USS Nereus (AS-17)
Encyclopedia

USS Nereus (AS-17) was a in 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...

. According to Greek mythology
Greek mythology
Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...

, Nereus
Nereus
In Greek mythology, Nereus was the eldest son of Pontus and Gaia , a Titan who with Doris fathered the Nereids, with whom Nereus lived in the Aegean Sea. In the Iliad the Old Man of the Sea is the father of Nereids, though Nereus is not directly named...

 was the eldest son of Pontus
Pontus
Pontus or Pontos is a historical Greek designation for a region on the southern coast of the Black Sea, located in modern-day northeastern Turkey. The name was applied to the coastal region in antiquity by the Greeks who colonized the area, and derived from the Greek name of the Black Sea: Πόντος...

 and Gaia
Gaia (mythology)
Gaia was the primordial Earth-goddess in ancient Greek religion. Gaia was the great mother of all: the heavenly gods and Titans were descended from her union with Uranus , the sea-gods from her union with Pontus , the Giants from her mating with Tartarus and mortal creatures were sprung or born...

, and one of the manifestations of the Old Man of the Sea.

Nereus was laid on 12 October 1943, at Mare Island Navy Yard, Vallejo, California
Vallejo, California
Vallejo is the largest city in Solano County, California, United States. The population was 115,942 at the 2010 census. It is located in the San Francisco Bay Area on the northeastern shore of San Pablo Bay...

; launched 12 February 1945; sponsored by Mrs. A. M. Hurst; and commissioned on 27 October 1945, with Captain L. D. Follmer in command.

1945–1960

After shakedown in the fall of 1945, the new submarine tender
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...

 departed 15 December for 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...

 by way of Pearl Harbor. Arriving Sasebo
Sasebo, Nagasaki
is a city located in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. As of 2011, the city has an estimated population of 259,800 and the density of 609 persons per km². The total area is 426.47 km². The locality is famed for its scenic beauty. The city includes a part of Saikai National Park...

 early in 1946, she stripped 39 Japanese submarines of all usable equipment and material before they were towed to sea for scuttling. US Marine demolition crews then sank the submarines with explosive charges in Operation "Roads End" 1 and 2 April.

After leaving Sasebo, she then proceeded to Subic bay with stops in Nagasaki and Manila. At Subic, the crew loaded torpedoes for transport back to the US.

Soon underway for home, she arrived in San Diego, 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...

, on 13 May for a year of submarine service and repair work. On 28 June 1947 she got underway for Operation "Blue Nose." This cruise was entirely novel for a submarine tender. Together with the submarines , , and , Nereus was assigned to TG 17.3. On 15 July she left for the Aleutian Islands where Rear Admiral Alan R. McCann
Allan Rockwell McCann
Vice Admiral Allan Rockwell McCann, was a United States Navy officer who served in World War I and World War II.-Education to World War I:...

, Commander Submarine Force Pacific came aboard. The group was underway again 25 July, this time for the Pribiloff Islands. During this transit Army Air Force
United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II, and the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force....

 aircraft based at Adak
Adak Island
Adak Island is an island near the western extent of the Andreanof Islands group of the Aleutian Islands in Alaska. Alaska's southernmost town, Adak, is located on the island...

 took part in the antisubmarine training. On 30 July Nereus passed through the Bering Strait
Bering Strait
The Bering Strait , known to natives as Imakpik, is a sea strait between Cape Dezhnev, Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russia, the easternmost point of the Asian continent and Cape Prince of Wales, Alaska, USA, the westernmost point of the North American continent, with latitude of about 65°40'N,...

 and crossed the Arctic Circle
Arctic Circle
The Arctic Circle is one of the five major circles of latitude that mark maps of the Earth. For Epoch 2011, it is the parallel of latitude that runs north of the Equator....

.

Following along the International Date Line
International Date Line
The International Date Line is a generally north-south imaginary line on the surface of the Earth, passing through the middle of the Pacific Ocean, that designates the place where each calendar day begins...

, the ships of Operation "Blue Nose" sighted pack ice on the morning of 1 August 1947. After reaching 72’15’ north latitude, the ships continued independently along the ice pack to determine its shape.

Before returning to her home port of San Diego, Nereus visited Norton Bay, Kodiak
Kodiak, Alaska
Kodiak is one of 7 communities and the main city on Kodiak Island, Kodiak Island Borough, in the U.S. state of Alaska. All commercial transportation between the entire island and the outside world goes through this city either via ferryboat or airline...

, Juneau, and Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...

 The cruise was followed by the ship's first overhaul, at Mare Island.

Starting in 1948 Nereus was primarily engaged in submarine repair and services at San Diego. During the next two decades, Nereus made occasional cruises 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...

; 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...

, 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...

; and various west coast ports. In 1948 she was camera-ship photographing the sinking of cruiser some 130 miles off the west coast. In the spring of 1955, she accompanied submarines , and 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...

 and acted as observer ship and advance base headquarters during the first firing of operational missiles from submarines.

1960–1971

In November 1960 came alongside Nereus, the first nuclear submarine
Nuclear submarine
A nuclear submarine is a submarine powered by a nuclear reactor . The performance advantages of nuclear submarines over "conventional" submarines are considerable: nuclear propulsion, being completely independent of air, frees the submarine from the need to surface frequently, as is necessary for...

 to be serviced by a tender on the west coast. The following year she ministered to fleet ballistic missile (Polaris) submarine . In the fall of 1964, Nereus provided underwater support for the operational evaluation of the ASROC
ASROC
ASROC is an all-weather, all sea-conditions anti-submarine missile system. Developed by the United States Navy in the 1950s, it was deployed in the 1960s, updated in the 1990s, and eventually installed on over 200 USN surface ships, specifically cruisers, destroyers, and frigates...

 weapons system. Two years later her versatility in servicing won her praise from ComSubPac, and the destroyer’s captain.

Nereus entered the U.S. Naval Shipyard at Mare Island on 1 November for overhaul until 7 April 1967. Following refresher training she reported to ComSubFlot 1 for duty on 11 May. That month she visited Acapulco, Mexico, and became flagship for ComSubFlot 1 and ComSubRon 5. In the fall of 1967, UNIVAC 1500 data processing equipment was installed to speed the tender operations. Into 1970 the tender served the submarines of 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...

keeping them at peak readiness.

Nereus was later decommissioned in 1971, and is currently awaiting scrap sale .

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