USS Newport News (CA-148)-- Part 7: Decommissioning and Scrapping

Operations by Vietnam resumed October 21 October and continued until December 1972, when the ship was recalled to homeport at Norfolk.  During 1973 and 1974 the ship undertook training cruises and visited many ports around the world before being recalled for decommissioning.

While there was some interest in retaining her for her "big gun" capability in the fleet, a survey to determine further service indicated the ship was beyond economical refitting.

The Newport News was decommissioned on 27 June 1975 and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 31 July  1978.  

She spent her later years as part of the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard Mothball Fleet and was sold for scrap in New Orleans, Louisiana, , on 25 February1993.

The museum ship USS Quincy, in Quincy, Massachusetts, contains her bell and other items.

In the Hampton Roads Naval Museum's The Ten-Thousand Day War at Sea: The US Navy in Vietnam, 1970-1975 section, a large model of the USS Newport News.

--Cooter

What Was the Mothball Fleet?-- Part 2

About time I got around to finishing this. Part 1 was on August 27th.

Five of the ships at Wilmington's Mothball Fleet had to be ready to sail at a moment's notice. The others were mothballed by being coated with red oxide paint, oil and varnish to prevent rust and decay.

The US Maritime took over control of the ships in 1950 from the Maritime Commission and employed 296 workers with a $600,000 a year payroll to take care of the ships. Many were armed guards to prevent the theft of valuable copper and brass fittings.

The ships were lashed and anchored together in groups of five with every fifth one then moored next to pilings.

Two of the Mothball ships broke loose during Hurricane Hazel in 1954 and drifted into the Cape Fear River channel.

December 8, 1958, the SS Edgecomb, a Victory ship, became the last vessel to be tied up in the fleet. Beginning that year, older and less-fit ships began to be sold off for scrap and others were moved to the James River fleet in Virginia.

By 1964, only 152 were left and four years later the number was down to 15.

The last ship, the SS Dwight W. Morrow was towed away on Feb. 27, 1970.

The Final Wind-Down of World War II. --DaCoot

What Was the Mothball Fleet?-- Part 2

Way back on August 27th, I started this entry. Now is a good time to finish it since we're about out of September. From the January 20th Wilmington Star-News My Reporter by Ben Stillman.

People write in questions and reporters research and answer them.

After World War II, there was a huge reserve fleet anchored by Wilmington, North Carolina. They were there in case they were needed in a future war. Sometimes the fleet was referred to as the Mothball Fleet as well as Ghost Fleet.

A total of 628 vessels, mostly Liberty Ships, were tied up there from 1946 to 1970. Also, 68 Victory Ships (the successor of the Liberty Ships), tankers and 41 others were tied up as well.

There are still a few Ghost Fleets left in the US, and every so often, you hear of a World War II ship being towed off for dismantling. They have digressed to the point that they now pose an environmental threat.

But, you still hate to hear about their demise.

More to Come, But It Won't be Another Month This Time. --DaCoot

What Was the Mothball Fleet?-- Part 1

From the Jan. 20th MyReporter in the Wilmington (NC) Star News.

The "Mothball Fleet" was officially called the National defense Reserve Fleet, but very often simply the "Ghost Fleet."

The one by Wilmington was anchored in rows in the Brunswick River and described as the second largest ship graveyard in the world. The first largest was in the James River in Virginia near Hampton Roads by the Chesapeake Bay.

After Wold War II, the US Maritime Commission established the Reserve Fleet Basin to primarily house Liberty Ships and others after demobilization. The first one at Wilmington was the SS John B. Bryce which arrived August 12, 1946. Eventually 426 more ships joined it, the most ever at one time.

Ships moved in and out. In all, there were 628, many built by the North Carolina Shipbuilding Company.

There were also 68 Victory Ships and 41 others, including tankers.

Five were always kept completely ready to go at a moment's notice.

More to Come. --Cooter