USNS ''Taurus'' (T-AK-273) was a Landing Ship Vehicle built for the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

. The lone ship of her class, she was named for the constellation Taurus, and was the second U.S. Naval vessel to bear the name.

Construction

''Taurus'' was laid down as the

dock landing ship A dock landing ship (also called landing ship, dock or LSD) is an amphibious warfare ship with a well dock to transport and launch landing craft and amphibious vehicles. Some ships with well decks, such as the Soviet Ivan Rogov class, also hav ...

USS ''Fort Snelling'' (LSD-23) on 8 November 1944 at

Chickasaw, Alabama Chickasaw is a city in Mobile County, Alabama, United States. As of the 2020 census the population was 6,457, up from 6,106 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Mobile metropolitan area. History Company town In the early 20th century ...

, by the Gulf Shipbuilding Corporation. The end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

made her services unnecessary, and the Navy cancelled the contract for her acquisition. The unchristened hull changed hands twice before being completed in 1956 as the

roll-on/roll-off Roll-on/roll-off (RORO or ro-ro) ships are cargo ships designed to carry wheeled cargo, such as cars, motorcycles, trucks, semi-trailer trucks, buses, Trailer (vehicle), trailers, and railroad cars, that are driven on and off the ship on their ...

ship SS ''Carib Queen'' for Trailer Marine Transport, Inc. In 1957, the ship received a

Military Sea Transportation Service The Military Sealift Command (MSC) is an organization that controls the replenishment and military transport ships of the United States Navy. Military Sealift Command has the responsibility for providing sealift and ocean transportation for all U ...

(MSTS) charter for

transatlantic Transatlantic, Trans-Atlantic or TransAtlantic may refer to: Film * Transatlantic Pictures, a film production company from 1948 to 1950 * Transatlantic Enterprises, an American production company in the late 1970s * ''Transatlantic'' (1931 film) ...

service. However, problems in her propulsion system caused delays and repairs which prevented her actually serving MSTS. In March, 1958 after Trailer Marine Transport, Inc. had defaulted on her mortgage, the Maritime Administration took over the vessel. She was assigned to MSTS on 15 January 1959, renamed ''Taurus'', and designated ''T-AK-273''.

Service history

In May, 1959 ''Taurus'' made her first cargo run, from

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

to St. Nazaire. Over the next nine years, she continued to carry cargo for MSTS in the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

and

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the cont ...

oceans. On 1 January 1963 ''Taurus'' was re-designated vehicle landing ship LSV-8. During the mid-1960s she carried cargo to ports in

South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam (RVN; , VNCH), was a country in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975. It first garnered Diplomatic recognition, international recognition in 1949 as the State of Vietnam within the ...

in support of American forces in the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

. She also was used by

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

, along with USNS Point Barrow (T-AKD-1), to carry

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and

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stages of the

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Moon rocket from their production facilities in

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to the Mississippi Test Facility and the

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during the mid-1960s. Never commissioned, ''Taurus'' went out of service at

Yokosuka is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city has a population of 373,797, and a population density of . The total area is . Yokosuka is the 11th-most populous city in the Greater Tokyo Area, and the 12th in the Kantō region. The city i ...

, Japan, in September 1968. She was transferred back to the Maritime Administration on 25 June 1969, and was sold on the same day to the Union Minerals and Alloy Corporation of

. Her name was struck from the

Naval Vessel Register The ''Naval Vessel Register'' (NVR) is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from t ...

on 22 June 1971. Her final fate is unknown.

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Taurus Vehicle landing ships of the United States Navy Ships built in Chickasaw, Alabama 1956 ships Casa Grande-class dock landing ships of the United States Navy