The United States Naval Sea Cadet Ship (USNSCS) ''Grayfox'' (TWR-825) is a

training ship A training ship is a ship used to train students as sailors. The term is mostly used to describe ships employed by navies to train future officers. Essentially there are two types: those used for training at sea and old hulks used to house classr ...

, the largest owned by the

United States Naval Sea Cadet Corps The United States Naval Sea Cadet Corps (USNSCC or NSCC) is a congressionally chartered, U.S. Navy-sponsored organization that serves to teach individuals about the sea-going military services, U.S. naval operations and training, community serv ...

. It is homeported in

Port Huron, Michigan Port Huron is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of St. Clair County. The population was 30,184 at the 2010 census. The city is adjacent to Port Huron Township but is administered separately. Located along the St. Clair ...

and is used by the USNSCC for shipboard training.

History

United States Navy, 1985–1995

The ''Grayfox'' began its service in 1985 as one of ten 120-foot Torpedo Weapons Retriever. It was assigned to the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

's Atlantic Undersea Testing and Evaluation Center (

AUTEC The United States Navy's Atlantic Undersea Test and Evaluation Center (AUTEC) is a laboratory that performs integrated three-dimensional hydrospace/aerospace trajectory measurements covering the entire spectrum of undersea simulated warfare ...

) on

Andros Island Andros Island is an archipelago within the Bahamas, the largest of the Bahamian Islands. Politically considered a single island, Andros in total has an area greater than all the other 700 Bahamian islands combined. The land area of Andros consis ...

Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to ...

. Due to the decreasing threat of

torpedoes A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, su ...

, the Navy put it out of use in 1995 and transferred it to the USNSCC on August 15, 1997.

U.S. Naval Sea Cadet Corps, 1997–present

All of the torpedo rollers were removed from the after deck and returned to AUTEC. The ramp was welded, with most of the renovations and upkeep handled by cadets and volunteers. The ship was commissioned in the U.S. Naval Sea Cadet Corps on April 26, 1998 as the USNSCS ''Grayfox'' by Mrs. Jack Kennedy, wife of the former National President of the

Navy League of the United States The Navy League of the United States, commonly referred to as the Navy League, is a national association with nearly 50,000 members who advocate for a strong, credible United States Navy, United States Marine Corps, United States Coast Guard and ...

. The ship has berthing for 30 cadets and six officers. The large berthing capacity is due to the extension of the main cabin that was constructed by F.C. Sherman Division and other volunteers.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grayfox Training ships of the United States 1985 ships Ships built by Marinette Marine

History

United States Navy, 1985–1995

U.S. Naval Sea Cadet Corps, 1997–present

See also

References