USS ''Albany'' (CG-10) laid up at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard in 1983 Atlantic Reserve Fleet, Norfolk was a part of the

United States Navy reserve fleets The United States Navy maintains a number of its ships as part of a reserve fleet, often called the "Mothball Fleet". While the details of the maintenance activity have changed several times, the basics are constant: keep the ships afloat and s ...

, also called a ''mothball fleet'', and was used to store the many surplus ships after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The Atlantic Reserve Fleet was just south of the

Norfolk Naval Shipyard The Norfolk Naval Shipyard, often called the Norfolk Navy Yard and abbreviated as NNSY, is a U.S. Navy facility in Portsmouth, Virginia, for building, remodeling and repairing the Navy's ships. It is the oldest and largest industrial facility tha ...

, called the South Gate Annex in

Portsmouth, Virginia Portsmouth is an independent city in southeast Virginia and across the Elizabeth River from Norfolk. As of the 2020 census, the population was 97,915. It is part of the Hampton Roads metropolitan area. The Norfolk Naval Shipyard and Naval M ...

, south of

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Be ...

. The

reserve fleet A reserve fleet is a collection of naval vessels of all types that are fully equipped for service but are not currently needed; they are partially or fully decommissioned. A reserve fleet is informally said to be "in mothballs" or "mothballed"; a ...

was stored in the freshwater of the Elizabeth River,

Southern Branch Southern may refer to: Businesses * China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China * Southern Airways, defunct US airline * Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US * Southern Airways Express, M ...

near the

Jordan Bridge The Jordan Bridge, officially named the South Norfolk Jordan Bridge, is a tolled highway fixed bridge which carries State Route 337 over the Southern Branch Elizabeth River between the City of Portsmouth into the City of Chesapeake in South ...

. The freshwater was good for long-term storage for ships. Some ships in the fleet were reactivated for the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

and

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

. The Norfolk Naval Shipyard's

Hampton Roads Hampton Roads is the name of both a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James River, James, Nansemond River, Nansemond and Elizabeth River (Virginia), Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's ...

Facilities at Portsmouth includes: the South Gate Annex, Scott Center Annex, St. Helena Annex and

St. Julien's Creek Annex St. Julien's Creek Annex (SJCA) is a U.S. naval support facility that provides administrative offices, light industrial shops, and storage facilities for tenant naval commands. Its primary mission is to provide a radar testing range (35 acres or ...

Reserve ship examples

*The USS ''Massachusetts'' (BB-59) was stored for 18 years at the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. ''Massachusetts'' was placed in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet in 1947. On June 8, 1965, she departed, and the Navy transferred ownership of the battleship to the

State of Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

. She became a

museum ship A museum ship, also called a memorial ship, is a ship that has been preserved and converted into a museum open to the public for educational or memorial purposes. Some are also used for training and recruitment purposes, mostly for the small numb ...

Battleship Cove Battleship Cove is a nonprofit maritime museum and war memorial in Fall River, Massachusetts, United States. Featuring the world's largest collection of World War II naval vessels, it is home to the highly decorated battleship . It is located at ...

Fall River, Massachusetts Fall River is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The City of Fall River's population was 94,000 at the 2020 United States Census, making it the tenth-largest city in the state. Located along the eastern shore of Mount H ...

. * USS ''Casa Grande'' (LSD-13), a ''Casa Grande''-class dock landing ship was stored at Atlantic Reserve Fleet from 1946 to 1950. In 1950, she was recommissioned and put back in service. * USS ''Briareus'' (AR-12), a

cargo ship A cargo ship or freighter is a merchant ship that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year, handling the bulk of international trade. Cargo ships are usu ...

, was stored at the Atlantic Reserve Fleet from 1946 to 1951. In 1951, she was recommissioned and put back in service. * USS ''Albemarle'' (AV-5), a ''Curtiss''-class

seaplane tender A seaplane tender is a boat or ship that supports the operation of seaplanes. Some of these vessels, known as seaplane carriers, could not only carry seaplanes but also provided all the facilities needed for their operation; these ships are rega ...

was placed in the fleet in 1960, in 1965 she was converted to the USNS ''Corpus Christi Bay'' (T-ARVH-1), a floating aeronautical maintenance facility for helicopters. * USS ''Deuel'' (APA-160), a ''Haskell''-class attack transport, was placed in the fleet May 1946, and recommissioned in October 1950.

South Gate Annex Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility

South Gate Annex Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility (NISMF) is at the former Atlantic Reserve Fleet site. The South Gate Annex

Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility A Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility (NISMF) is a facility owned by the United States Navy as a holding facility for decommissioned naval vessels, pending determination of their final fate. All ships in these facilities are inactive, but s ...

is used as temporary storage of inactivated

nuclear-powered ships Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced b ...

, with the fuel removed.globalsecurity.org Norfolk Naval Shipyard
/ref>

References

{{Authority control

Atlantic Reserve Fleet, Norfolk USS ''Albany'' (CG-10) laid up at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard in 1983 Atlantic Reserve Fleet, Norfolk was a part of the United States Navy reserve fleets, also called a ''mothball fleet'', and was used to store the many surplus ships after Worl ...

1946 establishments in Virginia Military in Norfolk, Virginia Portsmouth, Virginia

Reserve ship examples

South Gate Annex Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility

See also

References