paid a 3-day visit to New York City
to host the Naval Reserve Officers Seminar "New Ships for the Modern Navy". She departed from the Norfolk Operating Base 29 December 1962 for Holy Loch
, Scotland
, arriving 9 January 1963. Almost immediately she began taking the load off USS Proteus
, whom she officially relieved 15 March 1963 as tender to Submarine Squadron 14
at Holy Loch. This duty continued until 12 April 1964 when Hunley sailed for conversion that provided capability of handling the new A3 Polaris Missile. She resumed her duties at Holy Loch on 15 June 1964.
_holy_loch_1981.jpg)
A Polaris milestone was reached in December 1965 when USS Thomas A. Edison
came alongside to commence the 100th refit of a nuclear ballistic submarine (SSBN) by the Hunley. This signified that one hundred SSBN submarines had gone out on time from Hunley and not one of them had to make an early return from patrol. This represented some 200 months of Polaris on station or 16½ years of submerged strategic deterrent since Hunley's arrival in Holy Loch 9 January 1963. Hunley's motto was "We Serve to Preserve Peace". Hunley returned to the United States late in 1966 and in 1967 operated out of Charleston, South Carolina.
Hunley was decommissioned on 30 September 1994 and struck from the Naval Vessel Register
on 3 May 1995 and turned over to the Maritime Commission on 1 May 1999. Hunley was subsequently sold to the Southern Scrap Materials Company on 5 January 2007 for scrapping.
in which over 40 fittings and more than 100 feet of new piping in a major system were installed. A battery replacement for the USS Ethan Allen
was completed in only 11 days. Hunley met demands from making water-borne propeller replacements to encapsulation of AC induction motors
; delicate repairs to navigation and fire control, and many other varied tasks to ensure that each SSBN had the finest of care on each refit.
, en route to Pearl Harbor
, two teenage girls from New Zealand
were found hiding out in one of the Hunley's missile crane control cabs, when a sailor was spotted carrying food up the ladder to the crane. Hunley was diverted to Brisbane
to offload the stowaway
s, and the "helpful" sailors were disciplined.
Submarine tender
A submarine tender is a type of ship that supplies and supports submarines.Submarines are small compared to most oceangoing vessels, and generally do not have the ability to carry large amounts of food, fuel, torpedoes, and other supplies, nor to carry a full array of maintenance equipment and...
of the United States Navy
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...
launched on 28 September 1961 and commissioned 16 June 1962. The Hunley was designed to tend most of the long-term requirements of the Polaris Class of submarines. The ship achieved several records and milestones in its long service. The Hunley was decommissioned from the regular navy, in 1995 transferred to the US Maritime Commission, and in 2007 sold as scrap to a metal recycling company in Louisiana. In September 2008, during Hurricane Gustav, the decommissioned ship broke free of its moorings in the New Orleans Inner Harbor
Industrial Canal
The Industrial Canal is a 5.5 mile waterway in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. The waterway's proper name, as used by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and on NOAA nautical charts, is Inner Harbor Navigation Canal...
, but caused little or no damage while adrift.
Design and Construction
Hunley had the distinction of being the first ship designed and built up from the keelKeel
In boats and ships, keel can refer to either of two parts: a structural element, or a hydrodynamic element. These parts overlap. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in construction of a ship, in British and American shipbuilding traditions the construction is dated from this event...
to service and maintain the U.S. Navy's nuclear-powered Ballistic Missile Submarine Fleet. She had complete facilities for servicing the complex Polaris Weapons Systems
UGM-27 Polaris
The Polaris missile was a two-stage solid-fuel nuclear-armed submarine-launched ballistic missile built during the Cold War by Lockheed Corporation of California for the United States Navy....
and for accomplishing any 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...
repair other than a major shipyard
Shipyard
Shipyards and dockyards are places which repair and build ships. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance and basing activities than shipyards, which are sometimes associated more with initial...
overhaul. The hull was laid down in by the Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company
Northrop Grumman Newport News
Newport News Shipbuilding , originally Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company , was the largest privately-owned shipyard in the United States prior to being purchased by Northrop Grumman in 2001...
, Newport News, Virginia
Newport News, Virginia
Newport News is an independent city located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia. It is at the southeastern end of the Virginia Peninsula, on the north shore of the James River extending southeast from Skiffe's Creek along many miles of waterfront to the river's mouth at Newport News...
and sponsored by Mrs. J. Palmer Gaillard, wife of the Mayor of Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
. The ship was named in honor of Horace Lawson Hunley, the designer of the first submarine to sink an enemy vessel in naval history, the Confederate submarine H. L. Hunley
H. L. Hunley (submarine)
H. L. Hunley was a submarine of the Confederate States of America that played a small part in the American Civil War, but a large role in the history of naval warfare. The Hunley demonstrated both the advantages and the dangers of undersea warfare...
.
Career
With Captain Douglas N. Syverson in command, Hunley sailed 25 July 1962 for shakedown training off CubaCuba
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...
until 6 September 1962. She visited several Gulf and Atlantic ports and returned to Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
28 September for post-shakedown alterations until 8 December, 1962. After which the Hunley paid a 3-day visit to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
to host the Naval Reserve Officers Seminar "New Ships for the Modern Navy". She departed from the Norfolk Operating Base 29 December 1962 for Holy Loch
Holy Loch
The Holy Loch is a sea loch in Argyll and Bute, Scotland.Robertson's Yard at Sandbank, a village on the loch, was a major wooden boat building company in the late 19th and early 20th centuries....
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, arriving 9 January 1963. Almost immediately she began taking the load off USS Proteus
USS Proteus (AS-19)
The third USS Proteus was a in the United States Navy.Proteus was laid down by the Moore Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company, Oakland, California, 15 September 1941; launched 12 November 1942; sponsored by Mrs. Charles M. Cooke, Jr.; and commissioned 31 January 1944, Capt. Robert W...
, whom she officially relieved 15 March 1963 as tender to Submarine Squadron 14
SUBRON
SUBRON is the United States Navy abbreviation for Submarine Squadron. A SUBRON usually consists of three or more submarines. It is the submarine force equivalent to a Destroyer Squadron or DESRON in the surface Navy...
at Holy Loch. This duty continued until 12 April 1964 when Hunley sailed for conversion that provided capability of handling the new A3 Polaris Missile. She resumed her duties at Holy Loch on 15 June 1964.
USS Thomas A. Edison (SSBN-610)
USS Thomas A. Edison , an ballistic-missile submarine, was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for the inventor, Thomas Edison .-Ship history:...
came alongside to commence the 100th refit of a nuclear ballistic submarine (SSBN) by the Hunley. This signified that one hundred SSBN submarines had gone out on time from Hunley and not one of them had to make an early return from patrol. This represented some 200 months of Polaris on station or 16½ years of submerged strategic deterrent since Hunley's arrival in Holy Loch 9 January 1963. Hunley's motto was "We Serve to Preserve Peace". Hunley returned to the United States late in 1966 and in 1967 operated out of Charleston, South Carolina.
Hunley was decommissioned on 30 September 1994 and 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 3 May 1995 and turned over to the Maritime Commission on 1 May 1999. Hunley was subsequently sold to the Southern Scrap Materials Company on 5 January 2007 for scrapping.
Advanced capabilities
Among jobs carried out by Hunley was welding on SSBN pressure hulls or reactor plant fluid systems. Once unheard of in submarine tending, these jobs were only a few of many carried out by Hunley's crew. These and many other alterations were carried out as a matter of routine to keep SSBN's on the line with the newest possible technical improvements and safety devices. For example, an auxiliary "Sub-Safe" package was accomplished on the USS Theodore RooseveltUSS Theodore Roosevelt (SSBN-600)
USS Theodore Roosevelt , a , was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for President Theodore Roosevelt . Initially unnamed and assigned hull classification symbol SSGN-600 as a guided missile submarine, her keel was laid down on 20 May 1958 by the Mare Island Naval Shipyard using...
in which over 40 fittings and more than 100 feet of new piping in a major system were installed. A battery replacement for the USS Ethan Allen
USS Ethan Allen (SSBN-608)
USS Ethan Allen , lead ship of her class, was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for American Revolutionary War hero Ethan Allen....
was completed in only 11 days. Hunley met demands from making water-borne propeller replacements to encapsulation of AC induction motors
Induction motor
An induction or asynchronous motor is a type of AC motor where power is supplied to the rotor by means of electromagnetic induction. These motors are widely used in industrial drives, particularly polyphase induction motors, because they are robust and have no brushes...
; delicate repairs to navigation and fire control, and many other varied tasks to ensure that each SSBN had the finest of care on each refit.
Stowaway incident
After a 1973 port call in SydneySydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, en route to 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...
, two teenage girls from New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
were found hiding out in one of the Hunley's missile crane control cabs, when a sailor was spotted carrying food up the ladder to the crane. Hunley was diverted to Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
to offload the stowaway
Stowaway
A stowaway is a person who secretly boards a vehicle, such as an aircraft, bus, ship, cargo truck or train, to travel without paying and without being detected....
s, and the "helpful" sailors were disciplined.
External links
- USS HUNLEY (AS-31) Reunion Info
- MARAD PMARS DATA SHEET
- images, history and tour at Southern Scrap
- USS Hunley at Flickr