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| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | Albert J. Myer |
| Namesake | Brig. Gen. Albert J. Myer |
| Builder | Pusey & Jones Corp. |
| Yard number |
|
| Laid down | 14 April 1945 |
| Launched | 7 November 1945 |
| In service |
|
| Stricken | 7 November 1994 |
| Identification | IMO number: 8832552 |
| Honors and awards | Meritorious Unit Commendation (1974), four Navy "E" Ribbons (1981, 1982, 1984, and 1985) |
| Fate | Recycled in late 2005 |
| Notes | Ship underwent modifications as USNS Albert J. Myer and a major modernization in 1982 with resulting changes in specifications. |
| General characteristics [note 1] | |
| Class and type | Neptune |
| Type | S3-S2-BP1; Army cable ship, later USN Cable Repair Ship (ARC) |
| Displacement | 7815 tons |
| Length | 334 ft (101.8 m) |
| Beam | 47.1 ft (14.4 m) |
| Draft | 25.75 ft (7.8 m) |
| Propulsion | 2 Skinner Uniflow Reciprocating Steam Engines; changed to diesel-electric in 1980; twin shafts |
| Speed | 14 knots |
| Complement | 71 civilians, 6 Navy, 25 cable/survey party |
| Armament | none |
USNS Albert J. Myer (T-ARC-6) was the second of only two Maritime Commission type S3-S2-BP1 ships built for the US Army near the end of World War II intended to support Army Signal Corps communications cables. She is named for Brig. Gen. Albert J. Myer, the founder of the Signal Corps. The other ship was the William H. G. Bullard, later USS Neptune, which Myer later joined in naval service.
The new ship was laid up in 1946 until reactivated by the Army in 1952 for service out of Seattle, Washington maintaining the Alaska Communications System that served civilian as well as military needs. USACS Albert J. Myer also saw service on other defense and civilian cables and supported the Navy's Project Caesar, the unclassified name for building and maintaining the Sound Surveillance System (SOSUS) that tracked Soviet submarines.
The ship was transferred on 13 June 1966 to the Navy for service as USNS Albert J. Myer (T-ARC-6) assigned to Project Caesar, though supporting other military systems on occasion. Albert J. Myer, along with sister ship Neptune, were the only ships in the Navy designed and built as cable ships. Unlike Neptune, which had been commissioned by the Navy, Albert J. Myer was never commissioned serving entirely as a civil service crewed ship under the Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS)/Military Sealift Command (MSC).[note 2] Both underwent modifications and a major rebuild in the early 1980s. Albert J. Myer was deactivated in 1994.
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