USS ''L. Y. Spear'' (AS-36) was the lead ship of her class of submarine tenders, in service to the United States Navy from 1970 through 1996.

Etymology

She was named for

Lawrence York Spear Lawrence York Spear (23 October 1870 – 9 September 1950) was an American naval officer and businessman who spent the majority of his career working for the Electric Boat Company. Biography Born in Warren, Ohio, Spear graduated from the United St ...

, a former Navy lieutenant who played an integral role in submarine design at Electric Boat Company before and during World War II.

History

''L. Y. Spear'' was laid down by

General Dynamics Quincy Shipbuilding Division Fore River Shipyard was a shipyard owned by General Dynamics Corporation located on Weymouth Fore River in Braintree and Quincy, Massachusetts. It began operations in 1883 in Braintree, and moved to its final location on Quincy Point in 1901. In ...

Quincy, Massachusetts Quincy ( ) is a coastal U.S. city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the largest city in the county and a part of Greater Boston, Metropolitan Boston as one of Boston's immediate southern suburbs. Its population in 2020 was 1 ...

, on 5 May 1966; launched on 7 September 1967; sponsored by the wife of Vice Admiral Schade, Commander, Submarine Force, Atlantic Fleet; and commissioned on 28 February 1970. Designed primarily to service nuclear attack submarines, ''L. Y. Spear'' was assigned to Submarine Squadron 6 with

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 ...

, as her home port. She had the capability to provide logistic and technical support for as many as 12 submarines and service four of them alongside simultaneously. ''L. Y. Spear'' was decommissioned on 6 September 1996 and struck from the

Navy 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 3 May 1999. She was berthed at 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 ...

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 ...

, from 1999 till 2010. On 9 July 2010, a contract to dismantle ''L. Y. Spear'' was issued to ESCO Marine, Brownsville, Texas. She departed the

at the end of August 2010 and was completely dismantled by 14 July 2011. The mess deck scene from the movie ''The Death of Ocean View Park'' (1979) was filmed aboard the ''L. Y. Spear''.

Awards

* Navy

Meritorious Unit Commendation The Meritorious Unit Commendation (MUC; pronounced ''muck'') is a mid-level unit award of the United States Armed Forces. The U.S. Army awards units the Army MUC for exceptionally meritorious conduct in performance of outstanding achievement or s ...

– (Apr-Jul 1980, Feb 1984-May 1986, Jun 1993-Sep 1994, Oct 1994-Sep 1996) * Navy E Ribbon – (1979, 1983, 1984, 1990, 1991, 1993) * Navy Expeditionary Medal – (Apr-Jul 1980) *

Southwest Asia Service Medal The Southwest Asia Service Medal (SASM or SWASM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces which was created by order of President George H.W. Bush on March 12, 1991. The award is intended to recognize those military service members ...

– (Aug-Nov 1991) Gulf War * Captain Edward F. Ney Memorial Award – (1974)

References

* *

External links

* * L. Y. Spear-class submarine tenders

Submarine tenders A submarine tender is a type of depot ship that supplies and supports submarines. Development Submarines are small compared to most oceangoing vessels, and generally do not have the ability to carry large amounts of food, fuel, torpedoes, and ...

Submarine tenders of the United States Navy United States Navy Ships built in Quincy, Massachusetts 1967 ships Cold War auxiliary ships of the United States {{US-mil-ship-stub