USS Aeolus (ARC-3)

USS "Aeolus" (ARC-3) began service as
USS "Turandot" (AKA-47),an "Artemis" class attack cargo ship built by the Walsh-Kaiser Co., Inc. of Providence, Rhode Island.In the mid-1950s, she was converted into a cable repair ship to support the SOSUS program, and she performed cable duties for nearly thirty years.

See the USS Turandot (AKA-47) article for the ship's early history.

Function

The "Aeolus" has principally been used to transport, deploy, retrieve and repair submarine cables, and to conduct acoustic, hydrographic, and bathymetric surveys.

Career

USS "Turandot" was decommissioned on 21 March 1946,struck from the Navy list on 17 April 1947,and placed in the reserve fleet.

In 1954, the former attack cargo ship was converted to bea cable repair ship, redesignated ARC-3, and renamed "Aeolus".The conversion was performed at the Key Highway yard of the
Bethlehem Steel Co. in Baltimore, Maryland.The ship was re-commissioned as ARC-3 on 14 May 1955.

"Aeolus" worked in the Atlantic and Caribbean during 1955-56;in the Pacific during 1956-1959;and returned to the Atlantic and Caribbean during 1959-62.During 1962-73 she worked principally in the Atlantic,with occasional temporary assignments to the Pacific.

In 1973, "Aeolus" was transferred to the Military Sealift Command (MSC), designated T-ARC-3, and operated thereafter by a mostly civilian crew.

During her career, "Aeolus" received three
Meritorious Unit Commendations (in 1970, 1971, and 1973)."Aeolus" continued performing cable installations and repairsuntil 1985, when she was decommissioned and placed in the James River reserve fleet near Ft. Eustis, VA.In 1987 she was transferred to the State of North Carolina,and in 1988 was sunk to form an artificial reef.The ex-"Aeolus", located about 22 miles from Beaufort Inletin 110 feet of water, is often visited by divers.

References

* "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.

External links

* [http://www.nandc.com/aeolus/ USS Aeolus Association]
* [http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/a3/aeolus-ii.htm Naval Historical Center: USNS "Aeolus"]
* [http://www.navsource.org/archives/10/02047.htm NavSource Online: AKA-47 Turandot, ARC-3 Aeolus]
* [http://www.nc-wreckdiving.com/WRECKS/AEOLUS/AEOLUS.HTML Notes for Divers Exploring the Sunken Aeolus ]

ee also

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