USNS Albert J. Meyer (ARC-6)

USNS "Albert J. Meyer" (ARC-6), was a Neptune-classcable laying ship built for the US Armynear the end of World War II.She is named for Brig. Gen. Albert J. Meyer (or Myer), the founder of the Army Signal Corps.The keel was laid down on 14 April 1945 by
Pusey & Jones Corp. of Wilmington, Delaware."Albert J. Meyer" was launchedon 7 November 1945, and sponsored by Mrs. Grace Salisbury Ingles, the wife of Major General Harry C. Ingles, commanding officer of the Army Signal Corps.

Function

"Myer"'s projects have typically been to transport, deploy, retrieve and repair submarine cables, test acoustic devices, and conduct acoustic, hydrographic, and bathymetric surveys.

Career

Since World War II ended some eight months before her completion, the "Albert J. Myer" was delivered to the
Maritime Commission and placed in the reserve fleet.In 1952, she was commissioned by the Navy as a cable repair ship to support the SOSUS program andoperated as a regular Navy ship (USS "Albert J. Meyer").

In 1973, "Meyer" was transferred to the
Military Sealift Command (MSC),designated T-ARC-6, and operated by a mostly civilian crew.The "Albert J. Meyer" was extensively modernized in 1980 by Bethlehem Steel in Baltimore, Maryland.This included new turbo-electric engines.It is said that "Meyer" and her sister ship "Neptune" were the last ships in the Navy to operate using
reciprocating steam engines.

"Meyer" performed cable repair duties all over the world until 1994,when she'd been in active service for nearly 42 years.During her career, she received a Meritorious Unit Commendation (1974),and four Navy E ribbons (1981, 1982, 1984, and 1985).

She was inactivated in 1994 and eventually placed in the James River reserve fleet near Ft. Eustis, VA.She was dismantled and recycled by International Shipbreaking Ltd of
Brownsville, TX in late 2005.

References

This article includes information collected from the
Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.
* "The Ships and Aircraft of the U.S. Fleet", Norman Polmar, Naval Institute Press, 13th edition, 1984.
* "OPNAV NOTICE 1650", Master List of Unit Awards and Campaign Medals, 9 Mar 2001.
* "MARAD press release 14-05", 28 July 2005, Maritime Administration announcement of the disposal of ex-"Meyer" & ex-"Neptune".

ee also

* List of United States Navy ships, A
* List of auxiliaries of the United States Navy